ACHIEVE Leadership (part 1): Seven steps to building a lasting career.

Leadership is something that I believe is not taught…management is taught. Leadership is something that comes from inside and when witnessed, especially these days, is to be celebrated. The respect that comes from being a leader is a something earned not mandated.

The biggest mistake that most freshly minted supervisors/managers make is believing that because they now have a title they immediately are entitled to respect…not so. First, you show respect to those that you lead…then you earn their respect in return. Once accomplished, you continue to earn it by your everyday actions, words and attitude.

In this series, I’m going to talk about Leadership and the seven principles that make up what we should all be striving for…the ability to ACHIEVE…together.

I’ve been very fortunate to have known and been mentored by people I consider leaders. I’ve noticed some common traits among them, leaders want to personally ACHIEVE more, leaders want their organizations to ACHIEVE more and, in my opinion, doing that requires the application of seven specific principles in order to ACHIEVE maximum success.

I’ll be exploring each of these principles in greater detail but for the record here’s the list:

The ACHIEVE Leadership Program
Seven Principles

• Accept responsibility for your actions and decisions.
• Critique never criticize.
• Handle each employee and problem individually.
• Inform and involve your staff.
• Encourage and develop yourself and your employees.
• Visualize your objectives.
• Expect excellence.

Most of us leadership make the transition from entry level worker, then cross the great divide to supervisor, then manager and beyond. Unless you are assigned as a working field supervisor, it is very difficult to run the organization and ‘go out and play’ in it too.

If you want to develop as an effective leader, you can’t be one of the gang and the boss too…you need to pick one regardless of how hard it is. Throughout this series I’ll be discussing specific ways to make that transition easier and how to develop your skills throughout your career.