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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Leadership

6) Persuasive-an effective leader does not have to be a salesperson to be able to "rally the troops" regarding the company's mission and goals. And he/she does not have to intimidate employees either. The leader can persuade, rather coerce. People will follow someone that they trust, and a good leader gains that trust by using logic, reason, and..... speaking from his/her heart.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Leadership

4) Tactical-effective leaders pay constant attention to their companies' financial results. They also make sure that their financial staff members are doing the same and are providing sound advice regarding their companies' P&L and balance sheets.

5) Focused- good leaders set priorities based upon the vision and mission of their organizations and the organizations' current position/performance in the industries in which they operate. Successful leaders stick with these priorities until they are done-they avoid getting sidetracked by new initiatives.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Leadership

3) Strategic-successful leaders focus on conducting a "SWOT" analysis"*. This acronym stands for "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats". Once each of these is identified, the leader should make sure that the organization thoroughly analyses each one and formulates a detailed plan to capitalize on the strengths and opportunities, and deal effectively with any weaknesses and threats.

*Society for Human Resource Management

Monday, July 20, 2009

Leadership

Effective leaders need to be passionate about the company's vision, and they should demonstrate this enthusiasm whenever they have the chance. Their enthusiasm should extend to employees, suppliers, customers, the board of directors, and investors. Leaders should demonstrate their commitment to the vision through their words and their actions.....and this should be an on-going commitment, not just for the first 30 days after the vision is established.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Leadership

2) Inspirational-once the company's vision is established, effective leaders need to inspire employees regarding the vision. Now we have all heard what I just wrote many times before (this is not "brain surgery"). The problem is that once the vision is written down and finalized for all to read, many leaders are not passionate enough about the vision and quickly abandon any sincere attempt to "motivate the troops" about the company's vision. These particular leaders think....."OK, we have done the "vision thing", now let's move on to something else.....WRONG DECISION!.....more next time.....

The source for some of this material is an article by William S. Frank.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Leadership

What is a good description of a successful, effective 21st century leader? Over the next several posts, we will briefly review (10) traits that a successful leader should possess:

1) Visionary-good leaders create a vision with the help of many employees from their
organization. To create a vision that motivates your team, you need lots of ideas... so don't try to
do it all by yourself. This is important to remember-people tend to support what they help to
create.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Leadership

Thanks go out to one of my readers for his/her comments concerning my last post: "If I worked at Avon I believe this would be a great approach. But I don't-the more an employer gives today's new generation of workers the more they want for nothing. When the US produced we were a world power. Today's leaders print money, go deeper in debt and tell us to do the exact opposite. Leaders need to lead and be an example. Not wimp out to the wishes of those that work for them."

So, let us talk some more about what a 21st century leader should be doing in these difficult economic times, whether they work in the private sector or in the public sector.....

(Comments from my readers regarding this important subject are welcomed and encouraged).

Thanks for reading. Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July weekend!

And please take a moment to remember those who fought and died to preserve our freedom. During World War II alone, 250,000 brave US soldiers, sailors, and pilots died fighting for our freedom.

In your opinion, which of the following is the most effective way to recognize an employee for a significant accomplishment at work?