Think about the greatest leadership role models in your life.  Chances are they all have one common quality – the ability to make time for you and your development no matter how busy they are.  While they might not be able to sit and chat with you about your latest project over lunch today, you know that when they say that they will make time in their schedule tomorrow, they mean it.  And when you sit down face to face over coffee tomorrow, you are certain that they will be focused on your needs and not what they left back at their desk.

Good leaders know that no matter how hectic life becomes, leadership should remain a top priority.  At the busiest of times, step back and take a look at the big picture.  Maintain a sharp focus on where your leadership is needed and what you can do to provide it.  Simply shifting your perspective will provide you with the opportunities to influence outcomes and inspire others that you have previously been missing.

• Provide deadlines. Whenever you need information from your boss within a specific amount of time – say so.  If practical, send her an Outlook Task reminder, including the due date, to keep your needs fresh in her mind.
• Follow up.  A few days before you need the information, follow up with your boss to make sure the decision is still on her radar screen.   Remind her again that you need the information by a specific date in order to do your job.
• Provide a suggested course of action in writing. There will be times when you have to take matters into your own hands.   If you have a boss that continues to procrastinate beyond stated deadlines, provide your own solution.  Send an e-mail that says, “I need to you make a decision by Friday at noon.   If I do not hear from you by then, I will proceed as follows …”

When you have an indecisive boss, it is imperative that you be proactive.  Merely sitting back and hoping that your boss will change only ensures that she won’t.   Instead by taking a few simple actions, you can either lead her to decision, or at least ensure that her indecision does not further impair your ability to be a great performer.

Right now, take out a pen and a sticky note and write down the top three things (in order) that are most important to you.  Now post it at your desk or in a place where you will see it every day.

The next time you are feeling stressed out from attempting to juggle too many things at once, take a look at that sticky note.  Now ask yourself if those three things are still playing a significant role in your life?  If not, you need to rebalance.  Once you find your balance, success will follow.

Here are a few simple – though often overlooked – ways that you can project your leadership presence:

• Dress the part. While you do not need to spend a fortune to ensure that you are wearing the latest fashion, you do need to make sure that your outward appearance is neat and appropriate to the standards set by your company.  Looking as if you just rolled out of bed or literally wearing your pajamas to work is no way to inspire the confidence of others.
• Clean up your workspace. Your immediate environment says a lot about you.  Take a look at your desk.  Does it project a sense of organization and competence?  Or, does it scream disheveled mess?  Even worse, does it communicate to your colleagues that you have just given up?
• Slow down! Constantly rushing from one meeting to another and arriving exasperated projects to others that you are not in control of your own schedule.  Being over-committed does not show others how important you are, it shows that you cannot competently keep up with your current demands.
• Control those emotions. Flying off the handle or breaking down in tears each time something does not go your way gives others the impression that you cannot be counted on during the difficult times – when leaders are needed the most.

As a leader, co-workers look to you to provide the example to which they aspire.  Start setting the best leadership example today by projecting a leadership presence and see just how influential you can become!

Leaders are always looking for input on how they can enhance their performance.   When you are faced with criticism (especially when you have given your all to a project) pay close attention.  That feedback is a gift.  You are being given insight that you would not otherwise possess.

It’s possible that your way turns out to be the best way.   However, that cannot be determined until you have heard others’ opinions.  Opportunities to improve performance exist daily.  Set aside your ego and be open to feedback and always strive to take your already excellent performance to the next level.

• What are your top three priorities?
• What activities are you currently engaged in that further those priorities?
• Which activities do not?
• Do you currently have any white space planned into each week?
• What two activities can you eliminate or delegate in order to create some (or some more) white space?

Leaders lead lives of significance because they align their activities with their top priorities.  Narrow your priorities and pick your top three.  Then make sure that you are spending your precious time only on those activities that matter most.  Finally, plan white space into each week for some much needed rest, relaxation, rejuvenation and to address those pesky “emergencies” that tend to derail your over-scheduled life.

Do you have any other suggestions as to how to make your annual performance reviews more accurate and/or productive?  We would love to hear your thoughts!

• Listening. A simple caretaking gesture is to ask someone how their day is going and then really listen to their response.   Ask a couple of follow up questions after they fill you in on their activities of the day.

• Surprise someone with service. Every office, team or family has less desirable jobs that must be done.   Instead of letting someone else do the dirty job alone, step up today and help them with that chore no one enjoys.

• Plan for “leadership time.” Leave an hour of your day tomorrow unscheduled so that you can spontaneously check in with a colleague or offer support to a family member.   Strive to place this hour of opportunity on your calendar each week.

• Focus outward. Resist the urge to get caught up solely in your “to do” list.   Each morning make sure you are aware of the projects and deliverables your team members are working on.   Simple awareness of the challenges others are facing allows you to create opportunities to assist, support and recognize achievement.

Don’t get caught up in the reasons why you don’t have time to serve others.   Instead, hold yourself accountable to taking three action steps on behalf of others each day.   Small outreaches make a tremendous difference to others.

What are the key differences between being a leader and being a manager?

A simple way to remember the key differences between being a leader and being a manager is to look at it like this:  you manage things, you lead people.  Management is about staying on top of budgets, projects, resources, data and deliverables.  Leadership is all about people.  A leader is someone who can influence outcomes and inspire others effectively.  Both skills sets are important to build.  In our professional culture management skills are more common than leadership skills. 

What are key leadership traits?

The best leaders focus on meeting and exceeding performance standards, being accountable by owning problems and their mistakes. They also are focused on serving others and can act decisively when needed.  In addition to demonstrating these fundamentals well, the most trusted leaders are those that have the courage to be authentic and know how to keep their emotions in check so that their behavior is inspiring, not alienating.

Does every manager need to be a leader?

The most successful managers are also leaders.  Have you ever had the experience of working for a bad boss?  The reason why you had that tough experience is because you worked with someone who had authority, they were a manager, but they had limited leadership ability.  The best bosses, and the most influential colleagues we’ve had, are memorable because they demonstrated leadership on a regular basis.  The consistent, simple gestures of leadership make such a difference to those we know at work and in life.

Can anyone become a leader?

Leaders are made, they are not born.  Leadership is a choice.  If you choose to become a stronger leader then you can.  Our society often ties the term “leadership” to power, prestige, notoriety or a fancy job title.  These notions of leadership are false.   Management titles are bestowed upon you.  Leadership development is a path you must choose to pursue.  You don’t need a power position to achieve success as a leader.  Some of the best leaders we’ve known were the credible individual contributors on teams–those who understood that high performance, service to others, accountability and decisiveness are qualities that earn you respect.  By studying leadership practices you can improve your ability to influence outcomes and inspire others–the two capabilities leaders excel at.

For many of us, we call them heroes who continuously earn our praise.

I love that Jim Joyce, the umpire who is now nationally known as the man whose bad call kept a young Detroit Tiger pitcher from earning a perfect game, was named the best umpire in the league in an exclusive poll taken in the past week.   (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/06/jim-joyce-voted-mlbs-best-umpire-in-espn-poll/1)

To me, this proves that at the end of the day, our society values accountable leaders who do not hide from scrutiny, but rather are upfront and honest in their shortcomings.

Jim Joyce’s story isn’t a sport’s story.  It’s a leadership story.  Accountability is so rare in our society it’s amazing how when we see it – on small or grand levels – we applaud and celebrate it.  So why then, if accountability is so valuable, do people tend to hide from it?  Here are my thoughts – I’d love to hear yours:

• No one likes being wrong
• We expect perfection from ourselves (though no human being is perfect …)
• We are afraid of the outcome if we admit our failures or mistakes
• We don’t want to upset expectations
• No one likes their judgment questioned
• We have egos … precious, fragile egos
• Deflection and blame can take the attention away from ourselves

Most of these reasons, or rather “excuses,” have to do with our own insecurities, fears, and lack of confidence in ourselves.  It takes a pretty amazing leader to look beyond their insecurities to do what is right (not what might feel good in the moment).

We all can practice accountability daily, and in turn channel and project our inner Jim Joyce.  We have to start by acknowledging that we’re not always right and if there is a problem, and we’re close enough to it to know about it, then we probably had something to do with it.  Also, try repeating a mantra I learned in the Marine Corps … it’s humbling and grounding: I am responsible for all that I do and all that I fail to do.  When you don’t hide from your mistakes and instead acknowledge them, you are able to make great growth as a leader and earn the respect and trust of those around you.