An outcome of real leadership is that people are influenced in remarkable ways. There are 5 keys to achieving such outcomes.
- Share insight not information - We have all experienced death by PowerPoint. I observe that most leaders, whatever the media, tend to dump information on us. Only real leaders share insight they have gleaned from information, and they share it in a myriad of ways that are beneficial for others.
Possible action:
- Before opening your mouth or sending any form of communiqué, ask yourself, "Am I about to provide insight the recipient(s) will highly value, and is this the best way to present it?".
- Get into the habit of running insights past trusted colleagues or friends before you share it with others. This will sharpen your focus and also most likely increase the depth of your insight.
- Keep a journal and regularly record your insights and ponder on it regularly before you share it.
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Be inspirational - Insight not presented in ways that inspire often falls through the cracks. It is not so much what we say, rather how we say it.
Possible action:
- Receive regular presentation skills coaching and mentoring both for one-on-one and in groups.
- Speak from your heart more than your head; share your feelings more than your thoughts.
- Take time to regularly reflect on who inspires you and why. Other people are like mirrors reflecting insights about who we need to be.
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Help people to turn insight into ideas - Insight loses its potency unless it soon becomes an idea we can work on.
Possible action:
- Ask questions immediately following the sharing of your insights, such as "What do you feel we can do with this to ...?", "In what ways can we use this to ...?", or "What is your gut feeling about this ...?".
- Provide people with resources that encourage them to be creative.
- Celebrate ideas - even if they don't come to anything.
- Work with people as they turn insight, inspiration, and ideas into innovation - Insight, inspiration and ideas wain unless we innovate. Many leaders think innovation is the creation of ideas. It is not. Innovation is the successful implementation of an idea!
Possible action:
- Have a policy that celebrates learning from failure and making mistakes.
- Have an idea's policy, procedure and practice that is transparent and enables everyone to see what happens - from when an idea is generated through to implementation or otherwise. People will not mind if you do not act on their idea provided you explain why openly.
People will mind (and they often stop being creative) when their ideas disappear without a trace and they are given no explanation (sadly a common practice in unremarkable organisations).
- Allow people regular time to work on innovation.
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Give credit where credit is due - A sure sign of real leadership is our ability and willingness to work with others to see an idea through to innovation and then be lavish in our praise.
Possible action:
- Give credit where it is due.
- Say thank you to those who give you credit. There is no need to say anything else.
- Share success stories, honouring the real character(s) of the story, with all your stakeholders in as many ways as possible.
Real leadership, and therefore positive and productive influence, is not about us, rather those we serve. Of course the remarkable thing about serving is that when we are not attached to getting it back, we get it back a thousand-fold, and often from places we haven't put in! This is how life is. We don't have to explain it, just live it.
Buy Ian Berry's Audio Seminar CD from the Resource Centre:
What Real Leaders Do And Fake Ones Don't