What is it to be a leader?  Do you even have an interest in being one?  I have always said:“Leaders get results.”

 

What does that even mean?  What do they get results in?  In business, it is revenues, income,growing a company’s bottom line, and in attracting the right leaders to the organization. 

 

Very few people are willing to grow revenues in a company.  They think leadership is running a meeting, or sending out an email, doing more training, or going to bank, or calling the IT department to get some technology  fixed.

 

The best quote I have yet to read on leadership is this: “Leaders predict.”

 

What does that mean? They simply are willing to set goals, income, revenue, company growth goals for a week, a month, a quarter, a year, a 3 year period; and then they are willing to work daily and create that goal to happen.  They are willing to track and measure and create systems to see where the company is, right now.

 

Why do most supposed leaders avoid this?  Because then they must be accountable.Because then, according to the book Scaling Up, they must have a clear line of sight, targets to hit; they must have KPI’s, or Key “Promise” Indicators to live up to. 

 

And what is a promise?  To a real leader they must deliver on their promises. They take their promise as a commitment from themselves, and they will fulfill that promise they made to the company, to the other people and leaders of that company.

 

So, again, do you want to be a real, effective, leader? 

 

Here are so more ideas:  Leaders do not lead from the back, the get in the front lines; they get to where the customers are, where the action is; they show (by example) what they want others to do too by getting real, revenue generating results.

 

Then, the new, up and coming, leaders will learn by this example from this courageous person.  They will be inspired to get results, to follow the example of these audacious and courageous leaders.

 

Yes, true leaders are courageous.  It takes courage to make a sale, to broker a deal, to negotiate a plan of action that grows the bottom line of a company.

 

True leaders expect more from themselves and they are willing to hold themselves and others to their word, their promises, so as to finding quicker and better ways for them to reach their goals.

 

Sure great leaders, love people, invest in people, but they do require others to be accountable; they hold them to the “promises” they are making. Although, first they get others to set, see (and agree) to what those KPI’s (their key promises) are for their part in growing the company.

 

Leaders do inspire, and they keep the energy high, not once in a while, but all the while, each day, with short bursts of inspired energy, with short check-in meetings, with conference calls,by spending time (live and virtually) with their team, those they depend on to accomplish the goals and growth and expanding vision of a company.

 

Leaders have vision, to see what they predict will happen; then they make that growth happen.  Leader show others the way; they inspire others to be the one accountable for the actions, the executions — those vital things that matter in a company that is going somewhere, a company that is making a difference in this world.           

 

So again, do you really want to be a leader, a person who achieves their plan of action?  Will you be the person who is a cut above?  Will you be the one who will not use excuses?  Will you say: The-buck-stops-with-me? Will you be the one who will make things happen now, today,  not  in some illusory tomorrow?

 

“Too many people are attracted to their distractions.” – John Addison.

 

Leaders keep the focus, the line of sight to the goal, and help others do the same. Leaders review and check in with all their leaders to make sure they are on track, they are doing what is important, not what is just “distracting” them from higher achievement and things that really matter.

 

So, again, a leader loves, encourages others, and takes time to set the targets, the goals, the profit margins, the growth indicators of a thriving company. 

 

If a company is not growing it is going backwards, losing ground, receding.  No leader, no true leader, will accept this, not for long, not for a week, or a month.

 

True leaders are in a constant pursuit of greatness, in fulfilling the aspirations, purpose and values of a dynamic company.

           

To be a great leader, believe you can.  Read books on it, like The 5 levels of Leadership, orThe 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell.  And reread these books.  Find new ones to read.

 

The world is starving for great leadership.  And yes, it can be learned, it can be developed.  And you, if you are becoming an effective leader, you can develop others to excel, to produce, to create the results that are imperative and absolutely necessary to achieving greatness, to get the desired results. Have a larger influence and impact in this world, through running a meaningful and purposeful company.

 

Leaders get results every day, every week, month and year.  And, yes, these results can and must be measured, tracked so the company can tack in the winds; it can change course when needed;it can attract the right people who are higher level people, to join the ranks of a company that is not afraid to set those goals, those targets — that line of sight of where it is and where it wants to go.

 

Become a leader, for it takes effort and courage and vision and determination: Yet the rewards are profound.  By believing and achieving more, you will live the extraordinary life.  You will change lives.  You will leave a trail and wake of wonder in all that you do.

 

Just make sure your leadership is always tied to results that show up, that are measurable, in the real, physical world for (you and) your company, so you can say: I did we did that.

 

True leaders do get the results that they set in front of themselves and their team.

 

Do this and you will make massive changes and have a massive impact on our world.