by Joseph Wardy

Created on: March 06, 2009

When you think of effective leadership, what comes to mind? I would not be surprised if you arrived at the big picture comprised of strategy and vision that will have a positive impact on the organization fifteen to twenty years down the road. This definition meets the American way of a results orientation. What we may fail to recognize are the small things an effective leader does every day known as the process.

In this essay, I will share five suggestions from my book, Pearls of Wisdom for Success in the Workplace that places emphasis on the so called small things:

1) Managers spend the present thinking of the present. Leaders spend the present creating the future. Here, effective leaders with the help of their lieutenants apply the principles of strategy and vision in all present activities and decisions. At times, this is losing the battle but winning the war by focusing on the long and not the short term.

2) Effective leaders who are upfront with their people will not guarantee short term motivation but it will reduce ambiguity. In essence, there is motivation happening here coming in from the back door. Employees react well to the reality because of the human aspect that facts can be handled better when feelings are addressed.

3) To sit on the throne and watch the festivities requires previous participation in the gladiator's arena. Employees respect leaders who have paid their dues. In addition, effective leader practive humility and respect by not forgetting their roots.

4) Honesty is what you mean. Integrity is doing what you say. Honesty is an exercise of words but integrity is a demonstration of action connecting with the words. Effective leaders, over time, build trust with the troops by the consistency of actions that is a positive example. Please remember the value of the following quote: " What I see speaks so loud I can't hear what you say".

5) There is a time for leadership to be decisive and a time for it to be deliberate. And may I add the following from the Serenity Prayer: " and the wisdom to know the difference." Effective leaders respond appropriately in a decisive way when crisis management is required. But these leaders use the deliberate method of consensus in order to get all the players a chance to speak their concerns and to sue the process as a mechanism of unification.

It is my hope that one of these suggestions can have practical value in your career in effectively leading your staff!

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