Sales Leadership

Leader, My Leader: Do You Inspire “Willing Action?”

03.17.2020 by Jonathan Farrington //

Leadership has been defined as “the ability to inspire willing action”

Emphasis is placed on the “willing.” But to understand leadership, we need to delve a little deeper than that.

One thing which experience has proven over and over again down through the ages is that when any group of people are thrown together for any length of time or for any project, a leader will emerge from the group – one to whom they will listen and give their confidence and support.

Their position on the organisation chart or their title alone cannot make a person a genuine leader. They must have certain traits and skills, or they will surely fail. In business, it has been shown again and again that these skills can be learned and the traits can be developed in any individual who is willing to exert an effort based on strong desire and a true hunger for success.

Generally, a leader or teacher does not actually “develop” another person; rather they encourage and inspire that person to develop themselves from within. Thus, leadership is, in a large sense, self-initiated.

Once we understand and identify the methods and characteristics of admired leaders, we can take steps to develop these skills and traits ourselves. We can analyze ourselves — honestly, ruthlessly, objectively – and identify which skills we need to acquire or improve (and those which we need to play down).

However, it is my view that the “perfect leader” has yet to be born. We all have room for self-improvement. If we can agree upon what it takes to be a good leader – what are the traits of leadership, what are the skills – we will at least have made a good start. We should analyze every genuine leader we know and try to learn which qualities influenced us to consider them a good leader.

And that is what I have done: My first experience of leading was thrust upon me at the tender age of eight years old, when I captained my soccer team an since then I have always been the captain – it is as well, because I am not a very good follower, however hard I have tried.

Does your leader inspire you into willing action … or uninspire you into unwilling action?

Final question: Are great leaders born or made? It seems that everyone has a view on that – every man, his dog, and most of his dog’s best friends: I’ll share my views shortly…. watch this space.

Is Inspiration Overrated? I Think Not!

11.05.2019 by Jonathan Farrington //

In a survey of more than one and a half thousand managers, people were asked what they would most like to see in their leaders. The most popular answer, mentioned by 55% of people, was ‘inspiration.’ Yet when asked if they would describe their current leader as ‘inspiring’ only 11% said yes.

The two attributes that people actually mentioned most often when describing their leaders were ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘ambitious.’ As well as this thirst for inspiring leadership, there’s also evidence to support the idea that companies with inspiring leaders perform better.

The Sunday Times publishes an annual survey of the ‘Best Companies to Work For’, which is compiled from the opinions of the companies’ own employees. One interesting fact is that those ‘Best Companies’ that are publicly quoted consistently outperform the FTSE All-Share Index. Five-year compound returns show a 5.7% negative return for FTSE All-Share companies against a 13.6% gain for the Best Companies. Over three years, the returns were -11.3% and 6.7% respectively while, in the last twelve months, they were 23.1% and 44%.

The ‘Best Companies to Work For’ have also performed impressively on staff turnover, sickness rates, absenteeism, and the ability to recruit good quality people.

The stereotype of the inspirational leader as someone extrovert and charismatic is the exception rather than the rule. Looking at best practice across business, though some inspirational leaders certainly do fit this mould, a large number do not. Many are quiet, almost introverted.

My personal view is that the best leaders promote a culture where their people value themselves, each other, the company and the customers. Everyone understands how their work makes a difference. This helps to build a commitment to higher standards where everybody is always looking to do things better.

An Abundance of Managers But a Paucity of Leaders

10.15.2019 by Jonathan Farrington //

One of the questions I am most frequently asked is what are the key differences between a leader and a manager and this is the best quote I have ever read. It succinctly describes those differences.

“There is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is of the spirit management is of the mind. Managers are necessary, but leaders are essential. We must find managers who are not only skilled organizers, but inspired and inspiring leaders.” Field Marshall Slim

I believe that you can buy someone’s physical presence, but you cannot buy loyalty, enthusiasm, or devotion – these you must earn.

Successful organizations have leaders who focus on the future rather than cling to the past. Leaders bring out the best in people. They spend time developing other people into leaders.

In my view, these are the qualities of a true leader:

Leaders have a clear vision of what they are working towards. They don’t keep their vision a secret – they communicate it to their people.

Leaders are consistent. They keep their principles and values at all times.

Leaders can and will do what they expect of others. They are prepared to walk the talk.

Leaders are not threatened by competence. They enjoy promoting people and are quick to give credit to those who have earned it.

Leaders enjoy developing their people into leaders, not followers. They train people to take on more challenging tasks and responsibilities – they develop people’s confidence.

Leaders don’t’ betray trust. They can treat confidential information professionally.

Leaders are concerned about getting things done. They don’t get embroiled in political infighting, gossip and backstabbing. They encourage those around them to do likewise.

Leaders confront issues as they arise. They do not procrastinate. If something needs fixing, they do it right away, even if it is uncomfortable – the longer things are left, the more difficult they become.

Leaders let people know how they are doing. They reward and recognise performance that is above expectations and they help people identify ways of improving poor performance.

Leaders are flexible. They welcome change. They do not stick to an old position simply because it is more comfortable.

Leaders are adaptable. They see change as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Leaders are human. They make mistakes. When they do so, they readily admit it.

Leaders reflect on and learn from their mistakes. They see errors as a chance to improve their skills.

Leaders enjoy challenge. They are prepared to take risks and encourage others to do likewise. If they fail, they treat the exercise as a learning experience.

Leaders focus on the future, not the past. They anticipate trends and prepare for them. They develop a vision for their team and communicate it to them.

Leaders are open to new ideas. They demonstrate their receptiveness by supporting change.

Leaders treat staff as individuals. They give closer attention to those that need it and lots of space to those that deserve it.

Leaders encourage and reward co-operation within and between teams.

Summary:
Without managers the visions of leaders remain dreams. Leaders need managers to convert visions into realities. For continuous success, organizations need both managers and leaders; however, as most seem to be over-managed and under-led, they need to find ways of having both at the same time.

Perhaps the best way to handle this paradox is for managers to aim to be managers when viewed from above, leaders when viewed from below and to remember that the need for leadership grows as we move up the organization.

This is only one of the challenges that can make working life fun – don’t you think?