Leadership Lessons

I'm grateful for my friend in the US Steve Felix publishing on his own Blog a reminder of Leadership Lessons from my book “I Wanna Tell You A Story”

1. Never, ever assume.

2. Be humble, you are still learning: you can learn from anyone. You are a role model-think about how you want to be remembered.

3. Make it up as you go along works as a strategy sometimes. Policies help and act as a guide but sometimes you just have to get on and ‘do it.’

4. Actually you don’t know all the answers; you can always learn; beware especially of those old well-established systems that everyone is comfortable with-don’t protect them blindly.

5. The best way to gain power is to let go of power; Your front line staff knows all the answers. You cannot possibly know the dynamics and relationships as well as your staff. Learn to let go.

6. Know what it is that you do; and more importantly, know how you can prove it.

7. You are as powerful or as weak as you believe you are; Strive for change and improvements…No one should be punished for trying too hard.

8. Walking the talk means getting your hands dirty; You never lose the responsibility of making sure the job gets done. Your credibility is linked to how dirty you are prepared to see your hands become.

9. Never underestimate how powerful you are perceived to be as a manager; You hold the key to the joy or grief of many people and you probably do not realize it. Respect that power and use it to make the job of your staff easier.

10. Cherish the basics; When you begin your leadership journey as a junior member of staff, cherish the experience you gain in doing the basics well. Your ‘old’ bosses may appear pedantic-but you will remember that detail when you are a leader and just how important detail can be.

11. Take responsibility personally as a leader; Small thing to you may be a big thing to someone else.

12. You don’t need to shout; People know when they have made a mistake.

13. Rules are made to be stretched; and sometimes broken.

14. Decisiveness is both listening and doing; Decisiveness is about listening respectfully and then setting a clear direction.

15. Make up your own mind; Don’t always believe what you hear about your bosses. Make your mind up based on how they treat you.

16. Always be ready to change your plans; Never make assumptions about other people’s motivation and when you make plans be prepared to change them.

As always let me know what you think.

•