Leadership starts in your own life and then radiates outward as an example to others.
Dave Arch wrote in his Book 'Transforming Leaders - The Sandler Way' "You cannot expect to transform a Team, or an Organisation, until you've transformed yourself."
There are 7 essential qualities that are reflected and exemplified in the character and work habits of great Leaders. Let's take a look at each of them.
Personal Power
A Leader must be someone who has demonstrated a track record of Personal Power.
Your definition of success is your own. But, if you expect to have people follow you, then you must have achieved a measure of success in an area of your life which others want to achieve. Others must be willing to follow you in the hope that you can lead to similar successes.
So, what is your track record? What abilities and special skills made that track record possible?
Conviction
Conviction is your ability to communicate, positively, what you think and how you strongly feel. "Unshakeable Belief" is a great way to describe Conviction.
Conviction happens when your belief in something is so deep that it becomes a part of you.
Are you willing, and able, to communicate that which is the deepest part of you? Will you go first? Will you communicate how you feel, before anyone else, before others share how they feel on the subject?
Charisma
How effectively, quickly and deeply do you connect with others? How easy is it for people to get to know you?
Charisma is defined as "compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others."
Your ability to bond and build rapport with others quickly is more relevant to problem-solving, than your expertise.
Are you easy to like? Or are you "a lot to get past"?
People Skills
Great People Skills means the ability to "read" other people and have influence with them.
There are many factors to developing great people skills. It includes your ability to read the subtleties in people's body language. Also, the ability to learn how to connect with somebody without overlooking the contact in which you are communicating.
Having People Skills means you are sensitive to all of the subtle cues people send your way, when they are communicating with you.
Courage
Don't mistake Courage for Confidence. Courage is not necessarily how confident you are as an individual. It has more to do with how you make others feel.
If your Courage makes others feel insecure, that can be a problem. Courage should not cause others to become fearful.
Courage is your ability to feel secure in a situation and make others feel as secure as you do.
Ethics
Are you acting in accordance with clear, consistent principles? Are you connected to a sense of right and wrong?
Your people need to know, in any given moment, exactly what you are going to do; they need to know what boundaries you are going to do it in. As a Leader you will have communicated the principles and values that guide your life.
Expertise
Expertise is very different from what you do. It's what you know.
What wisdom and insights do you possess as the result of your own personal experiences?
Expertise is practical wisdom. Practical wisdom causes others to say, "I didn't see it that way."
Personal Power, Conviction, Charisma, People Skills, Courage, Ethics, Expertise. These are the Seven essential qualities of a Leader.
They are supportive of each other. No truly great Leader is missing any of these qualities.
Each quality operates in a fully integrated manner with the other six.
If you are an ambitious Business Leader who is committed to transforming your Leadership style, then join us on Wednesday 26th July 2017 to learn more: