“Leadership is influence.” ~ John Maxwell
A couple of weeks ago I saw one of the most incredible leaders of the current day speak. Sir Angus Houston was the guest speaker at a breakfast I attended and I must admit I was in absolute awe of this man. He held the room of about 400 people in the palm of his hand and I’m confident he didn’t even realise he was doing this. You could’ve heard a pin drop as people were drawn to his every word.
It begs the question – “Why do some individuals just command attention and respect by simply being in the room?”
Yes, he is a decorated and high profile man but he didn’t start out this way. Sir Angus has certainly earned his stripes.
A retired Senior Officer of the Royal Australian Air force this very humble, softly spoken and very tall gentleman has been commissioned to oversee the MH370 and MH317 disasters and was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia for his commitment to these disasters. The legacy this man is creating is incredible. And it is absolutely clear why.
As Sir Angus spoke, you could just see how he negotiated successful outcomes with some of the most challenging opponents. You could see how he could inspire and lead a team of people to do extraordinary things in unimaginable circumstances. This man is the epitome of leadership. He doesn’t put on the “leadership cloak” when he heads off to work, he lives and breathes leadership and we can learn something from him. In fact so many things on how to ‘be’ and what to ‘do’ as a leader.
Sir Angus is adamant the leader sets the tone for the team and the results that will be achieved. He spoke about ‘setting the standard impressively’, working tirelessly to look after your people and empowering them to be the best they can be which in return will have them follow you to the ends of the earth. You will then have the relationship based on trust. When you have trust you have influence. This is the highest pinnacle of leadership we should all be aiming for.
So when he shared some leadership tips with us, I knew I had to share them with you to enable you to put these into place and assist you in creating the outcomes for you and your team that you desire. But most importantly to ‘be’ the leader you want and need to be to lead through change, chaos and constant challenge that is our business world right now.
- Provide clear direction – ensure you are communicating your intent clearly.
- Establish and maintain the right culture. This must be values based.
- Leadership – Be a leader 100% of the time and foster the culture of leadership.
- Communicate face-to-face. Walk your office to listen to what is really going on. Listen for clues good and bad. But converse face-to-face as the first preference so you can read what is really going on.
- Build strong relationships. It’s only when you have trust that you have influence.
If you can even start with one thing that Sir Angus shared, implement that and then leverage with the next. Or if you have some of his tips already in place and leverage with some further tips then it will certainly work towards creating that ripple effect of change and develop the culture of leadership in business and enthusiasm we need in business. Your challenge is to develop the culture of leadership that is contagious and spreads like wildfire. Then imagine what the business landscape would look like.