How to SHOW Leadership
Our main focus is on new ways to think about leadership.
Showing leadership occasionally is different from being in a leadership role. You can show leadership up, down and sideways with no positional authority.
You can show leadership in any of these three ways:
1. Promoting a better way, product or service - advocating change, even quietly if you have good evidence.
2. Leading by example, going first, being the best (all employees and independents can lead by example)
3. Engaging leadership, drawing ideas for a better way out of others (by asking engaging questions)
Introduction to Engaging Leadership
A wide range of leadership ideas will be discussed in these pages but engaging leadership is less familiar so it is briefly outlined here.
The key to engaging Leadership is to ask questions that draw solutions out of others to create shared ownership of conclusions. The two most engaging questions are "What do you think?" and "What do you want?" Being more engaging helps you build deeper trust and better relationships in all areas of life, not just leadership.
"What do you think?" questions - good for co-creating decisions and shared ownership.
- What do think would be a good way to address this issue?
- What other options do you see?
- What are the pros and cons of your suggestion?
- What does your idea imply for other things we're doing?
- What obstacles do you see and how might we avoid them?
- How do you think we can be really creative about this?
"What do you want?" questions - good for showing interest in people and their needs.
- What would work best for you?
- What would you like to see happen on this issue?
- What are your main priorities?
- What would you like us to do differently?
- What would you like from me?
- How would doing that help you?
Asking engaging questions can be called proactive listening. It takes active listening to a deeper level.
See Engaging Leadership for more on how to apply engaging questions to leadership.
See also Engaging Questions and Three Kinds of Leadership for more.
Other topics in these pages include how to raise your confidence and how to be happier.
Improving your Confidence
- Most people base their confidence on their ability to do things or offer good solutions.
- This is limited because no one person can know much in a fast changing, complex world.
- Supplement your desire to offer your own solutions by asking engaging questions to draw solutions out of others.
- Shared solutions makes for better relationships, due to shared ownership.
- Selling your ideas can work but it's harder for others to feel your level of commitment.
- Asking engaging questions builds your confidence because the same questions apply regardless of the subject.
- It's easier to ask engaging questions, being a facilitator or catalyst, rather than an answer-giver.
Being Happier
- It's partly about doing the things you enjoy most.
- It's also about your attitude.
- Try to believe that you won the greatest possible lottery prize.
- The greatest possible lottery prize is being born.
- You have the unique opportunity to live rather than not.
- This attitude can help you feel better about your life.
On improving your confidence, see Your Confidence.
Building on the idea of cultivating a positive attitude for greater happiness, see Feeling Fortunate.
Other topics include how to celebrate success and conduct more engaging performance appraisals.
NEW: Being an Executive