Want to know what will make you a really great leader?

Fascinating isn’t it these unfamiliar times?

If you are looking at improving your leadership skills I’m sure you will have been watching with interest how the leadership of each country has managed the outbreak of the current pandemic.

You may agree with some of their leadership techniques but not others. Or you may disagree with all of them! Take for example the autocratic style of Donald Trump ‘my way or the highway.’ Or how about the strategic autocratic style of China? And then there is the initial Laissez-faire of the Italians not wanting to dictate.

It starts with facilitating the outcome you want.

The UK strategic approach led by the scientists which is facilitating the next move based on the outcomes, is probably a good move and will pay off eventually. But they need to get other people on board and a crowd that also believe in their ways.

Because leadership is about believing you can lead a team providing you are strong in your beliefs and values first, just like the scientists.

Emotional Intelligence is key to effective leadership.

Just like for the rest of the world at the moment, it may be unclear for you which approach will be the most effective. My interest though as yours should be, lies with the emotional intelligence of each leader.

How you personally react to each individual and your team is important. Just like it’s key for the current global leaders to look at the effect the pandemic is having on individuals and the collective community as a whole.

Compassion will get you in good books with your people.

If you take a look at Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand for example who leads with compassion and her calm energy, she has led her country beautifully through terrorism attacks, deaths from natural disasters, and the current pandemic.

With her calm energy she has been able to take swift action with compassion. Whilst this may have given her some criticism, let’s not forget her qualities duplicate those demonstrated by great historical leaders like Nelson Mandela.

Ultimately her calm energy and compassion promotes confidence and emotional intelligence across the country and you can’t help looking on thinking ‘I wish I had a leader like that.’

Your leadership journey will be tough.

Your journey to energetic leadership will be tough but more than worth it. Mine has certainly seen tough times with the first two years in sport like a baptism of fire. There was little or no governance in place and Directors were showboating about who would be the top dog rather than asking themselves, ‘what are we missing in leadership qualities?’

Ultimately the culture was reactive, toxic, and bullying. Unfortunately the casualties were the people in the organisation with me being one of them. I used to dread going to work every day.

Surely you don’t want your team to feel like that? I sincerely hope not because otherwise they will end up hating you more than any bully, and you will be left with unproductive and unhappy people working for you.

Get support and build on experience.

My passion for the sport and my resilience played a large part in how I came through those early days. In the staff handbook there was only one paragraph outlining the HR process related to bullying and there was no department to begin to address my issues.
I waited out my time, collected my evidence and when the time was right, with the support of a friend who was a trade union representative, I blew the whistle and it was dealt with.

Your experience from the past will stand you in good stead in terms of what not to do and what you would do differently, without the experience you have had, it would be like becoming a textbook leader and there is no emotional intelligence in that.

Be clear on your mission.

The key to success in leadership is without a doubt your level of emotional intelligence and really understanding what your mission is. You know that by understanding yourself and what makes you tick.

This puts you in a strong position to successfully lead others and secure your future clients.

Remember you can:

Go to the next level.
Get that promotion you really want.
Definitely increase your sales; and
Stand out from the crowd.

Your enthusiasm and drive are infectious.

Have the confidence to follow your gut instinct more often, experience plays a role in your gut instinct decisions, however, being able to maintain a consistent high level of energy is key.

Your enthusiasm and drive are infectious in attracting the attention of your seniors so you get that promotion. Your clients buy your energy ultimately and only buy into a small percentage of the result you give. They just want more of you.

Energy is not running around like a headless chicken, it is demonstrating emotional resilience, a positive mind set, understanding other people and the ability to communicate effectively.

This supports you to make calm and considered decisions and is a guarantee to your success. Jacinda Ardern and Nelson Mandela are the living proof.

Become the BEST leader.

To become the best leader you can be so you can get better results in your business and personal life, check out Energetic Leadership at www.csi2012.co.uk