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Whos Flying The Plane
Five Ways to Become a Better Boss
Empowered Decision Making
Take Control of Your Creative Power and Become a Leader
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Here are a few things to ponder on about leadership:
1. General
Douglas MacArthur’s Leadership Principles:
MacArthur developed a list of questions to guide him in his
leadership duties. These principles can be applied to any leadership
situation.
Do I heckle my subordinates or strengthen and encourage them?
Do I use moral courage in getting rid of subordinates who have proven
themselves beyond doubt to be unfit?
Have I done all in my power by encouragement, incentive and spur to
salvage the weak and erring?
Do I know by NAME and CHARACTER a maximum number of subordinates for
whom I am responsible? Do I know them intimately?
Am I thoroughly familiar with the technique, necessities, objectives and
administration of my job?
Do I lose my temper at individuals?
Do I act in such a way as to make my subordinates WANT to follow me?
Do I delegate tasks that should be mine?
Do I arrogate everything to myself and delegate nothing?
Do I develop my subordinates by placing on each one as much
responsibility as he can stand?
Am I interested in the personal welfare of each of my subordinates, as
if he were a member of my family?
Have I the calmness of voice and manner to inspire confidence, or am I
inclined to irascibility and excitability?
Am I a constant example to my subordinates in character, dress,
deportment and courtesy?
Am I inclined to be nice to my superiors and mean to my subordinates?
Is my door open to my subordinates?
Do I think more of POSITION than JOB?
Do I correct a subordinate in front of others?
Source: The West Point Way of Leadership by Col. Larry R. Donnithorne
2. Doing things differently:
Anyone can become a leader. All the characteristics and traits of
leadership can be acquired through learning and practice.
Leadership is not synonymous with assertiveness, despotic behaviour or
managerial position.
Assertiveness is a good quality only if it can be backed up by respect.
Respect stems from various sources as outlined lower down on this page.
Management is about doing things efficiently. Leadership is about doing
things differently, in new ways, in better ways. Leadership is about
lateral thinking, being innovative and creative.
Leadership is not limited to the top echelon in an organisation. Any
person in an organisation, who can differentiate him or her self by
being inventive, can be a leader. If you display inventiveness, others
will follow your direction naturally out of respect.
Leadership does not follow lines of authority. More often than not,
creativity stems from the floor level nearest to the processes and
problems. Leadership is therefore by no means limited to the formal
structure of supervisory and managerial positions.
The role of leadership can be earned in many ways, small or big. For
instance, you can display leadership and earn respect from others in the
following ways:
Expert or superior knowledge about a subject or something
Excellence in execution of tasks
Positive attitude, high morale
High ethical values and codes of conduct
Good human relations
Streamlining paper work, production, methods, your use of time
Being innovative or creative
Innovativeness usually results in bigger leaps with more benefits and
profits. It can therefore be most profitable for an employer to
cultivate, encourage and support the development of creativity and risk
taking in all employees.
Therefore, the most important quality to develop and the fastest way in
order to become a leader, is through creativity.
3. Other needed characteristics:
3.1 Leadership traits:
You will also have to foster the following traits to retain respect:
Loyalty
Willingness to stand out, differentiate yourself, risk being rejected by
being different.
Determination and perseverance to push through your own ideas.
Improvement drive - desire to find better ways of doing things,
curiosity.
Questioning mind - not accepting authority, willingness to challenge the
status quo.
Self-belief - believing that you can think for yourself and devise a
better way.
Thick skin - being able to withstand criticism and recover from
setbacks.
Learning from mistakes - being prepared to try things to find what
works.
Trustworthiness - keeping your word, being honest.
Delivering on promises - like being trustworthy, you deliver what you
promise.
Treating people with respect and fairness.
Not deliberately harming others.
Dedication to improving the lot of those you represent.
Management skills - the ability to get things done efficiently.
Strong influence skills
The ability to convey a compelling vision of the future.
These characteristics can be either classified under ethics or
managerial skills.
How do these characteristics compare with entrepreneurial traits?
3.2 The psychological traits of entrepreneurs:
Desire to perform
Drive, determination and energy
Goal orientation
Time conscious
Self-motivated
Self-control
Can make decisions in situations of lack of information or uncertainty
Take calculated risks
Positive self-image
Creative and innovative capabilities (imaginative and real)
High ethical standards about integrity and trustworthiness
Intelligence
Individualistic
More task than human oriented
Flourish on feedback
Take initiative and responsibility for their actions
Objective and optimistic
Profit is a measure of success
4. Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code of Ethics:
1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take
unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant
ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal
habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation’s laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.
Author: Pierre du Plessis |
