For those of you that are business managers or supervisors, the time has come to rethink if you are indeed an effective leader. For those of you that picked up the 16 Rules of Leadership, you probably already know where this is heading, but for the rest of you, the time has come to face the challenge of letting go of the mediocre mindset or choosing to forever Stay Poor and understand what being in charge really means.
As managers, supervisors and people of power, you hold the ultimate ability over someone elses employment and career. Ultimately you hold control over where that person can or can’t go in the future and hold even more power over that person’s mindset so ask yourself how much you are really helping those right in front of you.
Many speak of always wanting to help others and those in need but are you really helping those in need right in front of you or doing the world a disfavor wasting valuable time and energy doing nothing?
We all have had a bad boss or bad supervisor at some point, someone who feels like they are getting no where in life or do things for the sake of doing them instead of understanding why and how to do them. We all know the impact that such poor leadership has on people and how quickly one’s career can turn into nothing more than a job, but do we ever stop to ask ourselves if we are perceived as a poor leader by those that work for us?
The first rule of leadership is our perception and knowledge of ourselves and our understanding of our shortfalls and or strengths, and how we can navigate around obstacles that we are confident are being self-created. Here are some basic tips of understanding if you are capable of being a leader in your current role or perhaps you should go back to being a follower…
How you can gauge that you are an effective leader:
- Your employees work very hard for you.
- You have had a track record for promoted employees.
- All those that work for you have a clear path to advance within the company.
- Your employees are not afraid to discuss challenges.
- Your employees contribute ideas.
- Your employees rarely call out sick and are never late.
- Your employees seek your advice and feedback often.
Should those basics not be occurring for you on a daily basis, then perhaps you might want to go back and self educate yourself on effective leadership skills, but more importantly remember that in the equation of success, you are the liability.
The impact you are not making on the world and the disservice you are doing yourself and others will ultimately lead to your own failure, so perhaps it is time to get out of your existing mindset.
On the other side exists the followers who work under these poor leaders and managers, these same managers who truly have no idea of the complications they create for themselves and their lack of control on their business. This stupidity creates a unique opportunity for those of us that see the world for what it is and not the façade people create for themselves. This opportunity is the opportunity to work harder, faster and with more recognition than before to ultimately lead to you stepping into a role of leadership yourself and changing what those imbeciles never did.
Leadership or not, just keep in mind that with any economic climate comes change in what a company needs to succeed and those with the most adaptability or those with the most flexibility and self awareness will always been seen first.
