When You are POWERFUL, there's nothing to PROVE
Truth be told....Effective LEADERSHIP
When you truly are powerful, there's nothing to prove. Such a simple statement yet the meaning behind it is somewhat complex. Have you ever heard someone exerting themselves by yelling their message, belittling others, reminding you of their title or demonstrating their importance by name dropping. These are all classic cases of someone who isn't!
You see, when you are truly powerful, you don't have to yell or scream for people to listen nor do you have to prove your power by way of intimidation. Those who feel the need to intimidate are not powerful. Management by way of fear or leadership by way of intimidation is weakness. Those who feel that they have to overexert themselves for people to "know they mean business" or use excuses like "I have to treat them this way because they just don't listen" are not true leaders.
Let's explore this by applying it to leadership and management positions. Good leadership is followed by respect. Powerful leaders in turn respect and appreciate their subordinates and due to the way they treat others they are able to achieve Company goals. The result is that they are respected. They breed success and everyone feels that about them. They are confident and followed because of their fairness and understanding of each member of the organization and the part that each plays. A leader is someone who can inspire others to perform at their highest capacity. They assess a person's capability and place them in positions to succeed. Effective leaders are easy to approach and talk to. Sometimes it is very difficult for a CEO to lend an ear to everyone in an organization specially if the organization is large, but that CEO, in all of his/her wisdom, will have managers and leadership support positioned to cover all bases. An effective leader will lead by example so that their downline will have a structure to follow. Those who lead by "do as I say and not as I do" are yet another example of weak leadership or it can also be said as no leadership combined with ego.
In business leadership, what you don't say is heard louder than what you do say which holds true for life in general as well. For example, a manager who is not confident will come across in mixed messages. The subordinates will have mixed emotions about following their directives and insecurity will be the loudest interpretation of their message. They will soon become unhappy and confused. In all fairness, it's hard to follow a leader who isn't sure about the direction they are giving. Let me add that leaders may not have all of the answers but good leaders can admit to it when it applies and get the answers. Knowledge and knowing it all are very different. A leader must have knowledge but knowing it all comes from ego and it is yet another sign of weakness. To be the Captain, you have to be able to provide concise direction to the crew or you will be on a voyage to nowhere and your subordinates will pick up on it. Being powerful is a state of being, a state of knowing and it emanates from within. You can actually feel it. Everyone can feel it.
Don't just make a difference, be the difference. Every truly successful Company has at least one person within the Company who supports the structure and vision of the Company while recognizing the people within the organization that help to make it happen. This is key to making your organization stand up, above and beyond your competition. Good leadership will lead a Company towards success and success is Power. Power comes from within and doesn't have to try to be because it is!
Written by: Gabriela Engels
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