There are things that leaders do both in politics and within the private sector here in North Dakota and across the country that sometimes have us scratch our heads. Now, no one expects perfection in leadership and management and every one of us makes mistakes; it is not only an aspect of leadership but in life itself. Sometimes the simplest of Dale Carnegie principles stick in the back of our minds in both decision making and problem solving. Winning friends and influencing people in a positive way have been foundations of success for decades.
Leaders define success and minimize mistakes when they do the simple things in the organization:
- Make the people the plan: Sometimes we focus so much on processes, procedures, charts and data that we forget that without people we have no organization and without followers there are no leaders.
- Stay on task: Meandering around clear goals and objectives and going off tangent with message create as much challenge as it does confusion. Stay on course and be consistent with purpose.
- Involve everyone: From top to bottom and most importantly, from the bottom to the top, get ideas and solutions from the very people doing the job each and every day. Leading by walking around is a great strategy for the entire team. Smart people do indeed work down the corridor or in the next department.
- Welcome both resistance and dissent: This approach has made countries free and in organizations it just makes sense. Listening to the good, the bad and the ugly makes improvement that much easier. Welcome the maverick and the outspoken. Preventing mistakes through Groupthink is too important.
When leadership fails, it is because it does none of these ingredients well.
Focus, commitment, and involvement can make or break management and leadership; ask every day, “How am I doing?”
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Photo Credit: peterborner.com
