The following contains excerpts from the book, The Leader In You (Dale Carnegie & Associates)
Leadership has changed over the past century from predominantly management skills to a need for real leadership. In order to successfully navigate, a leader must keep his or her mind open to change all the time. Welcome it. Court it. It is only by examining and reexamining your opinions and ideas that you can progress. The winners will be the organizations with smart and creative leaders who know how to communicate and motivate effectively- inside the organization and out. Good human-relations skills have the ability to change people from managing others to leading others.
Today, we live in a fast-paced society. Back when business operated in a more stable environment, management skills were sufficient, but when the business environment becomes volatile, when the waters are uncharted, when your mission requires greater flexibility than you ever imagined it would- that’s when leadership skills become critical.
In our music school in Odessa, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. The role Leadership plays in relationships is incontrovertible, and the more an understanding of how leadership affects relationships is understood in any field, the greater the effectiveness will be.
How to succeed as a leader in today’s fast-paced world:
- Communicate
- The ability to communicate well is what lights the fire in people. It’s what turns great ideas into action. It’s what makes all achievement possible. Communication doesn’t have to happen in big conference rooms. Some of the best corporate communication occurs in seemingly informal ways.
- I use the term bottom trawling, going to the bottom of the organization and asking, “What is really going on?” We are interested in others when they are interested in us. If you can show your colleagues you are receptive to their ideas, they’re more likely to be receptive to yours- and to keep you honestly informed about things you need to know
- So if you have an environment where people genuinely believe that at the end of the day they can trust in your interest and concern about their well-being, then you have created relationships that have more meaning to them.
We endeavor to establish a trusting relationship with each parent and student at our music school in Odessa, Texas, in which each person understands that they are valued. This creates the best kind of learning environment for the student.
- Motivating People
- Give someone a real sense of purpose, the feeling that he or she is working for a valuable, mutually important goal. That’s where true motivation comes from – motivation not just to go through the motions of working, motivation to excel
- Take care of your people, and the business takes care of itself
- Action springs out of what we fundamentally desire. That’s why people need a stake in their work. That’s why their successes need to be rewarded, praised, and celebrated. That’s why their failures need to be handled gingerly. Do those things. Then stand back and watch the results roll in.
- However you do it, do it. Let the people in your life know that you respect them, that you appreciate their work, that they are important to you and that you want them to learn, grow, and reach their potential.”
Perhaps one of the greatest things we can offer students in our music school in Odessa, Texas is encouragement and praise. This is not done insincerely, but with genuine attention to the positive attributes the student demonstrates.
- Expressing Genuine Interest in Others
- You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get others interested in you.
- An expression of interest can be as simple as using a pleasant voice on the telephone. When someone calls, say hello in a tone that implies, ‘I’m happy to hear from you.’
- When you see a familiar face at the shopping mall, greet the person and express a genuine pleasure at the coincidence.
- Seeing Things from the Other Person’s Perspective
- Bill Makahilahila, Director of Human Resources at SGS-Thomson (a worldwide semi-conductor producer) made this comment, “I don’t care whether you’re a janitor or a receptionist. You’ve got to learn how to get along with people. If you think having position gives you the authority to ride over people, it’s not true anymore. You’re going to have to start thinking in terms of the interests of others.”
- “Exceed your customers’ expectations.” That was always one of Sam Walton’s rules. If you do, they’ll come back over and over. Give them what they want and a little more. Thinking about what the customer will want next- a few days, a few weeks, a few months from now. This is all part of thinking in terms of the other person’s interest, a reversal of “What’s in it for me?” If you can help people solve their problems, the world is your oyster.
- Listening to Learn
- Listening is the single most important of all the communication skills. More important than stirring oratory. More important than a powerful voice. More important than the ability to speak multiple languages. More important even than a flair for the written word.
- Active listening requires an intense involvement in a conversation, even when the listener’s lips are still. That isn’t always easy. It takes concentration. It requires genuine engagement. It calls for questioning and prodding. And it demands some kind of response, quick, thoughtful, on target, and concise.
- It’s impossible to ever listen effectively when fear, anxiety, or nervousness is present.
- Strangely enough, listening to someone else’s opinions is often the best method of getting them around to your way of thinking. Most people trying to win others to their way of thinking do too much talking themselves. Let the other people talk themselves out. They know more about their business or problems than you do. So ask them questions. Let them tell you a few things.
The most profound life-lesson learned in studying at our music school in Odessa, Texas is the ability to listen attentively. There is a vast difference between ‘hearing’ and ‘listening.’ The former is passive, while the latter is active. Learning to focus and actively listen is one of the most important skills a person can learn in all relationships.
- Teaming Up for Tomorrow
- The modern organization cannot be one of ‘boss and subordinate’, it must be organized as a team. Following are strategies to accomplish this:
- Create a shared sense of purpose- The ideas, the creativity, the intelligent sparks will ultimately have to come from the group itself.
- Make the goals team goals- “Together we have to get this new product smoothly to market.”
- Treat people like the individuals they are- A talented leader will recognize differences, appreciate them, and use them to the advantage of the team.
- Make each member responsible for the team product- Let as many decisions as possible bubble up from the group. Invite participation. Don’t dictate solutions. Don’t insist that things be done a certain way.
- Share the glory, accept the blame- It’s the leader’s responsibility to spread the benefits around. A public pat on the back, a bonus from the top.
- Take every opportunity to build confidence on the team- A great leader will believe firmly in the team and will share that belief with every member.
- Be involved, stay involved- you’ve got to have the experience, and you’ve got to listen.
- Be a mentor- It’s the leader’s job to develop the talents and strengthen the people on the team.
It is not our goal at our music school in Odessa, Texas to teach ‘by rote’ what the student should be doing, but rather to bring the student to full autonomy, as they fully understand the why behind what they are doing, so they can become a continual learner, through their own self-directed study.
- Respecting the Dignity of Others
- Talents aren’t enough, not by a long-shot. To win, you need more. To win, you have to know the secret and live by it. It’s that simple. What is this magical secret? It’s this: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
- There is one final way to create the workplace of dignity: Humanize the organization in ways big and small. The unvarnished truth is almost all the people you meet feel superior to you in some way. And a sure way to their hearts is let them realize in some subtle way that you recognize their importance in the world and recognize it sincerely.
A foundational tenet we have at our music school in Odessa, Texas is that each person is respected and valued. In music, we seek to draw circles of relationships rather than boundaries between them. We seek synergy (completion) rather than competition. Competition separates, while music gathers.