What is real leadership?

The MyBomberJacket.com blog usually consists of great tips on taking care of Leather Bomber Jackets or the high fashion of a B3 Sheepskin leather bomber jacket.  But in this post we decided to address leadership. 

What is real Leadership? Well, it can be a lot of things. Plus, there are a lot of components to good leadership. All too often, people like to point to historical figures for examples of leadership, such as Lincoln, Napoléon, Alexander the Great, Washington, Robert E. Lee, Garibaldi, Bismarck, and Churchill, etc.

Yes, those are some very high end examples and their leadership-type do not often help us in the modern board room, or in the department committee meetings of today. Sometimes, and often, the supposed leaders are appointed for us on committees or for departments. And just as often, those appointed leave deep concerns as to why they were chosen in the first place.

That is when those being led start to ask the dreaded “W” questions:

Why are you the Leader or the Chairman?

Who put you here as the Leader or the Chair?

What do you really want from this? Title? More Money? Higher Position?

Why are you here in the first place?

What do you want from us? Or myself?

Why this Agenda?

What are you aiming for and what is your game?

Why were you chosen by them to lead us?

Where does you influence begin and end?

Where is the true power? You? Or those who appointed you?

Why were we not asked who we wanted to lead?

Who are you?

True Leadership?

Be honest and show confidence in yourself and in everyone else on your team. Be generous in assignment and in acclaim. Pat people on the back and find different ways to compliment. Be lavish in your praise.

Any good leader is not afraid to delegate. Poor leaders do not delegate because they are afraid to. Poor leadership tries to micro-manage everything and everything soon fails. Another example of poor leadership is under management (halfhearted or a too easy-going style). Good leadership establishes good reporting and proper time management for those reports

And that comes from simple good old fashion Communication with your team. Failure to communicate will always be at the top in your list of possible failures for your team and your team projects and mission.

Chron.com lists out what they think are the most common types of leadership today:

Laissez-Faire

Autocratic

Participative

Transactional

Transformational

Some are better than others. Yet, none of these leadership styles work if you don’t communicate effectively or take the time to pat your staff, team members, or employees on the back to reassure their performance. Sure, you can give out some expensive awards or a raise in pay, but don’t ever underestimate the value or impact of a simple award on any individual. Some expression of Formal Recognition no matter how small, is always appreciated and hard to forget. Yet, that wonderful “Pat of the Back”, that simple “I see you” or “I see the good work you are doing” can often mean more to a business or an organization, than the price of a new car. Such simple praise can also express itself back in the form of creativity, ingenuity, and loyalty.

A simple email note of one or two lines, or a short phone text of praise can make someone feel like a million dollars for the rest of the day and spur high performance.  However, face to face praise is best.  Sounds simple, but it works wonders if you keep it up.

Read more blogs from MyBomberJacket.com