Do you believe Leadership can be relatively simple? Ever wonder why we complicate it? Could it be because we truly do not understand how it works?
“People don’t need to be changed or rescued.
People need knowledge of their own power and how to access it.”
Many people aspire to “Lead’ by assuming a position and then wonder why no one is following them. Leadership is not based on position but rather on Personal Power.
First lets recognize what people want in a leader:
- Trust
- Guidance
- Hope
Understanding leadership is the key. Yes, it is influence but it is more than that. It starts with personal power. It is the ‘power within’ that leads to actions that result in the outcomes you want.
Personal Power is:
- Your confidence
- Your conviction in what you are doing and what you want to achieve
- Your vision
- Your skill and experience
- Your ability to relate to others
- Your trustworthiness.
Think about what made you willing to choose to follow your leader? What made you willing to believe in what they said? What led you to buy into their vision? I would venture to guess you liked their style and felt comfortable with them. Maybe you liked what they had accomplished and felt confident in the vision they painted for your future.
I believe it most often goes back to Trust, Guidance and Hope.
From all my experience as a leader I believe it is vital to first build trust. Trust is built through relationship building and relationships take time.I often compare it to dating someone. In most cases no one would marry the person they are dating on the first date. I know it has happened but for the most part most married couples have gone through a courtship. This process builds trust as it is with leadership.
As a leader it is important to get to know your people and give them opportunities to get to know you. When the leader keeps showing up the people learn that they can rely on them. I always found it interesting when visiting a group of people I was leading that the first question they would ask me when I arrived to their area to work with them, was “When are you coming back?”… I had just arrived but it was important to them before they were ready to commit to my leadership to know if they could trust in the promise that I would be there for them in the future. They were trusting my relationship, my willingness to invest my time in their future.
If the team you are leading is not showing up or not following through on the challenges it might be because they are confused or have lost Hope.
Re-evaluate the directions you are giving them.
- Have you taken the time to find out what their goals are?
- Are you giving clear and concise instruction on how to achieve their goals? Step by step explanation.
- Are you ‘Following up’ with them to see how they are progressing?
Clearly defined direction is so important. As a leader people want you to give them guidance. What to do, how to do it and when to do it?
Follow through is so important. Spoon-feed directions and then follow up in case you have to review, repeat or revise the instructions. What is clear to us may be confusing to someone who does not have the same experience as we do.
“A confused mind does nothing.”
The biggest key to Personal Power is HOPE.
Remember…….
Personal Power is the ability to change the direction of your life.
and
“People don’t need to be changed or rescued. People need knowledge of their own power and how to access it.”
To personally unleash my power I know I have to have….
- Have a VISION for the future that meets all my goals and dreams and desires.
- My HOPE is in believing that I can have, be and do what I have dreamed.
- Being around people that ENCOURAGE ME and believe in my dreams.
I can remember in my early years as a leader my first team was not really very productive but I thought they were the best. I loved each one of them; they were truly great people but as far as building a strong business they were not the team.
My Sr. (leader) saw this but had the experience to not criticize this team. Instead she continued to allow me to continue to have faith in my dream of accomplishing my leadership goal and she encouraged me to add different team members.
She kept the HOPE of accomplishment alive in me. She did not shut down my progress by telling me I did not know how to do it, instead she encouraged me to expand my thinking; she gave me a new awareness of how to achieve my goal.
Yes, Personal Power is the strength of your leadership and it centers on Trust, Guidance and Hope.
- Trust – To build trust become a relationship builder. Invest the time. Keep showing up.
- Guidance – Take an interest in your team members goals and dreams and then confidently design a ‘Plan of Action’ for them. Follow up to see if they understand how to execute the plan. Encourage them; do not criticize.
- Hope – Be a visionary…. Believe in dreams and paint the picture for the future. Remind your team members of their goals. Keep their goals in front of them and alive. Celebrate them in advance with notes of encouragement.
I know my personal power is acting with confidence, in having conviction in my dreams and in taking the responsibility of the action necessary to accomplish my dreams.
What is your Leadership personal power?
