5 Power Keys For Leadership Success!

by Bill Thomas

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Published on this site: January 2004 - See more articles from this month

Did you know that... you can successfully handle most leadership challenges with just 5 simple strategies? By focusing your attention on these critical areas you can empower your the opportunities hiding within your vision, new venture or project plans.

The biggest problem facing people like you is knowing when, what and how to operate your leadership power keys.

You have no problem turning on your computer, using it to find answers and producing your letters or reports with it.

Why not make your leadership power keys help you influence others, guide them towards rewarding outcomes and nurture their growth into success-driven leaders?

POWER KEY-1: "Simplify The Complex!"

The reason why leaders are important is because of the situation, circumstance or condition facing the group. You can look at these things as being a need, a problem or an opportunity.

People will look to you to lead them as you explore, discover and plan the best course of action for dealing with this complex state of affairs.

Therefore your leadership power key relies on your ability to systematically investigate, evaluate, map, organize and communicate solutions.

POWER KEY-2: "Envision New Vistas!"

This is the time for boldness! Your group begs to do something inspiring, engaging, worthwhile and special. Give them a vibrant, vivid and vital vision - excite their hearts, minds, souls and spirits.

Regardless of your task, function, project or business, you must lead others using your mind's eye [imagined view] of a compelling vision.

Your leadership power key involves creating, shaping, sharpening and publicizing the vision as you also encourage people to embrace it, own its outcomes and feed its possibilities.

POWER KEY-3: "Go For The Gusto!"

Your team will wonder about their priorities every moment of every day. How will you inform, reassure and coach them?

There are just a few items you should concentrate your efforts, attention and assessments on - they are your leadership agenda:

1. Security - health, wellness, safety
   
   
2. Wisdom - knowledge, relevance, applicability
   
   
3. Power - personal, team, shared, how much
   
   
4. Guidance - where, what, when, who, why, what & how
   
   
5. Syntropy - importation & focusing of power sources
   
   
6. Conceptuality - analyzing patterns, artifacts, concepts
   
   
7. [Universe] Frontiering - ask & find what's out there?

POWER KEY-4: "Be Disciplined and Willful!"

You must deal effectively with reality to hold onto your leadership power keys. If there is no disciplined approach, direction or intent, you will not lead for very long.

Many leaders fail to rigorously design, supervise or execute their strategies. Yet, strategic planning can be one of your strongest power keys.

Your strategy should empower others to -

• trust your motives
  
  
• maintain their will-power
  
  
• develop a positive self-regard
  
  
• define their responsibilities
  
  
• exercise control
  
  
• judge their performance or progress
  
  
• usher them through the process of change

POWER KEY-5: "Behave Yourself!"

You don't have to change your spots! You do however have to serve the needs of different circumstances, constituents and considerations.

There are certain ethical matters that you must apply - you will need to be fair, honest, and consistent when dealing with people. Your behavior reflects your concerns, concentrations and character.

Your leadership power key demands that you adopt the proper mental attitudes, behaviors based upon rock-solid personal values and motives driven by your most positive eccentric forces.

Can you adapt? Will you behave? Do you really care? These questions reveal the power behind this key.

You can spend thousands and invest weeks of precious time in formal classroom instruction. Eventually you would begin to acquire these power keys of successful leaders.

These simple principles are so easy to remember - in fact, I use them myself. They're the power keys to all of my personal, business and community leadership activities - and they always deliver great results.

Gurus like Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Warren Bennis, Jack Welch discuss these five principles at length in their work.

Great historical figures including Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy and Marie Curie have demonstrated these skills in their leadership roles.

Your leadership success depends on your agreement with Churchill's observation: "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

These 5 power keys are the keys to success for all of your life adventures - will you walk with expectations for positive outcomes, will you commit yourself to growing stronger and use your own leadership power keys to energize your performances?

Bill Thomas: Produces "The Leadership Toolkit" - a web based training program that improves your leadership skills, energizes creativity and transforms you into a persuasive, empowering leader. Inspire Confidence, Be Creative, Enhance Your Leadership Influence - Get "All the Tools You Need To Lead!" www.leadership-toolkit.com/info.html