On Being Outstanding

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”

The role of an Outstanding Leader starts with intentionality. Are you being intentional with your teams? Which means: are you ACTIVELY pursuing a greater good, personally DRIVING the positivity bus, continually STRIVING for both you and the group to be better?

Yes? No? Maybe? Outstanding leaders know the outcome of the whole depends on the engagement of the individuals. Get out there and show you care. Leave your office and make the rounds. Who on your team can you go pat on the back? Say ‘great job’ to? Find a way to boost their self-esteem? When you start touching lives, I promise you changes will start happening.

relevant articles:
5 C’s Every great leaders should know:
4 Tips for young leaders:
10 Killer leadership skills:

must watch:
Seth Godin’s TED talk, The tribes we lead

great reads:
TED’s recommended reading list for great leaders:
John C. Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable laws of Leadership:

The 5 Things Managers Need to Know from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
1. Leadership develops daily, not in a day. You have to be willing to learn. A manager has to be willing to continue to learn new things about leadership. As the business world changes then a manager must be willing to change as well.

2. Manager and a leader are not the same. A manager is someone who gives people direction to follow but a leader is someone who has people willing to follow them. You need to first become a leader in order to be a good manager.

3. You must touch the heart before the hand. A good leader or manger needs to have a special connection with the people around them on a personal level. If you care about the people around you then in turn the people around you will care as well and try to improve things.

4. It takes a leader to raise up a leader. A good manager should have a good inner circle. Everyone knows that “two heads is better than one”. A manager may not be able to handle everything alone so they need to have a group there ready to help.

5. The true measure of virtual leadership and leadership coaching is influence: nothing more, nothing less. A good leader or manager has to be able to influence the people who chose to follow them. If you are able to influence the people around you, you will have a better outcome in the end.

something to think about:
Be humble – If learning is an important part of leadership, then it follows humility is an essential attribute as well. After all, you can’t learn new things if you cannot admit you are a work in progress. Be open to recognizing your own faults, as you can grow as both a leader and human being.

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