Every great leader learns from someone else. Whether it is a previous boss or parent, leaders learn from someone. Many times you can trace a bad leader’s habits back to a prior boss. They were taught to handle people a certain way and that is all they know. Is that their fault? To an extent, it is.
Everyone of us has the ability to go outside our current circle of influence and find other mentors. This can be as easy as Youtube or a book, to going as far as finding an actual person with which to meet. When we stop learning, then we stop growing and getting better.
I love leadership and everything that it entails, but I am not even close to knowing all the answers. Society changes and so do trends. What worked yesterday does not always work tomorrow. We have to stay current and when possible ahead.
A simple first step that can be taken is to find a simple leadership blog. Read one a day and apply it to that day’s activities. See how people respond to your new found techniques. You may be surprised at what you find. Another simple step that can be taken is to see how those around you interact with each other. After observing, try using the same basic skills others are using.
Being a leader doesn’t mean acting like those you manage, but there isn’t anything wrong with communicating the same way they do. People tend to listen to those in which they can relate. So, try looking for new people to follow and from which to take advice. Remember that leaders follow and so be careful who you follow, in order to lead well.
Brad Rhame
Positive Leadership: The Way Forward.
A return to what works, by Josh Lowry
Jesus was a Follower. What a great post by Dan Rockwell a.k.a. Leadership Freak. Check it out when you get a chance. Some solid truths on being a great leader and a great follower.
Last I checked we are all in a state of following. We read books by people we admire or look up to. We listen to radio stations or watch tv programs with people we respect or like. We imitate celebrities in movies. We jump into the fastest moving lane, because others are whizzing by.
Leadership is learned and we need to be careful who we follow, and who is following us (ex. our children, because they are watching).
Brad Rhame
Brad Rhame 