What's it take to be a great leader?

Timeless Leadership Principles from Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln

History is a good teacher of timeless leadership principles. And for an American, there can be no better teachers on the subject of leadership than the actions of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. You'll grow your business and achieve more by implementing these four principles of leadership with your team.

LEADERS HAVE A SINGLE, BOLD GOAL.

Great leaders have a definite, clear and bold goal. A goal must inspire people, and motivate them to work harder to achieve it. Certainly, Washington, Jefferson (independence) and Lincoln (preservation of the Union) had bold goals.

What's your goal? Does it stimulate forward progress? Does it create momentum? Does it get your people excited and moving? Are your people willing to throw their creative talents and energies into it?

A powerful method for setting a goal for your business is to describe what your business does, then ask yourself at least three times, Why is that important? For example, you could start with a statement like: We provide the finest office equipment solutions and service. Then, ask yourself, Why is this important? and you may end up with something like: We provide the finest office equipment solutions and service so that our customers will maximize their productivity and reduce costs." Again, ask yourself why that's important, and you end up with: To contribute to our customers' business success by providing the finest consultative office solutions and value-added services.

LEADERS HAVE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

Emotional intelligence is how well you handle yourself and others. Great leaders are capable of managing their feelings so that they are expressed appropriately and effectively, enabling people to work together smoothly toward their common goals.

Know that every single interaction you have with a subordinate has the potential to be a "turning point." A turning point is any interaction which has either a positive or negative effect on your subordinate's productivity. Obviously, your goal is to make every turning point a positive one.

President Lincoln possessed great emotional intelligence. In July 1863, Lincoln was initially ecstatic over the Union victory at Gettysburg. Then, as the weakened Confederate army withdrew from Pennsylvania, Lincoln saw an opportunity for his forces, led by General Meade, to trap the Confederates as they tried to cross the Potomac River back into Virginia. But Meade did not pursue Lee. Never was Lincoln so disappointed and furious. "If I had gone up there, I could have whipped them myself," he exclaimed to one of his advisors. "Our army held the war in the hollow of their hand and they would not close it," he fumed.

Deeply distraught, Lincoln sat down and wrote a bitter letter to Meade. Expressing gratitude for Meade's "magnificent success" at Gettysburg but lamenting Meade's failure to press the attack.

Lincoln did not sign or send the letter. Having used the pen to pour out his negative emotions, he slowly came to recognize he was expecting too much of Meade. At the time the battle of Gettysburg began, Meade had been in command of the Union army for just four days, and he was working with new and untried subordinates. The Union army had suffered great losses at Gettysburg, and several of Meade's most capable generals were either dead or wounded. It was asking too much of Meade to attack Robert E. Lee.

Lincoln withheld his letter, and chose a less confrontational way to address the issue. He permitted his senior military advisor to wire Meade that the escape of Lee's army had disappointed the President.

Lincoln showed great emotional intelligence in this interaction with his general. He:

Recognized the importance of the interaction with Meade and paused to think things through;

Considered the situation from his subordinate's perspective;

Used his letter-writing as a means of calming down emotionally.

Another emotionally intelligent action of Lincoln's was to express his displeasure with his subordinate in an appropriate way. Conversely, one of the most common mistakes that many leaders/managers make is to avoid confronting a subordinate when unacceptable behavior occurs. Successful leaders use confrontation (in a positive way) to communicate their expectations to their people. If behavior or performance is not up to par, the manager must address the issue. Subordinates won't know what you expect unless you tell them so.

LEADERS ARE FLEXIBLE, ADAPTABLE, AND ALWAYS WILLING TO TRY NEW IDEAS.

Great leaders are always on the lookout for new ways of growing the business, and they encourage their subordinates to do the same. Their motto is "give it a try." They are careful to measure each experiment, continuing those that are successful while stopping those that aren't.

George Washington's inflexibility and unwillingness to accept change cost him his life. On the morning of December 13, 1799, the sixty-sevenyear-old former president caught cold. He went out riding anyway, and by the following day felt sick and had a very sore throat. Three physicians were summoned, two of whom agreed on a diagnosis of acute tonsillitis and a treatment plan that was common practice at the time, draining blood from Washington's body and purging with laxatives. But the third doctor, a thirtyseven-year-old graduate of the University of Edinburgh School of Medicine, disagreed. His diagnosis was that Washington suffered from "a violent inflammation of the membranes of the throat, which it had almost closed, and which, if not immediately arrested, would result in death." He urged a radical new procedure he had learned in Scotland for such cases-a tracheotomy below the infection to allow Washington to breathe. Washington refused the radical advice of the younger doctor, and died at 10:00 p.m. on December 14, 1799.

Leaders who resist change put their business at risk if they don't continually look for new ways to grow. What business "experiments" are you currently working on? How can you create an environment in your organization that encourages the creation of new ideasand the implementation of those ideas-before your competitors?

LEADERS ARE COMMITTED TO SELF DEVELOPMENT AND THE POWER OF LEARNING.

George Washington awoke each day at 4:30 a.m. to read, and Lincoln was self-taught. And then there was Thomas Jefferson, the greatest learner of all our presidents. By the age of 40, he had 2,640 books in his personal library, and everywhere he traveled he would take along several books to read. Jefferson described himself as having "a canine appetite for knowledge."

What's your goal for self development? How many seminars will you attend this year? Which books will you read? Continuous learning is what enables you to generate great ideas and new ways of growing your business.

Implement these four timeless leadership principles today!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Kevin Davis delivers dynamic sales and sales management training programs that increase sales. A former executive with Lanier Worldwide, Davis is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Getting Into Your Customer's Head. To receive his free report, "Overcoming the 15 Biggest Mistakes in Sales," call the Davis Organization at 888-545-SELL, fax him at 925-831-8677, or visit his web site at www.customershead.com.

Copyright B U S Publishing Group, Inc. Sep 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved