Leadership
by Dennis Gaskill
In my younger days, I wore a lot of hats that required leadership skills. I’ve been a crew leader in a bean factory, a foreman for a construction firm, team leader on an in-house fire-fighting squad, shift supervisor on a private security force, crew leader in a paper mill, and in charge of dozens of men in the Navy – some who outranked me but were placed under my authority.
I’ve also organized and led my softball team to a city record 11 championships in 13 years, and in my opinion, we never once had the most talent in any of those seasons. What we had was leadership that promoted team goals over individual goals, and rewarded effort with recognition.
I wasn’t always the wisest of leaders, but like most other things, being a leader is a skill that can be learned. If you are a leader, or want to become a leader, below are my tips for effective leadership. You’ll also find there are many times when these tips will be practical advise for family situations.
- Be strong but not inflexible. Don’t mistake rigidity for strength, it’s not even a good substitute. Learn to stay relaxed and friendly when dealing with others, but firm when necessary.
- Keep an eye toward the future. A leader thinks beyond the day to day tasks and looks for ways today to create a better tomorrow. A true leader is not locked into the status quo, but instead are excited by opportunities to blaze new trails.
- Learn to be kind but not weak. Too often kindness is mistaken as a sign of weakness. Kindness isn’t weakness, it is a sure sign of quiet strength. Leaders look for ways to show others that they sincerely care about them as individuals. As it has been said before, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
- A leader builds relationships. Once I had a kid working for me that had failed in two other departments and was close to being fired. His last chance was in working for me. I asked the kid if he liked his job, and he said no. I said I didn’t especially like mine either, but that I knew it was better than his. I told him I got my job by working hard at jobs like his first. Then I asked him if he wanted to be fired. He looked surprised, but said no. I told him I was suppose to fire him, but if he promised to work harder for me, and be dependable, that I’d try to save his job. I made him promise that he would.
He was surprised and grateful I’d do that for him, and was the best worker I had after that. When I left my job for greener pastures, he was fired within two weeks. His new boss gave orders, but didn’t build rapport with him. Leaders build, bosses boss. Loyalty goes to the leaders.
- To build your influence, you’ve got to be willing to take the first bullet, so to speak. Be the first to spot trouble and the first to accept challenges and responsibility.
- A leader knows his or her strengths and weaknesses. Most of us naturally work from our strengths, but to rise above the masses, we also need to work on improving our weaknesses. Leaders accept this and are self-motivated toward self-improvement.
- Be humble, but not timid. You can’t get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is quiet confidence, timidity is just chicken-hearted apathy. Stay humble, but always be courageous in overcoming life’s daily struggles. Sometimes we must be willing to fight for what is right and just.
- Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build a winning program or team. It takes pride to be the best, but one of the key tests of leadership is to wear the crown of pride without becoming ego-centric.
- Never pass negatives down. Have you ever had a boss that made you feel small? If so, how did that feel? Not good I’m sure, and it won’t feel good to your team if you pass that small feeling on to them. Your team will reflect your attitude. If you want a positive, upbeat, can-do team then you must portray that image. Leaders keep presenting the positives, keep pointing everyone toward the accomplishment of the groups’ desired goals, and keep setting the example for others to follow.
- A leader practices constructive criticism, and does so in private. No one likes to be belittled, especially in front of others. Approach your disciplinary tasks and corrective measures in ways that allow the recipient to keep their dignity.
- A leader must have a willingness to accept responsibility for their own actions as well as those under them. Passing the buck is not compatible with the responsibility of leadership.
- Learn to be bold, but not rash. Playing it safe, taking the easy way out, these are things anyone can do. A leader needs to be confident and bold enough to make the hard decisions.
- No one can lead without being criticized or facing discouragement at some point. Leaders need to be be tough-minded, but not tough-acting or your people will resent you for it. If you lead with reason you’ll have more cooperation.
- Listen to others, to the bright and intellectual individuals, and also to the obtuse, the foolish and those who lack learning, for they, too, have opinions and statements to offer. No one is so smart they can’t learn something from even the most ignorant.
Lastly, humor can be an asset to a leader. Humor eases tensions, promotes a positive atmosphere, and allows for a measure of fun and interest to the workplace. A leader shouldn’t be just silly though, nor should a leader use humor that is at someone else’s expense, is mean spirited, relies on profanity, sexual reference, or is insensitive. I’ve always found poking fun at myself works best and is the safest.
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Dennis Gaskill is the creator and owner of BoogieJack.com - a popular webmasters resource site. A published book author on web design, he also publishes the award-winning Almost a Newsletter and has written several eBooks, as well as ghost-writes for others. Visit his site for free web graphics and tutorials, as well as webmaster software, educational eBooks from a recognized authority, and many other products and services.
