Principles of Leadership #MondayBlogs

There’s often a miscommunication when it comes to management and leadership.  In our classes, I teach that we manage processes and lead people.

You do not “manage” people.

But leadership is not a linear process.  It is, like sales, a series of relationships.  Leadership has to be flexible enough to match the people following that leader.  In order to become effective leaders, we must ask ourselves a series of questions:

• Am I providing balanced supervision? (Not too much, not too little.)
• Am I engaging in two-way communication?
• Do I support my people?
• Do I facilitate self-reliance and independence in my employees?
• Do I create an environment in which employees can develop?

These questions provide only a part of the picture of leadership, of course.  But they are a starting point.

When you lead people, you have to spend time on self-reflection.  You have to study your methods and your relationships.

How do you lead?

The time is now.