Are you rock or water?

Rock is hard, immovable, heavy to shift.
Water flows, adapts and seeks to level out.

Rock is steadfast, solid and a great foundation.
Water can change radically when under certain physical conditions (eg steam and ice).

This discussion is not about whether rock or water is best. It is about asking what would you be like as a leader if you were all rock or all water? There are times for rock-like leadership and there are times for water-like leadership.

Standing fast on your values, making an ethical decision - rock-like. Being flexible and adaptable when challenged, and realising that you need to bend - water-like.

The 'all rock' leaders I know continually butt heads because they are unmoving, even when wrong. The 'all water' leaders I know are a pushover because they don't know what they stand for. 

There's a time for rock and a time for water.

PS: I first heard about the rock and water concept at a high school. It is a program developed by Dutchman, Freerk Ykema that applies a physical/social approach to developing young people. More info is at http://rockandwaterprogram.com

Leaders make better lovers

Leaders love lots.

They love their industry* - that's where their passion comes from.

They love their organisation - they deeply care that it succeeds and grows.

They love their people - they want to see them grow, develop and be happy.

They love their families - that's why they strive for and achieve balance between their career and time for their loved ones

They love their communities - they give back and they make sure that their organisations are good corporate citizens.

And finally, they love themselves - they look after their physical and mental health, they challenge themselves to grow and develop and they want to be the best they can be.

Take the leadership love challenge - how many can you tick? Where do you need to love more? What are you going to do about it?

* PS: You may not be in love with your industry, for example you don't have to be passionate about money to work in the finance industry, but you might at least care about the difference, for instance, that making money available to families makes. It will be harder for your leadership to surface if you really dislike the industry you work in. 

Cheers

Greg

leadership at its simplest

I reckon one of the reasons people shy away from leadership responsibility is that they think it is hard. It can be, but it doesn't have to be.

If we had to boil leadership down to its purest essence it would look something like this.

Care about others. Leading is all about helping others achieve good things, so being selfless or at least not being self absorbed will help.

Have a plan. Be prepared to say "this is where we need to go and this is how we are going to get there".

Get things done. Leading is about communicating but it is also about doing and getting results.

Shoulder responsibility. Show others that you are prepared to be accountable for what you and they do together.

Lift others. Somehow, leaders get others to try harder than they normally would. They are able to 'lift' performances because they understand what motivates others.

We tend to over complicate most things, but if you want to be a more effective leader, KISS!

Cheers

Greg

As a leader, do you lift or deflate?

One of the most important responsibilities a leader has is to lift their people.

Lift - to raise to a higher position, elevate.

In aerodynamics, lift is the force that directly opposes weight. So when an aircraft flys, lift is the thing that keeps it in the air, overcoming its weight.

Sure leadership is about vision, authenticity, action and responsibility, but realising that as a leader you are also accountable for what others do and how they do it, is a key.

The word 'inspire' means to fill, for example when you inspire you fill your lungs with air. By contrast, to expire means to empty or deflate your lungs.

What effect do you have on your people? Do you fill them with confidence, enthusiasm and self belief or leave them flat, empty and deflated?

Most of us understand that leadership is about what we do, how we do it and what we get done. We also need to accept that it is our responsibility to make a difference to others. To lift them. To enable them to overcome barriers to success.

Cheers

Greg

Leader vs Boss. Is there a difference?

I recently commenced a regular column for the business section of my local newspaper. They asked me to write about leadership. When the column appeared in the paper it was accompanied by a large photo of Bruce Springsteen rocking it out. The photo did a great job of attracting attention to the column, which I'm sure ultimately meant that more people read it. (These newspaper people know what they're doing apparently.)

Now, for anyone under 30 years of age, Bruce Springsteen is a rock and roll legend, colloquially know as 'The Boss'. I smiled when I saw the photo as I had no idea it was going to be there. I was intrigued by the conclusion that the news editor had drawn - leadership column, about being the boss, photo of Springsteen. In addition to this, I had several emails, text messages and conversations with people who had read the article and liked it and they all commented about the photo. "Well done, what a great idea" they said. I confessed that I had nothing to do with the photo, but it got me thinking. Why do people think boss when they think leadership? 

In my mind boss and leader have different connotations. A boss is bossy, arrogant, pushy, demanding, uncaring. A leader is understanding, open, inspiring, has vision and cares about relationships.

Could it be that leading others is made harder because people don't differentiate between boss and leader? Does thinking that they will be like a boss stop people from wanting to lead?

Are you boss or leader? What can you do to be more of a leader? 

Cheers

Greg