HOW TO LEAD YOUR COMPANY IN 22 STEPS THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LEADERSHIP SUCCESS Leading4Growth Australia
Introduction By Peter Cox Leadership 101 Do you wonder why some people can lead a team of hundreds, while others struggle to lead themselves? Why can Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill lead a nation and change the direction of a country with seamless ease? These true leaders have built an effective team around them. They develop a winning team to leverage their skills and abilities, to increase their influence, and drive the vision or their dream. They possess essential leadership traits and qualities that are part of their core beliefs and values, to be the true visionary leaders they are. This ebook will guide you through 22 steps in improving your leadership ability, complete with resources to maximise your development. I wish you the best of luck! Coxey 2
1. Before you improve your business, you must first improve yourself as a leader Before you improve your business, you must first improve yourself as a leader. It is not about how long you have been a leader, but how effective you are now. Continue to challenge yourself. If you are not where you want to be or your business is not where you want it then you are responsible to change it. Do not change what works, change what doesn t. 2. Grow yourself as a leader You must grow yourself as a leader to be able to lead your team more effectively. You must embrace change. It is a natural part of business and avoiding change will create unnecessary problems within your team. Stand by your personal ethics. This will create a standard within the team. 3
3. High Energy Rise above small minded thinking. Create high energy in yourself and within your team. You will not be able to work successfully without high energy to get things done. Create the opportunity to get things done and learn how to multi-task. It takes energy to multi-task properly however it will create a more efficient team. 4. Working the Right Priorities Do you know your priorities? Are they in chronological order? You will maintain this high energy by working your priorities in chronological order. If you can t get something done or it is wasting your time, delegate it. Do not spend your time doing something that someone else in your team could do. Manage your time effectively. 4
5. Courage Great leaders are courageous. Not everybody has the ability to lead. It requires courage to risk and to reach. Take responsibility of your actions, and do not make excuses for failure. Face the truth and stand up for your actions. If you don t believe in yourself, who else will? 6. Commitment and Dedication How good is your current thinking? Do you need to be stronger minded? Commitment and dedication involves loving the leadership process. Who do you go to when you need empowering? Who do you surround yourself with you provide support when you need it? Committed and dedicated leaders created committed and dedicated teams. 5
7. Goal Orientated Clarify your vision. Do you have clarity in your work? Create a clear business plan to help lead and guide you. Start with the end in mind. You must know what the end looks like as this is what drives success. Successful people have a clear vision. Focus on the right vision. 8. Enthusiasm Energy and enthusiasm is contagious, it duplicates in your team. Find someone who is more enthusiastic than you to guide you and inspire you. People around you will catch your enthusiasm and you will be amazed with how far genuine enthusiasm can take you. 9. Staying Level Headed Staying level headed means having self-control, resolving conflict and under- -reacting instead of over reacting. Stay calm because most problems do have solutions and these issues may not be as important as you fear they are. Great leaders expect problems, they do not fear them. 6
10. Nurturing Your Team Value the people in your organisation. Help others grow; it will increase trust, unity and harmony within your team. Where do you need to grow and develop? Who in your team needs to grow and develop? Great leaders have a desire to help other to grow. Your organisation needs a better leader and it is up to you. What do you need to do to be a better leader? 11. To Lead for Growth You Must Lead by Example Your vision is the team s vision. You must cast your vision to your team. Sharing and pursuing the same vision will create unity within the team, motivating them to work for your dream. A leader believes all things are possible. Your dreams and goals must be realistic. Do you have the right priorities? You must lead yourself first before leading others. To do this you must allow yourself to be led. Leading by example requires you to show your team you will keep your word and commit to what you say you will do. You must show compassion to those around you. 7
12. Give Loyalty to Get Loyalty What culture are you creating in your team? Leading by example will result in other people following you because they want to you motivate them. Does your team see you as someone loyal? You must give loyalty to get loyalty in order to lead by example. Be transparent and show you aren t perfect. Build a bridge between you and the team you lead. Leading by example requires honesty. Your teams trust comes from your own honesty. Integrity is a victory not a gift. Do you deliver your word? Do you seek wisdom to make leadership decisions? 13. Where Does Your Thinking Need to Change? Is your thinking challenging you to lead by example or is it challenging you to a negative thought process? If your thinking doesn t change, nothing will. Anything worthwhile takes longer. Do you think anything is possible? Leading by example will motivate your team. 8
14. How Do Your Lead By Example? The following are ten simple ways to lead by example. Ask yourself how many you currently do. Take responsibility. Be truthful. Be courageous. Acknowledge failure. Be persistent. Try, try again. Create solutions. Don t dwell on problems. Listen. Ask questions. Delegate liberally. Take care of yourself. Take a break. Roll up your sleeves. 15. Don t Let Fear Hold You Back Whether or not you meet your goals depends on your approach to goal setting. Begin by jotting down your goals and strategies for fulfilling them or review those items in your strategic plan. Do not fear being stuck with your goals keep in mind they are flexible and you have the ability to modify them. 9
16. Divide the Short-Term and Long- -Term Goals Consider establishing goals for the week, the quarter, the year and even three- to five-year time spans if your strategic plan is falling short. Begin by identifying long-term goals, then back track to come up with short- -term ones. First, think of the big goals such as securing a given amount of clients or generating a high-volume in revenue this year, then make a list of the steps you need to follow to achieve these long-term objectives. Once you have identified all the necessary steps, break them down into individual goals and it will make your strategic plan more actionable. 17. Make Sure Your Goals Are SMART That is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-sensitive. Always avoid vagueness and ensure your goals are specific (e.g., increase productivity of plant assembly line), measurable (can be quantified), and have a deadline (increase staff productivity by 35% before the end of the third quarter). 10
18. Allocate Rewards For Your Staff It s important your staff know there are genuine incentives on offer for achieving goals. If your business does not currently have a budget set aside specifically for rewards, then do so! Rewards can reinforce culture and turn occasional behaviours into sustained habits. If you re going to become the leader you want to be then rewards can be a great motivational tool to get those around you to buy in. 19. Don t Be A Dictator Whilst it s important to be the final decision-maker and develop your influence, a narrow-minded leader who refuses to seek opinions from relevant team members and their own leadership mentors will never become the leader they may think they are. Showing you re genuinely open to ideas and feedback from team-mates will increase trust and give you perspectives you may not have considered. 11
20. Lead, Not Manage Do you understand the difference between a manager and a leader? Though people may believe they re one and the same, there is a critical difference between the two which will decide how successful in leadership you be. Simply put, managers are those who may be efficient yet not necessarily effective in helping get things done. Leaders though are the influential people who are catalysts of change. Their personality and behaviours drive change in themselves and those around you. Ask yourself: do you want to be a manager or a leader? 21. Be Humble Enough To Look For Help Leaders must have genuine humility and a willingness to constantly be learning. No leader is perfect, meaning there is no leader on Earth who does not have the excuse to stop seeking ways to better themselves. Resources like this ebook are a great way for leaders to begin the process of seeking effective leadership guidance. 12
22. Find Your Leadership Mentor A leadership mentor is someone who has experienced sustained success and you trust to give genuinely honest feedback on your actions and decision-making to challenge and improve your thinking. Your mentor can help you identify your decision-making process stages, advising you of improvements you can be making and how your image is perceived by others. It doesn t matter if they are offering criticism or praise, this mentor is there to help you and you must be able to take this advice on board. 13
Are You Ready To Become A Real Leader? There are two ways to learn in business one is through your own trial and error, and the other is from people with success. Which do you choose? The first can be expensive and unknown. The second is tried, tested and proven. At Leading4Growth, you will learn from the best. You will learn from world class leader Peter Cox how to be a successful, profitable leader. Peter will give you unexpected insights to help you increase your influence and build a winning team culture. You will get a rare look behind the success and find out what it takes to be a world class leader. Peter gives you surprising honesty when it comes to cultivating powerful relationships and assembling a high performance team. If your thinking doesn t change, nothing changes. 1300 657 787 www.leading4growth.com.au