Leadership

by Andrew Bryant
Executive Coach and Master Trainer

Over the last few months I have been doing a review of the literature on leadership. Leadership is a term that means different things to different people and in different contexts. Without wanting to oversimplify a complex topic, in this month's newsletter I will share an alphabetic approach to leadership.

Asking the right questions
Being the right person
Choosing the right vision and values Doing the right things

Asking the right questions 

The quality of your life is dependant on the quality of the questions you ask. For example if you ask "Why is this all messed up?" then you will be answered with blame or justification, however, if you ask, "What can we do to fix this?" you are more likely to get co-operation and solution focused suggestions.

Leaders are skilled at asking questions of themselves and others. A question can be a thousand times more powerful than a statement for creating change, because people will often resist being told but their brains will automatically go in the direction you send it with a question.

The right questions assist a leader to get accurate feedback. Instead of accepting generic comments such as that was 'good' or 'bad', the leader will ask - "How specifically was it good/ bad? Against what criteria?" "When was this done?" "How specifically was it done?" "And who was it done with?"

Questions enable a leader to coach and to be coached to improve performance. What do you need to question?

 Being the right Person 

This refers to your self-matrix - your human being rather than your human doing. Outstanding leaders have a high degree of self-awareness. They know their own strengths and limitations and accept and appreciate these.

Effective leaders have a high level of self-belief in their own greatness and the responsibility and persistence to make their goals and visions come true. Leaders are aware of their mind-body-emotional state and how to be in the right state for the right task. Self-leadership includes being aware of the 'triggers' that set you off and so being able to regulate your behaviour even when provoked.  continue...