Leaders act. They make decisions. Leaders engage and align themselves with the goals of an organization, cause or belief of the group. But above all else they act and they lead others to act. We are all measured by our actions, our ownership of those actions and we are also measured by the things we fail to do.
As a business people make promises to those they lead every day. According to a recent study condcted by CNN and Pew Charitable, 91% of the American workforce says that one of the “most important attributes of a good leader is that they will act in a timely manner when making decisions” yet only 82% of those same respondents believe their current leaders act in a timely manner when it comes to decision making skills. An astonishing 77% follow up that statement by saying that their leader ” oftentimes fails to act at all.”
Good leaders have core and significant attributes:
1. They Engage: they are able to engage themselves and their teams to believe in the mission and deliver on the gold. They motivate and inspire others to great results.
2. They make decisions: What more can you say? They don’t sit on the sidelines, they don’t wait for consensus, they make prudent but swift and calculated decisions that are for the benefit of the business, cause or individual.
3. They act: The take action swiftly, without hesitation but always with forethought and confidence. But they always act.
4. They take responsibility: Leaders own results, good or bad and share the victories. They are responsible for the moves forward and the failures to move. Leaders are able bodied responders.
We set expectations and we measure results in everything we do – our business lives, our personal achievements, the scores our children make – every day. Our actions should reach far beyond those measurements and be supported by behaviors that demonstrate our efforts to improve our weaknesses, teach the responsibility and accountability to improve ourselves and others, and to praise the results of that improvement. Missing any of these attributes or one of these steps or the countless others we must exhibit as leaders is truly how we will be measured…
Do the right thing. Engage. Make decisions. Act. Be responsible.
What are you NOT doing today?
listen. learn. share. repeat.
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