the leadership challenge

The Point: Some times as a leader, you win by winning. However, we’ve recently seen that you can just a successfully win by losing (and lose by winning for that matter!) The attitude and feelings of employees determine if a leader has won the leadership challenge or not! So if you’re a leader looking to more fully engage your employees (or even yourself), you’re in the right spot! While leadership isn’t a popularity contest, it isn’t an “unpopularity” contest either… Enjoy!

Employees: The Greatest Asset or Just a Bunch of Asses?

Employees are the greatest asset of an organization and it is the effort of every company to utilize this asset to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. It is the responsibility of every manager, in a leadership position in the company, to make sure that the employees are satisfied. This in turn leads to high productivity for the organization.

Though it is a common concept that employees are the assigned workers of a company and should be directed/driven to achieve the organizational goals, it is no longer an effective idea. Employees, who are merely used to perform their appointed tasks and treated as a means to achieve an end, tend to grow dissatisfied of the company leadership.

It is the responsibility of the organizational leaders to make sure that the employees remain satisfied and do not learn to “hate the leader”! If the employees hate the leader, they will not be willing to perform their best, whereas if they feel that their leader values them, they will be willing to utilize their efforts to help in the achievement of organizational objectives.

Your Employees Might Hate You If…

It is significantly important for a leader to know whether their team members are satisfied and happy with the relationship they have with their leader or not. There are a number of indicators which highlight the employee attitude towards their leaders, and recognizing them is of great significance. Think of that recent employee engagement survey that Human Resources taughted as the “next best thing” to come out of their department. Or perhaps a 360 degree review which was completed on your behalf (and unbeknownst to you!)

I Don’t Get No Respect!

Rodney Dangerfield might have said it (though we doubt he said it first), but the saying might be a true feeling held by your associates. What if you don’t respect them? With no respect and dignity, employees cannot be induced to give high performance. Now that’s quite the leadership challenge!

Leadership = Baby Sitting (NOT!)

Another problem why employees tend to hate their leaders is that they know how to manage their own work and feel that the constant interruptions tend to disrupt their efforts. So the next time you put on your leadership-micromanagement hat, you might want to think again.

What’s My Motivation (or Recognition?)

An employee might also not feel satisfied if they do not receive due recognition for their efforts. Recognition can come in a variety of formats… Money, time off, announcement at the monthly department meeting, etc. Appreciation is a great motivating factor, and any leader who does not offer this basic need could be “hated” by their employees.

Whereas, Your Employees Might Love You If…… 

Employees might feel inspired and motivated to perform at their best, if they feel that their leaders take an interest in their personal career as well as organizational development. (Katcher, 2006) Employee training and development is one feature which prompts employee loyalty in a leader.

Employees who have confidence in their leaders to take the best and right decision for them, “love their leaders” and are willing to exert effort for them.

Does Employee Attitude Matter?

If an employee is contented and satisfied, it will have a positive impact on their productivity and motivation. Employee attitude has a great effect on company success, which makes it essential that a leader should inspire a positive response from their team members.

Summary

To ensure quality leadership and success in the leadership challenge, it is essential to keep employee feelings in consideration and thus ensure organizational success.

To learn more about Tip of the Spear Leadership Development offerings, including The Leadership Challenge, CLICK HERE.

The Point: We have a saying at Tip of the Spear that goes something like this… Leaders Lead! In other words, when it comes time to take on an initiative, as a leader you need to position yourself at the “tip” of the initiative. Learning to lead and adopting a leadership role, is both a responsibility and a challenge in life. Leadership development prepares individuals with a drive and urge to lead from the front… Enjoy!

While implementing leadership development programs to polish and hone the skills in the future leaders, along with a number of other essential factors, the art of leading is given significant importance.

Teaching leaders how to lead can be taught, but the drive and initiative to lead is something which is an innate capability of an individual, which inspires them to perform at their best. The motivating force and the inspiring factor, are unique for every leader, but usually involve some common elements which are found similar in good leaders.

Vision And Purpose 

A leader is prompted to lead when they have a unique vision that they want to share with their team members for the benefit of the company. Every leader has a unique concept and ideal vision for the achievement of a goal, and they lead from the front to successfully realize their aspired vision. This could also be a goal/vision shared through the corporate channel (Think how you might be better suited to share the company goals with your team).

A purpose in life is a great driving force which serves as an effective mode of inspiring an individual to adopt a leadership position. When an individual realizes their purpose in life, they are more than willing to lead from the front, and that is how leadership development progresses. (Conant)

Leadership development offers each leader with an opportunity to exercise an initiative and strive for the best.

Leading By Example

Good leaders are also prompted to act and take initiative, if they feel a need to lead their team members by example. The need to lead is prompted by the requirement of a responsible individual, who can inspire and motivate employees to perform at their maximum potential. Notice that I said “responsible individual” and know that you can infer that leadership is not for everyone!

Desire To Serve

Great leaders are also prompted to lead by their desire to serve their people. They utilize their efforts and talents, to provide convenience for their team, help them perform to their maximum potential, and encourage them to seek challenging tasks for their personal development.

Their desire to serve and take care of their team members proves to be the motivating force for them.

Urge To Make A Difference

Many leaders are motivated to lead, through the use of leadership development programs, which inspire and encourage their interest to lead. Development of leadership skills results in the urge to lead and make a difference by utilizing the skills and talents. So why do you do what you do as a leader? Is it fame? Is it glory? Could it be a bigger purpose?

Response To Challenges

Leaders are also inspired to lead when they encounter challenging situations and projects, which prompt them to take the lead and manage their team from the front. A natural and gifted leader acts as a responsible individual, who guides and instructs their team members, understand their limitations and encourage them to perform their best with the challenge at hand. While we’d love to say that all leadership moments happen in the “proactive” moment, we realize that there will be those moments when leaders find themselves/their teams squarely behind the 8-ball of business (or life!)

Leave A Legacy

Many leaders have a desire to leave a legacy which can be a source of inspiration and encouragement for others. Their desire to leave behind something worthwhile, and make a change for the better, prompts them to utilize their passion and talents, and conduct themselves in such a way that fellow workers are motivated to perform at their best. Unfortunately, and we see this way too often at Tip of the Spear, these legacy leaving moments don’t typically occur until a leader has experienced significant time on the job (So later in one’s career).

Summary

So here is the leadership challenge in a nutshell: Leaders need to lead from the front. However, just because you assume this pole-position doesn’t mean that all will be smooth sailing from there. Leadership development brings out and polishes the leadership skills of an individual, thus preparing them for a leadership role, whenever the need arises.

For more information on Tip of the Spear Leadership Development offerings, including our use of The Leadership Challenge, CLICK HERE.

The Point: Ever wonder what the parallels are between The United States’ Navy’s Sea, Air, Land Teams (known as the Navy SEALs) and your daily business activities? After all, in your daily leadership role for your organization hopefully you’re not in live “combat” situations (This is quite the leadership challenge!) So what similarities do exist, and once identified would be the potential for greater success in your civilian leadership role? In this post, Tip of the Spear takes a look at the incredible awesomeness (no other way of saying it) that a Navy SEAL experiences and points out four (4) conditioning secrets that you can use to better yourself, your team, and your organization!

The Navy SEAL’s motto is ‘The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.’ The most revered, versatile and skilled units in the world may have a thing or two to teach you about leadership development. Navy SEALs are considered the ultimate warriors of the United States Military Special Forces, and for all the right reasons. They are motivated, dedicated, focused, well trained, passionate and specialists in troubleshooting the unexpected. Perhaps not as aggressive and dangerous, but leadership challenges also require someone with similar skills and personality traits to plan accordingly and execute in business situations. See if your leadership development program measures up to these incredible standards!

Mental Toughness

The biggest weapon that the Navy SEALs officers have are their heads (think of it as their thought patterns, with mind over muscle/matter). Physical wellness can only get you so far without mental agility. Mentally strong are those who don’t feel sorry for themselves, don’t let the opinions of others get to them and do not use failures as excuses to give up. Other common traits of mentally strong people include those who welcome change, are risk takers and don’t waste time on things that they cannot control. If your heads not in the game, don’t expect those assigned to you to follow for very long!

Lead by Example and Sacrifice

Here is another one of the leadership challenges: Your team wouldn’t jump in the business “fire” until they aren’t are sure that you would be willing to do the same for them. Navy SEALs officers don’t throw their teams in the line of fire while they stand securely in safer zones. If anything, they lead the team into the danger zone. That’s exactly the kind of attitude a strong leader needs to demonstrate as well. Remember, leaders lead!

Don’t expect your team to lose sleep for three consecutive nights in a row while you sleep tight and then eventually take the credit for all their hard work. Nobody likes a leader that carries the ball into the end-zone from the 1-yard line if the team was responsible for going the majority of the way down the field. Doing so makes your team lose morale and just might make you lose a highly valuable team. Your team needs to know that you have their back and are willing to get dirty in the trenches with them not just at the end when the scoreboard gets lit up, but all the way prior to that time.

Make it Happen!

The SEALs are not asked whether or not they are ready to take on a challenge. They are told to ‘Make it Happen.’ The boss or commanding officer does not care how their team accomplishes its goals as long as they can be assured that the job would be done (within certain limits, right?) This shows the team that their leader trusts them to make the right decisions and to take responsibilities of the tasks at hand. You, as a leader, in your leadership development need to show similar faith in your team and allow them the opportunity to “Make it Happen!”

End Objective

If a team is not allowed to get out of their comfort zones without fearing consequences, their contribution to the force, whether in the battle zone or at the workplace, would be highly limited. As a leader, you need to eliminate parameters that restrict you and your team’s progress. Find the internal motivations for people to do what you need them to do, as well as the extrinsic motivations. Inspire them and encourage them to get out of their comfort zones. You need to continue setting new goals for yourself as well as the team to take you to the next level.

Summary

Any project (whether on the battlefield or in the office) and any task (whether it is to defend your country or your company’s integrity and reputation) requires hard work, determination, multitasking, discipline and the right attitude. Navy SEALs may have a task much more difficult and different than youear leadership role (mistakes cost lives, not loss of jobs!) but it is eventually all about taking the bull by its horns and turning the odds in your favor. Your ability to focus as a leader, recall your leadership development lessons, and execute accordingly in order to be successful!

For more information on Tip of the Spear Leadership Development programs, CLICK HERE.