31.5.09

- Lead From The Front Using Famous Leadership Quotes

It's often said that Leaders are not made, they are born!. However, its not entirely true. In fact, there are two kinds of leaders – the born leaders and those who become leaders by following the leads from other. Moreover, youll find that most of the modern leaders belong to the latter category.

In this regard, the leadership quotes from famous personalities attain a pivotal significance. Not only these quotes inspire ordinary mortals to lead from the front, but also keep them in good stead when their leadership skills are tested in real time scenario.

Being a leader of ten marketing professionals in my organization, I can say it authentically that the leadership quotes have brought a welcome change in my personality and played an important role in grooming my leadership skills.

To quote an example, I read a simple but profound leadership quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. on one of the popular quotes website on the Internet. It went something like this genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus”. This was the time when I was struggling to implement an efficient working model within the team but a few old timers were resisting it. I simply gave them a one-week testing challenge whereby they were required to work as per the new plan for a week and assess the results with those achieved by previous methods.

Undoubtedly, when the results were out, the resisters became supporters and have since been among my greatest admirers in the team.

Looking from the hindsight, I can say it from experience that there cant be a better alternative to the leadership quotes from famous personalities. If anyone is struggling to lead a team or a group, then simply hit the Internet and look for an authentic leadership quotes website, and change your fledgling life as a leader.

About the Author Your source for Famous quotes and quotations from thousands of famous people. Visit http://www.belovedquotes.com Source: ArticleTrader.com

21.5.09

What Exactly Is 21st. Century Leadership?

Have You Got What It Takes?


Everywhere you look there is another book on leadership. Typically they showcase individuals with skills and abilities we mere mortals could never hope to have.

The secret of leadership is often discussed by entrepreneurs who want to sell us their special formula for achieving leadership success. Many of these gurus, through their very profitable books and seminars - ones that association heads and meeting planners, along with corporate people and self-actualization junkies are so crazy about - should really be called motivation instead of leadership related.


Then there are the Mega leaders of vast enterprises - people whose names we all know who have lead their organizations to greatness - and even to great failures they will now gladly tell everyone how to avoid. Often when you sift through the rhetoric you see elements of their leadership equation that you can not possibly duplicate.


The enterprises they ran have virtually unlimited resources - if you throw enough money at an idea it just may work, especially if its cost is hidden in vast budgets and it wasn't your money anyway.


These Mega leaders have access to other people at their level, they are on each other's speed dials, people with whom to do the deals that made them famous - if not rich to boot. They know these well placed people on a first name basis that the rest of us could spend a lifetime and still not get past the receptionist. They are part of the club.

Why are these leaders, popular fiction for regular folks like us, so incredibly popular? These leaders are charismatic, they are well spoken, and they ARE in fact celebrities. And we all love our celebrities! Even though their ideas are not actionable for us and only a tiny percentage of what they offer is transferable to us does not matter. We feel good hearing their story.

For most of us leadership is defined by our experiences. We are emotionally charged by our individual perceptions when we are asked to define leadership; let's face it, leaders are always looked upon with glamour and awe. Those of us who aspire to be leaders often just copy the actions and behavior of business leaders we respect without ever knowing what it really means to be a good leader.

A great leader listens to the insights of their employees before responding. Your employees want to give you their ideas, share their concerns about the business, and pass along information and general day to day chit chat. Please avoid distractions and interrupting - even when you already know the answer. Always let your employee have their say, especially when you are already prepared to disagree with them - you might learn something that changes your mind.


And be sure to let your employee finish their communication - you must show respect for their ideas if you expect to receive their respect for yours. We all have a natural desire to be heard and allowing employees to finish their thoughts - often something they have put a great deal of effort into, goes a long way in building the respect you need in order to lead.


So what makes a great leader you ask? Are there any proven leadership development formulas that can be duplicated? Apparently there aren't or we would have read the book by now and becoming a leader would be simple, if not downright easy. Let's face it, if being a leader was easy - everybody would already be one and we would not be so consumed with learning the secret - the key, the shortcut to leadership.


The fact is of course that there is no single formula for leadership success. Needless to say when we add the human factor into any formula we have added unique variables into every possible equation. People are unique, situations are unique, and the circumstances of every business are unique. There seem to be as many leadership development formulas for business leadership success as there are successful leaders.

So, what are the characteristics of an every day leader? If you ask anyone about leadership, what it is, how do you get it, and how do you recognize it, you will undoubtedly get so many answers, most of which are probably be right - that you would be no better off than you were before you posed the question.

Many people naturally believe that leadership is a talent one is born with, some think it is a skill that can be acquired. Either way, leadership, particularly business leadership has a single straightforward and simple meaning.


In a nutshell, business leadership is the ability, however acquired, to consistently influence others - especially those who look to us for guidance. In other words, it is the ability to attract followers and influence their actions and attitudes at work.



About the Author Individuals who think strategically, plan comprehensively, and execute flawlessly will certainly outpace those who simply set goals and hope for the best. If you want to be even more successful in the future than you are today, visit http://www.ibizresources.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/05 /what-exactly-is-21st-century-leadership-have-you-got-what-i t-takes/" target="_blank">small business leaders learn how to focus more clearly on what's important to them, their family, and their business. Source: http://www.articletrader.com/">ArticleTrader.com















Loyalty The Key Quality of Business Leaders

There is no quick way to develop business leadership management skill - either among the members of your organization or for that matter, within you. It takes time to become a leader, you must learn through your life with the passing of time spent learning what real leadership is and what it means to be a leader.

To be a leader, a master of business leadership management - you must always be a student. To be always learning keeps you in the loop with your youngest employees and will help you lead your veteran employees to more effective strategies. Your people expect their leaders to be on the cutting edge.

New ideas and insights, new procedures and new methods whatever their source must always be welcomed and integrated into what you already know and what's already working for you and your people. Your employees gain confidence when they know you are on the case - learning, not taking what you've done well in the past as an excuse to stop stretching yourself.

In order to be a 21st century business leader you and all the other leaders in your organization must possess the essential qualities of leadership. And it is only through experience that these qualities will be born and nurtured until they become master skills.

Every article, every book, and every training course devoted to business leadership management and its development have lists that claim to be "the" qualities and characteristics of leaders. I will not argue with any of them - they are all important, each is more or less important depending on the specific business where the characteristics are found.

If there is one characteristic of leadership that all gurus, experts, authors, and academics will agree on - it's loyalty. Above all a leader must be loyal. Loyalty to the mission, loyalty to your bosses, loyalty to your direct reports, and loyalty to your peers.

That loyalty is a critical element is not in doubt - however being loyal does not mean we should not disagree with one another. Disagreement is not the same as disloyally. In fact the most loyal followers are those who disagree with their leaders and openly discuss their points of disagreement until a consensus is reached - one the followers and the leader can agree on and wholeheartedly endorse.

A follower who, in the best interests of the organization disagrees with the leader is someone to be listened to. That person embodies the notion that open discussion is allowed - that all relevant points of view are considered and that while a business organization might not be run like a true democracy, this one is closer to it than most.

Leaders must demonstrate loyalty by welcoming that discussion, by taking the input of their followers seriously and considering opinions other than their own. And not just the leaders in the Board room - this also applies to leaders whose business leadership management takes place on the shop floor or in the sales manager's office. They must also encourage discussions between themselves and their subordinates.

The old days of "my way or the highway" are long gone in theory. It is up to leaders at every level of the organization to make sure theory and practice are one and the same in their workplace.

On the other hand, an employee - no matter how low or high in the pecking order, who takes part in or encourages others to take actions that are not in the best interest of the organization should be fired. That person's ability to influence and as a result discourage loyal employees, managers, and executives is contagious.

It is a disease that will, left untreated cause the death of the organization. No one can serve two masters. The malcontent is more likely to be closer to the people being influenced that you are. No matter who this person is they must be removed and removed quickly.

It is essential to the health and prosperity of the business that the leaders at every level possess the skill, ability, attitude, and loyalty that will enable them to successfully carry out their responsibilities for the good of the organization as a whole.

About the Author Business leadership management is discovering and creating opportunities and meeting challenges others have not addressed. It is motivating your people, making informed, tough decisions for your organization, and accepting responsibility for the consequences of your actions. Business leadership management is the ability to inspire people and to give them the motivation to surpass their own limits to reach a common objective. Source: ArticleTrader.com

18.5.09

Build Talent Management

Build Talent Management into Your Business Plan


Talent management is increasingly becoming a critical part of the corporate business management strategy for most organizations. Talent Management is a never-ending process, that manages the start point of a new employee to the end point when termination (of either party) occurs, namely attracting, developing, and retaining talent. An expanded definition of talent management is a more comprehensive approach of trying to build those competencies.

There are 4 anchor pillars which governs Talent Management, namely recruiting, performance management, learning management, and compensation management. Hence, talent management is the end-to-end process of planning, recruiting, developing, managing, and compensating employees throughout the organization. Still, this is however, an overtly simplistic and inward looking definition.

Talent Management strategies must begin with the end in perspective. It must blend into the broad perspective of your Strategic Business Plan, supported by the long term growth of your organization, human resource management as well as Business Succession Planning. In essence, it provides the right people to drive the organization and is the bloodline of its growth. Talent Management speaks of and breathes life into your organization.

Talent Management is managing the long term expectations of employees by immersing them into the corporate culture, designing and delivering programs and initiatives to support the personal and professional development of employees which blends into the overall growth paths of your business plan. It is not difficult to see soft-indoctrination of the corporate vision, mission and passion induced into this process, supported by top management.

Stay tuned for this series of articles on Talent Management, exploring the talent management gaps and how to’s in management talent for long term top organizational performance.



About the Author

Yoshiko Choy has 17 years of business & marketing experience in Locals & MNCs, holds an Executive MBA, is a Platinum Ezine Author and an avid internet marketer. Read more about this topic or Business & Marketing Management Trends at http://www.BusinessFast4ward.com Learn the latest Online Niche Marketing Product Reports and Strategies at http://www.OnlineNicheMarketing.org

- Time Management

Time Management is Really About Life Management - Do You Have Enough Time?

Article:
Do you feel that you have too much, not enough or is it just right? Some people feel as though they have too much time. They are bored and let it tick away. Others feel that they have too little time; they feel pressured and hurried, as though there are too many demands placed upon them.

In workshops when I ask this question, of all the managers, sporting professionals, homemakers, and students, probably about 1 percent replies that they have enough time.

This is interesting because when you think about it, the supply of time has never been better or more equal. Regardless of your age or your job, you have as much time as everybody else.

This highlights a paradox of time management. Time management is not about creating more time (as time marches on at a fixed pace) but rather how to manage your life with respect to the time that we have.

So time management is really about life management. Managing your life within the time period allocated. This raises the stakes of time management from the idea of "to do" lists to one that is of critical importance - your life effectiveness.

This is echoed in the famous words of Benjamin Franklin "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for it is the stuff life is made of."

I believe that time management is fundamental to a meaningful and successful life. By prioritizing and focusing on what is important to you - for many this will be our family, friends, work, personal development and spirituality; we spend our time in a meaningful and effective manner.

Try our free time management course, for tools that you can use to use time more effectively.



About the Author

Kell works with elite athletes, business professionals, managers and office workers with goal setting, stress and time management.

I'd like to invite you to get free instant access to a 7-Part eCourse on Time Management.

Source: ArticleTrader.com