Leadership as it applies to me.

For me the most important aspect of Leadership is to understand the individual team members. This would help me bring out the best in each one of them. It is important to cultivate a feeling of a collective goal to keep my team motivated. At the same time I would also try to help each of my team mate grow individually both as a person and as a professional by enhancing his/her skills.


To experience inspiration, people also need to feel included. Inclusion goes beyond the listening and feedback; for real inclusion, people need to feel intimately connected to the actions and process that are leading to the accomplishment of the goals or the decision.
Important to inspiration is the integrity of the person leading. Yes, vision and passion are important, but employees must trust you to feel inspired. They must believe in you. Your “person” is as important as the direction you provide. Employees look up to a person who tells the truth, tries to do the right things, lives a "good" life and does their best. Trust me. Your actions play out on the stage of your organization. And, your staff does boo and cheer and vote with their feet and their actions.

Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. This guide will help you through that process.

To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels.

Communication

You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you "set the example," that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees.

Situation

All are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective.

Various forces will affect these factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your seniors, the skill of your people, the informal leaders within your organization, and how your company is organized.

My Role Model Leader

                                        

                                                                   Defining Leadership : Sir Richard Branson

The autobiography of Sir Richard Branson " Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life" remains till date one of the most inspiring books I have ever read.Sir Richard Branson is  the  most intriguing, successful and enduring business leaders the world has ever seen. As the founder of the Virgin Group, he has established a very interesting approach to leadership and where he chooses to put his resources to work. He is an extremist in serial entrepreneurship and a source of constant inspiration to millions. Branson is often criticized for his management style – or lack thereof. He holds no regular board meetings, has no business headquarters. But, with his brand name licensed to over 250 companies, Branson has had to develop the necessary leadership skills to ensure his survival.

 His overall leadership principle rests on the need to treat other people with respect but the nuts and bolts of it are much harder to pin down. Branson stresses the importance of time management skills, saying he spends roughly one third of his time on trouble shooting, one third on new projects – both business related and charitable – and one third on promoting and marketing his businesses. In between, he also makes time for his family and vacations

 Sir Richard’s leadership style and characteristics are based on some very simple and down-to-earth rules:

•  Smile, everything gets much easier if you show a friendly face
•   Have fun at work
•   Believe in your ideas, employees and colleagues

      "I’ve had to create companies that I believe in 100%. These are companies I feel will make a genuine difference,” says Branson. “Then I have to be willing to find the time myself to talk about them, promote them and market them. I don’t want to spend my life doing something that I’m not proud of.”

      Branson hires bright people, gives them a stake in his ventures so that they are motivated to be even more successful and then delegates. While his staff often takes care of the daily operations of a company, Branson focuses his time more on the end user experience, doing publicity and promoting his products. 

Sir Richard is very thorough in hiring the right people. He is known for bringing in good managers and getting them to stay. If they don’t perform at an existing assignment he brings them into another venture where the person is more likely to perform according to his capabilities. ”Look for the best and you’ll get the best”, is his words. Firing people is seldom an option to Sir Richard.

Richard Branson : Talking Management

In the end, you are left with the image of a man who enjoys what he does, ensures he balances work and personal life, is a fair competitor who doesn't tolerate dirty tricks from others, and someone who leads from the front a group of folks who are likely to follow him anywhere – because he truly cares about them and the firms he owns.