A new series
Leadership is a topic widely discussed, researched, and written about – a recent online search for “effective leadership” yielded 13.5 million results; 424,000 in the last month alone. And apparently we all want to get better at it – there were 203 million hits for an online search of “leadership courses.”
Is all this plethora of information falling on deaf ears? Why are 3.1 million people leaving their jobs this year in the U.S.* – 75% of them because of their bosses**?
Because information and academic programs are not enough – we have to put all this wonderful knowledge into practice as leaders. Obviously, we’re not doing this well enough yet, and we must get better immediately.
Why? First, it costs you every time an employee walks out the door – $11 billion is lost due to employee turnover annually.***
Second, the long term success of our organizations is at stake. All leaders, whether good or bad, set the tone and role model behaviors for their organizations. If we want good leadership to show up in the future, it has to take root now.
Third, we’re all leaders. No matter what our job titles or positions in life, we’re all in charge of something – a household, a team, a project.
Fourth, adopting the qualities of good leadership can make us better people, overall. And who doesn’t aspire to that?
So how do we become better leaders? Based on my years of experience and study, I’ve put together a list of top 12 qualities. Together, they add up to this simple mantra:
Have a soul, be brave, get smart, and be a grown-up.
The complete list of tips appears in my upcoming 12-post Best Leaders series. Watch for it!