Leadership is essential to every organisation and the world needs more teachers and leaders.  I fervently believe that in order to build strong teams, we need strong leaders.  These leaders must have qualities, attitudes and beliefs consistent with organisational values if we are to promote improved performance.

A leader is not the one who can do the work of 10 men, rather it is one who can get those 10 men to do their work.  In the book the psychology of winning author Dennis Waitley described that 3 resistors halt our progress.  Laziness, fear and limited self-belief.  However I believe there are 3 principles that enable a business leader to get the best out of others.

1/ Money.  People need to be paid for what they do, and paid well.  Most organisations in the developed world have a very good payment structure and employees are paid well.  The only exception here is those involved with unpaid charity organisations or churches, where the reward is spiritual fulfillment.

2/ Autonomy and Mastery.  Autonomy relates to extending trust to employees, and allowing for growth in their decision making muscles.  Mastery is about improvement and development. Many organisations allow for creative vision, forward thinking employees and training and developmental programs.

3/ Individual needs.  In most organisations feedback from this area is less than positive.  One thing that leaders must diligently do is identify and meet the needs of each individual.  Understanding human needs theory and using this knowledge assists leaders to create and establish a high level of rapport, and a highly functional team.  (I have applied this to my teams and through feedback have been informed that my team is the happiest team in the whole workplace).

I believe that real leadership is defined by our capacity and ability to create an environment wherein we lift, move and inspire ourselves each morning.  (I perform a 1.5 hour morning routine to prime myself before attending work – see principle 7 Steven Covey’s book the 7 habits of highly successful people.  See ‘priming’ and ‘morning rituals’ on youtube.  I work on myself daily to defeat the resistors of laziness, fear and limited self-belief).  Only after we have lifted our own belief system can we hope to touch, move and inspire others.

I recently read a quote from Abraham Lincoln that said, “Seek not to be a person of success, rather seek to be a person of value”.  As I have considered this thought, I understood that success does not come by focusing on success.  Many people believe that income is the measure of success.  It is true that income may be one measure of success, however there are many who are successful, or feel successful regardless of their level of wealth.  I believe that success comes by adding value to the lives of others.  It was Jim Rohn that said, “If you help enough other people get what they want, you will get what you want”.  Herein lies the key to success.  DONT FOCUS ON THE MONEY.  Focus on adding value to the lives of others.  Focus on being a person of value.

Focus on being a consistent leader in your own life, then the character you develop will inspire others.

I really hope that you felt these words, as they encompass my desire and drive to live my life in a positive and powerful way.