By Jo-Ann Lorber
Every now and then we all need to be reminded what it takes to be a great leader. The pressures of life often weigh heavily upon us to the point that we lose sight of what is truly important to us and our organizations. Effective leaders continually remind themselves to focus their energies and prioritize their lives.
Before we continue, let us define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Now sit back and ask yourself, “Do I really influence others to accomplish goals for my organization?” My hope is that you stated “yes,” but if not, I have come across some leadership reminders that can get you back on the right track or refresh your current leadership skills.
The leadership reminders that I came across doing research for a paper back in my Master’s program are designed to assist leaders in staying focused. I am providing only a handful of reminders that you can pick from and focus on throughout your day to make changes or to better yourself. If you can engrain them in your heart and pass them on to our next generation of leaders, just imagine how your personal life and organization that you lead can only get better. Here are some of the leadership reminders:
- Leadership requires vision. I must have a vision for my life, my work and my purpose.
- Today is not yesterday, and no matter how many times I have failed before, I can succeed today.
- I will not micromanage people.
- I need to be approachable and accessible.
- I need to have a sense of humor about life and lighten up!
- I need to have a quality mentor in my life.
- Arrogance will get me nowhere as a leader; humility will serve me well.
- I can always learn something from everyone.
- I will coach and support those around me.
- When I am wrong, I will admit I am wrong.
- I must exercise patience in all that I do.
- I need to take a “bottom-up” approach to leadership.
- I need to keep reminding myself that I am a work in progress.
As I mentioned before try to pick one of the reminders and focus on it for the day or week and see if you can make the change. I sure as heck know that some of the reminders hit home with me and that I am truly focusing on a few to make myself a better person and leader for my organization.
