I was coaching a client on honing their leadership skills. My client suggested I put it down in writing for others to benefit. Great idea. Great client! You have achieved success. You’re making progress — but something is missing. It’s taking too long. When the boss wants the report out "yesterday," it’s hard to practice on your leadership development. One of the outstanding golfers of our time is Tiger Woods. He has a coach. A coach takes an athlete’s natural ability and hones it to outstanding ability by working with the athlete toward a specific goal. It is the focus of the coach and the client that reinforces the learning and makes it stick. What is the ability that you want to make outstanding, to develope further? Leadership Are you taking people with you? Or are you having to push them along? Managing means the planning, organizing, coordinating and directing to utilize assets for maximum effect with minimum cost. Assets usually fall into five basic areas of People, Time, Equipment, Training and Money. Which one of these assets is the most volatile and dynamic? People! Is a manager different from a supervisor? Yes. How? The Supervisor is on the frontlines of the implementation process. Managers direct and organize the resources to create the reality of the vision. They set the goals. Supervisors develop the capabilities of individuals to implement the vision into processes and systems for execution. Many managers only want short-term success. Managers are pulled in multiple directions as they address various business issues, implement objectives and balance the needs of everyone. If management is maximizing assets, then what is leadership? Leadership is motivating people In other words, it is getting people to accept ownership of their job, duties and responsibilities. Leadership is achieving results through others. Can someone be on the front lines and be a leader? Absolutely. The formal leader is the one who is designated as the leader. An informal leader is the individual all of the people in the group go to when there is a problem or question. Watch the people in your group, you will see whom the others migrate to when there is a problem. There is your future leader. Is a leader always the person who does the technical aspects of a job best? No. Is it good for managers to become leaders? Yes. Managers are people-pushers – Leaders are people-pullers. How does one develop credibility and consistency as a leader? Know thyself! Know what you stand for. Know what you will not stand for. And how does that tie into the company mission statement? One way to do that is to develop a personal mission statement for yourself. You first define what matters most to you. What are your values, highest priorities, attributes and qualities? Then you create a plan of action for what matters most to you. What are the goals you want to achieve? Goals are dreams with deadlines. Then you act in accordance with those plans and what matters most to you. "The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are, what you are about and what you value." — Stephen R Covey Leadership Results Employers and employees are looking for people with more than leadership skills. They are also looking for people with leadership qualities. Employees see in these qualities evidence of effective leaders whom they can also trust. Leaders with the courage to step up to the difficult moment, the tough challenge, the risky decision. Leaders whose skills and humanity shine through. Leaders who are genuine. Contact me now to improve your leadership qualities Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com