Leadership is for everybody. That includes you. You don’t have to be a supervisor or manager before you become a leader. If you are influencing someone, you are leading. John Maxwell said, “Leadership is influence.”
Leadership does not depend on your position. Sometimes, even with a leadership position, people don’t even do their best to influence their team. But if you are in a leadership role, you better start maximizing your role and give it your best shot to be able to have that influence and impact that you wanted to have.
To have this, you and I need to receive guidance. Bestselling author Brendon Burchard, also a topnotch leader, shares his E6 of Leadership. In fact, he wrote a book about it that has been used by a lot of schools and companies. He talked about six powerful leadership practices that you and I need to imbibe and live by.
First, envision. Leaders need to envision a compelling vibrant future. The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Brendon shares, “Where there is no vision, there is no leadership.”
Leaders need to practice envisioning. Ask questions like, “What should tomorrow be like for my team and for my life?”
Second, enlist. To be able to accomplish that vision that you have, you have to enlist your team to that vision. Take note that people support what they create. Involve your people in the ideation. Enlist them and involve them so they also will believe the dream that you have, so they will have this honest, authentic and genuine desire to that dream.
This comes with asking them questions, listening to them, and paying attention to their needs. This way, you can also adjust and align to their needs.
Third, embody. Leaders need to consistently embody their message. There should be congruence in what we dream and say. What we say we are after should align to how we are behaving. After all, we do not believe the message, we believe the messenger.
As leaders, it is also our task to champion the vision even and especially when time gets hard. As leaders, we need to stand for it.
Fourth, empower. Leaders have to empower their team. Enabling them will help build the trust for them to be able to work toward that vision that you have in the first. Equip them continually and allow them to succeed.
This is the reason why training and coaching has to be done consistently, too.
Fifth, evaluate. Evaluate the key people that are with us. Consider their contribution, their skills, and their ethics. Here are two questions that should be asked: Are we being excellent and ethical? Are we progressing?
Evaluation should be done daily, and it doesn’t have to be formal. This can be done informally. Sometimes, it is even preferred to have it informally. And in giving evaluation, it is important to give honest, immediate and constructive feedback.
Seventh, encourage. As leaders, you need to be a cheerleader for your team. Uplift them in a continual basis. Get them excited about things. Motivate them with your passion and example.
This is especially needed with teams you are working with in a long-term basis, in long-running projects. Take note that the longer the duration, the more struggle. So leaders need to consistently uplift the team. Times get tough so leaders need to get tough in inspiring and leading the team as well.
Ultimately, all these things should be done with honor, respect and love. And remember that even if you are paying your team, assume that they are volunteers. They are not captive slaves. They can bail out if they want to. Treat them as collaborators, after all, they are!
(Chris Dao-anis, CPA, ACG, ALB is a trainer and speaker on communication and personal leadership. His latest book ‘Living Large in the Little Things’ is available at Mt. Cloud Bookshop, Casa Vallejo, Upper Session Road, Baguio City. For talks and trainings, email him at chrisdaoanis@gmail.com or visit his website www.chrispoweracademy.com. Watch his daily videos: #ConfidenceCode on www.fb.com/chrisdaoaniswriter. Get a free PDF report titled ‘7 Money Manners’ on www.chrispoweracademy.com/7free.)
