Br>Home - Recruitment Techniques - Careers & Employment - Management Techniques 


Please click here to visit our sponsor

The Seven Secrets to New Age Leadership


Did you ever notice that In our American culture, we have the tendency to look outside of ourselves for leadership? That's a trap. Isn't it time we looked inside ourselves to see how we can be the leader we want and need to be in the 21st century? I certainly think so.

Leadership used to be about telling people what to do. We saw the manager as "hero." Managers were needed to solve problems, needed for their technical expertise and their know-how. They were needed to keep the ship running in tiptop shape!

All our old leadership models came from the military, where people took their command from a few people at the top. These models don't work in today's world. As the industrial age models rust, the power has shifted from the people who sell, to the people who buy.

Today's business leader needs to a master juggler, and a compassionate listener. She needs to be savvy and intuitive and sharp as a tack in business matters. Most of all today's leader needs to be able to mobilize HUMAN energy, align it and direct it towards a single goal creating more value for the customer. This, in turn creates a more profitable company. Companies that have high levels of customer happiness and employee happiness outperform those who don't. It's pretty simple.

I believe there are seven traits of successful leaders for the 21st Century.

Creative thinker - Einstein said, "The world we have created is a product of our way of thinking" Nothing will change in the future without fundamentally new ways of thinking.

If we want to create a new world we have to first change our thinking and thinking patterns. 80% of the population thinks reactively. They take action to make something go away (usually a problem.) The other 20% are creative thinkers they take action to make something come into being (the creation.)

Creative thinkers thrive on the question "What's Possible?" Reactive thinkers ask, "What's wrong?" or "Who's to blame?" Reactive thinkers live in reaction and response to circumstances. Creative thinkers go beyond circumstances.

The next quality of tomorrow's leader is "Change readiness." The Change-ready individual embraces change. They understand the process of change and how it affects most people, and is skilled at enrolling people in it with a minimum amount of fear.

Most people do resist change that's because it forces us right out of our comfort zones. A leader knows how to move people out of their comfort zones with dignity and respect. He helps people share a "common understanding" of the past and why they need to change it and then provides them with a positive image of their future along with actions they can all agree will move them in the right direction.

A leader is a Landscape Architect. It's her primary job to build a living environment? called culture. Culture is the soul of the enterprise. Today's leader is a master "culture-crafter." He or she sculpts and crafts an environment that stimulates, excites and invites people to be the best they can be.

The architect leader knows that the ability to create a nourishing and challenging environment for people to grow in is more important than any technical skill she can possess.

Continuous Improvement - The leader of tomorrow will regularly challenge old beliefs and be passionate about learning and about applying that learning in the real world. She will often ask my favorite question "Who is doing something differently then I am and what can I learn from them?"

The New Leader is Authentic. How and who you are is just as important as what you know! Hold yourself to the highest standards don't talk the talk unless you are prepared to walk the walk. Don't expect of others what you don't expect from your self. Be real, tell the truth. The leaders that are the most revered are those that let the light of who they are shine through in all they do. They are honest, forthright and clear.

Coach/Facilitator A leader needs to be a coach not a commander. He needs to hold space open for things to happen. It is said that when leaders do their job properly people believe they have done it themselves. Leaders are there to help people see things from a different perspective, to provide questions that encourage learning and to help turn work experiences into learning experiences.

Our new leader is a Visionary. It's clearly documented that visionary leaders are successful at mobilizing human potential. A vision provides focus. It's a tool for aligning energy. Clear vision and purpose provide people with a framework from which to make decisions, it organizes action and effort.

Clearly a need for a new leadership style exists. Take a good look at your style and see if you are prepared for living and leading in the 21st century.

Want to find out more about how to be a powerful and compassionate leader 21st century leader - check out our weekly training program.

©Copyright 2000-2004 JoAnna Brandi & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

About The Author

JoAnna Brandi is Publisher of the Customer Care Coach a weekly training program on mastering "The Art and Science of Exquisite Customer Care." She is the author of "Winning at Customer Retention, 101 Ways to Keep 'em Happy, Keep 'em Loyal and Keep 'em Coming Back" and "Building Customer Loyalty - 21 Essential Elements in ACTION" she writes a free email tip on customer caring. You can sign up at www.customercarecoach.com.

Please click here to visit our sponsor


Seattle Times

Boeing Machinists re-elect current leadership
Seattle Times, United States - 25 minutes ago
By Dominic Gates A dissident group of Boeing machinists has failed by a wide margin in its bid to unseat the union's incumbent leadership. ...


Under Daniels' leadership, state has fared poorly
Indianapolis Star, United States - 1 hour ago
I read with interest John Rust's letter of May 13 that states we have Gov. Mitch Daniels to thank for the shape Indiana is in. Granted, we do have a surplus ...


Vaco expands leadership team with addition of CPA for financial ...
Bizjournals.com, NC - 6 hours ago
... consulting firm Vaco LLC quietly moved into Memphis four years ago and has continued to expand its space and staff and to add to its leadership team. ...


Toyoda Gosei Recognized by Honda for Leadership in Quality ...
FOXBusiness - 15 hours ago
Both Toyoda Gosei Group companies were recognized for these Corporate Citizenship Awards because of their leadership in the areas of environment, diversity, ...


Challenge to Kevin Reynolds' construction union leadership
ABC Online, Australia - May 16, 2008
An occupational safety officer with the Construction Union has announced that he will challenge Kevin Reynolds for the union's leadership. ...
Challenge to Kevin Reynolds for CFMEU leadership Sunday Times.au
all 18 news articles


India ask US, EU to show leadership in Doha talks
Economic Times, India - 19 hours ago
"Major trading nations such as the US and the EU have to display leadership and not lay the onus for the Round's success only on developing members," ...


'Elitist' leadership alienating US Jews, says prominent sociologist
Ha'aretz, Israel - 20 hours ago
By Daphna Berman The perception that the American Jewish leadership is "elitist, parochial, self-serving and resistant to innovation," is fueling a decline ...


Ghana: Humility, Leadership and Prof. Mills
AllAfrica.com, Washington - 20 hours ago
Indeed the qualities of humility are opposed to the grain of leadership. The same Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus defines a leader as "one who leads or ...


Edmond youth leadership class graduates
NewsOK.com (subscription), OK - 2 hours ago
EDMOND — Forty-two high school juniors living in the Edmond area graduated from this year's Youth Leadership Edmond Class VII hosted by the Edmond Area ...


Sutter Lakeside Wellness Center presents 'Intuitive Leadership'
Lake County News, CA - 7 hours ago
LAKEPORT – The Wellness Center at Sutter Lakeside Hospital and Center for Health is presenting “Intuitive Leadership,” a class that will teach participants ...

Leadership - Google News

home | site map Distance Education at ICS

© 2006 www.elearn-university.org