Leadership Excellence – 7 Principles

The three plus decades of Beacon Organisational Development leadership experience, has informed the presentation of 7 guiding principles that support leadership excellence as follows:

1. People need to be inspired by insightful questions. When you lead with questions you excite and hook the minds of others, you are also showing your willingness to admit that you may not have all the answers.

2. People don’t care until they know that you care. Your leadership does not matter until you build on the things that matter. Great leadership is synonymous with great enterprise and built with high performing teams.

3. People need to feel valued and respected whatever their gender, race, age or skill acquisition. The more you invest in developing your leadership and the leadership within your enterprise, the better decision you will make, and the more you will get done in less time and with less cost. In addition, you will achieve more and with better results.

4. People need to be encouraged, supported and challenged rather than being criticised or blamed. When you encourage people you get greater efficiency, and this creates a better outcome for everyone.

5. People need to be appreciated. There needs to be an environment which encourages openness, honesty and an acknowledgement that it is all right to make and admit to mistakes. When you appreciate and recognise people for their creativity, you open even more possibilities.

People need to be reassured that their feelings are acknowledged and that there is support to deal with feelings. Being a leader who demonstrates leadership excellence calls upon you to establish value for your teams and customers and let your actions reflect that you care.

6. Leadership excellence requires you to tap into people’s creativity, desire for doing things differently – change rather than responding to the desire for changes as criticism or complaint.

The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humour, but without folly.

• Jim Rohn

Technological innovation, dynamic groups, changing economies, organisations and cultures will only continue to grow and develop with leadership styles that enable people to act powerfully and offer their initiative, creativity, energy and intelligence at every level.

When you delegate, your team members will learn to think like leaders and the commitment and energy of the team can

increase dramatically

• Marilyn Manning & Patricia Haddock