by Richard Brody
After, over four decades, of personal involvement, in nearly, everything, related to effectively, leading, from identifying, and qualifying, to training, developing, and consulting to thousands of actual, and/ or. potential leaders, to, serving, as a leader, on several occasions, I strongly, believe, there is a significant, real difference, between, being a SMART leader, as opposed to, simply holding some position of leadership, as a pretender! Since, it, generally, takes/ requires, many factors, and characteristics, etc, to get things, achieved, effectively, it seems, a shame/ pity, such a small percentage, actually, make a quality, true difference, for the better! With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, review, examine, and discuss, using the mnemonic approach, what this means and represents, and why, it matters.
1. Service; sustainable; sense; system; solutions; strengths/ stronger: If, one doesn’t want to serve and represent others, instead of any personal/ political agenda, and/ or, self – interest, he probably, shouldn’t be a leader! One must be, service – oriented, putting his stakeholders, and group, first! To achieve, the emphasis must be, both, relevant, and sustainable, and he must have the common sense, and knowledge/ understanding, to create the finest system, to achieve, the needed objectives! He must take advantage of his own, and the organization’s strengths, while, proactively, addressing areas of weakness! Only, then, will he be able to make the group, stronger, and implement, viable solutions, to bring the group, into the future!
2. Make mark; mean it; motivate; master: How someone, consistently, masters, the duties, and responsibilities of his position, often, determines, how he might make his mark! He must articulate a message, which he means, and do so, in a motivating, inspiring manner!
3. Attitude; aptitude; articulate; actions; attention: It takes a real, positive, can – do, attitude, combined with paying, keen attention, to all the details, needed, and necessary, to make a difference, for the better! This only happens, when one develops, a well – developed, aptitude, and skill – set, and proactively, articulates a compelling message, to others! He must pay attention, consistently, and proceed with, in – depth, strategic planning, and the finest – possible, action plan, taking actions, in a timely manner, and not resorting to procrastination!
4. Relevant; realistic; responsive; responsible; results; realistic: Unless/ until, one’s ideas, strategies, and actions, are based on reality, and relevant, it isn’t meaningful leadership! A real leader must be responsive to needs, priorities, and perceptions, and his process must be, responsible. Idealism is terrific, but, it takes a realistic perspective and understanding, to achieve the finest results!
5. Timely; time – tested; trust/ truth; trends: Using a combination of time – tested techniques, while, maintaining an open – mind, and the self – confidence, to proceed, in a well – considered, timely manner, enhances the chances, of quality leading! True leaders must, consistently, tell the truth, in order to earn the trust, of those, they serve and represent! In addition, they must consider, examine, and use those, current trends, which may make his group, stronger, more relevant and sustainable!
Do you have, what it takes, to be a SMART leader? Will you be up to the tasks?
About the author
Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, Director of Development, consultant, professionally run events, consulted to thousands of leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for 4 decades. Rich has written three books and thousands of articles. His company, PLAN2LEAD, LLC has an informative website http://plan2lead.net and Plan2lead can also be followed on Facebook http://facebook.com/Plan2lead
