‘Secrets of Great Leaders’(II)
This week, we’ll continue with ‘Secrets of Great Leaders’ by Carol O’ Connor
10. Assume you have enemies: (Quotation) Benjamin Franklin: ‘Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults.’
Social media is a great marketing channel for promoting your business but you should follow a few basic rules to make sure that you, your business and your reputation are safe.
a) Never ‘not like’ anything, ever. You may be found. It’s not worth it.
b) Avoid any reference to politics, religion, social class, race, age or any of the -isms. Even positive remarks about topics can be misunderstood. Trolls are irrational.
c) If you are attacked — — even if unfairly — — do not respond. Bullies feed on reaction. If they don’t get this, they move on to their next potential victim.
What’s left to discuss is your business and the product and service you offer. Feature feel-good stories and anecdotes about your team.
12. Plan the long term and work the short term: Leaders need to work with local communities as well as be aware of the global issues that directly or indirectly affect their business. This means shuttling attention from the small to the big, and vice versa, to look for connections and insights.
Long-term goals are headlines that focus attention on getting where you want to go. A frequently made mistake is creating too many of them. There are five categories you can use to produce long-term goals. These are products and services, finance, markets, people and facilities. There should be just one single and critically important goal for each category.
Each long-term goal will require many short-term goals to make things happen. Short-term goals are called SMART goals and each should meet these criteria:
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant(decide whether it serves long-term goals) and Time-bound (set a deadline for its achievement).
13. Face challenge fearlessly even when afraid: (Quotation) Winston Churchill ‘Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.’
Ignoring fears or pretending they don’t exist is unwise because the fear reaction is a survival instinct. Exercise, a balanced diet, keeping a pet, enjoying friendships and family life are all ways to protect yourself against experiencing unnecessary fear, triggered by unusual sounds or chaotic situations.
14. Use time wisely: Take time out regularly to think about what could go wrong in the different areas of your work and your life. Identify likely weak points where a crisis could cause real damage. Consider how you would cope if any of those weak points actually broke. These are your ‘urgency points’ and, as time allows, you should fix them in advance.
15. Have a sense of humour: The first step to being a sunny and positive person is having the skill to identify what is really and truly good about the worst possible situation. This is a mental process. Shift your thoughts for a moment away from being afraid or angry or upset. If you can’t, go for a run, have some exercise, drink a cup of tea, or eat some cake. These take your thoughts from very upsetting situations.
16. Build people up: One of a leader’s jobs is encouraging younger people to grow in skill and confidence. The goal is always to help them find the next step.
Very few leaders achieve success without a support network. You gain influence when you share your contacts.
Alternatively, you can recommend that a colleague be given a chance to work on in interesting project or suggest a junior colleague offer support when someone more senior goes on leave as a way to gain experience. The idea is to look for opportunities that will challenge and inspire your colleagues. They will be very grateful and in future may return the favour.
17. Be visible and have presence: Presence needs to be based on a realistic image, so your first job is to discover how other people see you. You also need to know your strengths and weaknesses, your goals and your personal values. All of this helps you to begin improving your image.
Ask yourself the following questions:
a) Do I listen and am I responsive to what other people say?
b) Are my ideas well received?
c) Are the solutions I offer considered effective?
d) Do I encourage other people?
e) Do my colleagues understand and support me?
If you answered no to more than one question, you need to get to work.
Here are some ideas to enhance your reputation and increase your visibility:
a) Join a new professional society or become more active in your current one.
b) Say thank you to everyone and smile in the same way and with the same degree of warmth, whether they are the most junior of new employees or the top person.
c) Know your own values and make it clear that you base your decisions on these.
18. Disrupt the status quo: Asking creative and challenging questions needs to be part of the daily routine. This makes challenging the status quo a natural element of the business. The result is that innovation becomes a way of life and is good for the business. This requires curiosity and a willingness to ask why things are done the way they are.
Source: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/orange-lilies-broadway-worcestershire
Source: https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.110067.html
Source: http://art-monet.com/1850_45.html
