Effective Leadership Principles

While effective leadership is hard to define, everyone recognizes the failure when it is not present. How many wonderful causes have failed because the leader was just not equipped for the job? What makes the effective leader? While something must be said for innate ability, some key skills must be present for the leader to succeed.

• Lead by example.Although this adage had been quoted many times, its appropriateness is not debatable. A real leader is someone who is active in his influence on those who are following him. No one appreciates someone who takes this approach; do as I say do, not as I do. As a leader you are to set the pace.
• Know your strengths and weaknesses. Do not be so naïve to think that you have no weaknesses. Those who follow you know your weaknesses all too well, and have a clear opinion about how good you are as a leader. Make yourself accountable to someone you trust who will speak the truth to you without fear of reprisal.
• Understand where your strengths lie.Ever leader should realize that his greatest strength lies with empowered followers. The most ineffective leader is one who tries to do everything himself, and/or micromanages those around him. Your first job is to surround yourself with champions. Choose bright, able people who have a positive attitude and a good work ethic. Then, begin to train them to do your job. Pour yourself into them, teach and mentor them. Happy is the day when you learn that you can only do so much, but if you train ten people, who know what you know, you can do ten times as much.
• Develop a leadership mentality. Nothing speaks louder that a leader is unqualified than paranoia. Do not be afraid to delegate and trust those who work around you. Managers, who fear they will be replaced, usually will be, because their fear causes them to fail. A real leader always works as though he owns the company, preparing others to lead, helping others to learn, and mentoring his champions to take over if need be. A leader does not take the credit for success. Give the credit to your team members. Remember that success is measured, not by what you think about yourself, but by what others think, and how much they value you. You have no idea how far reaching words of praise, on the lips of others, will take you. Careers are built, not on solo performances, but on how well you can lead and work with a team. Do not be afraid to take the blame for team failures. A real leader shields others from blame and never points the finger at someone else. The most frustrating thing about people in today’s workplace is the lack of anyone willing to take  responsibility. As a leader, step up to the plate and take responsibility. Does that mean that as a leader you do not hold your team members accountable? As a manager you should always give feedback. This is true of successes and failures. After every milestone, you should sit down with the team as a whole and review the project. Do not allow the blame game, even in the group meeting. In front of your team, either accept the blame for the failure, or thank them for the success. Then, always hold private, one-on-one meetings with each member, praising their strengths, and talking about their weaknesses. Offer additional training, and express your confidence in their abilities to succeed.
• Develop listening skills. As a leader, remember that those who work with you are people, with problems and issues outside of the workplace. You are the guardian of their time and can have tremendous impact on their home life. Allowing them some flexibility will go a long way towards your success as a manager. Learn to listen, and create an environment in which they can come to you with problems, both work issues and life problems, and give them a chance to share those with you. You should move swiftly to fix any work problems, and while you may not be able to fix the home issues, at least you can empathize and may offer advice.

In many ways, you affect the atmosphere of the workplace. People perform better in a stress-free work environment. Unreasonable demands on time, micromanaging and lack of trust, and failure to deal with interpersonal conflicts within the group will create friction and stress, and will have long term negative effects. As a manager you should always be aware of these issues and work to create an atmosphere where people want to come to work.
Conclusion
Success as a manager is measured in more ways than just the bottom line. If you show your employees that you care for them, they will be motivated less by money, and more by feelings of being valued, empowered, and happy. Of course, one of your major duties is to see they are taken care of financially. Value and appreciation will go a long way in making your employees happy, and will reflect back on you in many ways as a manager.

By Dr M Smith