Ten Leadership Rules
Ten Leadership Rules: Trust, Team, Credit, Inspiration, Vision, Rewards, Integrity, Optimism, Growth, and Have Fun.
Trust – You must have a team you trust to accomplish the work that needs to be done. They also need to trust you. You need to do what you say and say what you mean. Be balanced, fair, and honest.
Team – You must have a team with complementary skills, good chemistry, and passion.
Credit – You must take the blame for failures and give credit to your team for success. Look for ways to praise, always about specific accomplishments. Always thank your team and always verbalize your appreciation. Honestly care about your team and show that you care. If you don’t care for your team, change it.
Inspiration – You must inspire and motivate your team. To do that you need to understand your team’s “stories,” which means you need to understand what motivates each person; what goals they have; and what will help each team member to achieve their goals and your goals.
Vision – Peter Drucker said, “Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things.” A leader must have the right vision and be able to communicate that vision clearly and consistently. Part of vision is setting goals for yourself and your team that are linked to the company goals and vision. You should also establish a detailed scorecard that has specific responsibilities, requirements and characteristics of each job position, so that everyone knows exactly what they should be doing.
Rewards – Giving credit and accepting blame is a good start. Financial rewards are nice, but not always possible. Public recognition is free and should be done liberally. There are lots of other free rewards. Some examples of free benefits would be to let people dress as they choose, work from home, and have flexible work hours.
Integrity – Leaders must be honest, set a good example by working hard, be knowledgeable, stay calm under pressure, and keep your team informed. Hiding information, being deceitful, or being lazy will drag down your team and you will lose your best people.
Optimism – Leaders have to feel positive about their teams, their company, and the work that everyone is doing. If you are not optimistic, you have to change your team until you believe in the team success. If a leader isn’t optimistic, then no one will believe in the work and believe it will be successful.
Growth – Leaders build leaders. Leaders help everyone get better and reach their goals, as well as meet company goals. Good leadership promotes growth. Not everyone will be a leader, but everyone can get better every day. Empower your people and help them improve and grow. Learn from your mistakes and help others learn from their mistakes.
Have Fun – My daughter and I go to a camp each year south of San Francisco at Jones Gulch. There are lots of activities, including zip lines, canoeing, and climbing walls. The instructors go through all the rules and preparations and then ask all the girls to yell out the final rule…HAVE FUN!!! Work is the same way. There is a lot to do; it is very complex and hard; but great leaders create an environment that is collegial, safe, and fun. People need to like each other, engage each other and enjoy the environment. So have fun.