Are You a Boss or a Leader?
There is a lot of focus on leadership today, possibly because we see such a lack of it in our elected officials and in many of our businesses. Contrary to some beliefs, there are few "natural born leaders"; this is a skill that can be learned.
It's true, personality plays a big role in leadership. It's difficult for sociopaths, psychopaths or narcissists to be leaders, but most of the rest of us can be taught leadership skills. For our purposes today, we'll talk about leadership in business.
Leadership Isn't Always Positive
Company culture is developed from the top down. Employees watch carefully the decisions that company leaders make and take their cues from those. Whether you have a list of Company Values listed on your website or on display in your building, what company leaders value is apparent.
When management encourages cutting corners, makes decisions based on financial factors vs. safety or rewards those that don't demonstrate stated company values, employees get that message loud and clear. Effective leaders demonstrate and reward the behaviors they expect.
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