Leadership

by Brian Tracy

The transactional leader is the person who gets things done with and through others.

transformational leader. This is the leader who is the path maker. This is the leader who is the visionary. This is the leader who motivates, uplifts, inspires, and empowers people to perform at levels far beyond anything they’ve ever done before.

Leadership is the ability to elicit extraordinary performance from ordinary people.

LEADERS HAVE a vision and a sense of mission that lifts up and inspires men and women to help achieve that mission. In fact, there is in every one of us a desire to commit to something bigger than ourselves; leaders have the ability to tap into that root of motivation, drive, and enthusiasm that allows us to commit ourselves to achieving that vision.

Perhaps the most important way for people to feel important and valued is through attention. People aren’t going to be dedicated to the goals of the organization if they are continuously ignored. They are not going to feel like key players in the mission if they just receive commands without having any opportunity for input or feedback. Attention means listening to people, without interrupting. You don’t necessarily have to take their suggestions or agree to what they are saying. But give them a chance to say it.

COURAGE IS ONE of the most important qualities of leadership. It is courage that causes the leader to launch, and it is also what causes people to rally around the banner of the leader. Courage, wonderfully enough, can be developed. Courage is not something you are born with, but it is something you can learn.

Remember that the future belongs to the risk takers. There is no greatness in life among those who avoid taking risks.

The first motivation factor is to give people challenging and interesting work.

The second factor that motivates people is open communication. Leaders don’t just tell employees what to do without any explanation of why they are doing it. Employees will be inspired and motivated if they understand how their tasks fit into the overall picture.

The third factor is responsibility and accountability. If employees are held responsible for the tasks, they are much more likely to be engaged in the task. It also builds up their confidence and self-esteem. Leaders know how to support their employees while at the same time stepping back and giving them full responsibility.

The fourth factor is personal growth and promotion. If employees feel that they are advancing in the skills or learning something new and important, then they will be much more motivated to work as best as they can. As for the fifth and sixth motivating or inspiring factors, they are the ones that most people think of first! I’m talking about money and working conditions. Money and working cond...

Employees have three types of emotional needs that, if satisfied, will keep them motivated and inspired.

HOW DO LEADERS get followers? What is it that enables average men and women to elicit extraordinary performance from average people? Why do people confer the title of leader on an individual? One simple reason: People are made leaders because they are seen to be the individuals who are most likely to lead the organization to victory. Leadership equals winning.

LEADERS ARE excellent communicators. The ability to communicate is a core quality of leadership. That’s because 85 percent of your success as a leader is determined by your ability to communicate effectively with others. After all, being a leader is about dealing with others—their success is your success. If you cannot communicate, you cannot be a leader.

In a successful organization, employees at all levels know with crystal clarity what it is they are trying to accomplish, where they are going, and what their future is. They know, with clarity, what their strengths and weaknesses are.

“There is no failure for the man who realizes his power, who never knows when he is beaten; there is no failure for the determined endeavor; the unconquerable will. There is no failure for the man who gets up every time he falls, who rebounds like a rubber ball, who persists when everyone else gives up, who pushes on when everyone else turns back.”

WHEN WE TALK about leaders being made and not born, one of the things that we know is that the number one quality that puts you on the fast track to the executive suite, or puts your outfit at the top of its field, is the ability to put together a championship team. It is the ability to put together a group of men and women who can work together in harmony to accomplish great things.

You can tell the quality of the leader by the quality of the people the leader picks to surround himself with. Strong leaders always pick people that are better than them. Weak leaders will try to pick people who are weaker than they are.

LEADERS ARE results-oriented rather than activities-oriented. Just doing something is worthless if what you’re doing doesn’t lead to a valuable result. Leaders are always thinking in terms of the results that are expected of them.

LEADERS HAVE an intense desire to lead. This is what is called the royal jelly or the fire in the belly. And what is absolutely necessary here is self-reliance. Interestingly enough, leaders tend to be very individualistic. They tend to be autonomous with a high need for control. They like to make their own decisions.

High self-esteem means believing in yourself. It will give you the persistence and focus to stay in line.

The great Peter Drucker wrote, “We greatly overestimate what we can do in one year. But we greatly underestimate what is possible for us in five years.”

Leaders work harder. The workplace is not the place to socialize. It is not the place to wander around the Internet. Leaders don’t waste time when they are in the workplace.

Leaders work faster. They are always looking to pick up the pace, immediately. They are never satisfied with their speed. They want to get more done, faster.

Leaders work longer hours. Most leaders are the first ones in the office. And they are often the last to leave. Just those extra hours a week make...

A key to developing leadership qualities is to read, study, and take courses. All leaders are readers. Even though they are swamped with work, they never stop taking in new information. They never stop reading business books and magazines, attending conferences, getting into discussions, and learning what is going on.

The book was called The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. Washington wrote down the book’s 110 rules in a personal notebook and would keep it with him for the rest of his life.

It doesn’t matter where you came from. It only matters where you are going. Don’t worry about any past opportunities that you may have missed or any mistakes you may have made because of a weakness. That is all past. It is the future that counts. Just because you haven’t been a leader before doesn’t mean you can’t become one.

Clarify expectations from the very beginning. Make sure that employees know exactly what results you expect from them. Make those results as objective as possible.

Set measurable standards of performance. Remember that “what gets measured gets done.” Put financial measures on each output.

Never assume that the employee has completely understood your instructions. When you delegate an assignment or a project to your employees, make sure they are taking notes...

Give regular feedback. Tell people what they are doing well and what they ...

Don’t criticize the employee or discuss the problem in a public place. Call the employee into your office to talk about the situation.

LEADERS ARE active and productive and set the example for others by working hard and long. However, effective leaders also know that lifestyle choices can make a big difference in their success. Leaders take care of themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally, which gives them the energy and peace of mind to deal with the challenges and stress of leadership.

French writer Blaise Pascal wrote, “All the problems in the world originate because of man’s inability to be alone in a room with himself.”

Leaders keep their promises. They give promises carefully, even reluctantly, but once they have given that promise, they follow through on that promise without fail. And they always tell the truth.

Leaders always err on the side of fairness, especially when other people are unfair. As a matter of fact, the true mark of leadership is how fair you can be when other people are treating you unfairly.