LEADERS: Nature or Nurture?
by Jana Beals, September 26, 2020
Sales were so low that the
greeting card store could not support two full-time workers. Store manager Noah
paced as he tried to decide whether to reduce the hours of two employees or lay
off one employee.
He didn’t let the employees
know what was going on, and was grouchy for days. When one of the employees
asked if there was anything they could do to help, Noah flew off the handle and
fired that employee.
Problem solved, or was it?
Some argue that leaders are
born with the ability, or that leadership comes with experience, and there are
those that say leadership is a combination of all three factors.
Whatever the opinion, it is
agreed that leadership is a quality and trait that must be cultivated over
time.
According to expert Tony Robbins there are 8 leadership qualities that everyone can develop and hone over time:
Confidence: Body
posture, eye contact, believing your authority
Focus: Organization,
strategic thinking, planning
Honesty: Speak/work honestly with everyone to convey ethics
Positivity: Challenges
into successes, opportunity, optimistic
Decisiveness: Make decisions
using judgement and information
Ability to Inspire: Encourage
others to reach goals, to realize the vision or big picture, creating
positivity
Good Communication: Exchange
information via listening, speaking, and hearing on a regular basis
Accountability: Holding
team, and self, accountable for mistakes; not deflecting blame to others
(Source: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/6-basic-leadership-qualities/)
In the scenario above, Noah
did not exhibit stellar leadership skills — he certainly could use a management
coach to learn the basics of leadership skills. Investing in learning is
investing in yourself.
Communicating with honesty, making decisions, and inspiring confidence help shape one person's method of operating as well as shape those around them.
Let’s not forget that employees, clients, and customers are watching our behavior. Is your behavior something you would want others to learn?
è Do you think Noah should have shared the financial dilemma with the employees, then advised them of the decision he must make to resolve the issue?
è Do you think he should rescind his termination of the employee he fired?
è What are you doing to work on your own leadership skills?