The Leadership Challenge, by James Kouzes and Barry Posner is one of my favorite books to reread when I feel like boosting not only my morale, but also the morale of the individuals around me. This national bestseller gives excellent advice on how to effectively communicate and indulge in the practice of becoming an exemplary leader. The book is segmented into “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” which I will discuss in further detail and align them with my own values of effective communication and leadership.

 

Model the Way

In order to be an exemplarily leader we must be clear about our guiding principles. We can do this by clarifying our values and giving them a voice. Throughout the last couple of years working in various setting I have found that leadership and communication within an organization varies tremendously. I have worked with individuals that were very hands on with the organization and those who after a couple of weeks put themselves up on a pedestal and felt superior to everyone else. Regardless of the side of the spectrum, I have found that those who were more actively involved in guiding others though their actions were the people who made the difference as far as communicating more effectively and being great leaders. These are the individuals I try to emulate everyday. I prove that something is important by doing it myself and setting an example to everyone. If they see me working hard than others around me will do the same.

 

Inspire a Shared Vision

According to Kouzes and Posner, what brings individuals to continuously preform at their highest level is when “they imagined a exciting, highly attractive future for their organization.” Leaders must constantly have goals to strive for not only to inspire himself to do better, but to inspire those around him. I second their claim and say that they are correct because I do this every day and it provides me with the same results. Everyday before I go to bed I create a list of goals I want to accomplish for the next day. This not only motivates me to get up early the next day to tackle these goals, but it help keep my energy up throughout the day. My long-term goals on the other hand are written done in my journal and shared with my significant other. This not only motivates me to accomplish every step until I reach that goal, but also inspires my significant other to accomplish them with me.

 

Challenge the Process

No company or professional individual can say that they have achieved their personal best by keeping things the same. In order to progress for the better we must venture out and challenge the status quo. As leaders we must experiment and take risks whenever we see opportunities to innovatively improve anything in our lives. Challenging traditional ways is something I take into consideration with all of my tasks. I am notorious for finding new and creative ways of making processes more organized and efficient. If I do not agree with how something is working expect me to be changing it in order to cater to my style.

 

Enable Others to Act

Leaders empower the individuals around them to collaboratively work towards a common goal. No leader can succeed without their team. Therefore, we must strive earnestly to build trust and facilitate relationships with the individuals in our team. In my experience, I found that if I first showed I had trust in the individuals around me that in turn the team started to put trust in me. I always want everyone to feel comfortable and taking this initial step I feel is extremely important.

 

Encourage the Heart

We can often become exhausted, frustrated, and even discouraged in the process of climbing towards our goals. As leaders we must then encourage the individuals around us by showing genuine care in order to help them keep going. This is as simple as recognizing individuals' contributions and showing your appreciation for what they have done thus far. Celebrating the small goals the team came up with will not only motivate individuals to work hard, but their performance and willingness to work will increase. In the past I have seen this work very successfully. One of the best employers I have interned for in the past not only verbally expressed her gratitude with our work, but also kept sweets for us at the office and took us on end of term celebrations. As a current leader I have expressed this same type of mentality with the individuals I work with today. We encourage each other and celebrate the small victories.

 

Refrence:

Kouzes, James M., and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2012. Print.