Over the holidays I read “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. I was curious about the man who had left such a legacy, a man so many people were talking about especially with his recent death, and a man who had left behind such amazing products that I love like the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone. 

After reading this gripping account of Steve Job’s life I was struck by some of the leadership lessons one could gain by his incredible life:

1. Follow Your Passion - Steve Jobs’ career always followed a trajectory of bringing together technology and creativity. Everything he created that was incredibly genius always came back to those two core strengths and passions. As a leader it is important to focus on what you are truly passionate about as well as what you are the best at which is what Jobs did at this nexus of creativity and technology.

2. Surround Yourself with A Players - Although Steve Jobs was tough on his employees, he always strived to only have the A players on his team. When he was creating the first Mac he constantly was focused on bringing the best talent to the team in order to make the best product. He knew that A players wanted to work with A players and that it would draw more and more talented people to his company.

3.  Focus and Keep it Simple - When Steve Jobs returned to Apple the second time he turned around a company that was struggling. He recognized that a truly successful company has to focus on its top strengths and let everything else go. He cut down on product lines, service offerings, and got back to the simple basics - being best at bringing technology and creativity together. He knew what to say yes to and what to say no and that is a key strength of a leader.

4.  Think Outside the Box - Steve Jobs key strength as a leader was his innovation, ability to think differently, see possibilities that others could not, and encourage those who worked for him to also think outside the box. He would routinely criticize other leaders and companies who were not innovating and he really lived by the theory of living each day as if it were his last. It allowed him to take risks and innovate in a way that created lasting value for so many.

5. Think as an Integrated Whole - instead of structuring his organization into silos he focused on really integrating his divisions of the company to ensure speed, flexibility, and products that were thought through from end to end. This differentiated Apple’s products and services - for example being able to create the iPod and iTunes which worked together so seamlessly.

Steve Jobs left an enduring legacy behind. One that is innovative, creative, forward thinking, and tirelessly perfectionistic. He was a legend in so many ways and this biography does a good job of portraying the man and the legend.

Kouzes and Posner laid out very practical and logical research on what are the five key practices for exemplary leadership. They say that everyone can be a leader, that people can be taught these skills and I agree with that. Some people may have some these qualities innately, but overall leadership comes with knowing yourself, standing up for what you believe in and taking the risks to get there. It is mainly about knowing yourself and building strong relationships with people around you as you cannot be an effective leader a community around you.

Ultimately the authors say that leadership is not just an affair of the head, but it really is an affair of the heart. It is really getting to find something that you love and going after it, pursuing it, finding opportunities all around you, and stretching to be the best possible leader that you can be.

So this holiday season are you opening your heart? Are you doing what you are most passionate about? Are you investing in your relationships and building community around you? The more you practice these skills the more you are investing in being the strongest leader that you can be.

Happy Holidays to the leader in all of you!

In “The Leadership Challenge” by Kouzes and Posner the fifth practice of exemplary leadership is to Encourage the Heart. Great leaders really bring people together, recognize contributions and celebrate community and relationship building.

Great leaders expect the best from their people and encourage them to step into their own. They also recognize people for their work and go out of their way to ensure that they provide reward and recognition that truly motivates that particular person. They tailor recognition to what that person would like because they take the time to get to know their people. They invest in building strong relationships with their teams and therefore can reward them with what that the employee will truly value.

Good leaders also invest in celebrations. They take the time to create rituals and events which honor progress and special events. They recognize that these are not frivolous events but truly create a spirit of community and demonstrate that they are personally involved.

The leaders recognize that they can work together, but if they can also have fun together then people will bond even more. The more the leader is involved in these celebrations the more that employees will feel engaged with the leader and truly feel connected to him/her. 

A great leader encourages the heart of the organization, of the people in the organization, of him/herself be involved in what is going on day to day. Often organizations or leaders don’t focus on the heart and therefore miss the connection. Kouzes and Posner, based upon their research, say otherwise. It is important to focus on the people, getting to know them, and building strong community as this will support a thriving work environment.

Do you invest in the heart of your organization and your people? If not, what can you do especially during this holiday season to change that?

As I continue to review “The Leadership Challenge” I will now discuss the fourth practice of exemplary leaders as outlined by the authors Kouzes and Posner: Enable Others to Act. As a leader a really important practice is developing your people and enabling them to learn under you, take chances, and eventually become a leader as well. 

Building trust as a leader is a key component of enabling others to act. It shows that you can let go of control, allow your employees to take some risks and develop their own talents, and thrive in your organization. As a leader you can show this trust by enabling increased collaboration among your team, encourage communication and team building, and enhance interactions by supporting in person meetings/events, etc. 

Leaders show that they can be trusted by leading by example by opening up first, and showing they support others. At the end of the day leaders have more power by giving power up to others.

The second way that leaders can enable others to act is to strengthen others by increasing their self-confidence through an enhancement of competence. Leaders can also strengthen others by giving them choices on how to do things, holding them accountable, and allowing them to determine for themselves the right course of action. Exemplary leaders take time to teach and coach their employees to eventually be leaders as well.

An old boss of mine used to tell me that I should always be developing the next person to take over my job. That stuck with me because it reminded me to invest in my team and build them up while it also encouraged me to build my skills so that I could move up to the next level as well.

What are you doing these days to enable others to act? Are you coaching and teaching your employees? Are you trusting them to take steps and build their skills? Are you giving them the freedom to fail and learn from their mistakes? If not what can you starting doing to enable others to act?