4 Ways to Define Leadership

Leadership critical to every company. Workers need someone to look to, learn from and thrive with.

Every leader has their own style and strategy. Further, leadership styles and methods vary because of outside influences and personal challenges.

While leadership is unique to everyone, there are some common ways to define the term. Peter Economy, also known as "The Leadership Guy," listed the qualities of today's best leadership in an Inc.com article. According to Economy, leadership embodies:

• Decisiveness
• Awareness
• Focus
• Accountability
• Empathy
• Confidence
• Optimism
• Honesty
• Inspiration

Research published in Harvard Business Review in 2000 and an article on Mind Tools listed some common leadership styles:

• Coercive: Leaders demand immediate compliance.
• Authoritative: Leaders mobilize people toward a vision.
• Affiliative: Leaders create emotional bonds and harmony.
• Democratic: Leaders build consensus through participation.
• Pacesetting: Leaders expect excellence and self-direction.
• Coaching: Leaders develop people for the future.

• Bureaucratic leadership, whose leaders focus on following every rule.
• Charismatic leadership, in which leaders inspire enthusiasm in their teams and are energetic in motivating others to move forward.
• Servant leadership, whose leaders focus on meeting the needs of the team.
• Transactional leadership, in which leaders inspire by expecting the best from everyone and themselves.

More specifically, leaders share similar goals and standards to abide by. Here are four ways that good leaders achieve success:

1. Leaders better their environment

Leaders do not exist to order their workers around. While they oversee their team, a true leader takes initiative and trusts their employees to perform efficiently and independently.

"Leaders are coaches with a passion for developing people, not players," said Randy Stocklin, co-founder and CEO of One Click Ventures. "They get satisfaction from achieving objects through others. Leaders inspire people through a shared vision and create an environment where people feel valued and fulfilled."

When a company has a positive culture, employees are more motivated and confident in their work. It's through supportive leaders that a company finds the most success. According to Richard Kissane, executive chairman of Premium Franchise Brands, leaders are responsible for setting the tone for their team and organization.

"As a leader, it is your responsibility to establish goals, innovate, motivate and trust," he said. "A passionate and compassionate leader can energize a company."

2. They know their team and themselves well

Good leaders want their entire company to succeed, including everyone involved. They take the time to understand every worker so they can help them achieve their personal goals in line with the company's.

"A leader places the people around him or her in a position that sets them up for success," said Andor Kovacs, CEO and founder of property restoration brand Restoration 1. "This is a difficult task, because a leader must have an in-depth understanding of each individual, such as understanding their career goals and knowing what motivates them. By being committed to helping each person achieve their own personal goals, the leader sets the organization up for greatness."

This translates to providing tools that workers need to succeed, offering praise when things go right and taking responsibility when things go wrong, said Jordan French, founding CMO of BeeHex, Inc. 3D Food Printing.

3. Leaders maintain a positive attitude

Businesses face ups and downs. Without someone to take the reins and push forward in optimism, the company will likely be unsuccessful.

"A good leader can hold his or her emotions in check, especially in tough situations," said David Moore, founding partner and regional vice president of Addison Group staffing firm. "For example, maybe you lost your best client, or a deal you've been working on falls through. Regardless, it's important for leaders to guide a team through challenging times, encouraging them and remaining positive along the way. Team morale is heavily contingent upon a leader's attitude."

This is done without pride standing in the way. While no one likes to admit defeat, sometimes it's inevitable. Good leaders recognize that.

According to Darcy Eikenberg, founder of RedCapeRevolution.com, a leader should be confident enough to know when they're wrong so they can move past a mistake.

"Leadership is the ability to see a problem and be the solution," said Andrea Walker-Leidy, owner of Walker Publicity Consulting. "So many people are willing to talk about problems or can even empathize, but not many can see the problem or challenge and rise to it. It takes a leader to truly see a problem as a challenge and want to drive toward it."

4. They build the next generation of leaders

Leaders can't, and shouldn't, stand alone. A company doesn't need just one influential individual. Leaders should want to develop more leaders from the get-go.

"Great leaders also hire and inspire other great leaders, whom they trust to carry out the company mission and instill a sense of purpose that touches each and every staff member," added Tom Villante, co-founder, chairman and CEO of payment processing company YapStone.

According to J. Kelly Hoey, author, "Build Your Dream Network" (TarcherPerigree, 2017), a leader builds their employees so they can be as successful as, if not more than, the person in charge. "A leader is someone who builds their team, mentors them and then advocates for them," she said.

They are not in competition – they are part of a team.

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3647-leadership-definition.html

What Is Thought Leadership, and Why Does It Matter?

While the aim of every executive is to run a successful company, many modern C-suite members also have their sights set on another, more esoteric goal: becoming a "thought leader" in their field.

Thought leadership is commonly discussed in the business world, and to the average person, it may sound like another annoying corporate buzzword. But behind the jargon is the honest and admirable ambition of being viewed as a credible industry expert, one who cuts through the "noise" and offers something worth listening to.

What is a thought leader?

Thought leaders are seen as trustworthy, go-to authorities among industry colleagues and peers, said Jake Dunlap, CEO and founder of Skaled, a sales consulting firm.

"They possess an innate ability to contribute to the conversations happening today, while also being able to speculate on what is going to happen tomorrow. Rather than chime in on every topic, they set the pace for the industry and offer intelligent insights and informed opinions," Dunlap said.

"A thought leader recognizes trends before they happen and applies that insight to achieve actual business results," added Numaan Akram, founder and CEO of Rally, a company that coordinates crowdsourced event travel.

As the phrase implies, though, having these insightful thoughts and ideas is only part of being a thought leader. The "leadership" portion counts for a lot, too. [See Related Story: 33 Ways to Define Leadership]

"I believe thought leaders are not only on the cutting edge in terms of their ideas, but also know how to inspire and influence others," said Walt Rakowich, a leadership speaker and the retired CEO of ProLogis. "Leaders can have great ideas, but true thought leaders have the courage to express their ideas and inspire others to implement them."

Akram agreed: "It's one thing to come up with new ideas, but being a true thought leader is all about delivering results to back up those hypotheses," he said.

Establishing yourself as a thought leader

Thought leadership status can't be achieved through a single article, social media post or networking event. You have to build your experience and create credibility over the long term,  Rakowich said.

"Experience takes time, patience, hard work and a willingness to listen and learn from others," he told Business News Daily. "Those leaders who can observe and connect information from a number of sources are generally well positioned to create ideas that are informed by the needs of the marketplace. Credibility combines that expertise with a measure of humility, honesty and an appreciation for the human aspect of leading people."

"Becoming a trusted source often involves not merely explaining or defining topics but showing an audience they can take a small step forward," added Richard Stevenson, head of corporate communications at cloud-based e-commerce software provider ePages.com. "Your aim is to shine a new light on topics, and motivate a response. Genuine honesty and passion for helping an audience will shine through, regardless of your writing or speaking style."

Mark Rogers, founder and CEO of management consulting company Insights Without Borders, said thought leadership is an extension of one's personal brand, specifically his or her ability to build an authentic online reputation.

"Social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Twitter ... become the foundations for your thought leadership strategy and key channels for your social networking," he said.

Rogers advised aspiring thought leaders to take the following steps to boost their industry presence.

1. Work with mentors and influencers. Talk to them about your passions, big ideas and what's keeping you up at night. You can observe how they started and now operate their businesses. You can read and reflect on what they say on their blogs and social media platforms, and during their speaking engagements.
2. Attend in-person networking events and seek out speaking opportunities. The more people who are in your network, the more potential you have of becoming an authority or influencer.
3. Get published as often as you can. Even if you just start out by self-publishing on Medium, LinkedIn Pulse or your own blog, it's important to develop a steady stream of regular readers and followers. You can publish guest posts on industry-related blogs, and grow from there to seek publication on broader, more authoritative sources.

Once your reputation or followership begins to grow, you can start sharing or making bolder claims and predictions about your industry, Rogers said.

Here are a few more things to keep in mind as you work toward becoming a thought leader:

Clarify your area of expertise (and stick to it)

Dunlap, of Skaled, reminded professionals that thought leaders need to be clear and consistent on their stances within their area of expertise.

"Don't attempt to be a thought leader in every area related to your industry," he said. "Instead, focus on what you know best and hone in on that message repeatedly. It's more effective to go deep on a few topics, than to spray across too many complementary topics."

Step back from your business agenda

As a thought leader, you must understand the issues that impact your audience and offer upbeat, educative advice driven by these issues, not just what your corporate agenda demands, said Stevenson.

"Educative PR is a slow-burn in terms of return on investment, but displaying care and competence within your industry will open new doors across the board, not only in sales but also with collaborations," he said.

Keep learning about your industry

Every industry is evolving — some faster than others — and as a thought leader, you'll need to stay on top of what's happening so you can share and comment on trends.

"You must constantly learn [about] your industry, as well as the macro forces at work in the broader economy," said Rally's Akram. "Being a thought leader requires forward thinking, but you must also have the discipline to study market dynamics to find patterns. From there, you can combine what you have learned analyzing those patterns with your vision to solve real-world problems."

Listen to others

Thought leaders don't have all the answers, and they're never done learning. Rogers noted that it's important to admit what you don't know, and remain humble enough to listen to what others have to say.

"True thought leaders genuinely understand and listen to each other's stories," he said. "They treasure [the fact] that we are all in the human journey and the authors of our own lives."

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9253-thought-leadership.html

How to Be an Ethical Leader

You don't have to look much further than the news to find stories of corrupt leaders engaged in all sorts of ethical breaches. As the adage goes, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." An abuse of power can get people into trouble, destroy careers and even bring down entire industries.

So how do entrepreneurs and business owners rise above the fray and establish themselves as ethical leaders? The consensus of many experts in this area is that it must be done intentionally, by modelling ethical conduct and weaving it organically into every level of their organizations.

"For leaders to be viewed as ethical, they must ensure that everyone – leaders, team members, customers, everyone – is treated with trust, respect and dignity in every interaction," said S. Chris Edmonds, executive consultant and founder of The Purposeful Culture Group. "To accomplish that, leaders must create a culture where values – how people treat each other – are as important as results, every day."

Creating a culture of ethics

To create this sort of ethics-focused company culture, start at the top, says leadership consultant and author Linda Fisher Thornton in her book "7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership" (2013).

"Ethical leaders have a tremendous impact on how people in their organizations behave and what they achieve," Thornton said. "Effective leaders focus on what's right and exemplify to their people that they are there to help, and not to exploit the vulnerabilities of others."

Once a company's leaders are on board, the next step is to instil this commitment to ethics throughout the organization. This may seem a bit daunting at first, but it is necessary in creating a business environment where ethical lapses are the anomaly and not the norm.

"Employees behave ethically when the required ethical behaviour is described to them in unambiguous terms and then modelled consistently at every level of the organization and recognized and rewarded," said Paul Glover, who provides ethics training and coaching to organizational leaders.

"Ethical leadership means constantly acting in a manner that earns trust from your team, empowers employees to do their best work, and builds an office community that values fairness, encouragement and support as much as it does winning for our clients," added Christie Marchese, CEO of Picture Motion, a marketing and advocacy firm for issue-driven films.

This consistent commitment to ethics may not be easy, but there are some practical ways leaders can integrate ethical conduct into their organizations and management styles. Thornton outlined several steps to ethical leadership:

1. Model ethical behaviour.

Be a leader who adheres to high ethical standards in your own professional life, consistently treating others with respect and authenticity. But be willing to talk honestly about difficult ethical choices. Openly discuss the ethical gray areas and acknowledge the complexity of work life.

2. Adopt transparency in decision-making and communications.

Have an open-door policy and regular one-on-one meetings so employees know their suggestions and insights are welcome and valued. This will allow you to build trust and cultivate a respectful environment in which people can speak up about ethics and share the responsibility for living it.

3. Establish a formal ethics or values statement.

This should be a living, breathing, foundational document that helps centre your staff and guide them as they navigate ethical gray areas. The values communicated in this document must be modelled from the highest level of the organization on down, understood by employees at all levels, reinforced through regular training and other company events, and revisited and revised as the company grows or changes.

4. Insist everyone meets ethical expectations.

Allow no excuses. Make sure that no one is exempt from meeting the adopted ethical standards. Maintain the status of ethics as a total, absolute must in the organization. Hold everyone, particularly senior leaders and high-profile managers, accountable.

5. Recognize and reward examples of ethical behaviour.

Be a proactive ethical leader, championing high ethical conduct and emphasizing prevention. Managers should talk about what positive ethics looks like in practice as often as they talk about what to avoid. Take time to celebrate positive ethical choices, and consider the radical step of rewarding employees who are brave enough to admit and learn from their mistakes.

6. Talk about ethics as an ongoing learning journey, not a once-a-year training program.

Integrate ethics into every action of the organization – everything people do, touch or influence. Talk about ethics as an ongoing learning journey, not something you have or don't have. Recognize that the world changes constantly, and that ethical conduct requires that everyone remain vigilant.

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5537-how-to-be-ethical-leader.html

4 Ways to Improve Your Office's Work Environment

Your work environment impacts your mood, drive and performance. If employees work in a dreary office setting with unfriendly workers, they likely won't feel motivated or confident to speak up. That's why creating a productive work environment is critical to the overall success of your company.

Here are four ways you can improve your work environment and, in turn, employee engagement.

1. Hire great team members (and don't be afraid to let bad ones go)

Smart businesses know that a good work environment starts with hiring the right people. Make sure employees are professional and team players. The same idea translates to those who are already in the office. When employees work with toxic workers, they are more likely to become toxic themselves.

"It's amazing to watch one bad attitude affect everyone's daily performance," said Claire Marshall Crowell, chief operating officer of A. Marshall Family Foods/Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant. "I can't tell you how many times I have been thanked after letting poisonous employees go. Though it's a hard thing to do, it ultimately impacts the working environment, which can be felt by not only our employees but also by our [customers]."

2. Improve the lighting

Lighting plays a vital role in workers' performance and attitude. An article by MBA@UNC, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler's online MBA program, states that exposure to natural light improves mood and energy, greatly impacting focus and productivity. But according to a survey by Pots Planters and More, nearly half of office workers said there is little to no natural light in their office.

If it's not possible to incorporate natural lighting through windows, there are other options. Blue-enriched light bulbs may reduce fatigue and increase happiness and work performance, according to the article. Use this type of lighting in brainstorming rooms. In meeting or break rooms, use warmer tones to promote calmness and relaxation. In conference rooms, use middle tones that welcome workers while keeping them alert.

3. Make the office comfortable

Working in a clean, attractive office can have tremendous effects on co-workers and manager relationships, said Mike Canarelli, CEO and co-founder of Web Talent Marketing.

"Even if the sun can't shine into your workplace, make an effort to provide a relaxing atmosphere with comfy furniture, working equipment and a few 'extra-mile' amenities," he noted.

For example, give your employees the flexibility to choose to work where they're comfortable, including comfy chairs or a choice of whether to sit or stand at their desks.

According to the Pots Planters & More survey, people who labelled their work furniture as "bad" are three times more likely to consider their environment as less productive, and two times more likely to find it "depressing."

"Make it easy for [workers] to purchase things like exercise balls and plants on the company dime," said AJ Shankar, CEO and founder of litigation software company Ever law. "We also trust our employees to manage their own time. They're free to take breaks to play games or just recharge as necessary."

When employees choose a space that makes them comfortable, give them the freedom to customize their area, as everyone works differently, said Josh Turner, CEO of user feedback platform Users Think. He suggested getting rid of the "same-issued everything" and giving everyone a budget to customize their own setup.

4. Improve communication

Be cognizant of how you're interacting with employees. Team members and upper management should focus on their communication methods and the effects they have on the office environment.

"Employees are motivated and feel valued when they're given positive reinforcement and shown how their work contributes to the success of the business," said Dominique Jones, former chief people officer at Halogen Software.

This means offering employees specific feedback on how their work is feeding into the broader business objectives, she noted.

But employees shouldn't be the only ones being evaluated. Managers should be open to feedback as well, said Samantha Lambert, director of human resources at Blue Fountain Media.

"When you involve your staff in decision-making in an effort to create a better work environment, they feel valued," Lambert said. "Don't be afraid to ask employees for their opinion on a new benefit offered, or what they think of a new client project."

While you're working on communication, don't forget to show gratitude for hard work. According to David Sturt, executive vice president of marketing and business development at the O.C. Tanner Institute, effective employee recognition can transform and elevate an organization.

"It ignites enthusiasm, increases innovation, builds trust and drives bottom-line results," he said. "Even a simple 'thank you' after an employee goes above and beyond on a project, or puts in a series of late nights, goes a long way."

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7932-create-better-work-environment.html