What is effective leadership?  That sounds like a question for a philosopher doesn’t it?  The truth is that anyone can be an effective leader. They just need to find the right balance between social, moral and business aspects of leadership.  An effective leader is generally someone that leads by example and other people just tend to follow because they believe what they do is the right thing. Think of anyone you have looked up to in the past, were they an honest individual that put others before themselves? That is a quality of effective leadership. Being honest gives a person credibility and result in other people trusting and believing in that person.

Effective leaders lead by example and merely invite others to come along with them. Keeping promises is another sign of effective leadership. They believe in others and never fail to reward or compliment someone when they see they are doing well. Effective leaders admit when they are wrong and admit when they make mistakes. Everyone is human and makes a mistake at one time or another. It’s how a person handles a mistake that gives them a certain leadership quality. An effective leader can admit when they are wrong and by doing so, allows people to feel comfortable asking them for help and advice.

Good listening skills are a big part of effective leadership. A person who is willing to listen to problems or concerns an employee or a friend may have will give them more information. Therefore, the effective leader can make a well-informed and thought out decision.  An effective leader gives positive reinforcement. Effective leadership is about asking or requesting a person to do something, not commanding them. Effect leaders make recommendations to follow.  Effective leaders are willing to get their hands dirty. They realize that they are more than just a figure head or a boss.

Dale Carnegie Training offers a 3 day training course titled ”The Leadership Advantage“

Dale Carnegie wrote one of his books to show that life is very much what we make of it. It’s all about our choices everyday. Here are some quotes from Carnegie:

    1. ” If you have a worry problem, do these three things: 1. Ask yourself: “What is the worst that can possibly happen?” 2. Prepeare to accept it if you have to. 3. Them calmly proceed to improve on the worst.” (Carnegie 49)

    2.  ” Why does such a simple thing as keeping busy help to drive out anxiety? Because of a law- one of the most fundamental laws ever revealed by psychology. And that law is: that is utterly impossible for any human mind, no matter how brillant, to think of more than one thing at any given time.” (Carnegie 50)

    3. “Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.” (Carnegie 53)

    4. “All the King’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put the past back together again. So let’s remember: Don’t try to saw sawdust.” (Carnegie 54)

    5. “Don’t fuss about trifles. Don’t permit little things- the mere termites of life- to ruin your happiness.” (Carnegie 59)

    6. “Put a ’stop-loss’ order on your worries. Decide just how much anxiety a thing may be worth- and refuse to give it any more.” (Carnegie 58)

    7. ” Use the law of averages to outlaw your worries. Ask yourself: ‘What are the odds against this thing’s happening at all?” (Carnegie 60)

    8. “Get the facts. Let’s not even attempt to solve our problems without first collecting all the facts in an impartial manner.” (Carnegie 63)

    9. “A well-known legal maxis says: D minimis non curat lex- ‘The law does not concern itself iwht trifles.’ And neither should the worrier-if he wants piece of mind.” (Carnegie 62)

    10. ” When we have accepted the worst, we have nothing more to lose. And that automatically means- we have everything to gain!” (Carnegie 64)

    11. ” Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago? How did they work out? Didn’t you waste a lot of fruitless energy on account of most of them? Didn’t most of them turn out all right after all?” (Carnegie 65)

    12. ” If you were to read everything that has ever been written about worry by the great philosophers of the universe, you would never read anything more profound than ‘Don’t cross your bridges until you come to them’ and ‘Don’t cry over spilt milk.” (Carnegie 67)

    13. If you have worries, there is no better way to eliminate them than by walking them off. Just take them out for a walk. They may take wings and fly away!” (Carnegie 68)

    14. ‘If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there and worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the sleep.” (Carnegie 70)

    15. “Give your problem all the thought you possibly can before a solution is reached. But when the matter is settled and over with, worry not at all.” (Carnegie 71)

    16. ” If we can’t have all we want, let’s not poison our days with worry and resentment. Let’s be good to ourselves. Let’s be philosophical. And philosophy, according to Epictetus, boils down to this: ‘ The essence of  philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.’” (Carnegie 76)

    17. ” Put a BIG, broad, honest-to-God smile on your face; throw back your shoulders; take a good, deep breath; and sing a snatch of a song. If you can’t sing whistle. If you can’t whistle, hum. You will quickly discover that it is physically impossible to remain blue or depressed whiel you are acting out the symptoms of being radiantly happy!” (Carnegie 56)

    18. “When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. Our enemies would dance with joy if only they knew how they were worrying us, lacerating us, and getting even with us! Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our own days and nights into a hellish turmoil.” (Carnegie 55)

    19. ” About ninety percent of the things in our lives are right and about ten percent are wrong. If we want to be happy, all we have to do is to concentrate on the nentey percent that are right and ignore the ten percent that are wrong. If we want to be worried and bitter and have stomch ulcers, all we have to do is to concentrate on the ten percent that are wrong and ignore the ninety percent that are glorious.” (Carnegie 52)

    20. “If you and I don’t keep busy- if we sit around and brood- we will hatch out a whole flock of what Charles Darwin used to call the ‘wibber-gibbers.’ And the ‘wibber gibbers’ are noth but old-fashioned gremlines that will run us hollow and destroy our power of action and our power of will.” (Carnegie 51)

Jason Ferrara, SVP, Sales and Marketing, Elixir Interactive, interviews Piera Palazzolo, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. at SES New York, 2009. Piera talks about the incentive model that Dale Carnegie implemented to get its franchisees to become compliant with its corporate governance program. Piera describes Dale Carnegie as a “global reach but with a local touch” company and wanted their franchisees to integrate this specific campaign theme but still give them the flexibility to adapt the campaign so it responded to local culture.

Dear Carnegie Coach:

I have been working in advertising for the same company for about 20 years.  Throughout my time here I have enjoyed the relationships I’ve built with many different kinds of people.  Recently my company hired a new employee straight out of college.  To this point I have not been able to connect with him in any way.  I know that there is a little bit of a generational gap between us, but it is important that we are able to communicate and work together.  Do you have any advice on how I could connect and communicate with my new coworker?

Nicky

Dear Nicky,

Today’s workforce may be comprised of as many as four generations working side-by-side and connecting with each other may present a challenge.  Each generation has their unique mindset, work style, and ways of communicating.  This being the case, working and communicating across generations has become vital to building a cohesive, productive, and successful team.  Here are some principles that will allow you to connect with your coworker.

·         Do not be condescending – You need to make sure that you show your coworker respect through the language that you choose to use when speaking to him.

·         Constantly seek their feedback – A person from this generation will most likely see things different than you.  You want to make sure that you take into consideration what their thoughts are on projects so you can appeal to a wider range of people.

·         Use humor – Humor is always a good way to break down barriers between two people.  As long as it is tasteful, humor can be a very successful way to strengthen your communication with a coworker.

·         Encourage outside the box thinking – Try to bring out the creativity from your coworkers any chance you get.

·         Use email, texting and instant messaging as your primary communication tools – These are the forms of communication that this generation of workers will be most comfortable with, and you will generally get a quick response.

Dear Carnegie Coach:

I am a mid level manager at a large multinational company. I was recently up for a promotion, but in the end I was not selected for it. The feedback I was given was that I need to think beyond just the task at hand and look at the bigger picture. What can I do to make sure that the next time a promotion comes around I am not left in the dust?

Sarah

Dear Sarah,

You are not the first person to receive this type of feedback. Although I’m sure that you are disappointed at the moment, this is great feedback from you manager or supervisor. He or she has presented a challenge to you that you should be able to meet. What you need to become is a Visionary leader. Here are a few suggestions that will get you on track for your promotion and a successful career.

• See the strengths in others – They use those strengths to encourage teams to their highest level of performance. The visionary leader spends far more of their coaching time building on the strengths of others than dwelling on perceived weaknesses.

• Build bridges between team members – Not only does the visionary leader see individual strengths, they are able to connect those strengths to form strong teams. They build bridges of experience, training, and education between colleagues.

• Focus on planning and preparation – It is impossible to be a visionary leader without thoughtful planning and thorough preparation. Visionary leadership doesn’t happen accidentally. A visionary leader relies on the thoroughness of their plan for their eventual success.

• Push yourself out of your comfort zone – Ask yourself “Am I stagnating, falling into routines or comfort zones?” They look for new challenges and seek out mentors and trainers who can guide them to develop expanded skills and strengths.

• Do your homework; always make informed decisions -Leaders today have a tremendous advantage in their ability to acquire knowledge via internet research. There literally is no excuse left for leaders to make uniformed decisions, despite the fact that we see it happen frequently.

Dear Carnegie Coach:

My company has recently experienced some downsizing and my workload has increased drastically. When I get into work in the morning I have so many tasks to complete that I do not know where to begin. I know that my boss is relying on me at this time to accomplish many tasks. My major problem is that I’m not sure how I should prioritize my tasks. Do you have any advice that can help me prioritize?

Kristin

Dear Kristin,

With the current outlook in the job market more and more is being asked of employees at an individual level. Now more than ever you need to break down your tasks and identify the priority that each of them has. Here are some tips that will allow you to prioritize and get the job done in the most efficient and productive way:

• Record all Activities – Write down all your multiple demands, competing priorities, tasks and activities for the day or week. This will allow you visuals what needs to get done.

• Determine Primary Goals – Make a list of your primary goals for the day or for the week.

• Evaluate Important vs. Urgent – Decide which of these activities are the most important verses the most urgent. At this stage, take into consideration how certain items affect others and the consequences for not accomplishing certain items.

• Rank – Use a ranking system to begin planning. For Example:

“A” tasks have high priority and must be completed immediately.

“B” tasks are moderately important but can be done after “A” tasks

“C” tasks are of low-level importance and can be tackled in our spare time

• Create Schedule – Indicate deadlines for each task and estimate the time involved to complete the task. Keep in mind any tasks that may be linked together to increase productivity.

• Revisit Goals and Adjust – Review your goals and the rewards of doing the task on time, and make any necessary adjustments

• Purge – Get rid of items on your list that remain at the bottom and will realistically not get done.

Dear Carnegie Coach:

I recently was promoted to a management role within my department. Looking at the current state of the department I realized that I need to find new ways to engage my employees. As an employee I found it encouraging when I was recognized by my manager for the job that I had done. I am hoping that I will be able to do the same things with my employees in order to boost morale. Do you have any tips that will allow me to give my employees the proper recognition?

Tom

Dear Tom,

Sharing the glory is not just a nice thing to do for people. Sharing the glory is a powerful motivator that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes that people create for our organization. When we recognize people effectively, we reinforce the actions and behaviors that we most want to see repeated. Sharing the glory is simple, immediate, and powerful reinforcement. Here are some simple ways that you can recognize the people on your team for a job well done.

• Look for the best in others- It takes an exceptional person to routinely see the strengths in others, instead of their weaknesses. When we try honestly to see the best in others, we begin to see people from a completely different point of view, and learn to value others more.

• Write it down- Telling someone about a strength that you see in them is a very positive gesture. Even better, why not put it in writing? Not only can the person read it over again, they can show the written compliment to others.

• Pass it along- If you hear someone else giving their approval or praise you can pass that along to your employee. Passing along a compliment is easy. Simply say, “I heard someone say something good about you. Here’s what they said…”

• See them in the act- Be there to witness and applaud achievements as they happen. “Sharing the Glory” means sharing the experience, not just throwing in “Way to go!” from a distance. When we personally observe the individual as they grow and achieve, they know that out recognition is sincere and genuine.

Dear Carnegie Coach,

I’m a small business owner that has run a small profitable venture for over 25 years. The current market conditions have put a pinch on our profits and we have gone from having a healthy income to just getting by. Now I know that I need to change with the market but I’m afraid that if I change too much that I will get away from what made me successful in the first place. What can I do to make change but in a smart way.

Rick

Dear Rick,

Considering the ever-accelerating rate of change in today’s workplace, there may be no more important skill than the ability to adapt successfully to change. Sometimes, adapting to change comes easily. Other times especially with owning a profitable small business you will find yourself resisting change, focusing on what you might lose as a result of the change, rather than on what you might gain. No matter how you might feel personally about the change it is important to adapt productively and positively. Here are a few principles that will help you to productively adjust your patterns.

1. Practice Patience – When it comes to change, many times you want to get it over with and move on as quickly as possible. The cycle of change in the workplace often takes longer than you expect. The change has to be communicated, integrated, and there needs to be time for adjustment of all adjacent organizational functions.

2. Be Adventurous – Take on the change as a challenge. Throw yourself into planning and preparation, engage others in the process, and chart out new career horizons that may appear as result of the challenge. Tap into your courageous side.

3. Practice constructive discontent – Instead of clinging to the status quo, ask yourself “How could I change for the better? How could the organization change for the better?” Instead of expressing discontent destructively through undermining change efforts, look for ways that the integration process of change could work even better.

4. Try something new each day – Once you get throw out of your comfort zone, we have a tendency to try to build a new one as quickly as we can. Challenge yourself to try at least one new way of adjusting to change every day.

5. Ask for input – Others in our organization may have insight into the ways that we can better adjust to change. Ask for ideas and suggestions and for feedback on how well you are adjusting to change. Period of change are times to build bridges, not walls. They are times to be open to input, not defensive.

Dear Carnegie Coach:

I hired new employee to work for me earlier this month. He has tried to gain an understanding of the company and I greatly appreciate the effort he has put forth. The issue with the employee is that he has developed an early propensity to make mistakes. I have been told in the past that I do not handle my employee’s mistakes well, which has led to turnover within my department. Do you have any tips that will allow me to deal effectively handle situations where an employee of mine makes a mistake?

Tom

Dear Tom

As I’m sure you have heard over and over again, “Everyone makes mistakes”. The inevitability of these mistakes gives us a pressing need to handle them as effectively as possible. Here is an effective approach to use when dealing with someone’s mistakes.

Creative ideas result in new discoveries, better ways of doing things, reduced costs and improved performance. Here are some tips you can use to drive innovation in your workplace: