Product Showcases

Take the Leadership Challenge

"Your employees come first. And if you treat your employees right, guess what? Your customers come back, and that makes your shareholders happy. Start with employees and the rest follows from that."
  --- Herb Kelleher

If you get a chance, and you have time to read a book, I suggest a classic that has been around for over 25 years titled, The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. But, if you feel you don't have the time, I will outline here five key leadership principles that you can begin applying to your business today. The book offers so much more, so it is worth a read.

The first principle is to Model the Way. What is meant by that is that if you have employees, your actions are being watched on a daily basis. If you talk a good talk about providing great customer service, working with integrity, and treating others fairly, but you don't do those things, your words are useless.

"Employee loyalty begins with employer loyalty. Your employees should know that if they do the job they were hired to do with a reasonable amount of competence and efficiency, you will support them."
  --- Harvey Mackay

The second principle is Inspiring a Shared Vision. This means that the leader sets a course, communicates the course to the team, and sticks to the course. It is amazing to me how many business leaders hide this information from their team members. It is as if they are afraid of letting the cat-out-of-the-bag for some strange reason. To the team, it shows a lack of confidence not just in the team, but a lack of self-confidence on the part of the leader.

"Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?"
  --- Steven Wright

Number three is Challenging the Process, which means that the leader equips team members with the right tools - education, training, equipment - and then allows them to fail. It is the competent leader that can do this without freaking out over the consequences. The smart players know that well-trained employees may fail, learn from their failures and provide even greater productivity than ever before.

"If you are a parent, you have probably already realized that your children are always watching what you do. And just as children watch their parents and emulate their behavior, so do employees who are watching their bosses."
  --- John C. Maxwell

The fourth key principle found in The Leadership Challenge is Enabling Others to Act. This means that the leader builds trusting relationships with team members and this in turn builds confidence and trust in the leader. The leader that incorporates this principle is not afraid of the employee surpassing the leader in productivity, creativity, sales, and more.

"The only people whose opinions I worry about are my wife, my children, and my employees."
  --- Alan Sugar

Finally, the fifth principle is Encouraging the Heart, which implies the touchy-feely side of leadership such as providing encouragement, sympathy and empathy when needed, and celebrations when a team member succeeds.

Applying just one of these principles will make a positive difference in your business, but can you imagine mastering all five? Your business will reach new heights and you will have mastered the leadership challenge.