What makes a great leader? How does someone make you want to work harder and do more than you otherwise would?
With this new year will come new opportunities. As the saying goes, you can lead, follow, or get out of the way.
In this lifetime, I’ve had the good fortune and misfortune to have been thrust into leadership positions before I was ready. In such cases, you either unearth whatever natural leadership resources lie within you, or you fail those around you. In either case, it’s great on-the-job training.
Motivate People Around You
In many ways, Andrew Carnegie was not a good man. Bloody labor clashes tarnish anyone’s legacy. But I owe my first lesson in leadership to the man.
When I was still young, my dad told me the following story, and it’s shaped me for years.
Carnegie always let it be known that his greatest assets were his people.
In the interest of accuracy, I found the following quotation in a 1996 article from The (London) Independent:
“You can take all my steel mills away – you can burn them all down – and I can rebuild them. But if you take away my people I have nothing.”
We need not assess the veracity of the statement to benefit from the wisdom.
Value the people around you. Genuinely value them.
Tell them when they’re doing a great job. More importantly, tell other people that they’re doing a great job.
Make people feel valued, and it’s easier for them to buy into bigger goals. The social psychological literature tells us that team membership motivates people. So value the team.
If you let people know they’re the most important asset, they will live up to those expectations.
Make People Better
One of the things that I most admire about Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash is that he makes people around him better.
Nash does not try to mold the big men into his perfect idea of a big man. He takes the natural talents of the people around him, and makes them better.
And that’s a key distinction. They people around you aren’t you. Expecting those around you to match your unique attributes creates unrealistic expectations.
Get to know the people around you. Know what makes them great. Find ways to make them better.
You’ll accomplish many more goals making people better as they are rather than making them exactly the person you’d be.
Work Harder
There’s no magic here. You’ve got to be the hardest worker in the team.
In February 1998, my editor appointed me sports editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News. Although New Mexico State University isn’t a sports power, I was still leading a sports section in a D-I town. And this was 9 months after I graduated college.
I wrote Brian Clark, who was the sports editor at The Modesto Bee, where I had interned the previous summer. I made a blanket appeal for advice.
Work harder than anyone, he said. Get their first and leave last.
For the past 11 years, that has guided my work ethic. Although my grad students might sometimes disagree, no one works harder and longer.
I was motivated that editor Harold Cousland worked more hours than me at the Sun-News, and I’ve been let down by bosses who punched a clock.
Take Charge Now
Three simple principles will make you a better leader in 2009. It doesn’t matter whether you’re leading a media business, a student group, or coaching a little league team.
Value the people around you and let them know it. Make them better rather than trying to make them you. And do whatever you can to be the hardest worker around.
Take these three steps, and you’ll go a long way toward great leadership.
Looking for even more inspiration? Read Danny Brown’s Why 2009 Is Going To Be YOUR Year.
I'm a cognitive scientist and communication scholar who manages a psychophysiology lab at Texas Tech. I teach courses about the cognitive processing of media messages and research methods.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I think we’re at the dawn of a new age that is really trying to effect change. All around us people are coming together and encouraging each other, as well as themselves, to reach out and offer help and a shoulder to lean on.
Whether social media is effecting this change, or whether it’s just the people using it more effectively, I’m not sure – perhaps a correlation of both mindsets? Whatever it is, long may it continue to gain steam.
Thanks, Danny.
I hope you’re right. I hope it’s not just people being on their best behavior because of the public nature of a social medium.
I want to believe in long-term change.
Excellent post! Very true and effective ways to become a leader within your community.
I sincerely believe that we have the power to be leaders, through helping each other succeed. Whether it is through highly valuable content, or a simple “Keep up the good work!” (which is more valuable), we can all be the change we want to see in the world.
Thanks for pointing out these great ideas.
Kimberlee
It’s alwasy surprising to me that more employers don’t understand the value of the people who work for them. To me it’s such a basic principle, and can make all the difference in the world. I thrive on positive reinforcement, so I relate most to the tip about motivating the people around you. I just got my degree in Communication Studies, and one of the things that I learned was how even a simple word of encouragement can drastically change and improve a relationships, and work relationships are no different. Great advice, I hope more people start to follow it.
Thanks, Sam. And agreed. To touch is to heal, to hurt is to steal. I’m really digging the touching I’ve experience (in a good way) since becoming active in Twitter. It’s really invigorating.
@Kimberlee — Thanks for the kind words. You’ve been great about recognizing work on Twitter, and that’s one reason our sub-community is so awesome.
@Jennifer — Indeed, we are so often guilty of not practicing what we preach. When I taught at Ohio State, I was in a communication program, and sometimes I think our students here would benefit more if they had to take interpersonal classes.
@Chris — Thanks for the kind words. I’m really hoping that our sub-community of Twitter can keep up the positivity and encouragement. A really fresh change from how so much of our society has been lately.
I’ve never considered myself a leader at all, but a lot of folks seem to think I am one. I do try to motivate, encourage, inspire, and help others, though, because I know how it feels to be discouraged – and because I care.
This is a great post!
(By the way, I found you on Twitter, compliments of @kimferrell – she’s the bestest!)
*smiles*
Michele
Thanks, Michele. How does it go? Some people are born great, and some people have greatness thrust upon them!
And Kim is awesome. I agree.
Michele, Sam, you two are making me blush again!
I had another thought about leadership. You need to have the ability to guide, not criticize. If you see someone heading down the wrong path, you need to kindly show them the right way to do things, not bark at them and crush their spirit. So many brilliant people don’t have this communication skill, and are doing more harm than good.
Thanks for this inspiring article!
Kimberlee
Kimberlee Ferrell’s last blog post..Blog Showcase Week #1 – Iowadawg’s Blawg
Hey Sam,
Found you through Kim, too!
Very insightful and helpful leadership advice. Also, I’ve got a word .doc that contains a few dozen leadership quips I’ve garnered. If you’re interested in having a look, email me and I’ll send it to you.
Cheers!
George
Tumblemoose’s last blog post..2009 year in review
@Kimberlee — It’s really just semantics, but it depends upon whether you consider “constructive criticism” under the umbrella of “criticize.” As an emotion scholar, there is pretty good evidence that you cannot accomplish everything through positive reinforcement. I suppose that means that the art is in delivering negativity without being a jerk.
@George — I’ll try to remember to e-mail you. Short-term memory is not my strong suit this week.
And glad to see the CommentLuv is working. Wish I could figure out how to keep that goofy little heart away.
I agree, there are levels to approaching a problem. You can see someone doing something wrong. First you need to figure out why they’re doing it. Either they don’t know better, don’t understand why it’s important to do it the right way, or they just don’t care.
Then you know what approach to use. Teach them how to do it, why it’s important, and why they should care. If they still insist, it’s time to be more firm.
All of that can be accomplished without snarling at them. Yet I have ran across many people throughout my life who insist on bullying their way to greatness. It’s a waste of time, and very damaging, especially when it comes from a leader you might admire.
Hope that clears up what I was trying to say.
Kimberlee
Kimberlee Ferrell’s last blog post..Blog Showcase Week #1 – Iowadawg’s Blawg
Well, Kim, if you are exhausted from so much blushing just stop being fantabulous!
I’m going to go with constructive criticism from a heart that cares. Sometimes someone we care about needs a good shakin’ by the shoulders. We can do that in a loving way, while getting their attention and hopefully helping them prevent something horrific or move on to something better, eh?
*smiles*
Michele
My wife might tell you that I need a good shakin’ by the shoulders every day.
LOL! Now, that’s honesty!
Michele’s last blog post..Juice Fasting: Starting Out