'Your Success' E-Newsletter

Leadership Series

By Kathy Baker

We all admire it ... We all want it ... Leadership, that is ...

In response to popular demand, we will be featuring a series of articles on Leadership. In this edition we will cover:
1. Leadership – What is it?
2. Leadership and Influence

In future editions, we will cover:
3. Leadership – Are We Born Leaders Or Can We Develop The Qualities?
4. Leadership – Developing Yourself First … and then Develop Others
5. Leadership and Inner Values
6. Leadership and Intuition
7. Leadership and Vision
8. Leadership and Character Qualities and Traits
9. Leadership and Developing and Nurturing People
10. Leadership and Service, Relationships and Community
11. Leadership and Change
12. Leadership and Skills, ‘Smarts’ and Success
13. Leadership and Teachability – The Best Teachers Are The Greatest Students
14. Leaders Look For and Network With Other Leaders
15. Leaders Have Paid The Price To Be Leaders

I trust you will enjoy these articles and find them informative, stimulating and provide you with a practical ‘How To’ guide to support you in your Leadership Goals, in whatever endeavour.

I invite you to email me if you have any thoughts, views or questions on Leadership you would like to share, or post for discussion, or receive our response.

Here are your first 2 Instalments (Part 1)…

Leadership – What is it?

Just for a moment, ask yourself - Who would I think of when I'm asked to name good Leaders?

Answer:__________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Often, when you ask people to name good leaders, they tend to name famous people – world leaders, politicians, television personalities. On first questioning, rarely do they name someone they know personally. 

We tend to equate leadership with the really ‘big important jobs’, where in fact leadership is much more simple than that.

When you ask those same people to name people of influence around them in their own everyday environments, they begin to name people they know. 

When you ask them if they have influence in the lives of those around them in their daily lives - YES, they are leaders themselves! They may not lead countries, organisations, or massive social movements, or be popular hosts of TV shows, but they come to see that they are leaders too!

Leadership is universal ... We all lead others and we can all increase the quality and scope of our leadership. The secret is to improve our ability to influence others … and to improve the ‘quality’ of our influence.

As you look at your current sphere of influence, observe and take note of what makes people strong and effective influencers, and take action to improve your ability to influence. 

You will see your relationships and associations become more effective and productive. You will see your business grow and become more profitable!

As an exercise, try these 2 Assignments:

1. Write down on a sheet of paper or in a journal, the leadership qualities you recognise in yourself. You will probably be surprised to discover that you have a number of leadership skills that you have taken for granted and have not taken the time to acknowledge. (For example, ‘people person’, good communication skills, team player, motivating, presence, instill confidence in others, people naturally follow your lead, organiser, first to volunteer, and others).

2. Write down the leadership qualities that you are committed to developing in yourself. Identify the areas you would like to improve.

Leadership and Influence

"Become the kind of Leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position".
(Brian Tracy)

This would have to be one of my very favourite quotes on Leadership. Here’s a few more on Leadership and Influence –

"Leadership is ... the ability to obtain or gather followers". (Webster's Dictionary)

"Real Leaders come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life. But they all have a few things in common. They are never so big that they can't bend down to help someone else. They are never so wise that they don't remember who taught them. They are never so gifted that they won't share their skills with others. They are never so fearless that they don't play by the rules and live by the law. And they are never such big winners that they forget what it feels like to lose". (Actor James Stewart)

"He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk". (Chinese Proverb)

Distilling these and a range of other quotations, it boils down to –
Leadership can be defined as ‘the ability to influence people, to change their thoughts, beliefs, words and actions’.

So, Leadership is the Ability to Influence:  Great leaders are able to influence others. We can all think of leaders who influenced their followers in a very positive way, but we can also think of leaders who have influenced in a very negative way ... So, there is always a whole swag of circumstantial, people, moral, ethical and many other factors to consider ...

In the corporate or business context -
Managers ‘tell’ people what to do … Leaders ‘show’ people what to do...

Many people are taught how to be managers. Managers are not necessarily leaders. There is a huge difference between someone who manages and someone who leads. Someone who manages typically ‘tells’ people what to do. Someone who ‘leads’ ‘shows’ people how and what to do and that is influence.

So, if leadership is simply influence – it opens up a whole range of possibilities for ALL of us. It also requires us to be respectful, mindful and considerate about how we exercise our leadership – while we are learning and growing and exercising it each and every day.

If the key to improving your leadership is to improve your ability to influence, then what are the basics of influence? What are the keys that provide the foundation for your ability to influence? There are many, many subtle ways you can influence others. Many traits and qualities you can work on to develop.

We will be exploring these qualities and traits in coming editions of our Leadership Series.

Remember, if you have any thoughts, views or questions on Leadership you would like to share or post for discussion or response, email me - I would love to hear from you. Until next time …

© Copyright - Kathy Baker - http://www.allinteractivesolutions.com/   
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Kathy Baker is a Success Coach (Business/Marketing/Personal), Law of Attraction Practitioner, CopyWriter, and Marketing Practitioner.  She practices Intuitive Marketing with Integrity, and specializes in Niche Marketing and Information Product Marketing.  She works with success and freedom seeking entrepreneurs and individuals in helping them find ways to achieve their dreams.
http://www.allinteractivesolutions.com
http://www.success-self-help-tips.blogspot.com/
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