Whether you're a manager at work or a leader of some organization, getting people to do what you want and need, can often seem like a daunting task. But it doesn't have to be. There's no need to be ultra-nice, or mega-mean. The key to good leadership is following these expert tips:
Don't Play the Blame Game:
Whether a project deadline is missed, or someone forgets to order the T-Ball trophies, don't blame others when things go awry. After all, your in charge, and that makes you the one responsible for everything - even when things go wrong.
Be Clear About Your Expectations:
It's hard to follow the game plan if you don't know what they are. Be clear and concise when handing out orders. Clearly explain what you want done and what you expect each person to handle. Then, allow them to go off and handle it in the best way they know how.
Accept That Everyone's Style is Different:
Sure, you may know that folding the company newsletter one way is the best way, but someone else may disagree. Don't be knit-picky over small details and accept the fact that everyone does things differently. As long as the end results are the dame, does it really matter that Joan calls clients at 10 am instead of 3 pm?
Lead By Example:
Never expect more form your employees or volunteers than you are willing to do yourself. Show everyone in your office that you're willing to kick in and help get things done, no matter what. They'll be much more eager to stay that extra hour or two to finish up an important project if you are to.
Learn from Your Mistakes (and other's too):
Everyone makes mistakes - so why not learn from them. Whenever you or someone else makes a big boo-boo, be sure to take stock and see how the situation could have been handled better. Then follow that advice in the future!
Give Credit Where Credit's Due:
Never accept all of the accolades for yourself (no matter how great a leader you are). Give credit to people who contributed to your success and make them feel as if you couldn't have achieved it without them. The odds are good that you couldn't have, no matter how hard you tried.
Being a good leader means being able to work well with others, no matter how different your style of doing things, and being able to bring out the best in everyone in your group.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
LEADERS DO NOT SHIFT BLAME.
One of the best ways to exhibit social grace and decorum is to accept responsibility for our actions and every decision we make. Nobody else should be held responsible for our mistakes, even if we did not directly make them.
But human beings naturally tend to blame somebody else for their misfortunes. To err is human and shifting blame for errors is a natural human attitude. When somebody does something that hardly suits his status, he becomes defensive and points accusing fingers at other people. We live in a society where putting the blame on someone else appears to be the norm. But blaming other people when things go wrong does not really make problems go away. Instead, it transfers responsibility for the problems to someone else and delays the process of finding a solution.
Yet being accountable is not always easy. When the result, situation or circumstance is different from our expectations, we usually want others to take the blame and not us.
Although we may feel that shifting blame to someone else makes us look better, it is at best a short-term solution. Finding a solution to problem requires learning to control our reactions.
In the beginning, the first man and woman were involved in this undignified blame shifting game. Adam blamed Eve for his disobedience to God. In turn, Eve blamed the serpent for deceiving her.
Once, a scene in a TV play-let showed two little children pointing accusing fingers at each other. They were both playing and in the process, they ruined some toys. When their mother asked who destroyed the toys, both of them simultaneously pointed at one another and said, "He did."
Blame-shifting is a vicious and an unending cycle that leads us to nowhere. So if everybody keeps pointing accusing fingers at the other person, then we are very far from making any significant progress as individuals, as a nation.
To own up to or faults and to accept responsibility for our action is a very humbling and great way to make progress in life. People want to be built up and not torn down. So they naturally gravitate away from those who constantly shift blame on them and make them look bad. Blame-shifting also has a tendency to make others reluctant to work with us.
The key to truly winning the blame game is to stay focused on the wider purpose. If we allow ourselves to get caught shifting blames, who wins becomes more important than the thing we want to create or fix.
But if we keep our reactions aimed at the real problem (not who said or did what), we can be successful; not only in a particular situation, but in every aspect of our lives.
But human beings naturally tend to blame somebody else for their misfortunes. To err is human and shifting blame for errors is a natural human attitude. When somebody does something that hardly suits his status, he becomes defensive and points accusing fingers at other people. We live in a society where putting the blame on someone else appears to be the norm. But blaming other people when things go wrong does not really make problems go away. Instead, it transfers responsibility for the problems to someone else and delays the process of finding a solution.
Yet being accountable is not always easy. When the result, situation or circumstance is different from our expectations, we usually want others to take the blame and not us.
Although we may feel that shifting blame to someone else makes us look better, it is at best a short-term solution. Finding a solution to problem requires learning to control our reactions.
In the beginning, the first man and woman were involved in this undignified blame shifting game. Adam blamed Eve for his disobedience to God. In turn, Eve blamed the serpent for deceiving her.
Once, a scene in a TV play-let showed two little children pointing accusing fingers at each other. They were both playing and in the process, they ruined some toys. When their mother asked who destroyed the toys, both of them simultaneously pointed at one another and said, "He did."
Blame-shifting is a vicious and an unending cycle that leads us to nowhere. So if everybody keeps pointing accusing fingers at the other person, then we are very far from making any significant progress as individuals, as a nation.
To own up to or faults and to accept responsibility for our action is a very humbling and great way to make progress in life. People want to be built up and not torn down. So they naturally gravitate away from those who constantly shift blame on them and make them look bad. Blame-shifting also has a tendency to make others reluctant to work with us.
The key to truly winning the blame game is to stay focused on the wider purpose. If we allow ourselves to get caught shifting blames, who wins becomes more important than the thing we want to create or fix.
But if we keep our reactions aimed at the real problem (not who said or did what), we can be successful; not only in a particular situation, but in every aspect of our lives.
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