From Managers To Leaders

I would like to introduce you to 4 things that can help you on your leadership journey. However, before I get into them I want to stress that full exposure to these concepts is the best way to go. You can do that by going to the Franklin Covey site and registering for one of the following programs: Leadership: Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results or Leadership Foundations.

Dr. Covey talked about The 4 Imperatives of Great Leaders and most think that it’s “a The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People thing”. Let me first assure you that it’s not, they’re not. These are simple tools that are easily implemented that can help you gain the respect and trust you need to move from just managing people to leading them. I take no credit for these concepts – but I’m here sharing them with you because I know first hand – THEY WORK. There is no secret on how to become a Leader. The reality is that most do not want to put in the time and effort that it will take to move from manager to leader.

That’s where The 4 Imperatives come in. These tools, if used correctly will help lighten your load, smooth out your day, ensure your team is self sufficient and reliant and will ensure work is being done – even when you’re not there! After all, isn’t that what we all want?

Now, in the training I attended no master list was provided for ranking these imperatives. The reason being is that it will depend on where you are with the employee. If you have a strong area of trust with your employee, then trust would not become your first imperative with them. But if there is another employee with whom trust is an issue, then you would want to start there. Getting the picture?

I have listed these in the order that I use them in when looking at a new employee – where do I want to start and end up. I then change them up as needed as my relationship with the employee develops.

Imperative #1 – Inspire Trust – In this economy, in this global market age nothing could be more critical then trust. The challenge is, either you have it or you do not. But one thing to think about is this – “The #1 reason people leave their jobs is a bad relationship with their boss.” (From The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey) that is how critical trust really is.

Imperative #2 – Clarify Purpose – As stated in my project management article Empower THIS! your job as a leader is to ensure they know the right direction to go and how to create their own map. This is another point along those same lines. They need to fully understand the goals and the mission. Otherwise, they have no organizational purpose and if they have no organizational purpose they will not be inspired or motivated no matter what you do.

Imperative #3 – Align Systems – This is the oil that will keep your machine running. Your systems keep your product moving, your data flowing, and allow your employees to do the work they are hired to do. But, is their a better way?

Imperative #4 – Unleash Talent – I have to say this is one of my favorite areas. When an employee trusts you, understands their purpose in the company and believes they have the ability to improve their systems, the personality changes. As a leader there is nothing as fulfilling as witnessing a person embrace their role and enjoy their work.

So now they are reveled! The 4 Imperatives that will help you move from a manager to a leader. They tie into another aspect of this training called the Whole Person Paradigm. But that is a topic for another day.

From Managers to Leaders (What would a Leader do?):

~ Attend one of the following programs: Leadership: Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results or Leadership Foundations.

~ Work on putting into place this section of each Imperative.

~ Be open to the concept of getting to know your people. This is not about knowing their dirty laundry it’s about know what will motivate them in their work.