True Leaders Make Others Feel Important

Great leadership is never about satisfying the ego or personal agenda of a leader, or a small group of members. It is certainly never about being aloof, or setting ones self on some sort of pedestal, expecting others to treat you regally. In my over three decades of working closely with well over a thousand leaders, I have observed that every potential leader I have ever observed only achieves greatness when he adopts an attitude of service to others, where he endeavors to consistently make others feel both important and relevant. Great leader realize that they can never be completely effective unless they are able to effectively communicate, and that effective communication requires truly caring for others, and taking their feelings into consideration. John Dewey wrote, "The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to feel important."

1. How can leaders make others feel important? One of the easiest ways to express gratitude verbally, by going out of one's way to thank someone for even minor assistance. Leaders must thank members for their support, while maintaining their integrity so that others realize that the thanks are indeed genuine, rather than simply some empty words and platitudes.

2. Great leaders never blame others for anything. Firstly, they realize it is not only unproductive, but often counter- productive. Has the leader properly trained someone before delegating duties and responsibilities? Has the leader properly and effectively communicating what he wants achieved so that the individual understands what's necessary, the time and effort commitment required? Does the leader monitor the situation on an ongoing basis? Instead of blaming or negative criticism, does the leader give constructive critiques that both help the progress and quality of the performance, but also makes the individual feel good about himself?

Many in leadership fail to recognize that one "atta-boy" and a pat on the back often accomplishes far more in a positive manner than blame, harsh criticism, etc. One moment of ungratefulness by a leader often demotivates volunteers, and creates a situation where becomes difficult to enlist volunteers. Every human being wants to feel wanted and appreciated! People want to feel important, and thus when a leader publicly thanks someone, it feeds that impulse and need. Effective leaders, by definition, are excellent and proficient motivators, and understand that praise and thanks create positive reactions and motivates others to follow the leader's vision and adopt it as their own. Unless someone is able to get constituents to become believers and followers, who is he leading? One cannot be a leader if no one wants to follow him. Leaders must accept and understand this truism, so that they can put themselves in the proper mindset to be willing to realize that the leader is not the important one, but the organization and its members are!

With over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, Richard Brody has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs. He's negotiated, arranged and organized hundreds of events.

Richard's owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. His company Website is http://www.plan2lead.net/, and he can be followed on Twitter @rgbrody. For great information on many topics, visit PLAN2LEAD's Facebook page and LIKE ( http://www.facebook.com/Plan2lead )

Original article

Empathy Is Important In Inspirational Leadership

It Matters That You Care

It matters to people that you care, and this is the first step to being successful in inspirational leadership. Just as James F. Hind, a leadership expert said "People want to know how much you care before they care how much you know". If you want to inspire people and be effective as a leader, care about people and show them that you do.

Effected leadership requires certain qualities. Whether you are a CEO, or are working for an organization, you have to know how to inspire and motivate your people. If you want to exert true leadership influence, move your people from the hearts and motivation. A leader that inspires is a leader that people want to follow. Having a willing followership is a mark of genuine leadership. A leader is at his best if he can inspire his followers.

Inspiration Starts From You

What makes inspirational leadership effective? You can't give what you haven't got and you can't teach what you do not know. To be inspirational, you thus first should be inspired. Inspiration must be within you before you can cultivate it in others. What is the best source of inspiration?

The strongest relationships you nurture are one of the best sources of inspiration. Surrounded by love and security and instilled with healthy self esteem, you can appreciate the positives in life more than the negatives. Or even amid the negative, you can choose to be positive. This is your own source of inspiration. With the joy and optimism in you, you can also extend the same to others. Positivity is contagious. A positive and uplifting person can clear the surrounding haze and the muddle with their optimistic and encouraging attitude.

Empathy and Inspiration

When empathy is mutual in your relationships, then you become aware of its meaning. You have lived and learned it, and you can apply it in your leadership. What is empathy? Empathy is the ability to recognize yourself in the other person. It's the proverbial "putting yourself in one's shoes". In empathy you appreciate two people- yourself and the other person. You have to go beyond your ego and selfishness when you practice empathy. You have to be strong to possess this quality.

As an empathic and inspirational leader, people will see you as a resource and this places you in a position of trust. Empathy and inspiration in leadership need you to have both a strong appreciation for yourself and a strong appreciation for others.

As a leader, you are a beacon and people will look to you for guidance and illumination. Instill and nurture the light in you so that you can truly respond to the responsibilities of your calling.

By the way, do you want to learn more about leadership in your company? If so, download your FREE ebook here: Guide to Elegant Courage Leadership

Jodi and Mike specialize in executive coaching with individuals and teams. http://lighthouse-leadership.com/

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These Two Leaders, the Doctor and the Fisherman, Knew the Answers to These Important Questions!

We are being reminded today of believers who have only a few pages of the Bible, and they share what they have. We have the whole book, in as many translations, and we have freedom to meet to sing and praise and worship and hear The Word of God.

But how reliable is the Bible? Can it be trusted totally and taken as being authoritative?

The doctor and the fisherman knew the answer to these questions!

Is the Word of God as we have it in the Bible concerning the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, reliable, accurate, and trustworthy?

At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, we are told that many had been writing about Jesus, and we have some of these writings which are not in the Bible.

There were rumours and myths and stories and fanciful legends going around about Jesus. This invariably happens with someone unusual or famous.

Luke investigated everything from the beginning, with the aim of reassuring people that what they believe about Jesus Christ is true.

Luke was a medical doctor, and he treats the life and teaching of Jesus like one of his patients, and lovingly investigates and examines and researches, so that he can arrive at the truth.

Luke would be accustomed to keeping accurate records and having examined the facts he now presents them in an orderly manner, giving a note of certainty.

He is an authority on his subject.

We normally appreciate people who know what they are talking about, and who know how to present their case.

This is not the philosophy of mere men. We are not dealing with theories here.

What a wonderful bedside manner this doctor must have had, for Mary to have recounted the details of the conception and the confinement, as Jesus Christ the Saviour was born.

Luke writes to someone called Theophilus which means 'a lover of God'. If you love Almighty God, then this book is certainly for you.

These findings are much more than a moral code, and good ideas to live by, and the beloved doctor roots the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in history which can be checked. This is the Word of God.

Peter in his first letter mentions the importance of the prophets and then speaks about the angels, and how they looked up to Jesus.

They worshipped the Lamb of God and continue to do so. Angels are superior to us, in strength and intelligence and beauty. Do not dismiss them. They saw the Son of God in a manger, but they can never know Jesus as Saviour. Jesus Christ did not die for angels but to save and salvage men and women.

This is why we must never refer to anyone as an angel!

We have such privileges and that is why Peter goes on right away to speak of responsibilities. Privileges always bring responsibilities.

In that first Chapter of his first letter Peter writes to these disciples of Jesus and encourages them to prepare your minds for action. Roll up the sleeves of your mind. Think straight. Know clearly what you believe and why.

Be self-controlled and be sober or rational and reasonable. Let no-one else control you, and nothing else control you.

Do not get intoxicated with fashionable ideas. We are not to adopt the latest opinions.

Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

We need an anchor to keep us from drifting in these treacherous times. Here it is.

This one thing I know Peter is saying to these disciples of Jesus who are having a very hard time, and it is this truth that Jesus Christ is coming back.

Peter assumes that despite the hardships they are obedient children.

Do not let your possessions or desires possess you. A man was overheard saying to his paintings one day, "You make it so hard for me to die".

We can be a can be a slave to what we possess or what we desire.

When we came to Jesus Christ we changed bosses. We changed 'lords'. We no longer serve sin, but Jesus Christ.

Then Peter speaks about being holy or being different, and why? He Who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do. What a challenge!

This is a most unpopular verse! We are called to be like Father and to be like our heavenly Dad.

He is not like other people. He certainly is different, and Peter teaches us, to aim to be like Him! That is not easy.

Our world does not need more clever men, or rich men, but it does need more godly men and women.

To be holy or godly in the highest sense, and not in some cartoonist fashion, but as God would make us and shape us.

Verse 17 will help us. If we get the right kind of fear, and right kind of love, we will live the right kind of life, and on he goes to speak of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, with which we are redeemed, and bought back from sin, and sinfulness.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children's Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org/ entitled "Word from Scotland" on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column. His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.

Original article

Courage - Most Important Virtue For Leaders

In order to be a truly effective leader, there are so many varied attributes, traits, skills, experiences and training needed that it is often challenging to pinpoint one trait as more important than another. During my more than three decades of training, developing and qualifying over a thousand leaders, I have continuously struggled with this issue. However, I have decided that the one thing someone needs in order to even have a chance of being an effective leader is courage. Leaders must dare to stand up for their beliefs, expose themselves to objections, controversy and disagreement, lead by example, and develop an inner strength that requires true bravery. C.S. Lewis wrote, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

1. How can you be a real leader if you are unwilling or unable to stand up for, and express your beliefs? Courage is generally something that cannot be taught, but is rather a result of someone feeling so strongly about something that he is willing to dare to be ridiculed, disagreed with, opposed, and even unpopular. All the great leaders have achieved their greatness because they realized that leadership must never be solely about popularity, nor can leaders simply follow the lead of others. One is not a leader, by definition, if he follows instead of leads. Will the leader stand up and be brave, and lead others to achieve, and to strive for goals directed at achieving what he considers his vital vision? Obviously, this daring only occurs when someone has the courage of his convictions.

2. Having this necessary courage is different than being fearless. Courage means that someone has priorities, and although he may fear the repercussions or responses/ reactions of others, he is still willing to pursue those courses that lesser leaders will not. A true leader is a think outside the box, introspective, ramifications based leader, who understands that his integrity requires this courage, and without the integrity, he will lose the respect of potential and actual followers, supporters and donors. History teaches us that people respect courageous leaders even if they disagree with them, because they feel that having courage is an integral part of integrity, and one cannot be a leader if he ever compromises on his integrity.

Have you ever observed someone in leadership who seems to fear making a decision, especially a controversial one? Or, will only speak up after he weighs the sentiment and points of others? Or, instead of setting the agenda, permits others to set it for him because he fears rocking the boat? Leadership requires taking timely action, and this often means that someone must dare to have courage.

Richard Brody, with over 30 years consultative sales, marketing, training, managerial, and operations experience, has trained sales and marketing people in numerous industries, given hundreds of seminars, appeared as a company spokesperson on over 200 radio and television programs, and regularly blogs on real estate, politics, economics, management, leadership, negotiations, conferences and conventions, etc. He has negotiated, arranged and/ or organized hundreds of conferences and conventions. He's a Senior Consultant with RGB Consultation Services, an Ecobroker, a Licensed Buyers Agent (LBA) and Licensed Salesperson in NYS, in real estate.
Richard has owned businesses, been a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has a Consulting Website ( http://tinyurl.com/rgbcons ), and his company PLAN2LEAD, LLC's site ( http://www.plan2lead.net/ ), and can be followed on Twitter

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