Leadership, or rather the lack of it, is a hot topic right now – unsurprisingly. Here is what I think.

Although there are many qualities necessary to be a genuine leader in a specific situation, these qualities should be common to all.

Good Memory

To enable them to recall peoples names, and the few essential facts that are pertinent to a wide range of problems.

A Genuine Interest In People

Those that you are responsible for leading will know at once if you are genuinely interested in them and particularly in their development.

Show this and you create that personal bond that is essential to the success of your team. You cannot fake an interest in people, they always find you out. A leader can only be successful by ensuring the success of every individual in the team.

Integrity

This is the big one: If the team has cause to doubt the integrity of its leader, then it will fail when the team is exposed to stress or a risk. If a person is capable of minor lapses in their personal integrity, they fail to keep faith, then they could let their own team members down when they are under pressure.

Once the team doubt the leader, that doubt greatly limits their chances of the fullest success.

 The Ability To Communicate Effectively

A good leader must be able to talk and write simply, clearly and persuasively. They must also listen and digest information intently. Communication is a two way process.

Decisiveness

There is a time when a decision must be made and a risk taken, even though the facts may be incomplete. A leader must recognise when further analysis is unprofitable and action is needed. It helps if the cost of changing the decision is known. If the cost is low, the risk is low.

 The Ability To Relax

If the team is kept tense and under pressure, irritation arises and performance fails. This is overcome by deliberately introducing a break just a light remark or opportunity for laughter. The importance lays in the frequency and the need for the break to be related to the task or the people not a funny story. The break should be brief, even momentary. It should also come at an opportune moment.

Genuine Enthusiasm

Inner conviction, belief in the team and the objectives before it, gives rise to enthusiasm. This must be visible to the members of the team. It provides the motive power they use to tackle their jobs with courage and hope. If the leader has no belief in the task, why should their team even attempt it?

If you are a leader, how did you measure up? And if you are a follower, how does your leader rate?

Today’s News:

Craig Klein of SalesNexus has produced another excellent FREE ebook called:

“E- Mail Marketing The Only Bailout Your Business Needs! How To Create It, Send It and Profit From it”

He will be releasing weekly instalments, and here is a snippet from this week’s episode:

Won’t They Think I’m Spamming?
“If you run a small business or run marketing or sales within a medium sized business, you’re going to remember this year. 2009 will go down in the history books as one of the most financially tumultuous years ever. There seems to be a never ending parade of businesses going out of business! And whoever is left standing, including many prominent corporations, institutions – even state and local governments – are asking for bailouts.”

You can download it here

On a completely different topic, I have received a plethora of messages recently from people I don’t know, insisting on calling me “John” So let’s be clear about this: When I was very young, my mother called me “Jonnie” Then at school, everyone addressed me as “Jontie” – well friends, anyway, because I went to one of those schools where only surnames were used – so “Farrington” or “You boy” if you were in trouble, which I frequently was.

Later on, team mates liked to use “Jono” which interestingly died a death after I retired from team sports, and only re-surfaced recently, via Jill Konrath.

So can we be clear? If you are called Robin, I will not call you Robinho. Jerry will not be shortened to Jez, and Diane will not be translated into Doris. In return, all I ask is that I can be Jonathan – with two “a’s” please, because I like it very much, and so did my parents - obviously.

Tomorrow: If you missed last night’s brilliant Roundtable – “Harnessing The Power Of Referrals” – you should be kicking yourself. The panel were on top form. So tomorrow, to balance the books, I welcome back the leading cold-calling expert in the world, Wendy Weiss.

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