By Richard Brody
If you hope to be a real leader, instead of merely, someone, holding some position of leadership, you must, be ready, willing, and able, to lead, especially, when it might be easier to avoid doing so, and taking, some convenient, path, of least resistance! Leading means, having that combination of a positive, can – do, attitude, a high degree of well – deserved, self – confidence, a well – developed, relevant, skill – set, and aptitude, and a willingness to expand the limits of any self – imposed, comfort zone! Briefly, this means, one must, STEP up, and forward, when pseudo – leaders refuse to, or are incapable of, being effective leaders! With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, using the mnemonic approach, what this means, and represents, and why it matters.
1. Strengths; stronger; system; sustainable; solutions; service; smart: Smart leadership must encompass various essential components! One must identify his personal strengths, as well as his organizations, and be prepared to effectively, use them, for the best interests of the group! It’s only meaningful, when/ if, one leaves his group, stronger, after his tenure, than, when he began. What will someone include in his system, which seeks, the finest, viable solutions, emphasizing providing superior service, and be, both, relevant and sustainable? This must be done, in a well – considered, timely manner, because a true leader, does not have the luxury of straddling the fence!
2.Timely; trends; time – tested; true; trust: You’ll only be considered a leader, when/ if, you earn their trust and respect, not merely, because of your empty promises, and rhetoric, but, rather, because of your ideas and actions! One must know today’s trends, and determine, which would be helpful, for the specific group, at this point in time. He must seek to make a real difference, and not, just, changes, for – change – sake! Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, but effectively, take advantage of time – tested approaches, etc! Be true to your beliefs, and the ideology, of the organization!
3. Empathy; emphasis; efforts; excellence; endurance: Only, when one, effectively listens, and learns, from every conversation and experience, will he discover the possibilities, as well as perceptions and priorities of those, he serves and represents! When this aligns with his emphasis, he begins to proceed with the genuine empathy, needed! Effectively use, your efforts, focused on excellence, instead of good – enough! Realize, there will be obstacles, and, differentiate yourself, by having the endurance to persist, when others give – up!
4. Priorities; planning/ plans; perceptions; persistence: A real leader must align his priorities with those of his group, and constituents. Examine the thoroughness of plans, and the process of one’s leadership planning. Address perceptions, thoroughly, and in a timely manner, and proceed, with the persistence, to make a change, for the better!
Will you STEP up, when many others, shrink from that responsibility? Are you, up to the task?
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
