leadership according to wayne bennett

Wayne Bennett is the most successful coach in Rugby League history, a best selling author and an inspiring speaker.

Whether you are a Rugby Leage fan or not, there is a lot to like about Wayne's philosophy on leadership. At a talk I saw him give this week he made it clear that there is a lot we can learn about creating winning teams from the way he has influenced those that have played under him. Here's a few key points he shared...

• If you've got a big ego and you don't like people, leadership is going to be a challenge for you.
• Credibility is vital if you want to be an effective leader.
• Keep leadership as simple as you possibly can - make it so simple that everyone can understands what they need to do.
• If you talk tough and act soft, you will fail. 
• As a leader you need to create an environment where people can be the best they can be.

After his talk, Wayne invited questions from the maily business audience. One question that he was asked was "when do you know when it's time to let someone go?" to which he answered, "when you see them no longer trying to improve." Put this in the context of a leader needing to create an environment where people can be their best, and you can see how important it is to develop leadership capability in our organisations.

The thing I like most about his thoughts on leadership is that we need to keep it simple. Makes sense to me.

Cheers

Greg