Friday, September 18, 2009

What is Effective Leadership?

What is effective leadership? That sounds like a question for a philosopher doesn’t it? The truth is that anyone can be an effective leader. They just need to find the right balance between social, moral and business aspects of leadership. An effective leader is generally someone that leads by example and other people just tend to follow because they believe what they do is the right thing. Think of anyone you have looked up to in the past, were they an honest individual that put others before themselves? That is a quality of effective leadership. Being honest gives a person credibility and result in other people trusting and believing in that person.

Effective leaders lead by example and merely invite others to come along with them. Keeping promises is another sign of effective leadership. They believe in others and never fail to reward or compliment someone when they see they are doing well. Effective leaders admit when they are wrong and admit when they make mistakes. Everyone is human and makes a mistake at one time or another. It’s how a person handles a mistake that gives them a certain leadership quality. An effective leader can admit when they are wrong and by doing so, allows people to feel comfortable asking them for help and advice.

Good listening skills are a big part of effective leadership. A person who is willing to listen to problems or concerns an employee or a friend may have will give them more information. Therefore, the effective leader can make a well-informed and thought out decision. An effective leader gives positive reinforcement. Effective leadership is about asking or requesting a person to do something, not commanding them. Effect leaders make recommendations to follow. Effective leaders are willing to get their hands dirty. They realize that they are more than just a figure head or a boss.

Dale Carnegie offers a 7 session course titled ”The Leadership Advantage

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