Do you make a good leader?

The Leadership of the country in recent times, seems to be something that people can get (Rudd, Gillard, Abbott and now Turnbull) but just as easily lose …

Are you a good leader and if not, what can you do to improve your leadership?

Good leadership is required in many areas of society; family, clubs, associations, business, teams and of coarse government.

We have needed good leadership since we stood up and walked out of the caves and into the open…

What makes a good leader?

Does a leader have to be born or can they be made and what makes them a good or bad leader?

Do men or women make better leaders and if so, why?

Are you a good leader and if not, what can you do to fix your leadership?

Can you learn to be a good leader?

Let’s examine what it takes to become a leader and then what it takes to be a great leader once you are in that position. We need not look any further that John Howard, former Prime Minster of Australia.

John Howard, for those of you who weren’t around in his early years, was known as the ‘whipping boy’ of politics. Andrew Peacock would often belittle him, mock him, put him down (and they were both Liberals) year in year out. Johnny coped the brunt of many a political joke.

He would often contest the leadership and lose. If a person had to lead the party, when no one else wanted to, he would step up.

In the throws of these experiences, John learnt how to be strong, how to act, how to repel being challenged and developed a thick enough skin to go on and become the second most successful Prime Minster in Australia’s history!

So yes, leadership can be learned….

What about natural born leaders?

There are a handful of people who are born to lead and they each contain valuable leadership qualities for example, they may;

• Be alpha males
• Lead from the front
• Lead by example
• Have specific knowledge that lends itself to leadership
• Have money
• Contain a rich blood line
• Be intimidating
• Rule by fear
• Be a great communicator
• Bring people together
• Be charismatic

The number of great leaders from across the world, over time, who possessed one of the above skills or attributes, is numerous, but when they tend to have limited skills, they tend to serve a purpose for a period of time and then drop off…

So how can you become a good leader and remain a good leader indefinitely?

The secret lies in being accountable yourself and teaching accountability to your team and at the same time be able to delegate tasks and that accountability

Let me explain…

Becoming a leader is the first step, remaining leader and doing a great job is the hard part.

Let’s look at another leader, Kevin Rudd…

Kevin 07 came in and was so charismatic that he stormed into the top job. I don’t know if Kevin had ever done much leading in the past but once Prime Minster, he was like Jekyll and Hyde. His ‘act’ of being the loving, happy, caring, jovial and laid back leader was over!

Once leader, the power got to his head, he became short, rude, obnoxious, arrogant and impatient. So much so that many in his party despised him.

“A leader is best when people barely know that he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they say: we did it ourselves”

Lao Tzu, 6 Century BC

Timeless tips for great leadership

1. Praise individuals in public
2. Chastise individuals in private
3. Include the team in the business planning process
4. Gain their commitment to the plan
5. Delegate tasks to individuals along with accountability
6. Follow up to ensure tasks are completed on time, to the quality they should be
7. Train your team to be better at their job than you could ever be
8. Recruit people who are better at the specific job you want done, than you could ever be
9. Reward and recognise great performance
10. Catch staff out doing 5 things right for every thing wrong
11. Communicate progress and ask for input to solutions

If you would like to learn how to be a great leader, to master the art of delegation v’s abdication, to be respected by your team as opposed to walked all over and ignored, we can help!

At ABC Business Improvement we have or are assisting builders, tradesmen, retailers, restaurants, wholesalers, manufacturers, mechanics, professional service providers like accountants, lawyers, pharmacists, dentists, importers/ exporters and we can assist you too!

At ABC Business Improvement we will organise a meeting where you will;

–         Uncover the challenges you are facing

–         Define a path to overcome them

 –         Create a first step plan to move forward

 –         Gain a sense of excitement and relief, knowing where you are going

Be one of the first 5 to contact us this week and we will organise a ‘become a great leader’ strategy session today…