  |
SelfHelpInfoNow.com |
 |
| |||
| Leadership Information |
|
|
 |
Blowing Your Own Leadership Horn
There are two streams of competitiveness running through every organization. The first goes outward: It's the organization's competitive activities toward its competitors. The second goes inward: It's the competitiveness of leaders inside the organization who are vying against one another for power, recognition, privilege and promotion. To be successful in the second, leaders must not only do well in their jobs but they must also be able to have their bosses and colleagues perceive they do well. In other words, they must be able to publicize themselves -- or, to use the vernacular, blow their own horns. I submit, however, that if one simply puts lips to the horn of publicity and blows hard -- i.e., makes an outward show of publicizing oneself -- such efforts will turn out to be discordant and counterproductive. The result will be people turning their backs on you rather than having them hum your tune. Though it is necessary to blow one's own horn as you climb your career ladder, it is also necessary to know how to do it. After all, there is an art to the effort. Here are four steps that you can follow. (1) Identify an area in your organization that needs better results. The art involves not just selecting the right results but doing so in cooperation with others. Make sure that when you shine light on the lack of results, you do not embarrass somebody who has been tasked to get those results. Instead of making beautiful music, you could end up on somebody's enemies list! Get the responsible person's permission to focus on the area. (2) Put together a team whose task it is to achieve those results. Blowing your own horn means that you want to be seen, not as the Lone Ranger, but as a team player. Ensure the results can be achieved with a team. Enlist members to join the team by giving leadership talks. (What's in it for them to be part of the team?) Be aware, as you form the team, of any hard feelings or rough edges that might surface between and among team members and others in your organization who have a stake in the results. If you lead an endeavor that causes hard feelings, it's better to have never started it in the first place. Moreover, the new team must be not only be formed, it must be MARKETED. Both of these efforts require communications tools and skills, which can take numerous forms. First, to describe the new team or service, communications must be employed to fully define its purpose and operating principles, and the people who are involved in it. These communications tools are descriptive in nature and may include everything from biographical back-grounders to product descriptions and data sheets. (3) Achieve the results. Execution and achievement of the targeted results is absolutely critical to this phase of horn blowing. Make sure you score a win even if it's only a partial win. The idea is to get the low hanging fruit at the outset to show others that your team is succeeding, and then go for the bigger results later. (4) Publicize the results. This is one of the most important steps of all, and it is a step that few leaders follow. They might put together a team that gets a few wins, but they have no idea how to publicize their efforts. The first rule in this is: To blow your own horn most effectively, make sure YOU DON'T TAKE CREDIT FOR THE RESULTS -- YOUR TEAM MEMBERS TAKE CREDIT INSTEAD! Your efforts will get torpedoed if they look at all self-serving. To highlight the successful products and services achieved by your team, you can put together white papers, data sheets, presentation papers and case-history articles. Don't make this a one-time effort. You must be continually looking for results that are flagging, putting together teams to achieve the results, then marketing and publicizing the achievements. In this way, when you blow your horn in your organization, the music you'll be making can accompany you on a fast-rising career-trajectory. 2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com For more on the Leadership Talk: http://www.theleadershiptalk.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Structure House Weight Loss Program Named America’s Healthiest ... - Business Wire (press release)
Weight-Loss - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Four Obstacles to Exceptional Leadership--Part 1 "Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them." -- Orison Swett MardenEvery day leaders are faced with challenges to expand their thinking, overcome obstacles and embrace potential growth. Effective Leaders are (#1) Conceptual SEE INTO THE FUTURE CREATIVELY AND PRACTICALITY: Planning day-to-day is obviously important, but a good leader must be able to see the long-range picture, to know the history of the organization and have a sense of the direction in which it is traveling. Effective leaders always have the long-range picture in mind as they plan laterally. The Challenge to Lead The topic of leadership has been and continues to be one of the most vital topics in human history. From ancient civilizations to modern day multi-national corporations, men and women of passion, fervor and zeal have sought to discover the secrets of moving others beyond the gray of their mundane reality to the rich array of colors that embody the palate of the extraordinary life. Are You Playing or Practicing Leadership? Anne was a new supervisor, and like many new supervisors she took the new role as a manager and leader seriously. She took advantage of training that was offered to her. Leadership and The Dirty Work The airline, Jet Blue, has been featured in many magazines as a new company that has hard great results and success so far. A lot too has been mentioned about the challenges they face ahead and about the culture they created at the start and are working hard to foster now. The Happy Jar I just delivered a free speech. I am a great believer in free speech, but an even greater believer in paid speech. Act on Some of the Facts Making any decision without having all of the information and facts beforehand can be very tough. I spoke with a young man recently and he told me that some of his professors had changed the rules on him in the administration of his classes. Leadership Skill Training Quality leadership is a positive asset that is needed in every organization. Observe any successful club, committee or team and you will find a capable leader in each of these organizations. Leadership Is Power: Test Your Ethics "The payoff for the ethical person is a reputation for honesty. It's a payoff that makes every undertaking easier and attracts unsolicited opportunities. Leadership is About Growing Others - Its Not About You! "Before you become a leader success is all about growing yourself. Once you become a leader success is all about growing others. Leadership Skills: Four Ways of Overcoming Perfectionism We pay a high price for perfectionism. "What perfectionism?" we perfectionists mutter. C4 Leadership: Taking Your Leadership (and your Life) from Good...To Explosive! Chances are if you're interested in this post, you're looking for a few tips to take your leadership and/or your life, up a notch or two. Read on for a few things that have really helped me make my leadership more explosive after first defining what C4 is. None of Us Arrived with an Owners Manual: A Fresh Perspective on the Drive to Lead (part 2) Why didn't I get an Owner's ManualAfter a little while with life happening and no sign of the Manual we began to realize we would need to make the best of it. We began to look around to see who had one and studied what they knew, surely some of it must be generic! We began to study our parents, our siblings - if they looked competent enough, and our other care givers. People or Objects? - - You Decide "How you think determines how you act. How you act, in turn, determines how others react to you. Who Needs Heroes? When we were talking the other day we started to think about our heroes when we were young. After we had discussed the usual film star and sports stars that we idolised I remembered Derek. Learn How to Lead People "Who rules or guides or inspires others"Having excellent guide skills is one of the most important abilities to possess in today's fast-paced world. We need the support and cooperation of other people to help us in reaching our goals. The Seven Mistakes to Avoid when Organising Your Student Leadership Program How do you measure the success of a training or teaching program? There are many measures you can use including; focusing on learning outcomes, behavioural change, student engagement and even efficiency of delivery.An effective leadership program can achieve all of the above and more. What Does Exceptional Business Success Require of Us? To excel in business we need conscious command of all our faculties, mind, body and heart to ensure our work/life balance. Then we can seize the moment of opportunity and create exceptional results. Women in Leadership - How to Get Promoted It is often much harder for women to get promoted than men. The most common characteristic of successful women is that they know how to express their excellence in a male dominated environment. The Goals of Leadership Coaching and Partnerships Webster's Dictionary describes a "partner" as an ally or an association built around common interests and goals.A partnership denotes a joint venture, a relationship built on equal status (rather than inequality).
|
|
Home | Blog | Improvement | Motivation | Health & Fitness | Relationships | Family | Parenting | Women Issues | Legal Matters Leadership Home | Site Map |
| Copywrite © 2006 www.SelfHelpInfoNow.com All rights reserved. |
