Six important managerial skills for successful leadership

A mark of a good leader is to be able to provide consistent motivation to his team encouraging them to attain excellence and quality in their performance. A good leader is always looking for ways to improve production and standards. Here are six management skills you can develop as a leader in working to create a quality effective team.

1. Observation

This is an important aspect that often gets neglected due the demands on a leader’s time and schedule. Observation and regular visits to the work environment are a priority and should be scheduled into the calendar. Observing employees at work, the procedures, interaction and work flow is foundational to implementing adjustments to improve results. To have credibility, a leader needs to be seen and be known to be up to date with what is happening in the work place.

2. Monitor Employee Performance

Employee performance needs to be monitored in mutually accepted ways. Policies and procedures need to be clear. Conferencing should be on a regular basis and not just when there is a problem. Assessments and evaluations should not be merely all formality or viewed a necessary paperwork to be done and filed away. Individual and group conferencing should be undertaken not only to monitor performance, but with the expectation of on going professional development and support. There should be frequent encouragement and clear criteria for on going goals both for the group and individual.

3. Implementation of Professional Development Programs

A good leader evaluates weaknesses and provides training and development strategies to strengthen the weaker skills in the team.

4. Demonstrates Working Knowledge and Expertise

Good leadership comes from a place of strong knowledge and experience of the production and process leading to results. If a leader does not possess all the expertise and knowledge personally, then regular consultations with experts involved in the departments should be held. This is important in order to maintain an accurate and informed overall picture.

5. Good Decision Making

Good leadership is characterized by the ability to make good decisions. A leader considers all the different factors before making a decision. Clear firm decisions, combined with the willingness and flexibility to adapt and adjust decisions when necessary, create confidence in the leadership.

6. Ability to Conduct and Evaluate Research

On going review and research is vital in order to keep on the cutting edge in business. While managing the present to ensure on going excellence in product and performance, a good leader is also able to look towards the future. Conducting and evaluating research is an important way of planning and being prepared for the future.

Excellent leadership is always pro active rather than reactive. By developing these six managerial skills builds a solid foundation for success.

This post was written by Barbara White. Barbara is a speaker and trainer in Leadership Skills. For more Leadership articles

Sum up your leadership in six words

[Thanks to Bert Decker for pointing out this post by John Baldoni]

The million dollar question for any leader is this: did you leave the organization in a better place than when you found it? Sadly we have discovered that the great recession we are enduring was in part due to senior executives who did not leave their companies better off, even though they themselves exited with pockets full of cash.

For leaders, this six-word exercise works well as a form of aspiration, that is, how do I want to be remembered? So if you are early or mid career, you have time to make changes so that you can become the leader you are capable of becoming. Consider the following three questions to help you consider how you would sum up your work life in six words or less

.read more ...

Leadership

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day on July 4th we often reflect on the thoughts and sacrifices made by the leaders that have preceded us. Take a few minutes to enjoy the movie, “Great Quotes from Great Leaders,” which is filled with timeless wisdom from great leaders who have inspired, encouraged and led us to do the right thing.

The Great Quotes Movie

In his book, “Sandbox Wisdom,” Tom Asacker has rewritten the rules on leadership and service. It is fun, refreshing and a terrific theme for any organization to encourage creativity and great service. It is quite possibly a life altering read. Click on the link below to read an excerpt from the book.
Sandbox wisdom

What are the secrets of good leadership?

Find out from the people at the top. At this year's exclusive silicon.com CIO 50 event, the UK's leading CIOs revealed their top tips for leadership success.

Silos, Politics and Turf Wars

A Leadership Fable About Destroying the Barriers That Turn Colleagues Into Competitors

by Patrick M. Lencioni

Lencioni addresses a serious problem facing most organizational leaders. A recent study by the American Management Association found 97% of executives believed `silos' have negative effects on organizations, 31% believed they have extensive destructive consequences, and 83% believed they existed in their companies.

Read more at http://www.pivotalpersonalbest.com/silos.htm

Leadership and change

The RapidBi blog has created a list of Nine Ways Leaders transform organisations .... Worth a look. Does "remove obstacles" really apply?

A Top Executive Job Never Comes with a Roadmap

Most people are promoted to positions of leadership based on their accomplishments as an individual contributor. As they continue to move up the ranks through the years that follow, absent any significant focus on developing themselves as leaders, their outmoded tactics and strategies for “leading” become liabilities—or at least fail to act as the assets they could be—and their performance is less than stellar. Call it the law of self-inflicted diminishing returns.
http://leadershipunleashed.typepad.com/leadership/2009/02/a-top-executive-job-never-comes-with-a-roadmap.html

The Six C's of leadership

Unsurprisingly, the need for leadership today is more important than ever before. Rafael Pastor, the ex-President of USA Networks and current CEO of Vistage International, and Barry Sternlicht, the ex-CEO of Starwood Hotels and current head of Starwood Capital Group, both had some astute comments on the subject. Coincidentally, and surprisingly, both of them summarized their perspectives with concepts beginning with a “C”, so it’s really easy to combine their viewpoints and come up with a "C" list of leadership attributes necessary for success in the 21st century. I wish I had enough poetry to come up with this list, but at least I can use my own words in describing the six elements:

... more

Why your Employees are Losing Motivation

Business literature is packed with advice about worker motivation—but sometimes managers are the problem, not the inspiration. Here are seven practices to fire up the troops.

... more

Operating With 20/20 Vision in Areas That Matter Most

A father and son were traveling home from a college football game late one night in the 1970s when the dad pulled the car onto the shoulder of the rural, desolate highway and asked his son to take over the driving. As hard as it was for him to admit, the father said his eyesight was failing him and he didn't think it safe for him to stay behind the wheel. So the son took over, and it didn't take him long to realize that his dad's eyesight wasn't the problem - it was the station wagon's headlights that were fading.

In life, we have to stay focused on the things that matter most. As Mark Twain put it, "Plain clarity is better than ornate obscurity." For the father and son with the fading headlights, the most important thing became obvious: The road in front of them for that last 15 miles! For most leaders, however, finding clarity starts with establishing priorities from a long list of things that all seem important.

more ...

Lead Excellently. Start Here!

Lead Excellently. Start Here!

Learn the Insider Secrets of Becoming a Top Leader In
Your Industry. Win the Respect and Success You Deserve!

Become an exceptional leader, with "How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You."

Do you want to be a highly effective leader? Do you want to develop the self-confidence, vision, wisdom, motivational impact and delivery skills that the most effective leaders have? And do you want to be the person to whom, quite naturally, other people turn for direction?

And do you want to learn the leadership "magic" of building a team whose members work together effectively and positively, bringing the exceptional performance improvements that good leadership and successful teamwork can bring? And what about the rewards, respect and personal growth that come with effective leadership?

This Course Helps Good Managers Become Exceptional Leaders

Looking at where you are right now, do you feel that you're not getting the rewards and recognition you deserve?

You may be very competent as a manager. However, leadership is a different thing from management (they complement one another). If you rely only on being a good manager, you'll never inspire people to give their very best. Because of this, people who are only good managers are passed over for promotion - time and again...

The good news is that with just 24 hours of study, you can learn to be an exceptional leader! With just a little application, you can learn the 48 simple skills that will make you the wise, self-confident, inspiring and successful leader you want to be. You'll say goodbye to the mundane struggle of everyday management existence, becoming the natural center of a positive, enthusiastic, well-motivated and highly successful team.

Read on. It's all explained below!

Business Leadership – Made Clear

With Mind Tools’ “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You” leadership system, you'll learn the essential, tried-and-tested leadership skills and techniques you need to become a well respected and highly effective leader in business.

You'll see the the mysteries surrounding leadership (for example, the myth that good leaders are born, not trained) fall away as we reveal the clear, simple, up-to-date principles that lie behind good leadership.

And with "How to Lead"'s sharp focus on leadership in the corporate world, you'll learn the skills you need to lead effectively and positively in today's workplace, including the often tricky skills needed to persuade, influence and lead people over whom you sometimes have little direct authority.

(These skills should work well for people in the military, healthcare, nursing, education and public service generally - it's just that our focus and experience lies in the corporate world...)

Among many other things, with "How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You", you learn how to:

• Create a reliable, robust and attractive vision of the future that people will respect and believe in (meaning that they'll enthusiastically follow your lead);

• Communicate your vision, and see the benefits as people work to the best of their abilities to complete the projects you initiate successfully;

• Grow your self-confidence, becoming a calm and self-confident leader, and one who inspires confidence in others;

• Build a reputation for expertise and a track record of achievement that teams members and your peers will come to respect, value and trust;

• Make good decisions under pressure, with the confidence that you’ve done the homework needed for these decisions to be right;

• Build a strong, flexible and highly effective team, expanding your ability to deliver many times over;

• Develop the sureness of touch shown by the best leaders, and learn to build the empathic, mutually trusting relationships needed for maximum team performance;

• Enjoy mutually rewarding, co-operative working relationships with team members and peers. And enjoy the happy, energizing atmosphere that comes with this;

• Keep people on target and performing well together in a “firm but fair way” that gets the job done while respecting the rights of team members;

• Learn to inspire and motivate team members so that they'll "go to the ends of the Earth" to give their very best;

• Become a truly inspirational leader, and enjoy the perks that come with this.

As you learn and start using these skills, you'll become the natural choice for advancement and promotion. Your career will take off, and you'll quickly gather the financial and emotional rewards that come with success. You can join the ranks of the high flyers.

"How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You’ provides, in one volume, a concise presentation of many of the best ideas about leadership. Some of these concepts will reinforce what you know about leadership; some will expand your knowledge.

“By using assessment tools that are included as part of the course, you make visible areas of your leadership strength and areas that can use some exercise. With assessments complete, you can focus on the course content to take actions in your daily work to improve your skills.

“This course is thought provoking. It will require you to view yourself honestly. If you truly want to develop the leader within, take the course. You’re worth the effort."

Harold Strawbridge, Philadelphia, USA

In the past, you'd have spent years of painful trial and error learning the techniques taught in this course. And, not knowing these skills, you would not have been performing at your best during this time (even worse, you could easily have made mistakes which were, if only you'd known, all too avoidable.)

But now, with Mind Tools' "How to Lead" leadership system, you'll quickly learn the essential skills you need to be a truly effective leader.

What Does the Course Contain?

Within the “How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You” workbook, you'll find the following eight modules:

	The Meaning of Leadership - learn how to tell good leadership from bad, and how good leaders behave;
	Get to Know Yourself - take five insightful self-tests that give you the self-knowledge you need to be a successful leader;
	Get the Right Stuff - learn to counter weaknesses identified in the previous module, build your self-confidence, project a dynamic attitude and capitalize on your leadership strengths;

	Creating Winning Ideas - find out how to build a clear and compelling vision of how the future should be, which other people will be inspired to adopt;
	The Power to Rouse - discover how to inspire people with this vision, and motivate them to give their very best;
	Getting Things Done - learn the rare skills needed to transform vision into reality;
	Develop Your Team - find out how to develop your people so that they become highly-motivated and exceptionally-effective team players;
	Get the Extra Edge - learn about things like risk taking, networking and cross-cultural leadership, helps you move from being a good leader to being a great one.

Click here for fuller details about the contents of these modules.

To Be A Leader You Can’t Stand On The Sidelines

If you want a starting position, you need to act like a starter. There is a world of difference between expecting to be a starter and actually being a starter. ... more

Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6108.html

As companies batten down the hatches, we need leaders who do not compromise on standards and values that are essential in flush times. Fortunately, such leaders do exist. Their insights can help other organizations weather the current crisis, says HBS professor Michael Beer.

Staying focused when tough times are ahead

While it is easy to inspire people when the business is going well, the best leaders inspire people when times are tough. Following are three suggestions, based upon what I have learned from my coaching clients:

- The first person that you need to keep focused is YOU ...

http://adjix.com/3dsm

Leadership and Change

Carol Bartz's Challenge at Yahoo: Choose a Path, Build a Team and Do It Fast

New Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has a long to-do list -- chart the company's strategy, weigh a potential search partnership with Microsoft, boost morale and round out her management team -- and not much time to deliver amid a weak economy that is hurting online advertising, say experts at Wharton.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/2142.cfm

A Case for Inspirational Leadership

There are hardly any leadership or management books out there that do not talk about inspirational leadership. So why another post on the topic of inspiration? Around 2 million jobs were eliminated in 2008. In October, a CNN poll found that 59 percent of Americans believe another 1930s-style depression is very or somewhat likely. A separate poll for Condé Nast Portfolio shows that people working in the finance business are even gloomier: 77 percent of them say their industry is in a state of crisis, and 50 percent say the economy is the worst it has been in their careers.



Thus given the circumstances it is even more important that leaders at every level keep their teams inspired, motivated and focused.

http://adjix.com/a97y

10 Suggestions for Self-aware Leadership in 2009

1) Government leaders get back to the best, most ethical, positive spark of what drove them to want to lead in the first place.

more ...

Video - Sharing - the Leadership Challenge

See practical examples of this particular style of leadership in change in the public sector

Team Building and More

Some very practical ideas to use here...

leadership - from IQ to HQI