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Helping Men and Women
Become More Effective Leaders
Recognized as one of the 30 Most Influential
Leadership Gurus Worldwide*
December 2008
“Build leadership consistency. Regularly meet with other leaders to identify opportunities for making your management practices more consistent. Inconsistent management practices are de-motivators.”
from 180 Ways to Walk the Motivation Talk
Looking for management advice that breaks the mold?
Check out the all-new John Baldoni Blog
John is a now a Featured Contributor for Harvard Business Publishing.
When the Going Gets Tough, Act the Part
When times are tough, people want to see their leaders act. Bold statements make headlines but actions provoke results. If an action is to be sustained, it must be reinforced by what followers do. In my new book, Lead By Example, 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results, I discuss some of the ways leaders act for the benefit of the organization.
Manage by inclusion. It is human nature to seek input from people we know best. Leaders are no different, but they have an obligation to seek out alternative points of view. Failure to do so leads to unilateral thinking, that is, everyone adopting the same point of view. That may be good for cheerleading squads but it gets organizations into trouble. One way to avoid this trap is to make certain that people feel free (as well as safe) to voice opinions contrary to prevailing thought. That will only happen if the leader goes out of her way to seek alternate approaches.
Delegate for results. Pre-schoolers do not mind being shown how to do something once or twice, but pretty soon they want to do it themselves. The same goes for leaders. Give people directions but never tell them how to do something. Let them figure it out for themselves. Nowhere does this apply more than in goal setting. As a colleague of mine says, "Delegate for results, not tasks." That is, tell people what needs to be done, but do not give them a to-do list.
Make a decision. If leaders are truly to propel the action, they must make decisions. Consultation with others, as discussed, is vital, so too is deliberation. But sooner than later someone needs to pull the trigger when it comes to big decisions. Acting with deliberateness as well as decisiveness is essential to achieving intended results.
Another aspect of action is a leader's behavior. How a person leads is often as important as what a leader does. The way a leader communicates, delegates, supervises and recognizes matters. People are not inclined to follow someone who is simply going through the motions; they want a leader who thinks about the impact of his decisions on others. This is especially true in times of crisis. Leaders accomplish little by themselves; they need the actions of others to succeed.
[First posted on Harvard Business Publishing on October 15, 2008. Used with permission. Access here.]
John in the News
John Baldoni was named one of the "30 Most Influential Leadership Gurus”"worldwide for 2007 by Leadership Gurus International www.LeadershipGurus.net.
About John Baldoni
John Baldoni is a leadership consultant and speaker specializing in executive coaching, development and communications. John is the author of seven books on leadership including Lead By Example (Amacom 2009) and the Great Leaders trilogy for McGraw-Hill: How Great Leaders Get Great Results (2006), Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders (2005), and Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders (2003).
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