Leadership Practices, Behaviors, and Commitments
I have been reading Execution and The Leadership Challenge, which both cover the practices, behaviors, and commitments that a leader should master. The list below is how I merge the topics of these two books into something more logical to me, hopefully for you too.
Leader Commitment #1: Challenge the processes that constrain your organization
Action Item: Seek challenging opportunities to grow, change, innovate, and improve.
Action Item: Know the people in your business, which includes employees, partners (internal and external), customers (internal and external), and competitors.
Leader Commitment #2: Inspire a shared vision that becomes the force that invents the future for your organization.
Action Item: Envision a future that is uplifting and ennobling that improves your co-workers’ lives and prepares your company’s future.
Action Item: Experiment, take risks, and learn from your mistakes.
Action Item: Regularly communicate the vision, and be consistent.
Leader Commitment #3: Enable others to act by giving them a sense of ownership.
Action Item: Appeal to other people’s values, dreams, and hopes to share your common vision.
Action Item: Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.
Action Item: Think and speak realistically (don’t distort facts) and insist that others do the same
Action Item: Define a manageable set clear goals and prioritize them appropriately.
Action Item: Follow through on commitments and goals and be persistent to keep projects on track.
Leader Commitment #4: Set an example and be willing to be the first to change or take on a new challenge
Action Item: Strengthen others, give away power, assign critical tasks, and offer support.
Action Item: Make your behavior consistent with your shared personal values
Action Item: Achieve small wins that promote consistent progress and build commitment
Action Item: Share your experience and perspectives by coaching colleagues
Action Item: Know your own skills, strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies so you can leverage what you’re good at and improve what you’re bad at
Leader Commitment #5: Encourage the heart and rally the troops to help people persevere through difficult times
Action Item: Recognize individual contributions with rewards that have personal meaning to them
Action Item: Celebrate team achievements
Action Item: Link rewards (compensation, etc.) to performance