Fast Company Article #4 "How to Be A Real Leader" May 1999 by Polly Labarre

If leadership is something you do, you may not be leading effectively. Leadership should be an expression of who you are and come naturally if you remember three very important aspects.

All leaders need to have an "expression of authenticity". What this means is that leaders understand their strengths and weaknesses. A leader with aughenticity would aknowledge that they have a knowledge or skill gap. After they recognize it they would create a plan to achieve their goal of improving their knowledte or skill that is lacking. It takes a lot of awareness of one's self to identify your weaknesses openly and to detail the extent of your weakness.

Another skill a good leader has is the ability to not only listen but actually hear. Being a good listener is more than not speaking. It is the ability to hear a person's fears, intentions and aspirations. This allows you to get information at a deeper level. If you are successful, people will know that you care about you.

The third skill an effective leader displays is a positive attitude and outlook. Too often criticism and negative workds are displayed by individuals. Individuals with positive attitudes energize others and make them want to exceed their goals and the company goals.

I agree with the tree main points of this article. I never thought of listening as more than not talking while others are speaking. The article made a good point about trying to hear people's emotions and feelings. This for me would take a lot of effort and concentration until it became a habit.

Positive attitude is easy to say but to display a positive attitude at all times takes work and a strong personal attitude. It takes work because it is easier to be negative than display a positive confident self.

Being an authentic leader would take an open self reflection. People may need to consult others and take their opinions to heart to actually determine the depth of their weaknesses before they can work to improve them.

I feel that being a good leader lakes a lot of daily work. One needs to get the people they supervise to trust and resepect and to keep their respect. If you forget to take their opinions or do not get a true feeling of other's attitudes you could lose their confidence in you.

Submitted by Bill Berning

-- Anonymous, April 14, 1999

Answers

Bill Berning,

This article on leadership has definite merit. There are probably no great revelations in it however.Please remember to discuss this with peers. Watch your spelling.

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1999