Leaders: Are You Prepared To COMPETE?

As most of us come to know, and realize, life consists of a large number and variety of competitions. Some of these are against others, some against what others expect from us, and many exist when we compete against ourselves, and our personal expectations. After four decades of identifying, qualifying, training, developing and consulting to thousands of actual and/ or potential leaders, as well as having served as a leader, myself, I believe much of the cause of the eventual results, come from whether one is ready, willing and able, to be prepared, physically, mentally and emotionally. If you want to be a real leader, you must take a deep, introspective, objective look, and discover, if you, and the organization you serve, are prepared to COMPETE.

1. Character; cooperate; creativity; clever; consider: Most leadership concepts and necessities, begin with possessing the necessary character, to be able to serve, and put your constituents interests, before your personal ones. One will never compete successfully, if he pursues an adversarial, blame and complain, relationship (and persona), but rather one must strive to cooperate, and seek a quality, meaningful, meeting of the minds. This means thinking outside - the - box, and using creativity, considering alternatives, and opting for those which will make the organization, perform to its highest potential. It goes well beyond mere intellect, but rather a degree of cleverness, so as to consider the best approaches, priorities, and plans.

2. Options; opportunities: Far too often, those in positions of leadership, believe they should seek the safe approach, and end up restricting themselves, by restricting themselves to the self - made constrictions, of their personal comfort zone. True leaders consider options, and weigh the best possibilities and alternatives, thus providing the most opportunities!

3. Morph; master; meaningful: Avoid the tendency to be overly safe and rigid, and, rather, morph into a true master of leadership, by seeking meaningful ways, to enrich the organization, and those you serve!

4. Priorities; planning: Avoid falling into the trap of over - reacting, and sweating the petty stuff! Know your priorities, and reasons these are so! Become a true leadership planning professional/ expert, so you stand out from the wannabes, and, both you, and your group, stand out, in a positive way, from the competition!

5. Empathy: Stand - out leaders realize it's not about them, but rather how they focus, and address, the needs, priorities, perceptions, and concerns, of their constituents. Listen effectively, and learn from what you see and hear, so you may proceed, consistently, with the highest degree of genuine empathy!

6. Timely: Stand up before it's popular to do so, so might lead others, in a timely. well - considered manner. Remember, in the earliest stages, today's perceived problems, were merely yesterday's obstacles and challenges!

7. Excellence; example; earn: Always demand your finest personal effort, in a quest for excellence and relevance! Become the example others point to, and which attracts and maintains followers and constituents! If you do that, you will earn respect, and motivate those you serve, to greater participation, and pride in belonging!

Stand out from the competition! COMPETE every day, by focusing on quality goals, and taking effective, well - planned action!

Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has professionally run events, consulted to thousands of leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for 4 decades. Rich has written three books and thousands of articles. His company, PLAN2LEAD, LLC has an informative website: http://plan2lead.net and LIKE the Facebook page for leadership planning: http://facebook.com/Plan2lead


 By Richard Brody


Article Source: Leaders: Are You Prepared To COMPETE?