Leadership’s ABC

If you want to make the move from managing to leading, from being a professional to being an inspirer, from being one of the team to being a leader of the team, you need to know the ABC of Superlative Leadership.

is for Appreciative Cultures, the end result of a leader’s work, when the culture he or she fosters becomes an appreciative value of the company.

is for rock-solid Belief that your team can move mountains.

is for Culture, which is the way people behave when you’re not looking.

is for the Drive for Power that makes you want to lead.

is for Encouragement, like sun after the rain.

is for Fun, an indication that the right work is happening.

is for Growing your people. Like Sir Colin Marshall, head of British Airways, who personally attended every one of his customer care programmes, ‘Putting People First’.

is for Helicopter vision, because you need to see in three time zones: the near, the middle and the far.

is for leader Identity, the ability to be comfortable in your own shoes.

is for Joy because leaders rejoice in their own blessings as well as the successes of their team.

is for Knowing your people, not just by name and number, but by strength and weakness, character and spirit, skills and potential, what makes them sigh and what makes them soar.

is for Learning, because learning is change and learning is growth.

is for Mission which leaders live as well as write. Like Bill Gates insisting that his staff at Microsoft, Germany, use the familiar ‘Du’ instead of the formal ‘Sie’.

is for the Nobel complex, the belief that everything your people do is worthy of a Nobel prize.

is for Opportunity. Like Edmund McIlhenny who returned from the American Civil War to find his sugar plantation and salt works in ruins except for a few hot Mexican peppers that had sown themselves. He used them to produce a sauce that is now known as Tabasco and sold around the world.

is for Plain-talking because leaders need to be understood.

is for Questions, such as ‘What do you need me to do?’ and ‘How can I help you work better?’ and ‘What should I be doing?’

is for Respect, the touchstone of every relationship a leader has.

is for Symbols, the language of leadership. Like the CEO of a candy factory facing financial ruin, whose first symbolic act was to shorten the tails on the sugar mice.

is for the Traits of courage and determination, patience and perseverance.

is for Unleashing what’s there. Like 3M, who allow their scientists to spend 15% of their time working on projects that interest them.

is for Values, the guiding principles of the team, or ‘the Walkmans of the mind’.

is for the Way, the Chinese ‘tao’, the route that leaders take and others follow.

is for Xtraordinary because leaders get ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

is for Yes, because there is always a plus to be found even in the worst situation and the toughest setback.

is for Zero tolerance of failure, sub-performance and giving up.
Learn these simple principles, and there are no limits to where you can lead your team.