Effective Leadership

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." -- John Quincy Adams


You cannot manage a soldier into combat-- this is something that my CEO (Ricky Arriola) at Inktel Direct, firmly believes in. As a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, I can tell you first-hand that this is the absolute truth. The same principles that I learned as a leader in the Marine Corps can be applied now as a business professional. The inspired employee acts upon the motivation he finds within through the influence of another; while the managed employee finds his motivation through external factors (e.g., money, manager's requests, incentives). As leaders in our industries we must learn that in order to be successful in what we do, we must help those whom we lead be successful at what they do. To accomplish this, a leader needs to not only lead by example, but also be courageous, trustworthy, and respected.

Courage
Think back into history, and think of those great leaders that inspired the masses and forever changed the world; Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan . What quality did they all have in common? They all had courage. Courage is not the lack of fear but instead the ability to successfully perform with the presence of fear. So be courageous and take risks without the "what if I fail?" mentality and instead replace it with "what if I succeed?"mentality and encourage others to do the same. As a leader, you have the ability to set the pace and the tone of the environment in which your team operates in. If it is one of fear, then people will become risk averse and therefore limit themselves for fear of failure. But if it is one of courage and confidence, then your team will continue to grow and surpass expectations by having the courage to take risks and learn from their mistakes.

Trust
You cultivate trust by establishing boundaries within which you allow others to perform and have certain freedoms (think creatively, take risks, and make decisions) as well as obligations (in which you hold your staff accountable, encourage them to speak the truth and allow them to learn form their mistakes). It is very difficult for people to be productive when they are driven by rules, nor can they be effective when chaos resides and they have no boundaries. You must continuously instill your confidence in your team to be successful within those boundaries while holding those who are not performing accountable without undermining their abilities. In an environment where people feel they are trusted to operate, they will perform their best and take pride in their work. So trust in your ability to lead and trust in those whom which you are leading.

Lead By Example
Just as it is important for you to trust your team, it is important for your team to trust in you. To have a team perform at maximum capacity whether you are there or not, you must keep a "Do as I do" and not a "Do as I say" mentality. A team needs to feel confidence in their leader's ability to perform and ability to lead. You must never be afraid to roll your sleeves up and get your hands dirty. So, take the initiative, have a hands on approach and take smart risks that others would be afraid to take; this will show others that you have the ability to do what they do and teach them based on experience. Always keep a cool head and take the time to teach and help those who need it. Let your actions speak for themselves.

Respect
Treat people the way you want to be treated-- is something that we have been taught since we were children, and yet somewhere along the line, we have forgotten this "Golden Rule". We need to understand that a leader inspires respect and admiration, this is in no way a feasible task if you don't treat others with the same respect you would like. Respect is something that is earned and not given, and you earn it by encouraging others, by teaching and helping those who need help, and by making sure that every action you take are ones that inspires others to succeed despite adversity.

Many question whether leaders are born or made, I believe that there is a mixture of both. To become a great leader you must first be a great follower and it is through learning and allowing to be taught that you can be made into a leader. As leaders we have the ability to change people's life both personal and professional. And even though there are many more qualities that make a successful leader, master these four basic qualities and you will see tremendous improvements in your team's performance and quality of work. Take pride in your position and have confidence in your abilities and always inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.