Rethink Leadership or Fail: Change to Succeed

Rethink leadership or fail. We live in challenging times. Similarly, Abigail Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson in 1790, “These are hard times in which a genius would wish to live. Great necessities call forth great leaders.” We desperately need great leadership now, in business and all walks of life. In this leadership training video Rick will give you the keys to change and success. 

We are in those difficult times today with serious economic and political problems. Our leaders are increasingly incapable of dealing with these problems to make any substantial positive progress.

Businesses are confronted with quandaries within all the above. At the same time, they face a devastating lack of trust in corporate leaders, whose priorities seem out of step with employee and public concerns. Employees and constituents at all levels are more dissatisfied and disengaged than ever before. We need to rethink leadership approaches.

RETHINK EGOCENTRIC LEADERSHIP

I believe the fundamental reason for these failures is that too many leaders are self-focused and favor political partisanship. This means they are too selfish and seemingly only want what they want. Their needs trump the needs of others. Personal gratification and cash seem to rule for them more than anything else. Therefore, this supplants the dire need for synergies, teamwork, and cooperation. As a result, trust in our leaders disappears.

Many of these leaders follow a traditional ego-driven model of leadership that focuses on their interests, views, goals and needs above all others. See the details in this leadership video. The selfish driven approach wreaks havoc with employees and the economy. For example, recently the state of Texas in the US had a horrific winter storm that knocked out power for millions of people. For days everyone was without water, heat, and some cases food. One of their senators went to sunny and warm Cancun for a family vacation.

RETHINK LEADERSHIP: A MORE EFFECTIVE APPROACH

Throughout history, some leaders have given us clues to the powerful potential in a divergent but other-focused leadership approach: Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Albert Schweitzer, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, and Jesus of Nazareth to name a few. When you read their words and see their example, they all disrupted accepted leadership practices of their day. Most importantly, their goal was to help create a better world, not to gain recognition or become wealthy. For three keys to leadership success and motivation watch the video clip.

Many of the skills of an altruistic or servant leader are people and relationship focused. For example:

• Listening.
• Managing emotions.
• Coaching.
• Communicating.
• Enrolling people in a vision.
• Valuing diversity.
• Treating others respectfully.
• Team-building.
• Engaging employees.
• Dealing with conflict constructively.

In the same vein, these are the skills of emotional intelligence embraced by Dr. Daniel Goleman.

PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER

Mother Teresa said, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” While our business schools need to put more humanity in their teaching, leadership change begins one person, one manager, one executive, one senator at a time. Thankfully, there are other servant leaders, in many areas, with little money, who are doing the right things, selflessly and without attention, and strive to make a positive difference. Certainly, we need to champion these people and their efforts.

In conclusion, consider the words of Einstein: “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” Why not begin to rethink YOUR leadership today?

Also, are you willing to rethink leadership for how to inspire employee engagement? Check this out this eBook-How to Motivate-NO-Inspire People.

In addition, go here for our RealTime Learning & Training leadership and personal development website. Over 130 micro-learning and career advancement resources at your fingertips!

Finally, do you want to accelerate employee career and become a servant leader? Go here for Rick’s Superstar Leadership eBook.