5 Enemies to Successful Leadership
May 1, 2008
Leadership is the art of getting others to willingly do the jobs that must be done. The shocking news to many managers is the old days of “demanding and getting” style of management has long passed. Employees have changed. They want to be led, not managed. Managers must change, too. They must see their role in a different light.
There are five enemies to successful leadership:
1. Selfishness - - Self-centeredness is one of the greatest obstacles to reaching total success as a leader. We focus on what we want and don’t consider the needs and wants of others. The old adage, “If I don’t look out for #1, who will?” seems to be the one most applied in our society today. We have a bad case of I-tis.
To get beyond this giant hurdle of selfishness, we must focus on the law of reciprocity: If you give, you get. If you widen your scope to look beyond your own desires and help others get what they want, chances are they will offer a helping hand in return.
2. Power struggles — The struggle for position and power joins selfishness among the top enemies to effective leadership. Leaders are ones who gain respect through serving rather than by demanding. To lead, we must learn to serve.
fers.
3. Poor communication — Isn’t it amazing how poor communication always seems to be a primary cause of any problem? Poor communication is a major enemy to effective leadership. In every form of communication, we often use the wrong words, or use the wrong tone of voice, or our body sends a different message than our mouth dispenses. We just don’t communicate well. And, as a result, our communication gets misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misplaced.
Communication is talking, listening, sharing. The tongue is a powerful tool that can either send clear or clogged messages in kind or cutting words.
4. Behavior — How often have we seen a leader “shoot himself in the foot” by some stupid outburst or ridiculous act? Failure to keep emotions under control has cost many potential leaders the opportunity to advance their careers. Effective leaders learn to lead but also let go. They don’t try to govern everything in their domain. We need to know the “hot button” remarks that ignite our emotions and send us into orbit. We need to know when to take hands off and delegate to others. It’s been said repeatedly, and the statement remains true … leaders lead by example.
5. Jealousy — Although jealousy and greed play a large part in power struggles, this enemy to effective leadership must be addressed separately. We become envious of the promotion that someone else got; envious of a better lifestyle, a better car, a better house, more money. Some call it human nature. I call it a cancer. Envy and jealousy cause many people to become discontent in their jobs.
Which ones are your enemies? Leadership is not dictating, it’s serving.
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Gene Swindell is President of Creative Concepts International, Inc., in Atlanta, GA. He specializes in customized leadership, team building and customer service training programs. www.geneswindell.com
Call: 770-926-1395.
