The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader - Generosity

We continue our learning and growing with the lessons contained in John C. Maxwell’s book titled The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. This book carries the subtitle: "Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow".

Everything rises and falls on leadership. And leadership truly develops from the inside out. If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the leader you want to be on the outside. People will want to follow you.

Quality #9 - Generosity: your candle loses nothing when it lights another.

“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." - Calvin Coolidge, American President

Nothing speaks to others more loudly or serves them better than generosity from a leader.

Effective leaders, the kind that people want to follow, don't gather things just for themselves; they do it in order to give to others. Cultivate the quality of generosity. Here's how:

1. Be Grateful for Whatever You Have.
1. Generosity rises out of contentment.
2. Put People First.
   1. The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him, but the number of people he serves.
3. Don't Allow the Desire for Possessions to Control You.
1. If you want to be in charge of your heart, don't allow possessions to take charge of you.
4. Regard Money as a Resource.
1. "Money is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. If it gets on top and you get under it, you will become its slave." -  E. Stanley Jones
5. Develop the Habit of Giving.
1. The only way to maintain an attitude of generosity is to make it your habit - your time, attention, money and resources.
2. "Just the very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us. It destroys the demon greed." - Richard Foster.
3. If you're enslaved by greed, you cannot lead.

 “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you." - John Bunyan, Writer

Bringing It Home:

1. Give something away.
2. Put your money to work.
   1. Put your money to work for something that will outlive you..
3. Find someone to mentor.
1. Once you reach a certain level in your leadership, the most valuable thing you have to give is yourself.
2. Find someone to pour your life into.

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader - Focus

We continue our learning and growing with the lessons contained in John C. Maxwell’s book titled The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. This book carries the subtitle: "Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow".

Everything rises and falls on leadership. And leadership truly develops from the inside out. If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the leader you want to be on the outside. People will want to follow you.

Quality #8 - Focus: the sharper it is, the sharper you are.

“If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” – Unknown

What does it take to have the focus required to be a truly effective leader? The keys are priorities and concentration. A leader who knows his priorities but lacks concentration knows what to do but never gets it done. If he has concentration but no priorities, he has excellence without progress. But when he harnesses both, he has potential to achieve great things.

How should you focus your time and energy? Use the guidelines below to help you:

1. Focus 70% on Strengths.
   1. Effective leaders who reach their potential spend more time focusing on what they do well than on what they do wrong.
   2. To be successful, focus on your strengths and develop them. That's where you should pour your time, energy, and resources.
2. Focus 25% on New Things.
1. Growth equals change. If you want to get better, you have to keep changing and improving.
2. If you dedicate time to new things related to areas of strength, then you'll grow as a leader.
3. Don't forget: in leadership, if you're through growing, you're through.
3. Focus 5% on Areas of Weakness.
1. Nobody can entirely avoid working in areas of weakness. The key is to minimize it as much as possible, and leaders can do it by delegating.

To get back on track with your focus, do these things:

• Work on yourself.
• Work at your priorities.
• Work in your strengths.
• Work with your contemporaries.

“What people say, what people do, and what they say they do are entirely different things.” – Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

Bringing it home:

1. Shift to strengths.
   1. Dedicate 70% of your time to your strengths.
2. Staff your weaknesses.
   1. Develop a plan.
3. Create an edge.
   1. Rethink how you do things, and be willing to make sacrifices.
   2. Time and money spent to take you to the next level are the best investment you can make.

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader - Discernment

We continue our learning and growing with the lessons contained in John C. Maxwell’s book titled The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. This book carries the subtitle: "Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow".

Everything rises and falls on leadership. And leadership truly develops from the inside out. If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the leader you want to be on the outside. People will want to follow you.

Quality #7 - Discernment:  Put an end to unsolved mysteries.

“Smart leaders believe only half of what they hear.  Discerning leaders know which half to believe."  John C. Maxwell
 

"Life is not easy for any of us," Madame Curie once said. "But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this must be attained."

Curie observed, "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."

Discernment can be described as the ability to find the root of the matter, and it relies on intuition as well as rational thought.

Discernment is an indispensable quality for any leader who desires to maximize effectiveness. It helps to do several important things

1. Discover the Root Issues.
   1. Researcher Henry Mintzberg of McGill University stated, "Organizational effectiveness does not lie in that narrow-minded concept called rationality. It lies in the blend of clearheaded logic and powerful intuition."
   2. Discernment enables a leader to see a partial picture, fill in the missing pieces intuitively, and find the real heart of the matter.
2. Enhance Your Problem Solving.
   1. If you see the root issue of a problem, you can solve it.
   2. If you want to tap into your discernment potential, work in your areas of strength.
3. Evaluate Your Options for Maximum Impact.  
   1. Management consultant Robert Heller has this advice: "Never ignore a gut feeling, but never believe that it's enough."
4. Multiply Your Opportunities.
   1. Although great leaders often appear to be lucky to some observers, I believe leaders create their own "luck" as the result of discernment, that willingness to use their experience and follow their instincts.

Are you a discerning leader? If not, you need to cultivate it. Value nontraditional thinking. Embrace change, ambiguity, and uncertainty.  Broaden your horizons experientially. Your intuition will only increase with use.

“The first rule of holes: When you're in one, stop digging." Molly Ivins, columnist

Bringing it home:

1. Analyze past successes.
   1. Look at some problems you solved successfully in the past.
   2. If you can capture the heart of the matter in a few words, you can probably learn to do it with future issues.
2. Learn how others think.
   1. By learning how other discerning leaders think, you can become more discerning.
3. Listen to your gut.
1. Try to recall times when your intuition "spoke" to you and was correct.
2. Look for a pattern that may give you insight into your intuitive ability.

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc