Here are some great insights about leadership from one of the best books ever written about leadership: The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes & Posner
- Ten Commitments of Leadership
- Clarify your values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideas.
- Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.
- Envision the future by imagining exciting an ennobling possibilities
- Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations
- Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve
- Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience.
- Foster collaboration by building trust and building relationships.
- Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence.
- Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.
- Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
Leaders:
- must “clarify values”.
- are supposed to stand up for their beliefs, so they had better have some beliefs to stand up for.
- inspire a shared vision.
- live their lives backward, They see the results before the project begins.
- clear image of the future pulls them forward.
- cannot command commitment, only inspire it.
- have to enlist others to a common vision.
- challenge the process.
- search for opportunities to innovate, grow, and improve.
- must pay attention to the capacity of their constituents.
- have to enable others to act.
- must create a culture of celebrating values and victories.
- have the ability to envision the future.
- have to communicate the vision in ways that encourage people to sign on for the duration and excite them about the cause.
- must inspire optimal performance fueled by positive emotions.
- take strong stands
- must keep promises
- personify shared values
- teach others to model the values
- are able to envision the future
- need to bring the vision to life
- need a sense of ongoing learning
- must be able to trust their team
- must be trusted
- often must relinquish control
- actively seek out ways to increase choice
To promote trust, be the first to:
- Disclose information about who you are and what you believe.
- Admit mistakes
- Acknowledge the need for personal improvement
- Ask for feedback—positive or negative
- Listen attentively to what others are saying
- Invite interested parties to important meetings
- Share information that is useful to others
- Openly acknowledge the contribution of others
- Show that you are willing to change your mind when someone else comes up with a good idea.
- Avoid taking negatively about others
- Say, “We can trust them”, and mean it
Lead On