Using the Traits & Best Practices of Charismatic Leaders to Influence People & Rock the World!

How to Unleash All Your Leadership Potential

There is a steady flow of information in the form of books, articles, white papers, and training all in the context of "what is leadership" or "how to develop a leader?"  In this issue, I will avoid those two questions and write about two others that I believe might be on the minds of a lot you readers and they are:

Why does better leadership make a difference? and

How does better leadership achieve those differences?

Leadership is a highly unique form of human behavior that requires the integration of character, knowledge, and experience.  So what can you do if you step up and unleash your leadership potential? Change the world.

Your journey to unleashing your leadership potential begins with a great understanding of self. Discover your personality traits and how they relate to leadership. When we know ourselves, we can maximize our positive traits, and become aware of our weaker areas, which help us to achieve our leadership potential.  Once you understand and know yourself, next you must hone your communication skills. These are not limited to your public speaking skills either. This includes your writing style and your body language.  Your ability to communicate effectively enhances your ability to improve interpersonal relationships.  Another important skill is to learn how to learn.  Examine different teaching methods and learning styles to identify how you and those you may lead learn best.  This skill will greatly enhance your ability to make decisions and give clear instructions.  Charismatic leaders are unusually aware of their strengths and weaknesses and create great missions around building on the former and transforming the latter.

An Exceptional Leader is one that recognizes the value of harnessing the skills and abilities of team members and leads them toward greater efficiency and effectiveness.

...And so leader is not a title and leadership is not something you are born into. Leadership is something you develop.

This is what Dr. Ken Blanchard, in his book "The Heart of a Leader" had to say about good leaders; "If you want to know why your people are not performing well, step up to the mirror and take a peek."

For more information for improving your leadership skills, visit: Charisma

Blueprint for Leadership - How to Be a Better Leader

If you were to build a house, you would begin with a blueprint. This blueprint proves useful because it contains more than directions on how to build a house.  It also describes the finished house. So, what does this have to do with leadership?

Last month I asked an audience of leaders to tell me the characteristics of an ideal leader. Their answers were (in the order collected):

A good listener, enthusiasm, passion, shows appreciation, a visionary, role model, trusting, integrity, organized, knowledgeable, credibility, persuasive, charisma, team building, clarity of purpose, problem solver, attitude of service, leads by example, patience, willing to act without complete knowledge, understands followers, consistent, empowers other people, and adapts to change.

I'll add that this is essentially the same list that I receive from other audiences when I ask this question. From this come some useful insights.

1) Notice what the list contains. All of these characteristics relate to the human side of leadership. That's interesting because I often hear people minimize this side of leadership with terms like "soft" or "touchy feely." Actually, applying these characteristics requires more strength than not.

2) Notice what the list excludes. Absent from this list (and all lists from other programs) are characteristics such as stern, mean, serious, short tempered, vindictive, tough, angry, harsh, punitive, controlling, violent, or ruthless. And that's interesting because many popular representations of leadership emphasize at least one of these "hard" characteristics. In fact, these characteristics are the refuge of those who lack the strength (or the skills) to apply the human side of leadership.

3) How about you? How would you rate yourself as a leader compared to the list of positive characteristics? If you were to survey the people who report to you, how would they describe your leadership? Would they list characteristics from the "soft" list or from the "hard" list? Could you become more effective by improving upon any of the "soft" characteristics? And how about the other leaders in your organization? Do they truly maximize human potential?

People want leaders who treat them with genuine compassion, courtesy, and respect. They want leaders who help them become more successful. They want leaders who inspire them with a vision for a better world and show them how to get there.

For more information on a special brand of leadership, visit: Charisma