Effective Leaders are consistent, explicit and concise and they command a presence when they walk into a room.

To succeed in today's economic environment leadership must build a foundation that allows the creative energy released by employees to actually work. We must leverage employee dedication and sacrifice that stems from ownership of the Vision-Values and Core Beliefs that has been engrained into the culture of the organization.

Be Comfortable with Who You Are

To be an effective leader you must be comfortable in your own skin. This is a broad encapsulation of the vital importance of knowing who you are as a leader, and why you are a leader. Being comfortable in your own skin is a euphemism for everything from your personal values to the exact place you currently find yourself in career. Ask yourself, "What makes this leadership role at this time in my life the right role for me? How have I prepared? How will I continue to learn?"

Many leaders make the mistake of avoiding these difficult questions and instead focus on superficial issues and circumstances. They tell themselves they need to be more persuasive and then go nuts trying to be more persuasive. This usually leads to a negative reputation within the organization.

Some call it arrogance; know it all or even bullying in some circumstances. Ungrounded domineering persuasiveness is abrasive, condescending and troubling. Avoid it at all costs.

Make Things Happen

Leaders get results. They make things happen. They continually advance a clear agenda, get others to buy in and move the organization to accomplish specific objectives.  They are explicit, consistent, concise and sincere. They generally have an abundance of charisma although some leaders gain success with a quieter influence. Leaders take charge and are not afraid of responsibility or risk. Most people want to follow them.

A good leader develops openness, honesty, clarity of purpose and a sincere caring for the people they lead. They gain commitment and trust by demonstrating respect for the individual. They have a keen sense of understanding. They believe in their task, they understand the objectives, they communicate clearly and they honestly project the understanding that they need the efforts of everyone to succeed.

Leadership Responsibility

The key to being a Real Leader is the ability to influence the influencers. You have to touch people in such a way that they can reach out and touch other people. Leadership isn't something you learn from a book or a college course. It is developed over time. Inspiring greatness in others is a phrase often used to define leadership responsibility. This isn't the easiest challenge you will ever face. Real leaders take the time necessary to learn from their own failures; to comprehend consequences and develop scar tissue. Scar tissue is evidence of experience.

Winning organizations continuously build leaders at every level in their organization. Leaders, who actively attempt to mentor, coach and build other leaders gain respect throughout the organization and transfer knowledge, ideas, values and an attitude about success.

Define Your Leadership Model

What are your personal plans as a leader? What are you doing to improve the impact you have on people? Who is responsible for your personal growth and success? To be an effective leader, regular self-analysis and reflection is absolutely critical to your personal growth. Start by asking yourself the following questions.

• What do you want people to say about your impact as a leader?
• What do you want people to say about you as a business person?
• What do you want people to say about you as an individual?
• What do you want your leadership legacy to be?
• What wisdom and intellectual knowledge will you implant in your employees?
• Are you a mentor?

No, we can't be absolutely positive about what people are going to say about us. But, we can do some things that influence what people think when our leadership style is discussed. This requires a constant personal reflection and renewal of our commitment to create a leadership legacy to be proud of.

 Ask yourself these questions and be honest with your answers.

• How well do you know yourself with regard to self-improvement and development?
• Do you understand, admit and work on personal weaknesses?
• Do you seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions striving to reach new heights.
• When things go wrong do you take the blame instead of looking for others to blame.
• Does problem solving, decision making and planning come natural to you?
• Are you a good role model and do you seek out employees with high potential to coach and mentor?
• Do you truly believe in the value of your employees sincerely caring about their well-being without being so compassionate that it clouds your judgment on competence?

Honest answers and reflection provide a refresher of basic knowledge of the behavior you can now begin to reshape as a platform for your personal leadership model. This is your manner and approach to providing direction, implementing plans and motivating people. It's called being a Leader.

Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution's "Leadership Strategist", founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that has helped hundreds of clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com.  Don't forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business.

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