Great leaders serve, that ' s what they do!
18 MOMENTUM / May 2016
The Business of Leadership
Great Leaders
SERVE
By: Bonnie Benkula, BSHCA, MBA Certified Coach, Speaker, Trainer
The John Maxwell TEAM The Leaven Exchange Bonnie @ Benkula. com
Ask yourself, what is leadership? Ask someone else. You may get a wide variety of answers. Leadership is subjective.
People have different experiences with leadership in their life. I am always amazed at the stories I hear when I teach leadership. I hear stores of great leadership from the most unexpected areas of ones life. Some have experienced good leadership and some have experienced bad leadership. But one thing is consistent, a leaders is not a leader, without followers.
The book, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, states,“ When people respect you as a person, they admire you. When they respect you as a friend, they love you. When they respect you as a leader, they follow you.”
Lets look at three ways to gain respect:
1. Leadership Ability – All leaders are not created equal. Some have natural leadership ability and a greater set of skills and the ability to lead others. These leaders are magnetic. The downfall for this charismatic leader is that they rely strictly on this given talent and they forget to continue to train and strengthen their leadership skills regularly. This type of leader has to learn humility and how to empower others. Other leaders, study and learn the skills to become a leader and can lead equally strong if they can keep their confidence high..
2. Show Respect-Earn Respect – All leaders need to show respect for others to earn respect back. Leaders who sincerely respect their teams, especially those members in subordinate positions, gain respect from others. When a leader builds a team of experts, he needs to let the experts do their job. The leader needs to keep the team working together towards their goal, but get out of the way of his team at the same time. This empowerment will allow for the greatest accomplishments and the best buy in a leader could ever ask. Sincerely caring about your team is the key.
3. Be Courageous – Give Hope – When the going gets tough, a leader still leads and a leader keeps hope alive. In difficult times, courage can set leaders apart. Courageous people are willing to stand-alone. Courageous leaders are willing to stick by their values, despite the criticism they may receive. The most skilled will do this with grace and earn the respect of even those who oppose their values.
People follow individuals who they deem are better leaders than themselves. When groups first come together, natural leaders will lead. Eventually, everyone will change direction to follow the strongest leader. It’ s natural for people to follow leaders that are stronger than them.
Research continues to prove that great leaders add significant value to organizations. Poor leaders crumble even the biggest companies.
Leaders serve those around them. All followers need to sense a benefit for being around their leader.
Evaluate yourself, by first looking at who you are attracting.
Then evaluate how your team reacts when you ask for a commitment or when dealing with change.
Great leaders serve, that ' s what they do!