Are You Afraid of Becoming a Leader?

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Wendy Komac

Don't be Chicken!

Believe it or not, no matter what industry you work in or what your skill set is, you can become a leader. If you are staying below the radar and not meeting your potential, you are not alone.

But don’t worry, it is easier than you think to change and become the leader you were born to be.

Failing to Lead

There are many reasons why people fail to step up to the plate and take charge in their company.

Here are three big reasons:

Lack of Confidence

Most people know when they are in the midst of a crisis, personal or professional. However, the one crisis we are often in the middle of but don’t recognize is a crisis of confidence.

A lack of confidence can have destructive consequences, such as fear.

Fear

When fear becomes the barometer for whether or not we express our thoughts or ideas, we often choose to say or do nothing. We think that doing nothing is safer than walking through any kind of storm that might ensue as a result of attempting something different.

Routine

When you let the fear and lack of confidence take over, you may find yourself in a monotonous routine with no opportunity for upward movement. You wake up every day living life on autopilot, doing the same thing and wondering why you don’t have different results.

I should know. I did this pattern for ten years.

Ten years of crawling on broken glass every day but refusing to change. What a mess my life was.

But, guess what?

Change is the only constant in life, whether you like it or not.

There came a time when I had to get out of my own way and give my life permission to expand so that I could see all the opportunities in front me.

How to Break the Routine and Start Leading

1) Break the Status Quo

Today’s leaders never accept things as they are and are constantly challenging existing thoughts and methodologies. In the day where stock market tickers change like the wind, people want some sort of status quo.

Face it, status-quo status sucks.

Look at your daily routine and find the steps toward incremental change. This doesn’t have to be drastic, wholesale change, just start small.

2) Keep Your Head Up

Look around. When you keep your head down, you miss the chance to open your eyes and notice what leaders and opportunities surround you.

That is not to say that keeping your head down and working hard won’t pay off. But I can guarantee that you will not capitalize on nearly half of the opportunities you could take if you don’t pick that head up and pay attention.

The first step is to dispose of the notion that your title or job description determines whether or not you are a leader.

Remember this: It is YOU that determines if you are a leader or not. And a good place to start is by being a leader in your own life.

By keeping your head up and showing up to life every day, you commit to yourself and to your future.

3) Be or Become a Mentor

Take your personal expertise, whatever it is, and use it to help ANYONE around you that needs help today. Over the years, I have mentored many valuable associates. I was constantly on the lookout for high potential where no one else saw it. Believing in yourself that you have high potential allows you to not only subconsciously surround yourself with other high potential people but to help others realize theirs.

Having a mentor is also a great way to take action.

Meet with them once a month to learn a new skill. This action will begin the shift in your thinking.

Start studying the leaders, how do they do think, pick their brains. Take what your learn from them and apply it to your own life in your own style. Every good and influential mentor offers the ability to offer life-changing advice.

Allow them to help you change your life.

4) Take Charge, Even If You’re New

When I got into sales 30 years ago, I worked in a branch of 20 sales people and was the new girl on the block.  Why would anyone listen to me? I didn’t have the type of track record and sales success that the others had.

Despite my “new girl” status, I orchestrated a weekly breakfast meeting with my peers. Here we organized and shared information and brainstormed new strategies to be successful.  I certainly wasn’t a leader, but that didn’t stop me from behaving like one with my colleagues.

When this group’s performance began outpacing the rest of the veteran salespeople, everyone wanted to join the weekly meeting.

5) Invest In You

I always say “invest in you.”

What that truly means is take control of your life by knowing who you are. Become your own best friend and advocate, and the world around you will change. You will discover new people and opportunities. And above all, a new self-confidence that will “lead” you to success.

Today’s most successful leaders have two things going for them:

  • Humanity (why do they care, empathy, etc.)
  • Expertise (this is not title, but actual skill set)

They bring their expertise and a level of personal humanity to the workplace so we, as employees, want to sit up and listen to what they have to share with us.

Absent the humanity and expertise, it is unlikely the leader will be successful in guiding the team through change transformation, because the team will have no reason to listen to the leader to begin with.

First and foremost, work on improving these aspects about yourself. And then you can confidently take steps toward becoming a valuable leader.

So, are you investing in yourself? Are you afraid to become the leader you have the potential to be? Are you letting fear get in your way? Why are you letting yourself stay below the radar? If you are fearless, tell me why! I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Learn, Grow & Develop Other Leaders™

——————-
Wendy Komac is a business turnaround specialist
She is the author of “I Work with Crabby Crappy People”
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | Website

Image Source:  tommyland modified kidzcoolzone.com

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True Leadership: Hearing the Littlest Voice

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Dr. Frederick Southwick

Hearing Small Voices

Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. It shows up in every aspect of life. It really hits home when it becomes a life and death situation. 

Especially when the life and death situation is a family member.

My Story

In 1988, my family faced a medical situation that even I, as a doctor, couldn’t fix.  My wife, Mary, awoke with a lightning-sharp pain in her leg; she couldn’t bare the weight of the sheet upon her foot.  A physician we visited indicated that Mary was suffering from a nerve injury, and gave her pain medication.

As her health worsened, we were unable to reach him or contact him in any way.

After several days of pain that ended with bruises across her body, we got an internist to see Mary.  She found clots in Mary’s legs, and sent us to the hospital.  Mary’s blood work there showed that she could be suffering from an allergic reaction; I’d given her penicillin for strep throat a week earlier.

Was this the cause?

  • Five days into Mary’s hospitalization, she began coughing up blood.
  • The clots from her legs had dislodged.
  • Her blood thinner had failed; the dosage she’d been prescribed was too low.
  • The attending nurse acknowledged this, but said she couldn’t report the error for fear of losing her position.

Mary developed chest pain two days later, and tests confirmed she’d suffered a heart attack.  Her new cardiologist diagnosed her with inflamed blood vessels and prescribed new medication.

What else could possibly go wrong?

  • Mary’s lungs filled with liquid.
  • She was drowning in her own body.
  • She was placed on a ventilator and went into shock as her organs began to shut down.
  • Her heart stopped beating.

We’d sought help for a nerve injury, and we were now facing death.

Why Top-Down Leadership is to Blame

Hierarchy over Health

To cut to a long story down to size, miraculously, Mary recovered.  But she never needed to suffer as she did.

Unfortunately, most healthcare systems – and many other types of businesses – follow a command-and-control model.  This philosophy forces everyone to wait for the boss to make a decision, inevitably resulting in delays and frustration for everyone involved.

Most of those on the front line give up trying to make permanent changes.  They stop speaking up.

Imperfect Example

Our bedside nurse was a perfect example of the insanity.  She knew the intern wasn’t using the correct dosage, but she didn’t want to appear to be questioning the authority of the physicians.

And, although I was a physician myself, I was treated with disapproval when I spoke up about the issues I noticed.

There was, ironically, no room in this dynamic for a second opinion.

Top-down leadership structures emphasize compliance, and exclude the customer’s or patient’s viewpoint.  Autonomy is stripped from workers as they endeavor to fulfill specific performance measures.  Altruism and a real sense of purpose are extinguished.  The people who best understand the customer’s perspective – the front-line workers – are effectively silenced.

When people lose sight of the importance of their work, morale goes down and turnover goes up.

How Leadership Can Empower

A Great Example

Better environments can be created where all levels of our workforce can be heard.

Effective organizations, like Toyota, encourage everyone to make suggestions.

At Toyota, employees receive extra pay when they contribute a suggestion for improvement that gets implemented.  This allows front-line employees to feel like they’re making a difference, and it forces those at the top to acknowledge the contributions of those below them.

Power structures need to be flattened

While we need people to administer, these people should be working alongside lower-level employees – not over them.  Respectful communication and teamwork need to be the guiding rules in each business.

Effective teams value the contributions of each and every member.

If each person feels charged with the task of improving his environment, each staffer will also gain a new sense of identity.  His job will increase in significance as he takes a new level of ownership over it.

The bottom-line is this:

When people feel empowered and their morale is high, they’ll help us build better systems and provide better care for our clients.

They’ll report incorrect dosages.

Everyone is a Potential Leader 

Simply Seeking Improvement

It’s easy to assume that the leaders in each company are those who hold the loftiest positions.  This is simply not true.  A leader is anyone who influences others to improve.  Therefore, anyone can, and should, become a leader.

This includes everyone from janitors to IT professionals to doctors.

Treating everyone as a potential leader – and encouraging them to do the same – cultivates a problem-solving culture.  Rather than simply complaining, personnel are emboldened to point out how problems impede them from providing the best customer service they can – and they’ll actively work to solve the problems.

They view problems as their issues, and they view themselves as people capable of fixing them.  By always focusing on what’s best for our customers and patients, we remove the worry of being perceived as troublemakers for addressing problems.

We also eliminate concern of job loss for being good at our jobs and recognizing issues.

A Culture of Encouragement

In a culture where leadership at every level is encouraged, every point of view is taken into account.  The test of a true leader is one who can share authority with others because his eye is on doing the right thing – not on being right.  As this view of leadership is embraced, trust and cooperation develop.

When an error occurs, everyone will come to the rescue.

When everyone feels responsible, everyone is willing and eager to help.  And when everyone is involved, even the littlest voice is heard.

So, does your work environment encourage leadership at all levels? Have you lost sight of the importance of your work? Are you treating or being treated as a potential leader? Does your company make everyone feel responsible for your success or failure? 

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——————-
Dr. Frederick Southwick is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Florida
He is the author of “Critically Ill: A 5 Point Plan To Cure Healthcare Delivery”
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog

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10 Tips To Overcome Bad Thoughts

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Wayne Kehl

Bad Thoughts

Many questions we can ask ourselves as leaders help us determine a benchmark for who we are as a leader, where we are on our leadership journey, and where we are going in the future. 

Here are some of those poignant questions:

  • Do you ever find yourself thinking bad thoughts about someone else?
  • Do you ever think bad thoughts about yourself?
  • Here is an easier question: “Are You Human?”

If your answer to this last question is YES, then you can honestly answer YES to the first two questions.

Bad thoughts are human but, we should not let them control us.

Reason This

Human beings, above all other animals on the planet possess the wonderful ability to reason. In most situations we tend to think before we act. Unlike less intelligent species, before we do almost anything, we imagine possible results and potential pitfalls.

  • We think about how our actions and reactions might help us, harm us, propel us forward or hold us back.
  • We thrive on information and we fill our heads with all kinds of thoughts and ideas about how we should live our lives.
  • We are the superior species on earth because we think a lot, learn a lot, reason a lot and do a lot of incredible things after a good deal of intellectual assessment.

Sometimes because of external influences or internal fears, our thoughts become negative.

Imagine This

We might imagine that someone or something in our lives might harm us in some way or we might think that for some reason, we are not capable of doing something that we need to do in order to succeed. When our thoughts turn to black, our mood will change for the worse and our performance will begin to lag.

During those down periods we will often say or do things that are not characteristic of our usual behavior. In the worst cases, we might even strike out at those around us or withdraw into solitude in order to avoid the source of our trepidations. We might turn away from people who matter to us and people who only want the best for us.

The worst thing about bad thoughts is that they put our lives on hold.

Stopping This 

While we are under the control of bad thoughts, we stop trying, we stop doing and we fail to get on with living. We should never allow a bad thought to stop us from doing something that must be done or something that we really want to do.

Despite the fact that we all want to avoid them, human beings allow bad thoughts to consume them and take charge of their lives every day! Bad thoughts, when allowed to rule are the enemies of optimism, the thieves of enthusiasm and the killers of motivation.

Often our bad thoughts will consume us for extended periods.

Control This

During those times, we will be depressed, impatient, uncommunicative, anxious, or confrontational. Our human, negative energy will bubble to the surface and change our normal demeanour into something that is unpalatable to others.

In essence our internal bad thoughts can ultimately become our external reality as we drive people away from us while becoming sad, lonely spectres of our normal selves.

Do not allow your bad thoughts to control you.

Getting Control

Here are some tips to help you recognize and take control of your own negative energy. You can do all of them, some of them, or just one. The important thing is to do something.

When a bad thought enters your mind:

1. ASK YOURSELF, “WHAT IS THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN?”

If the answer does not include death or physical harm, you will be much more likely to move past it.

2. SETTLE DOWN

Take a deep breath and think about some good things in your life. Tell yourself that you are a good person with a good life and that you can get beyond the current set-back.

3. SAY IT OUT LOUD

You can say it alone behind closed doors, or you can say it to a trusted confidant. Once you have verbalized your thoughts, they become much easier to deal with.

4. TALK TO A FRIEND, A CLOSE RELATIVE, A TRUSTED CO-WORKER OR SOMEONE ELSE WHO WILL LISTEN

You need to hear an alternative point-of-view in order to put things into perspective.

5. SEEK OUT A RESOLUTION

You can work on the problem with another person or you can think of a variety of courses of action and positive resolutions on your own.

6. WRITE IT DOWN

Write down the bad thought and read it over. Then right down all of the possible outcomes of it…both positive and negative. When you see it in writing it will take on a different look.

7. IF IT INVOLVES ANOTHER PERSON, GIVE THEM A BREAK

Think about the fact that nothing good ever comes from negativity and that forgiveness is the antidote to hard feelings.

8. CONFRONT IT HEAD-ON

If you have a bad thought, it has to be given life before it can die a natural death. Face the day to think about it, eliminate it, and move on to more positive thoughts as quickly as you can.

9. FORGIVE YOURSELF

Human beings tend to be hard on themselves. You need to be able to accept that you will make mistakes sometimes and that you are better than you think you are at that moment.)

10. DEAL WITH IT RIGHT AWAY!

Do not allow a bad thought to grow and fester in your mind. If left unfettered a bad thought can grow into a major tragedy or a life-changing trauma before you know it.

Overcoming bad thoughts must be a deliberate, conscious and extraordinarily positive act.

 From now on, when a bad thought enters your mind remember that it must not be allowed to control you. Take time out of your busy day to think about it, eliminate it, and move on to more positive thoughts as quickly as you can.

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——————–
Wayne Kehl is President and CCO at Dynamic Leadership Inc
He is author and behavioral analyst who lectures on leadership and motivation
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Blog | Book

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Gaining Leadership Control: One Simple Thing

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Jonathan Magid

Culture

Most every busy leader longs for some magic wand that will help them simplify the monstrosity that is their life and role.  

  • Wouldn’t it be great if there was one simple thing any leader could do to stimulate a positive team culture, deepen the bonds between teammates, and create a “virtuous circle” of effective group behavior?
  • What if that one simple thing took almost no time and cost absolutely nothing?
  • Wouldn’t it be completely amazing if this one simple thing was something that everybody, everywhere, already knows how to do?

Culture-Building Rituals

Culture: The Driving Force of Every Team

My friend John King, co-author of Tribal Leadership and a founder at CultureSync says it best: “culture eats strategy for lunch.”

You know this from experience:

When a team’s culture lines up with its goals, great results follow naturally. Get out of step, and it’s tough going for everyone.

It’s easy, fun, and engaging to talk about culture. Doing something about it often seems a lot harder. Moreover, when we do take on culture-changing initiatives, they often tend to be big, complex, and… well, ineffective.

Sometimes, the best interventions are actually the simplest.

Rituals:  A Critical Culture-Building Element

Like national or societal cultures, team and organization cultures emerge not only from shared beliefs, but also from the repeated practices or rituals that express and reinforce those beliefs.

Companies and teams often create rituals organically and unconsciously. Think of a routine performance management practice as an example.

The people, teams, and systems that create these rituals often don’t even recognize the powerful impact these have on the organization-wide culture.

These unconsciously-created rituals aren’t necessarily bad or damaging. In fact, many are excellent. The point is that they may not be created with a specific intent, and therefore their consequences are largely unintended.

The most powerfully effective leaders create rituals consciously.

[Kristin Arnold's Extraordinary Team blog covers one here.]

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A Good Example:

So, what is one amazingly simple ritual that any team can put in place and that has a specific, positive, and predictable outcome?  

Start every team meeting with recognition. Just take 3 to 5 minutes at the beginning of each group session and have members of your team thank and recognize others for their shared work.

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The Benefits of a Simple, Consistent Recognition Ritual

I recently worked for a large financial services company where this practice was widespread. Nearly every meeting at this company began with a few minutes during which people simply said “thank you” to a teammate (or two, three, or even more). Sometimes these thanks were given for small gestures and sometimes for heroic efforts.

People thanked and recognized each other not just for what they did, but also for how they did it.

More importantly, they did this consistently, day-in and day-out. The ritual made it real, an integral part of the way we did things.

I’ve taken this practice to a new organization and started it with a cross-functional team.

  • The practice is simple
  • It costs nothing
  • It fosters a team culture in which people experience both being valued and valuing the effort and bearing of others

And in just a few short weeks, it’s spreading on its own.

When you first start this practice, it might feel a bit like a middle-school dance: you might have some uncomfortable silence during which people wait for someone else to go first. This is your opportunity to jump in and just thank someone. The only secret here is to be authentic  and specific as Steven Demaio wrote about in this HBR blog in 2009, and then to invite others to share.

It’s a good practice to keep a running list of things to recognize people for so you won’t forget between gatherings.

On Thanks and Thanksgiving

It won’t be long before teammates jump at the chance to thank others for their efforts. Other teammates will be drawn naturally to participate – not only as “recognizers,” but also in an effort to be recognized.

This is the key to the virtuous circle.

People want to give thanks, and they also want to do the kinds of things that will gain them the authentic thanks of their teammates. Good feelings beget good actions.

Formal recognition programs are useful and important. Great leaders have always understood that while there’s an important place for formal recognition, frequent, authentic thanks are essential to effective teamwork.

Make recognition a regular part of all your meetings and you too will see the power of this simple, no-cost ritual.

What culture-building rituals are in place where you work? How are you using them? What are one or two positive rituals you’d like to see take hold in other organizations? Most important, who can you call right now to say, “thank you?”

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Jonathan Magid is Training & Organizational Development at Lennox International
He helps with Change Leadership, Executive Development, and Organization Design
Email | LinkedIn |  Web |  Blog | Book

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Leaders and Technology: Top 10 Essentials

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Hassan Bawab

Technology

Leaders MUST make the most of the tools at their disposal to lead effectively. As a leader it is your responsibility to lead in an effective and efficient way.

Otherwise, you will find your people peddling through their days with an increasingly weighty payload. Yuck…

Leading Today’s Technology

Regardless of whether you are tech savvy, or scared to turn your computer on, it is worth familiarizing yourself with these modern technologies in order to be the best possible leader you can be. Modern technologies can make you more efficient and improve the quality of your business’ communication to the people that you lead.

Here are some important outlets for improving the conversations with your customers and co-workers:

1. Interactive Websites

Obviously, websites are an important communication tool.  However, one of the most important yet overlooked areas on a website is the interactive part. This includes the contact page and recently asked questions.  These elements give your viewer the opportunity to get to know your company better and clear up any questions they may have.

 2. E-mail Out-of-the Office Notifications

Your clients and co-workers should be able to reach you quickly through email. If for any reason, you are unavailable for a day or more, make sure to set up an auto-response message letting people know your response will be delayed. This little effort will help clarify any potential delays that may arise in your absence and set appropriate expectations from people who have reached out to you.

 3. CRM Software

Customer relationship management (CRM) software can help you manage customer relationships better with important data-gathering tools. These tools helps you organize your communication and save time. The data will be effective in leading the your team because it has all the important information needed to help accomplish team and organizational objectives.

 4. Social Media Profiles

Make a professional social media profile for yourself and your business. This opens the door for them to “like” or comment on your company in a genuine, authentic way. Again, make sure to respond to comments in a timely manner, so that people know they have reached you.

 5. Unified Message:

Unify communication efforts so that you can keep track of who you have been in contact with before and who is a new client. The more organized you are, the more time and stress it will save you, and the more on top of things you will appear to be to your customers.

 When using technology to communicate, focus on the following:

6. Manage and Analyze Data:

Know your customers’ preferences by looking at your previous data. Use this data to map trends and grow/shape your business. Also use it effectively as part of your overall communication to make sure your team is on the same page and moving in the same direction at the same speed.

7. Marketing based on Insight:

 Use customer data to more effectively target your marketing. By understanding and predicting customer motivations, you can deliver highly personalized marketing. This will keep wasteful and speculative initiatives down and help your team move with efficiency.

8. Streamline Marketing:

 Automate your business practices based on customer responses. This will cut time and costs while still generating sophisticated campaigns. Your team will be encouraged when they know that a strong system is in place that helps then achieve their personal and professional objectives.

9. Customer Self-service:

 Help customers interact with your business when and how they want. Create opportunities for customers to find answers to their questions independently. Be sure to provide a means to get in contact with the company at any point along the way.

10. Trained Workforce:

Train your staff to embrace new ways of improving customer treatment by providing tools to deliver better service. Provide them with technologies which speed collaboration and ease daily tasks. When done right, these steps will go a long way in building and maintaining morale and positive reinforcement.

Bridging the Gaps

These are just some ways that new technology can help bridge the gap between you and your customers. Not only will these strategies make your company more efficient, they will also help build a strong feeling of loyalty among your customers.

Technology has the ability to enhance your quality of service, save time, give a competitive advantage, improve relationships with customers and increase profits.

As a business leader, it is imperative to use every tool at your disposal to equip yourself and your team. Not only will these tools help you be a better leader, but they will increase the productivity and morale in your workplace. A workplace where people can communicate effectively will always be the best place to grow as a leader and to help others grow personally and professionally.

Now as yourself these questions:

  1. Which of these tools do I already use and how can I use them more effectively?
  2. Which of these tools do I not use and how can I implement them?
  3. How can I lead more effectively through better communication?
  4. If I am unfamiliar with these tools who can teach me/ show me how to use them?

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——————–
Hassan Bawab is the founder and CEO of Magic Logix
He is a leader in the interactive digital marketing world
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Profile

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Filed under: EntrepreLeadership, Future Leadership Issues, Sales Leadership, Technology & Leadership | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

The Surprising Results of Servant Leadership

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Lee Ellis

Lee Ellis Book Signing

As a POW in Vietnam, I was typically the junior ranking and youngest person in my cell block. This meant that I was always a follower and never a formal leader. I used to think that this meant that I didn’t have influence.  

But in retrospect, I see that I did have influence. And one way it came was through being a joyful doer.

Gettin’ Busy

The truth is that I felt better when I was involved in the action so I stepped forward to do whatever needed to be done—clean the dirty latrine, sweep the floor, or deliver a very important message under dangerous circumstances. The lesson I learned was that serving and doing all the little things that others might avoid brings respect and ultimately influence.

And, this type of servant leadership made an impact after I returned to continue my full-time military career.

Even though I was behind my peers after being away, this leadership tactic was a primary factor in making up lost time and being promoted to a senior officer.

“The lesson I learned was that serving and doing all the little things that others might avoid brings respect and ultimately influence.”

Young and Hungry to Serve

I had not thought about this lately until last week while interacting with a group of college students (Air Force ROTC cadets) in San Antonio at the Air Education and Training Command’s 2012 Symposium. The Air Force Association (AFA), cohost for this event, had invited a number of Air Force ROTC Cadets – all college students to assist with security and logistics at the Exposition in the convention center.

Since I was operating out of the AFA booth, my host volunteered these impressive young folks to help in any way I needed.

They were all bright and impressive young folks and it was soon obvious why they were chosen to attend this high-level event as guests of AFA and the Air Force.  The senior-ranking cadet took charge and managed the most important job of door security, insuring a regular rotation of sentries from 6:30 AM until 7:00 PM.  Other cadets helped me with the book signing by carting in books, stuffing bookmarks, collecting money, and scanning credit cards.

“Watching them carefully for a day and a half, I saw that even in this elite group, some stood out above their peers due to their willingness to get involved and commit totally to the task at hand.”

Rising to the Top

Watching them and listening to them carefully for a day and a half, I realized that even in this elite group, some stood out above their peers due to their willingness to get involved and commit totally to the task at hand.

All the students were sharp and helpful, but the ones that I’ll remember best are those who stepped forward first and then remained eagerly engaged until the job was done.

They won my heart and gained my highest respect—and that is powerful influence.

I appreciate the opportunity to be reminded of this lesson—that joyfully serving others is a powerful way to gain influence—even when you are young and have no position or formal power. It’s also a reminder that we are never too old or too important to learn lessons about influence.  After all, influence is what leadership is all about.

Regardless of your age or level of influence, how does this story impact your day-to-day work? With pure motives, what acts of service can you do today that will make far-reaching impact in the future? The only way to find out is to just do it. And if you have a servant leadership story, share it in the comments section below. I would love to hear your story!

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Leading With Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton

Lee Ellis is founder and president of Leadership Freedom LLC and FreedomStar Media.
He is a leadership consultant, keynote speaker, and author in the areas of teambuilding, executive development, and assessments
Email | LinkedIn | Web | Blog | Book | Facebook | Twitter

His latest book is called Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton.

Image Sources: leadingwithhonor.com

Filed under: Coaching Corner, Future Leadership Issues, Leadership Lessons Learned, Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Servant Leadership | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

How Important Are Informal Leaders?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Cheryl Dilley

Informal Leaders

There are many articles out there asking questions like:  Are great leaders born or bred? And there are many answers to this question.

I like this quote as an answer:

“Leaders born to be bred.”

Hierarchy or Not

Most of us realize that leadership does not have to come from the top in order to be effective.  In my 20 years working at a high tech global company,  I can attest that I have seen numerous informal leaders in every layer of the organization.

Leadership doesn’t always come from formally appointed leaders or managers. Vision is driven from above, but the implementation happens below.

And without good leadership at every level, success would not be achievable.

Informal Leadership

One of the best examples of informal leadership that I’ve witnessed actually comes from Pat, my Administrative Assistant of 5 years.  (Actually a title like “Right Hand Woman” or “Chief of Staff” may be a more appropriate title for her.)

Pat isn’t the lead admin in our organization, but she regularly steps up to lead everything from the monthly birthday celebrations to a site wide event focused on women.  I’d like to share examples where Pat stepped up and not only helped herself and her peers, but helped hundreds of women gain something either personally or professionally.

Here’s How It’s Done

Pat took charge of the Council of Administrative Assistants for our site when no one else would step up.  She turned the meetings from vent sessions to productive meetings not because someone told her to but because she saw the need.

One of the outcomes was setting up an Education Group focused on the development of Administrative Assistants.  Her first win was persuading me to train the community how to write their own accomplishments for their Annual Performance Reviews.

Most felt the daily, menial tasks didn’t have much impact.

But after 4 hours of sitting in a classroom with me and another senior leader, we had 80 motivated women, proud of what the contributed to their group and the company.

This was done out of one idea from an informal leader.

To Infinity and Beyond

Once Pat saw the impact, she was inspired to go broader.  I had given her a book I had randomly picked up at a ASTD Conference that greatly inspired me: Pitch Like a Girl by Ronna Lichtenberg.  She loved the book so much that when ideas were needed for an educational event, she wrote the author and asked if she would speak.  She said yes!

I didn’t help Pat initiate the contact with Ronna, she felt inspired and drew on her own courage to reach out. What could have been the worst outcome?  Ronna could have told her no and she would continue her search.  Not only did she bring Ronna onsite to talk to the admin community, but the senior women leaders had lunch with Ronna and all of the women onsite were invited to listen to her wonderful words of wisdom.

If that wasn’t outdoing herself from the Brag training and Ms Lichtenberg, this year, Pat convinced our Chairman of the Board to come to our site.

This time she not only invited the admins, but their managers.

It was an amazingly motivational day that still resides in the memories of all who attended.  Most employees, no matter how long they’ve worked at a company don’t get the opportunity to meet the senior leaders let alone the Chairman of the Board of Directors and here from the top what they contribute and how they can grow and develop.

Reaching with Vision

Who sparked Pat’s leadership and courage?  She did.  As her manager, I encouraged and didn’t get in her way but I provided Pat the opportunity to lead where she felt she could and where she saw the need.  No one told her “no” or it’s not your job.

Imagine what inspirational innovation would spark if we allowed more informal leaders to step up and do something wonderful?  As a leader, how do you empower informal leaders?

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Cheryl Dilley is a Program Director at Intel Corporation
She is a transformation leader, coach, and program strategist
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Image Sources:  fatherlovesaj.com

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