|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Life on our planet flourishes through feedback. If life forms don't develop feedback loops and get good information about how well they are interacting with their world, the world eventually kills them.
This holds true with leaders. Leaders must get feedback as to how they're doing -- otherwise they won't be leaders for long.
One kind of feedback is results. After all, leaders do nothing more important than get results. You should understand the kinds of results you're getting, if they are the right results, and if you are getting them in the right ways.
There is another kind of measurement that is as important, and sometimes more important, than results. It's a measurement most leaders overlook. That measurement has to do not with you but with the people you're leading.
To explain what that measurement is, I'll first describe a fundamental concept of how one goes about leading people to achieve results.
There's a crucial difference between doing a task and taking leadership of that task that makes a world of difference in the task's accomplishment.
For instance, if one is a floor sweeper, doesn't one best accomplish one's task not simply by doing floor sweeping but by taking leadership of floor sweeping?
Such leadership might entail:
-- taking the initiative to order and manage supplies,
-- evaluating the job results and raising those results to ever higher levels,
-- having floor sweeping be an integral part of the general cleaning policy,
-- hiring, training, developing other floor sweepers,
-- instilling a "floor sweeping esprit"that can be manifested in training, special uniforms and insignias , behavior, etc.
-- setting floor sweeping strategy and goals.
Otherwise, in a "doing" mode, one simply pushes a broom.
You may say, "Listen, Brent, a job is a job is a job. This leadership thing is making too much of not much!"
Could be. But my point is that applying leadership to a task changes the expectations of the task. It even changes the task itself. Think of it, when we ourselves are challenged to lead and not simply do, our world is, I submit, changed.
Whenever you need to lead people to accomplish a task, challenge them not to do that task but to take leadership of that task.
This gets back to the key measurement of your leadership. Your leadership should best be measured not by your leadership but by the leadership of the people you lead.
Now, in becoming leaders, they can't simply do what they want. They must come to an agreement with you as to what leadership actions they will take. You can veto any of their proposed actions. However, use the veto sparingly. Cultivate your confidence and their confidence in their leadership.
When you evaluate the effectiveness of your leadership by the feedback loop connected to their leadership, you are assessing your world as it should be, and great results will follow.
2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com
The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com
There is too much learning out there that we earn... Read More
Go to any educational institution, look at airport bookshelves, shopping... Read More
It's a common occurrence, a CEO leads a company to... Read More
SEE INTO THE FUTURE CREATIVELY AND PRACTICALITY: Planning day-to-day is... Read More
An organization of any size, from the family to the... Read More
Most of us find ourselves in a position to help... Read More
"Leaders are born, not made." Right? Let me ask you... Read More
What do the major generals who are leading the war... Read More
What is more important, leadership or teamwork? Leadership or consensus... Read More
When you first meet someone who is blind, deaf, or... Read More
I had the good fortune (or misfortune depending on your... Read More
Relationships are constantly facing crisis. Everywhere we look people are... Read More
Master The Five Key Facets of High Performance LeadershipMany people... Read More
The Leadership ChallengeLeaders in today's society are faced with an... Read More
He grew up in Brooklyn, the son of an ex-con... Read More
The topic of leadership has been and continues to be... Read More
Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most remarkable men in... Read More
Making any decision without having all of the information and... Read More
"The miracle power that elevates the few is to be... Read More
In Part 1, I said that leaders who can't have... Read More
Side conversations ruin meetings by destroying focus and fragmenting participation.Approach... Read More
Charlotte decides to do good. Charlotte is a highly motivated... Read More
"The payoff for the ethical person is a reputation for... Read More
____________________________________________"There's only one thing more contagious than a good attitude... Read More
It's been said many times that true leadership is measured... Read More
"You do not merely want to be considered just the... Read More
What is true Leadership.Is leadership something we are born with... Read More
"Enflamed with the study of learning and the admiration of... Read More
This article was published in the Nov. 2003 edition of... Read More
Side conversations ruin meetings by destroying focus and fragmenting participation.Approach... Read More
At one point or another, we have all been either... Read More
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our... Read More
It is often much harder for women to get promoted... Read More
Great leadership is timeless, always in vogue. The world has... Read More
STEPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LEADER: 1. Develop a master... Read More
By definition a leaders leads a team to take action... Read More
Those that have successfully made the transition from manager to... Read More
... Read More
Why is it that we often wait until we have... Read More
1. The West Point Way of Leadership.GREAT book by a... Read More
I am fascinated by problems. I like to think of... Read More
I had the good fortune (or misfortune depending on your... Read More
A number of years ago we created a graphic logo... Read More
Purpose: Learn immediately if you are fostering leadership or ignoring... Read More
Personal attacks hurt people, mar communication, and end creativity. If... Read More
Jonathan was drunk multiple times before ever completing elementary school;... Read More
One of my favorite memories growing up as a child... Read More
Leaders do nothing more important than get results. But you... Read More
The Army defines seven values that soldiers should strive to... Read More
I was invited to do a Leadership workshop at a... Read More
Leadership |