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Art of Leadership Blog

Leadership Qualities: Courage

3/30/2011

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“Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.” - Eddie Rickenbacker

John Maxwell, in his book “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader” says courage is one of those key traits and that one thing in common with all leaders is the willingness to take a risk. He says some of the following traits make up courage:

-Courage begins with an inward battle - we fight ourselves and our own fears and courage is when we feel the fear and do it anyways (I LOVE that saying by the way!)
-Courage is making things right, not just smoothing things over - true leaders stand up for something. They have good people skills, but don’t appease people when the situation requires it of them. Their colors are shown when a situation is challenging or controversial for that is when true leaders step up.
-Courage in a leader inspires commitment from followers - a true leaders compels people to do the right thing and truly want to be courageous themselves.
-Your life expands in proportion to your courage - as you begin to take risks you see your life become richer, more nuanced, and with more color. It opens doors and makes the future that much better.

Courage is a true measure of a leader because everyone experiences fear and doubts and worries, but true leaders are ones who are able to experience that fear and step through it to get through to the other side. For the other side is often SO much better than where you started and it is where your power lies. What is one courageous act you can take today?
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Leadership Qualities: Relationships

3/23/2011

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“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” - Theodore Roosevelt

I love this quote from Theodore Roosevelt as I truly believe the greatest trait of a leader is his ability to relate with people and truly empathize with who they are and what they are going through. John Maxwell, in his book “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of Leader” includes relationships as one of those traits. He says, “People truly do want to go along with people they can get along with.”

He says there are 3 ways to cultivate good relationships as a leader:

-Understand People - truly understand how people think and feel, what are underlying factors that relate to all humans (wanting to feel special, success, hope, direction, and encouraged), and how to relate to their unique needs
-Love People - truly empathize with people and find the best in them
-Help People - people respect a leader who keeps their interests in mind

To me relationships mean building character, understanding others, truly getting into their heart and mind which allows you to empathize with them and truly learn how to give. Giving is the essence of it all. When other people feel you are genuinely concerned about them and care about them then they will go to the end of the earth for you. 

As a leader do you invest in your people? How can you understand them, love them, or help them more? How can you make your relationships stronger?
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Difference between a Manager and a Leader

3/16/2011

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Abraham Zaleznik in an article from the Harvard Business Review in the early 90‘s describes the difference between a manager and a leader in many ways. He describes the characteristics of a manager as they:

-Like to maintain existing systems, relationships, and processes
-Tend to mediate, negotiate, and balance opposing viewpoints
-Like to work with others, but keep a low level of emotional involvement
 -Like structure and are survival oriented when it comes to taking risk

The characteristics of a leader from Zaleznik’s point of view are:

-Adopt a personal and active attitude towards goals by evoking images, moods and expectations of the direction a business could take
-Are risk takers and idea generators
-Relate in more intuitive and empathetic ways - get involved in thinking through how things affect people
-Are described with adjectives rich in emotional content
-They develop through personal mastery, which impels an individual to struggle for psychological and social change
-Are more like artists, scientists, and other creative thinkers than like managers

These descriptors are fascinating to me as it relates that managers are great at keeping the status quo - making current systems, processes, and structures as efficient, effective, and productive as possible. Leaders on the other hand have gone through struggles, have come into their own, and are willing to take the risks and push the envelope in a way that is visionary, intuitive, and innovative. They also develop intense relationships with others that can be volatile, which in some ways allows them to be more empathetic.

In my view leaders have a lot of personal strength first because they often go through struggle to become a “twice born” as Zaleznik calls it and therefore have the internal fortitude to push the envelope as they become a leader not only in their own lives, but for others.

With these descriptions are you more of a manager or a leader? What traits most define you when dealing with others or in your work life? If you aspire to be a leader how can you integrate more of the leadership qualities into your life?
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Seth Godin’s “Tribes” 2

3/9/2011

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Godin says that leadership is scarce because people are usually unwilling to go through the discomfort of becoming a true leader. That discomfort takes curiosity, willingness to stand up for something that is different from others and a choice to do something about it.

He continues to say that the thing that holds people back is lack of faith. Leaning into a vision and/or a problem actually makes it go away instead of running away from it or not trying.

I agree that faith is an important part of becoming a leader - it is faith in the little hunches that you get that give you an idea or vision, faith to act on those hunches that come to you instead of avoiding them, and faith to let go of things from the past that aren’t working so that you can grab onto the new opportunities that are coming to you. 

I took a huge leap of faith in starting my first business and then in recognizing the hunches that told me I needed to re-brand that business and add other services to it. It was scary and I did avoid it for a long time, but when I finally let go of the past and stepped into the present I realized that it is the only place where I can truly make a difference and truly lead - not just myself, but all of those other people whom I want to serve.

Do you have to step into your leadership potential? Do you have faith to follow your hunches? Do you have faith to follow through on the vision that you have had for a long time or that you just got? What step can you take today to trust in your leadership ability?

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Seth Godin’s “Tribes”

3/2/2011

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Seth Godin’s definition of a tribe is any group of people connected to one another, a leader, and an idea. True leaders are ones who make change, who go out in front and are brave enough to break through the status quo. They are the ones who are bucking the trends, thinking “outside of the box,” and truly standing up for something. Whereas he says managers manage an established process and make it as efficient as possible, leaders create new ideas.

Godin says that leaders communicate and find ways to connect their tribe, allowing them to communicate with each other as well as with the leader. They are unified around a common passion that allows people to understand themselves even better.

A great example in my mind of a leader with a tribe is Jon Stewart. I attended his Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington DC in the fall and he brought together thousands of people who were willing to take a stand to bring sanity and logic back to politics, for using humor to truly take a stand for what they believe in, and use TV as a platform to really make a difference. 

Godin says that leaders have fear, but they are aware of it. Their passion for their cause and feeling that they can make a difference allows them to overcome their fear.

Are you willing to stand up and be a leader? Are you struggling in your organization, in your business, with your ideas because you are hiding from the fear of leading? What will it take for you to take a stand? What is one idea that you are truly passionate about that you can start speaking to others or writing about today to begin to build support around you? Take that step today.
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    Monica Thakrar

    Monica Thakrar has over 18 years experience in business focused mainly on strategy, change management, leadership development, training and coaching resulting in successful implementations of large scale transformation programs.  

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MTI Inc. is a woman-owned small business founded in 2008 | Monica Thakrar, CEO | DUNS #004654409 | NAICS Codes 541611, 541612, 611430 | Classification WOSB 

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