Why should leaders tell us what we need to KNOW?
I firmly believe that it is essential for a true leader to possess many assets, skills, abilities, and a positive can-do attitude, along with maintaining absolute integrity. You must do it, even when the path of least resistance can make it more challenging to do the right thing! Therefore, many years ago, I began to use a personal service: brand, I will always tell you what you need to know, not just what you want to hear. True leaders must have the inner strength and fortitude to articulate a clear message that points to what we need. KNOW, thus, constituting, becoming more capable of fully understanding the options and alternatives, the potential ramification, and the leader’s perspective, vision, priorities, goals, and strategic and action plans. With that in mind, this article will attempt to briefly consider, examine, review and discuss, using the mnemonic approach, what this means and represents, and why it is important.
1. knowledge; keep: Knowledge should mean much more than just learning a bunch of facts! It requires using these, so that you are able to provide relevant and sustainable leadership, which is focused on the needs, priorities, objectives and perceptions of the organization and stakeholders. Knowing what one must do if you hope to be a real, quality leader requires real commitment, learning, from every conversation and experience, and transforming it into experience. One must keep everything organized and orderly, so that one can use one’s abilities etc., and develop a level of wisdom, based on well-developed judgement!
2. Needs; highly strung; shade; necessary: A true leader discovers what is most important, relevant and necessary, thus becoming capable of addressing the true needs of his group. Every organization has its unique history, heritage, and mission, and one only earns the right to be considered a leader when he understands, considers, and addresses the specific nuances. This requires someone, with the inner nerve and fortitude, to articulate a clear message and guide others to the best course of action!
3. Options; opportunities; organized; original: Instead of trying to be popular and simply expressing the same old messages and ideas, a great leader realizes that he must be an original, rather than a carbon copy, of others. He examines and considers various options and alternatives and positions himself to take advantage of the best opportunities. One must know that leading is not haphazard, but rather, a meaningful leader proceeds in an organized and well-planned manner.
4. WHO; that; where; which; when: Create and develop an inner circle and know who should be a part of it! What you do and how you use the ideas you are given often sets the quality leader apart from the rest of the group. A new leader must consider where he wants to take the group, which way to go, and when action is needed!
If you want to be a leader, are you prepared to tell others what they need? KNOW, instead of just what they want to hear! Groups need effective leaders, with the will to prioritize leadership over popularity!
