The Leadership Thought Promoter’s Checklist
1. Making promises when you are not sure you can keep them can lead to a loss of respect.
Take promises seriously. View a promise as a commitment made with the understanding that circumstances could arise that would make it impossible to keep them. Make those circumstances very clear to the person at the time the promises are made. Breaking a promise can lead to a loss of respect from the employee. It can question your integrity. A leader must have impeccable character to earn the trust of his employees. Don’t make promises that you can’t keep, and in the rare circumstance that you break a promise, look the employee in the eye and explain in detail why you couldn’t keep your promise. Be honest about it.
2. Some employees complain, especially salespeople. It is part of your DNA. That does not mean that you should ignore complaints that you consider complaints.
No employee thinks your complaint is insignificant, even if you think it is a complaint. It remains a problem even if the complaint is taken lightly or ignored. In fact, it can grow and rot. An effective leader will address the complaint and will not be afraid to tell the employee that they are whining or trivial by explaining why. Even if the employee does not listen to the answer they are looking for, the leader will not lose respect due to inattention. Of course, the way you convey the message is important and should be done without putting the employee down.
3. A leader must show consistency and fairness in his treatment of employees.
Does your approach vary with employees, being lenient with some and strict with others? There is a fine line between treating all employees exactly the same and showing consistency in treating employees. Employees are all individuals with different backgrounds, different values, different goals, different ideas, and different motivators. The ability to recognize differences between people and the ability to apply variable leadership methodologies is an important characteristic of effective leadership. That said, it is extremely important that a leader does not show favoritism and gives preferential treatment to employees. Lack of consistency in the leader’s treatment of employees destroys teamwork and trust. Do not grant special privileges unless a special situation justifies it and is understood by everyone.
4. Becoming friends with your employees is not a good idea and corporate recreational mating is an absolute taboo. That doesn’t mean you should be cold and distant. Leadership is about relationships, but you shouldn’t develop a personal relationship to the extent that it compromises your ability to take command and show control when necessary.
Distancing yourself can detract from effective leadership. You can be friendly without losing authority or compromising your position. A leader must demonstrate competence and vision while showing a sincere interest in the well-being of his employees. Anyone whose job it is to influence and direct people in their work should maintain friendly contact with the group.
5. Being able to collaborate, share ideas and not be threatened by the transfer of intellectual capital is of utmost importance to promote a team concept and an atmosphere that promotes trust.
Sharing your thoughts, experiences, knowledge along with training and mentoring is showing confidence and self-respect. This supports a culture of camaraderie. Share information whenever issues in your area of ​​responsibility affect operations in other managers’ areas. Absolutely do not circumvent the authority of the managers who report to you and do not surround other managers.
6. Rejecting an employee’s request without creating resentment is a quiet need for effective leadership.
The ability to say no without creating hostility is important. The key to achieving that goal is to honestly acknowledge the request and explain in detail why the request cannot be granted. Being sincere shows concern and makes your personal regret credible.
“The ideal leader is brave, strong and persistent, wise, but what really sets him apart from the group is passion and vision. It is not enough to be a skilled manager or a world-class manager. No, to be a true leader, we need the passion of our dreams and a vision of how to make them come true Passion and vision are transformative forces that will fail unless we fuse them into a powerful source of change.
“Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric”
o A leader does not follow in the footsteps of others: he is always first in line to create a new roadmap to follow.
o A leader does not panic in a crisis, he becomes a pillar of strength for others.
o A leader does not look for the light at the end of the tunnel, he brings the light
o A leader does not flaunt his title, he finds the moment to be more than his title
o A leader does not get up early to improve; get up early to help others improve.
o A leader has a vision, he does not dream, he is the dream and he communicates his vision.
o A leader is not arrogant but commands a presence. He is confident.
o The leader is not the first to take credit for success, but is the first to credit those who helped create the success.
o The leader may not be the most valuable player but is the most valued player
o The leader does not like to be called the reason for success – He realizes that success depends on the people he surrounds himself with – after all, he is the leader
Eric (Rick) Johnson
