1
     
 
The Bare Bones Basics of Success
 
Achieving success truly requires a mixed bag of talent, attributes, intuition, skill, savvy, acumen, hunter instincts, and leadership abilities. The latter continually piques my interest. The word 'leadership' has become uninteresting because of its generic overuse. Sure, we all strive to exemplify good leadership (or at least we should), but what - in a nutshell - makes a stellar leader?

Roger Dow, Senior VP of Marriott, believes in being "brilliant at the basics." Seems like a logical success strategy, so I spoke with Robin Craig, a Phoenix-based leadership consultant, who heartily agreed. "Successful leaders must be brilliant at the bare bones basics," she says. Here are her top "basic" tips:

1. Your behavior is your most powerful leadership tool. While people may not always believe what you say, they'll believe what you do. And, often, people will mimic your behavior, so be a role model for integrity, truthfulness, and honesty. Remember, perception is reality - your behavior must be consistent.

2. Keep your promises.

3. Treat everyone with the utmost courtesy - and have patience. Establish respect by being fair, not jumping to conclusions, and being consistent.

4. Show compassion by listening thoughtfully to others' ideas, problems, and solutions.

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

6. Give credit where credit is due. Don't hoard information.

7. Take responsibility for your actions.

8. Give personal recognition to the efforts of others by taking the time to hand write a thank you note to someone.

9. Laugh at yourself and your foibles. Laughter improves morale and helps create a healthy working environment.

10. If you want people to believe in you, then you have to believe in them. Develop the courage to trust that others will do the right thing.

Whether or not a person is a leader is whether they are viewed as a leader. According to Craig, the biggest mistake leaders make is failing to create trust or diminishing an existing trust. "It is either the things they do, or the things they don't do," she says. "For example, do they share information? Do they communicate openly, honestly, and completely?"

After observing numerous top performers in her twenty years in management, Craig says the sure-winner leadership traits are compassion, empathy, caring, inspiration, creating a sense of purpose, encouraging personal development, and self-confidence. In her view, modern leadership is really "inspirational stewardship." So much for those Wharton MBA classes...

As droves of up-and-coming entrepreneurs make their exodus from corporate America, citing the toxic workplace, corrupt politics, and poor management as leading reasons for their departure, it's no wonder that this new breed is focused so keenly on human relations issues. We've all heard various CEOs proclaim, "Our company is its people; without people, there would be no company." Unfortunately, in many organizations, this mantra has become nothing more than anemic rhetoric.

The truth is, being successful encompasses all of what Robin Craig expounds and much more. My friend, author Ray Russell says, "You can't lead anyone unless you can lead yourself." Clearly, we all lead ourselves to success by the way we treat others.

Debra Davenport, PhD, is a Master Professional Mentor and the president of DavenportFolio, a licensed firm with offices in Los Angeles and Phoenix that mentors entrepreneurs and professionals. She is the creator of the Certified Professional Mentor® designation and certification program and the author of The Ten Commitments of Highly Successful People. debra@davenportfolio.com or (866) 232-6492.

 

 
 
     
  © 2002-2007 The Davenport Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Proprietary material.
No information from this Web site may be copied or reproduced in any manner without express written permission.
Privacy Protocols