Being a leader is a forever kind of thing.
Leadership isn’t a role to be slipped in and out of when it’s convenient to do.
If we want to be an effective leader, our vision and guidance must always shine, in lights both bright and muted.
11 ways to be a leader who shines
A leader who always shines:
…knows that leadership is more than dominance, authority, status, and being in the limelight. Thoughtful and effective leaders dance the complicated leadership dance of results and relationships.
Of all the things that sustain a leader over time, love is the most lasting. The best-kept secret of successful leaders is love staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its work. ~James Kouzes and Barry Posner
Organizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders live to serve. Period. ~Tom Peters
…urges people to heed their better angels in finding meaning and purpose in their work that extends beyond status and money.
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good. ~Minor Myers
…leads from values and beliefs, not behaviors, in serving the greater good as well as immediate business and personnel needs.
My values, our values, aren’t about pointing fingers. They are about offering a helping hand. ~Kathleen Blanco
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
~Gandhi
…is consistent, responsible, and responsive in times of calm or times of chaos.
When we aren’t curious in conversations we judge, tell, blame and even shame, often without even knowing it, which leads to conflict. ~Kirsten Siggins
…values service, not status, and stays in touch with employees at all levels of the organization.
The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. ~Ronald Reagan
There is no investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer through your establishment. ~Orison Swett Marden
…balances independence and interdependence. Alternates between “we” and “me” standpoints. Also tells the truth no matter how uncomfortable it is and does so with grace.
The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. ~Warren Bennis
Good leaders build products. Great leaders build cultures. Good leaders deliver results. Great leaders develop people. Good leaders have vision. Great leaders have values. Good leaders are role models at work. Great leaders are role models in life. ~Adam Grant
…is comfortable leading from the front as well as from behind, understanding that the ability to flex to the situation is strength, not weakness.
A leader…is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, and realizing that all along they are being directed from behind. ~Nelson Mandela
…encourages diversity of thought, opinion, perspective, and experience. (My grandfather used to say that if someone thought exactly like he did, he didn’t need them on this team. He wanted people who brought new ideas and different outlooks. The older I get, the more I appreciate how fortunate I was to have this influence early in my life.)
Strength lies in differences, not in similarities. ~Stephen Covey.
One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves. ~Barbara Jordan
…stops stereotypes in their tracks and manages bias to mitigate its harmful impacts.
Nowadays silence is looked on as odd and most of my race has forgotten the beauty of meaning much by saying little. Now tongues work all day by themselves with no help from the mind. ~
…acknowledges the need to occasionally deal with the superficial and its optics while never losing sight of the depth of issues.
The true mark of a leader is the willingness to stick with a bold course of action — an unconventional business strategy, a unique product-development roadmap, a controversial marketing campaign — even as the rest of the world wonders why you’re not marching in step with the status quo. In other words, real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. They understand that in an era of hyper-competition and non-stop disruption, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something special. ~Bill Taylor
…knows when to think first and talk later. Knows as well the value of sometimes not talking at all, choosing to listen instead.
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. ~Harper Lee
Ready to be a leader who shines?
Image credit before quote added: Pixabay
