I recently ran across this article by Dr. John C. Maxwell, founder of InJoy.com in a recent edition of Leadership Wired. Below is an excerpt from the full article, if you like it and want to read more, you can subscribe to Leadership Wired by clicking here.
From 1996 to 2007, manager Joe Torre led the New York Yankees to the playoffs every year – winning an astounding 17 series in the post-season. Over those same 12 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers did not win a single playoff series. This past season, Torre departed New York to coach the Dodgers. The result? The Dodgers won their first post-season series in 20 years, while the Yankees missed the playoffs altogether.
Ask Yankees and Dodgers fans, and they will tell you that Joe Torre’s leadership matters. However, they may not be able to tell you exactly why Joe Torre is an excellent leader. What’s true of the fans in New York and Los Angeles is true for many of us. We experience the effects of leadership without understanding the cause.
I hope to make plain why the best leaders are the best leaders. In a nutshell, remarkable leaders give their best to their people, and get the best from their people. Let’s look at how this happens.
The Best Leaders Give Their Best to Their People By…
1) GROWING – People naturally follow leaders they respect as being more advanced than they are. For this reason, personal growth is directly proportional to influence. If you desire to gain followers, then pay the price of getting better.
2) SERVING – Serving others is an attitude issue. Unfortunately, many leaders operate under a king-of-the-hill mentality. They attempt to pull down anyone above them in order to secure the top spot for themselves. In doing so, they clutch at power, grapple for control of company resources, and strive to dominate others. Seeing relationships as win-lose propositions, they ultimately burn bridges and isolate themselves.
3) MODELING – Growing leaders have something to share; serving leaders have something to give; modeling leaders have something to show. As V.J. Featherstone said, “Leaders tell, but never teach, until they practice what they preach.” The best leaders embody their values. Their passion exudes from every pore and demands respect.
The Best Leaders Get the Best from Their People By…
1) LISTENING – The smartest leaders realize the limitations of their wisdom, and they listen to their people in order to capture invaluable insights. However, leaders don’t just listen to gain knowledge; they also listen to give their people permission: permission to challenge the process, permission to test assumptions; and permission to take risks.
2) RELATING – Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. To touch a heart, a leader has to be open to disclosing his or her identity by sharing personal stories and owning up to professional weaknesses. Mysterious or aloof leaders may be successful decision-makers, but they won’t get the heartfelt loyalty that comes from authentic relationships.
3) TEACHING – Gifted teachers have a way of making students out of disinterested bystanders. The best leaders have an infectious thirst for knowledge, and they take pride in cultivating knowledge of their craft and awareness of their industry.
4) DEVELOPING – The best leaders understand the differences between training people for tasks and developing people to be better leaders. The best leaders view their people as appreciable assets and prioritize investing in the talent on their teams.
5) MOTIVATING – Sustained motivation comes by creating the right environment for your people and by doing the right things consistently to nurture them. Consider a flower. It cannot grow in the Arctic; it requires a climate conducive to growth. Yet, even in the right environment, the flower must be planted in hospitable soil, exposed to sunlight, watered, and freed of weeds.