The Leadership Factor

The Leadership Factor
By Valarie Washington

What is the last leadership opportunity that you passed up?

When I posed this question to a group of employees who had been singled out for their leadership potential:

• 50% named the title/position they failed to apply for or had not been offered.
• 10%said they hadn't been offered an internal position but had passed up aleadership position in an outside organization or a chance to leadtheir extracurricular sports.
• 40% said that they hadn't been offered any leadership position and therefore had passed up no opportunities.

I was certain that every one of them had missed a prime leadershipopportunity that they were not even aware of. Ask yourself if yourdepartment, team or organization is the best that it can possibly be? Are you giving your best to make the situation better?

If there is one project in your department that is delayed, if your group is challenged to do more work with less budget, or if you have yet to exhaust all of your talent to move the group forwardyou have passed up a powerful opportunity to step out in front and establish yourself as a leader. Leadership is not about the title you have but the decisions you make and the actions you take.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

Becominga leader is about developing a reputation for producing value-addedresults. It's taking a position when a project is off track. Leadersdon't wait for permission of position. They look for thepossibilities and suggest what can be done rather than why somethingcan't be done. Look for what you can do to impact a situation versuswhy you can't be the one to do it. When you have ability to influenceyour environment and the people around you toward positive result youhave the leadership factor.

The leadership factor is ameasured combination of vision, determination, skills, actions andresults. It is a conscious decision to step up to the plate and do whatneeds to be done in a time of uncertainty or chaos. Here are ten stepsto help you plot your course, engage others along the way and keepfocused on the end result.

Look for leadership opportunities.

Leadership opportunities are present whenever there are unresolvedbusiness problems or issues. Within your organization, department,workgroup, or team identify an opportunity or issue that needs to besolved. Think about the questions that continue to come up but no onehas found an answer for. Consider the feedback that you get frominternal or external customers about what they need or would like moreof. If your organization is like most you shouldn't have to lookfarmore unresolved problems equals more chances for you to stepforward as a leader.

Find the GAP and build a bridge.

There is an old proverb that says a leader must be a bridge. The personwho emerges as the leader of the group is the one who is adapt atseeing the option between the two seemingly opposite positions. Toraise your visibility and develop a reputation of leadership look forthe two unconnected shores that you can bridge. A bridge might bebetween the old way and the new way, the past and the future, themajority group and the minority group, between company policy andcustomer needs, between what is available and what is needed. Lead byfinding the critical link between today's challenge and tomorrow'sopportunity.

Do your homework.

Examine the problem from all sides. Ask a series of why questions.Why is this happening? Why have we not been able to solve this beforenow? Why is it important to solve this issue? Why have previousattempts failed? Why are other departments resisting the changes?Asking why? without judging the answers helps you develop a deeperunderstanding of the situation. When you can see the problem from manyangles and as viewed through different eyes you gain the wisdom ofmultiple perspectives.

Clarify the GOAL.

It's the goal. It's the goal. It's the goal. Determine what your groupneeds more of. Communicate clearly how tackling this issue will helpthe group recoup lost time, maximize limited resources, reduce costs,speed up processes and/or improve return on investment. You will gainthe attention of those around you when you can effectively tell themwhat they will gain for their efforts. You will benefit by tying yourwork directly to the improved results.

Develop a list of viable options.

Excellence is said to come from having many options. Once you haveothers focused on the goal, ask for their input on how it might beachieved. As a leader you don't need to have all of the answers. You dohave to set the direction, suggest paths for getting there andstimulate the thinking of others in development of creative solutions.It is important that you continually test any proposed suggestionsagainst the desired result. Ask yourself and others, Will this help usreach the goal?

Select the best option(s).Given enough money, people, time and resources almost any problem canbe resolved. Leadership is about determining how the goals will bereached within the time allowed, the budget given and the availablephysical and human resources. As a leader look for ways to leveragewhat you have readily available. The best option is the one that getsyou to the goal with the least overall costs.

Identify roles and tasks.

As a leader of the effort you may not have the authority to assignspecific people but you will have to clearly define roles required. Toooften we assign tasks simply out of habit and not because they arenecessary for goal achievement. Constantly check the progress and don'tbe afraid to throw out any unnecessary tasks. There should be NO taskson your project list that you can not show are absolutely required toreach the end goal.

Track and report your success.

Report what you and/or your team accomplished. Quantify the results asmuch as you can. If your goal was to increase productivity by 25% andyou only gained a 15% increase, report it! Make sure to link yourresults to the organizational goals. While you may not have hit your25% target 15% may still represent a considerable savings or gain tothe company.

Report your learnings.As important as it is to report your success you must also report whatyou learned from the process. Focus on what you learned personally.Consider what you learned about the business, your customers, teaming,and your own decision making ability. Ask for feedback. Include grouplearnings. Leave a record of the pro's and con's for others who mayface the same challenges.

Look for the next opportunity.

Don't take too long celebrating your last win. For as good as thingsseem success is a moving target. Keep your eyes and ears open, yournext opportunity may be right around the corner.

Valarie is CEO of Think 6 Results -- a knowledge broker passionate about learning and improving performance in organizations. Shes a writer, presenter, and executive coach on a mission to get every employee and organization focused on and thinking about the SIX business driving goals that matter.

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Contact Valarie at washington@think6results.com or by calling 630-705-1189. Visit us at http://www.Think6Results.com.

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