5 Keys to Effective Leadership: The P.O.W.E.R. of Leadership

 

I know, I know - another piece on effective leadership?! The truth of the matter is that everything rises and falls on leadership - so, the more we can discover, the better. More importantly, being an effective leader who listens more than speaks, gets things done without demanding requests, and has both the fortitude to keenly see the forest and the trees is (and always will be) in high demand throughout any sector.

Taking personal responsibility for growing your leadership style and ability requires understanding 5 keys to effective leadership. I call it the P.O.W.E.R of Leadership! We all have power but often we don't use it effectively or when we do, we use it in the wrong way. The P.O.W.E.R of Leadership is about taking personal responsibility for growing yourself first as a leader in order to grow others and your business. Start by exercising your P.O.W.E.R. of Leadership!

1. P - Purpose Driven - I'm sure you have heard this: "If you don't know which way to go, any road can take you there!" It all starts with knowing and understanding your purpose in life. What do you want to do? Where are you trying to go? Start by setting personal and professional goals and holding yourself really accountable...insanely accountable. When I was young I wrote three goals that I wanted to achieve more than anything on an index card. I kept that index card in my wallet as a daily reminder of where I was going and the goals I wished to achieve. Over 35 years later, I still have an index card in my wallet with new goals that I am 100% committed to making happen.

2. O - Opportunity Chaser - Every day, opportunities come your way to reach your goals but the challenge is that many people don't see the opportunity within their problems and life challenges they face. Think about how you can turn a disadvantage into an advantage. How can you use past pain in your life to now liberate yourself and others? What opportunities have come into your life that you brushed off as another task or just another thing to do without recognizing that the task was really a set up for a dream deferred. The key here is perspective and realizing that opportunity is there for the taking for those who see it! When opportunity knocks...open the door!

3. W - Willingness to Go Solo - "You can't soar like an eagle when you hang out with turkeys." I have met so many talented people with great ambitions and the only thing holding them back is their "friends" - those they associate with. Show me who you hang around with and I can show you how far you will go in life. Hang around people who lift you up and don't bring you down. Hang around the right people who make you feel good about who you are and the gifts you bring into the world. Hang around people who pat you on the back rather than stab you in the back. Hang around people who celebrate you and not just tolerate you. In order to go to the places you have been destined to go, you have to be willing to do things that other people just won't do. And do it over and over and over again, until what you do becomes who you are and who you are becomes what you do! Don't be afraid to go solo and leave some friends and family members behind. It is your life, your dream, your destiny. Make it happen even if you are standing all by yourself.

4. E - Enthusiastic Spirit - Have you ever seen someone walk into a room and people naturally gravitate towards that person. Be someone people want to be around because of your enthusiastic spirit towards life. This type of person sees life with the glass half full and always has a positive outlook on life regardless of their current situation. They are relentlessly positive in all they do and the way they see things. The saying is true "that your attitude determines your altitude" in life and no one enjoys hanging out with a negative person, a whiner or a complainer. Those type of people are kill-joys to positivity but someone with an enthusiastic spirit brings light into any room. They can make even the hardest conversations comfortable. My philosophy is that when I leave a room I want people feeling better about who they are and on fire to achieving their dreams than when they walked into the room.

5. R - Relationship Builder - One of my mentors once told me that the greatest deals in America are made on the golf course! Mainly because only a certain type of people play golf and you have two to four hours of uninterrupted time to build relationships with those you are playing with almost instantly. You never know who you may meet, the reasons why you met, and how you may meet them again in the future. I don't believe that you meet people by happenstance, but, rather because for one reason or another their destiny is tied to yours and vice versa...even for just a season. Building solid, strong, and trustful relationships is key to your success. What qualifies me to say this is the fact that I have messed up many relationships on my journey to figuring out how to do it right. What you know gets you in the door, but, who you know keeps you there! What relationships in your life need to be restored? What relationships in your life need to be further developed? President Theodore Roosevelt once said that "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care!"

Start off 2015 with deciding to use your P.O.W.E.R. of Leadership in all areas of your life. Of the 5 keys above which one(s) do you do well? Which one(s) do you need to work on? Take action today by practicing your P.O.W.E.R. of Leadership on a daily basis. For over 15 years I have used the keys above to grow myself as a leader and take those I have managed to the next level.

Continue to Rise!