Definitions and Principles

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Why I call them “bosses.”

I write for and train the people who are responsible for the performance of a group. The group might be small or it might be an entire company, but the person I want to reach is judged based on the performance of his or her team. I call those people “bosses.”

Leadership is an apprentice trade.

You may learn something about it from books and in the classroom, but you learn about it mostly from other people. One well-researched leadership development model indicates that you will learn 70 percent from the work itself, 20 percent from other people (mostly your boss, but also coaches, peers, and mentors), and 10 percent from courses and reading.

Leadership is about behavior

Different authors and pundits use different vocabulary and definitions for “leadership.” Most of it is good and helpful, but it’s important to understand that leadership is about behavior. Behavior is what you say and what you do. Nothing else

You do not control others, you can only influence them.

Leadership is using the behavior you can control (your own) to influence the behavior of others in a group so that the group moves toward an objective. Learning about leadership should involve learning how to do that.

Great leaders have two objectives

As a leader you have two objectives. One is to accomplish the mission, get the job done, make your numbers. The other is to care for the people on your team and help them grow and develop. Another way to say that is that your job is to help the team and team members succeed, both now and in the future.

Your leadership development is never done

Leadership is a lifelong learning project. You are never done because there are always techniques and skills that you need to master. That’s why my Three Star Leadership material is designed so that you can learn about what to do naturally and easily, and then have the resources to continue learning for the rest of your life.