—Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister, Georgia
The difference between leadership and management is a leader charts the course and a manager steers the ship. Developing leadership capability is a lifelong journey of discovery because there is always something more to learn—new skills, new techniques, new tools, new understanding. Leading people is so challenging yet so rewarding because of the inherent complexities built into leading people and into groups—the individuals and the interactions between individuals and within teams are all different and always changing and evolving, as is the external environment.
Becoming a great leader is analogous to becoming great in a new sport—you must practice small things every day and learn new skills and techniques to become a superior athlete; it’s the same requirement to become a great leader.
—John Kurz, Fortune 500 Executive
The successful leader of the future drives the emerging regenerative economy through sustainable and human-centric innovative business practices. To do so successfully, leaders must have systemic thinking and sensing capabilities, complex global solution generation, and a moral compass ensuring responsible, aligned action for positive impact. A regenerative leader and business regenerates life. In short, such leaders give more than they take. To become a regenerative leader requires going against the grain of “business as usual,” where profit maximization at the expense of environmental resources and human health and well-being is the norm. It requires a courageous commitment to use one’s power consciously and develop lifelong practices of self-disruption of our habitual and unconscious mindsets and preconceived ideas and feeling impulses. This is leadership for the responsible, strong, and able-minded, and it requires deep inner work over a sustained period of time. It becomes a way of life that sustains and nourishes at the deepest level.
—Sandja Brügmann, Managing Partner, the Passion Institute
The key to successful leadership is the ability to convey trust and honesty to the people who comprise your team, which in turn creates and breeds honor. Trust is one of the most valuable human assets and is earned over time—while honesty is the foundation in which great leadership can be attained. These two important components create the roots of the “culture of a company,” which is essential for success. A business environment that operates with a rich culture establishes a veil of honor that is the oxygen of a successful company. Great leadership establishes this kind of playing field—honesty, trust, and honor—which gives everyone the ability to succeed on their own while strengthening any “weak links” that will appear. Great leadership can be measured by the success of a company because both go hand in hand.
—Steele Platt, Founder, Yard House
After twenty years working as an executive coach to Fortune 100 leaders there is one undeniable truth I have uncovered, “you can’t win at life if you are losing in your mind” and therein lies the difference between authentic leaders and those who follow the masses. Leaders who inspire those around them must possess certain key characteristics to be successful, such as a high level of EQ, to fight the daily battles that face them, but more important is the battle within. Authentic leaders know when and how to call bulls*t on themselves by asking themselves powerful questions that challenge their internal beliefs. To lead in the twenty-first century (and beyond) leaders must come to understand who they are, what they stand for, and what they are capable of providing those they lead.
—Joshua Miller, master certified executive coach, author, Amazon best seller I Call Bullshit: Live Your Life, Not Someone Else’s
Leadership is about taking initiative—pioneering progress, catapulting projects, and engaging people to do their best work. If you are in a leadership role, you must be an initiator who is capable of moving an organization forward.
—Jimmy Calano, Founder and CEO (retired), CareerTrack
My best advice is this: When delegating, prioritize assigning tasks according to strengths and weaknesses. The company won’t benefit from having a team member completing a task they don’t feel confident in. Delegate wisely and play to people’s strengths to obtain the best results. This goes the same for yourself—if your skills could be better put to use elsewhere, don’t be afraid to let go of the reins and focus on growth.
—Candice Galek, Founder, Bikini Luxe
Decision-makers aren’t cold, calculating, dispassionate machines; they’re human beings. And human beings are notoriously bad for making critical decisions based on what they feel in their gut instead of what the data reveals. They may know facts and figures but can choose to ignore scientific findings if their feelings tell them otherwise. Your job as a leader is to connect with the workforce on a personal level. Get as deep as you can in finding their trigger points so they will pay attention to your message. Get them to see the true meaning of what you can deliver, and not just superficial bullet points that dance around the core of what you offer. At the very least, create communications that speak directly to their ambitions, aspirations, desires, and fears. Don’t be afraid to strike an emotional chord. Get them to care about what it is you have to tell them. Deliver meaning.
—Frank Pietrucha, President, Definitive Communications, and author, Supercommunicator: Explaining the Complicated So Anyone Can Understand
Emphasize the care that must be taken with the people, the work team, on the road to the achievements that the leader challenges the team to achieve. There is a high risk of falling into pressures bordering on excessive imposition or so-called motivation at the expense of employees’ self-esteem. A good leader must above all be clear about what should move the business and the people and what should be avoided. Leading is to show the way, communicate and share the vision, let the team grow and mature, and bring out the best in each one to achieve it. It is essential to have a sense of humor to overcome difficult moments, unplanned adverse events, and bring creativity to solutions.
The fact that the team feels that “it can go with its leader into battle,” feeling such a loyalty and admiration for the “Boss,” is what generates the bonds to surpass what was believed possible and creates results better than expected.
—Alejandra Sabugo, Gerente de Administracion, CMPC Tissue
I believe you have to surround yourself with the smartest people you can find, never feel like you have to have all the answers, let your people know how important their work and contributions are to the organization, give them a vision of where you want the organization to head, then let them do their job to achieve that goal! Support and encouragement along the way are critically important. Leaders have to earn trust and respect—it’s all about people and capturing their hearts, as well as their minds.
—Becky Stewart, Retired VP, Fortune 500
I didn’t set out to become a leader, but rather to do whatever I could to make things better. I have always approached my role as being in a better position to help remove the obstacles that get in the way of the workforce. That’s my role.
—Roy Fonseca, Terminal Manager, American Airlines, Miami International Airport
I think the key is to be able to see and grasp opportunities today without overwhelming yourself with long-term career paths. Take opportunity, do whatever you do with passion and dedication, and these will take care of longer-term success. And another one is “Do invest in people who work for you, as we are only as good as they are.”
—Leyla Novruzova, VP HR, Fortune 500
I would offer that keeping your head up, keeping eyes on the market and strategy as well as inside the organization, and relentless execution are the keys. One day I will figure out how to do all that.
—Tim Taylor, President and CEO, FreeFlight Systems
If I had to give one piece of effective leadership advice it would be the insight that when it comes to motivating people to execute projects, it is better to inspire them to action, rather than having them implement action. People will always be
more motivated to work on something that is “theirs.” When you inspire people to action, their work productivity will increase because they are doing it from their fuel source, not ours. How do I execute that? My rule of thumb is to make sure everyone who works for my company is pursuing their dream under the umbrella of my company. When they pursue their dream and leave their mark of excellence, inspiration is a no brainer.
—Tracy Kemble, PhD, Owner, Dr. Tracy TV and Mrs. Globe
Organizations that can create truly sustainable performance will be the winners of tomorrow. This requires leaders and teams who can adapt and learn quickly, who can instigate and sustain change in a complex system in which they have significantly less direct control, who can establish a creative and innovative environment in which solutions are swiftly arrived at, and who can ensure a high order of person and collective well-being deep into their organizations in which the work is felt to be positive and have real meaning.
In short, it will require leaders to establish modern learning organizations, or as we say, organizations who know how to “slow down to speed up.”
—David Webster, Director, Centre for Teams, London
The French poet Nicolas Boilleau said that we must listen to the earth. She is our only common home and she is weakened by our actions, but she has an incredible weapon—resilience. Every human being who listens to his heart knows how important it is to preserve our beautiful environment for our own survival.
—Cyrielle Hariel,speaker, journalist, and author, Faire battre le cœur du monde
Leadership is most effective when you have developed and shared a clear vision with all employees in your organization. Through this you can create a culture of empowerment and enhanced self-confidence which will result in the breakdown of barriers leading to an environment of honesty and openness. As a leader I always believed in the untapped potential of all employees and believed my role was to create an environment in which they could realize this potential. A good leader must be a good listener and be able to relate to every employee.
—Ken McKenzie, Retired Sr. VP, Premdor Europe
The most important quality for a leader is to speak passionately from the heart; to be authentic and to see all people as equal. Ultimately a great leader has reached a state of deep compassion for all fellow human beings.
—Lady Louisa Compton, humanitarian
Leaders create the culture and the culture creates results. Within every organization there lives a culture that either works for them or works against them—the difference between a success and nurturing culture and one of disappointment and dysfunction. As a first step, you need take the temperature of your organization on a regular basis to ensure that it is performing at an optimum level. This also allows you to take a read on how individual employees are performing . . . are they just showing up and going through the motions or are they fully engaged and excited to be there? If those two statements are the bookends of corporate culture then regularly tracking the temperature will be a significant performance indicator for you. Accountability should not be viewed as a punishment but rather as an indicator to track and measure performance.
—John Rose, leadership succession/transition/culture expert, John Rose Consulting
The adoption of new technology change people’s behavior which puts totally new demands on leaders and their teams. On how they interact with their customers, how they inform, how fast they are, but also on how products and services are designed. In the light of the fast-paced change we see today the leadership must adopt and change accordingly. The importance of a high Adaptability Quotient (AQ), rather than a high EQ or IQ, increases and can differentiate a corporation from another.
And are we managing for today or for tomorrow? A company’s long-term survival often depends on taking risks, experimenting and learning from failure in the hunt for new products, services, and processes. At the same time, a company also needs consistency and attention to make the most out of the existing products, services, and processes they already have. These innovation paradoxes can bring tensions between today and tomorrow. An effective leader needs to take into account a “both/and” leadership to be successful.
—Annelie Gullström, global digital transformation expert and strategist
The future starts today, not tomorrow!
—Cormac McConnell, CEO, Common Good International
Good leadership is not about power. It’s about trust. I always try to inspire and motivate people to feel good about themselves, confident enough to take the necessary steps, willing and wanting to trust themselves and their instincts. It is important that people feel safe and that they can trust me, and they only do so if I trust them, listen to them, and leave enough space which includes them. Everyone needs to understand the context and be respected and acknowledged. I always try to listen, honor, and appreciate everyone and at the same time listen, honor, and appreciate myself.
—Eva Helmersson, inspirational innovator, influencer, patient advocate
There is no recipe for leadership. There is a journey, where you can try, learn, get inspired, try again, get feedback, fail, do your best, learn, and try some more. Best anchors on the journey are personal values, principles, asking for feedback, and an open heart.
—Anja Voss, global executive trainer and facilitator
There will always be leaders and followers. It is the duty of the leader to create new leaders when possible and nurture followers toward success in their collaborate mission.
—John M. Freeborn, Director, iST Gateway LLC
Good leaders bring visions to life. They know that everything they need resides inside of them. Epic leaders know when to lead and when to follow. They are unique humans who follow their heart regardless of what society says they should do.
Phenomenal leaders see the good in all walks of life, so they experience great defeat that prepares them for their destiny. They do their best to learn from mistakes even if it takes a while. The best leaders live to make the world a better place by being the love they wish to see in the world.
—Tsailii J. Rogers, entrepreneur, producer, actress, and philanthropist
Leaders are those who know that success is not a lucky moment. For them success is discipline plus consistency and hard work. The true leaders are those who motivates others and shows them the path they would walk together to succeed. When they achieve their goals, they don’t use “I”—they say, “We.”
—Inna Boyadzhieva, crowdfunding expert
My key to effective leadership: Leadership is not about being at the forefront of change, it’s being the energy that drives that change. That energy can only be found by harnessing our integrity, creativity, emotional intelligence, and authenticity. Effective leadership comes from the congruency of channeling these essences of our human nature, emanating from your innermost self and letting them direct you.
—Caroline McMenamin, Founder, Replenish: Acting on Mental Health
I was always encouraged to identify and develop folks with leadership potential and I did the same. Investment here is more important than plant and equipment. First line and middle management leaders are the ones who have the toughest challenges. They need the most support. But, unless you identify and deal with the actively disengaged in your organization—not necessarily poor performers, but the folks who deliberately undermine the leaders— it’s tough for the organization to excel. Help them change or purge them.
—Irwin F. Edenzon, Retired President, Ingalls Shipbuilding
The ultimate goal of true leadership is not to maintain control over people but to produce leaders and people greater than yourself.
—Tiffany Sonnier, International Executive Director, Destiny Institute
Leadership:
Win the hearts and minds of people
Culture Culture Culture
Transparency
Appro
achable
Good listener
Questions
Great GUT
People person
—Jimmy L. Johns, Vice President, Site Lead, Elbit Systems of America
I find that with a good work environment and a team that works well, we can achieve excellent business results. Qualities such as competence, values, a positive attitude, and consequential behavior are the basics.
—Sergio Alvarez, Gerente General, Forestal Bosques del Plata
Leadership starts with authenticity and the ability to relate. Win your people’s respect and their desire to “want to,” and the other necessary leadership traits then impact your company’s desired results exponentially and sustainably.
—Joseph Starcevic, Principal, Joseph Starcevic Business Coach Inc.
Leadership inspires not only the mindset but the heartset as well. This way team members are courageous, they feel positivity, connected and supported to unleash their potential, creating value and achieving meaningful results.
—Zita Gaál, Executive and Team Coach, M&G Vision Coaching
It’s obvious that leadership requires confidence, but all too often in contemporary business culture, we mistake the traits of arrogance, inflexibility, and self-congratulations for confidence. I prefer to see the confidence of a leader reflected as commitment to the mission of the organization and to the people entrusted to carry it out. Leaders who exhibit this commitment are not devoid of ego, but rather gain their reward from the accomplishments of the organization as a whole, and from the team of people who make it happen, as opposed to the praise (and sometimes fear) that is directed at themselves.
—Tony Shaw, CEO and Founder, Dataversity
About the Author
Rogue Leadership Page 13