Are you a leader?
Leadership skills can be learned and improved with practice.
Would you like to learn better leadership skills?
To be a leader, requires that people follow you.
There is a concept of “first follower” of which every leader needs to be aware.
First followers are the first people to accept an idea.
They often help turn an individual with a unique idea into a leader for others to follow as well.
As a side note, a good leader also knows when to follow.
Leadership is different than management.
You don’t manage people; you manage processes.
A manager may be a leader, but a leader need not be a manager.
Leadership is not title-specific.
Leadership can come from anyone within an organization.
As leaders, one of our responsibilities is to ensure that everyone in our organization can be heard.
We cannot do this with an open door policy.
That is not leadership – it is a passive approach and no one will walk through our door.
True leadership is dynamic and proactive.
Leaders seek out their personnel where they are and are not waiting for them to come to us.
Leadership is also not about problem solving.
A leader should be like a lifeguard.
If a lifeguard is making too many rescues, they are not doing their job.
So too with leaders.
Our value as leaders is in anticipation more than in reaction.
One final thought, and this comes from the Boy Scout of America; leaders are prepared.
Preparedness empowers leaders to respond to situations with a plan, and to not merely react to circumstances.
Leaders are never victims; we are always accountable.
What do you think?
Are you a leader?
