Due to hectic work schedule, I have selected a relatively easier to read book for this period. John C. Maxwell's series of books on leadership and motivation is quite famous and I treat the book like a reminder. A reminder to do good things. A reminder to motivate people around me. A reminder to treat myself (especially my mind and body) good. Most of the time, the lessons in motivational books are common sense but we just keep forgetting it. That is my approach to reading motivational books, i.e. not too serious and treat it like watching tv or listening to music.
Some good points from the book which I try to remember and practise daily:
1) Your leadership ability - for better or for worse - always determine your effectiveness and the potential impact of your organization.
2) The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership.
3) Whatever you will accomplish is restricted by your ability to lead others. (A few years ago, an Architect was complaining to me that being an architect is difficult as you will need people to perform for you in order for a project to be successful and he would not recommend his son to be an architect or any other jobs where you cannot work alone. He cites profession such as doctor or IT as the preferred profession as you will be less reliant or others. At about the same time, I also met a businessman. He told me that in order to be successful, you need to motivates people to perform for you. And the more people works for you, the better it is. Can you guess who is the more successful of the two?)
4) And if you don't have influence, you will never be able to lead others.
5) Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less.
6) It's not the position that makes the leader; it's the leader that makes the position. (I try to remind myself this everytime I work in a team. If people don't listen to my suggestions, it simply means I have to try harder to convince them and also do more homework in order to make sure the idea is a good one. You cannot force people to accept your views because of your seniority)
7) If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you're not going to be successful. (Perseverance is the key. I know I know, it's cliche but then how many really have the stamina and determination to last the distance. Celebrate small wins and as long you make small progress everyday, it is still progress)
8) Benjamin Disraeli, former British prime minister, wisely commented, "To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge."
9) To become an excellent leader, you need to work on it every day. (More hard work ahead)
10) When he was twelve, young Roosevelt's father told him, "You have the mind, but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You should make the body."
11) Former General Electric chairman Jack Welch asserts, "A good leader remains focused.....Controlling your direction is better than being controlled by it." (Are you shaping your own destiny or you let others shape your destiny?)
12) "A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others do." - Leroy Eims
13) ..........if you fail to learn from your mistakes, you're going to fail again and again. (I usually tells myself and my teammates that it is ok to make mistakes as long as you don't repeat it again)
14) No matter how good a leader you are, you yourself will not have all the answers.
15) When you prepare well, you convey confidence and trust to people.
16) If you can't give credit (and take blame), you will drown in your inability to inspire.
17) .......leaders add value by serving others.
18) Are you making things better for the people who follow you? (Important to differentiate with exploiting people)
19) You must give some time to your fellow man. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.
20) Truly value others.
21) Leaders who add value by serving believe in their people before their people believe in them and serve others before they are served.
22) Make ourselves more valuable to others.
23) Know and relate to what others value.
24) ......mature leaders listen, learn, and then lead.
25) ......attitude of the leader affects the atmosphere of the office. (Have you ever wondered what kind of atmosphere you generate in the office? Positive, negative or invisible?)
26) Trust is the foundation of leadership.
27) People will tolerate honest mistakes, but if you violate their trust you will find it very difficult to ever regain their confidence.
28) How do leaders earn respect? By making sound decisions, by admitting their mistakes, and by putting what's best for their followers and the organization ahead of their personal agendas.
29) Don't play politics, role play, or pretend to be anything you're not. To strengthen your discipline, do the right things every day regardless of how you feel.
30) .......people naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.
31) ......followers are attracted to people who are better leaders than themselves.
32) One of the greatest potential pitfalls for natural leaders is relying on talent alone.
33) One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you. The second thing you should do is to see how your people respond when you ask for commitment or change.
34) How you see the world around you is determined by who you are.
35) Believe it or not, who you attract is not determined by what you want. It's determined by who you are.
36) Law of Magnetism: who you are is who you attract.
37) If you want to attract better people, become the kind of person you desire to attract.
38) When it comes to working with people, the heart comes before the head.
39) For leaders to be effective, they need to connect with people.
40) You must know who you are and have confidence in yourself if you desire to connect with others.
41) I adapt to others; I don't expect them to adapt to me.
42) .....focus on others, not yourself.
43) French general Napoleon Bonaparte said, "Leaders are dealers in hope." That is so true. When you give people hope, you give them a future.
44) People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
45) "You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things" - Mother Theresa.
46) Seek for your inner circle people who help you improve.
47) President Roosevelt: "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it."
48) If you believe in others, they will believe in themselves. (Don't trust people blindly though!)
49) Enlarging others makes you larger.
50) ......vision without action achieves nothing. (In simple terms, daydreaming won't get you anywhere)
51) People buy into the leader first, then the leader's vision.
52) Every message that people receive is filtered through the messenger who delivers it.
53) Every organization requires diverse talents to succeed.
54) Pareto Principle. (Also known as the 80/20 principle - refer to my earlier posting on the book 80/20 Individual).
55) If I'm doing something that's not necessary, I should eliminate it. If I'm doing something that's necessary but not required of me personally, I need to delegate it.
56) .......greatest success comes only when you focus your people on what really matters.
57) The heart of good leadership is sacrifice.
58) .....greatest mistake made by entrepreneurs and other people in business is not knowing when to cut their losses or when to increase their investment to maximise their gains. (The story of "Who moved my cheese" strikes a chord in demonstrating how we do not know when to cut our losses and keep pining for false hopes)
59) Only the right action at the right time will bring success.
60) If you keep adding value to the leaders you lead, then they will be willing to stay with you. Do that long enough, and they may never want to leave.
61) As you work to build your organization, remember this:
- Personnel determine the potential of the organization.
- Relationships determine the morale of the organization.
- Structure determines the size of the organization.
- Vision determines the direction of the organization.
- Leadership determines the success of the organization.
I find the last few pointers simple but powerful. I have observed that my current organisation possesses most of the above traits (of course, there are plenty of rooms for improvement). However, attrition rates are increasing especially for the relatively younger engineers. It strikes me that while my Managing Director has successfully developed two great Directors and my two Directors have also managed to influence another team of Associates and Associate Directors. If the Senior Engineers who are working with me are leaving for greener pastures, part of the blame should be on me as I work with them more than the two Senior Directors, right?
My personal challenge would be to help younger colleagues to become better leaders and have a more meaningful life. I certainly hope to leave a legacy of helping others sincerely. Well, I hope the above review helps you towards meaningful leadership. Good luck.
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