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Leadership is influencing others to take action. It’s that simple. But how you influence them and to what degree is what makes all the difference.
I’ve found CEO Kevin Kruse’s definition in Forbes to be the most simple and accurate definition yet:
Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.
If you influence through fear of firing, reprimand, or ire, then you aren’t maximizing the efforts of others. You’re only influencing them to do enough to not get fired while they look for another job.
But you can maximize the efforts of those you lead by becoming the type of leader they want to follow. Not someone who commands them to do their best, but someone who makes them want to do their best.
I’ve been in various military, corporate, and volunteer leadership positions for 25 years, and I’ve seen the below easy-to-implement actions work for any leader who tries them.
1. Take and encourage initiative
Good initiative is when someone takes smart action in the absence of orders. This needs to be practiced by you but also encouraged in those…
