A colleague was complaining the other day that he had not demonstrated enough
leadership. When I asked him what he meant he said that was had not been
assertive enough in demonstrating what needed to be done. My colleague is an
internal change agent pushing for the adoption of some new manufacturing
processes; he’s a recognized expert and viewed as someone who can make the new
initiatives a reality. Later when I reflected on our conversation I wish I would have
said, “Sometimes you need to lead from behind before you can lead at all.”
Leadership is very much about pointing the way and enabling others to succeed, but
sometimes in order to accomplish that aim you must take a step back. You put aside
what you think must be done immediately in order to allow others to progress at
their own rate.

Pushing for Change

Leading from behind, or even from the middle, is a very effective means of leading,
particularly during times of transition or transformation. The reason so many change
efforts fail is because they are dictated from on high without letting the people in the
middle and on the ground absorb, internalize and implement. That’s where
leadership from the ranks comes into play. When those folks take the initiative and
make it their own there is a great chance for success.

One company that leverages this form of leadership is Toyota through its vaunted
Toyota Production System. Based upon the principles of lean production, which can
be defined as “eliminating waste to optimize value,” Toyota managers and
employees operate on principles of just in time delivery, jidoka (quality) and kaizen
(continuous improvement). All of these endeavors are focused to do one thing:
Deliver value to the customer—value that the customer desires, wants and will pay
for. Sounds good, but what is remarkable is that managers in the TPS system lead
on principle; people are taught through experience to do what is right within the lean
value system. Easy to say but challenging to deliver. By looking at Toyota as well as
other organizations, we can draw some lessons for implementing principles of
leading from the middle.

• Be open. People want to know what’s going on and their role in it. It falls to
managers to make clear what the goals are and especially how those goals
affect the team. At Toyota the goal is Global 15—meaning capturing 15
percent of the world’s automotive market. Aside from being a good slogan, it
serves as a lodestar for individual departments to point to and then
“operationalize” its intent. That is, if my company is going to grow, what do I
have to do to improve delivery, ensure quality and continuously improve.

• Be facilitating. Leadership really is the art of enabling others to succeed.
Managers can do this by providing tools and resources so people have what
they need to do their jobs. They also need to be available to set direction and
be of counsel, that is, the team’s advisor. Sometimes managers will have to
jump in and help out with the workload but often it is matter of facilitation,
and that starts with being available to advise, nudge and most of all, listen.

• Be forceful. People are people. We have our own ideas; we don’t like to be
dictated to. The chief engineers at Toyota, those responsible for running the
vehicle programs, lead through the force of their experience as well as their
knowledge and even their force of will. While few of these folks have direct
reports, their authority comes from the responsibility of ensuring value to the
customer in ways that leverage the principles of the Toyota Production
System. As such they are regarded by some as the most powerful people
within Toyota.

• Be teaching. One way Toyota managers teach is through the Socratic method,
that is, instructing by asking questions. Employees may want information but
often it will be a matter of discovering the answers for themselves. That
ensures learning. It can be frustrating if someone wants quick answers, of
course, and at times that is the proper method, but over time you want
people to discover lessons for themselves.
Leading from Inside

Change is not a comfortable process; no one really wants to change. Getting out of
the comfort zone is hard. It makes us think about what we do and the consequences
of those actions. That’s why sometimes you do need the strong person at the top
pushing and pulling everyone. That technique is especially useful for organizations in
crisis. As the CEO of Delphi, Steve Miller, a noted turnaround artist, has been front
and center: He is the guy who led the company into bankruptcy; there seemed no
other choice. But at the same time he has been very direct and honest with the UAW
whose workforce will pay a heavy price in terms of job losses and benefits reduction.
As sign of good faith, Miller surrendered his own $1.5 million annual salary to work
for $1 per year. While Miller’s role is crucial, it will be up to his leadership team and
that of the union’s to determine Delphi’s future viability.

Crises aside, leading from ranks is a good way to ensure buy-in because it gives
employees a piece of the action. They demonstrate ownership of the situation and
make changes necessary to keep the organization going. This ensures that change
will take root and ultimately make the organization stronger because it will have the
leadership talent at all levels to tackle future challenges. Leading by taking a step
back will sometimes require a swallowing of ego; you won’t always be the one out
front, but you will be doing the right thing for the organization.

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Helping Men and Women Achieve the Leadership Edge

Communication is the easiest leadership skill to acquire and the hardest to practice. Why?Anyone in a supervisory positioncan speak. But leaders soon learn that speaking is not the same as communicating.

Leadership communications is the synthesis of thought, word, and deed in ways that enable a leader to get a message across in ways that connect with people and resonate throughout the organization. The purpose of leadership communications is straightforward: build greater levels of trust and drive results.

When you think about it, communication lies at the heart of everything a leader must do. A glance at this grid will explain the integral role communications plays in
leadership.

With communications, everything becomes possible. Individuals know and understand their roles in the organization. Teams know where they are headed and how to get there. Leaders rally people in support of the goals and enable them to
succeed.

Author/consultant John Baldoni speaks to the nature of leadership communications and how leaders can make their leadership messages reach the people they need to reach in ways that deepen trust and achieve results for the individual, the organization, and the team.
Among the topics John covers are:

4I’s Messages: Inform, Invite,
Involve, Ignite
Who should speak and why
Who should listen and why
Marketing the Message
Leading with Questions

The Power of Story
Restoring Credibility
Planning for Impact
Many of the lessons John draws upon are contained in his newest book, Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders. Featuring profiles of men and women leaders such as Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, Great Communication Secrets provides practical answers to today’s leadership challenges.

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2. A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

3. A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

4. To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot & love him a little.
To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot & not try to understand her at all.

5. Married men live longer than single men.
But married men are a lot more willing to die.

6. Any married man should forget his mistakes.
There’s no use two people remembering the same thing.

7. Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

8. A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change & she does.

9. A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

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What causes a lack of confidence? Well, many things together can conspire to undermine confidence.
Often it is due to the way that society has behaved towards us. For instance, bullying at school or simply being unpopular can lead to a lack of confidence.

Or perceived pressure from the media to look and act a certain way can also make those who do not conform to that alleged ideal feel insecure and also lack confidence.

Certainly one of the biggest causes of lack of confidence is continual comparison with peers and feeling that, compared to them, you are less able, or less intelligent, or less attractive, or less articulate, or less popular - or a whole combination of these and many other qualities.

So, how do you get confidence, and the success that comes with it?

Well, a good start is to have a firm belief in yourself and the goals that you want to achieve. This means, developing a sense of self worth.

Remember that you deserve to feel confident and good about yourself just as much as anybody else. You might find it useful to read inspirational quotes, or watch movies that inspire you, or even read books from the library that are there to inspire you and improve your feeling of self worth.

You need to coach and train yourself to develop confidence it is not an instant thing.

You also need to learn to stop comparing yourself to others - the grass is always greener on the other side and causes misery on this side. Focus on yourself, your goals, dreams and wishes rather than others.

Influence that which you can influence - yourself and your interactions with others. Let go of worrying about anything outside of those things you can directly control.

Also surround yourself with trusted people and good friends. If you have lost touch with good friends from the past, make an effort to reconnect and rekindle old friendships.

Above all, look in the mirror and love yourself - walk tall, be proud of yourself, what you stand for, and all that you possess.

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Smile.

Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.

Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely

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 If someone hurts you, betrays you , or breaks you heart, forgive them. For they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to who you open your heart to.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes to things you would have never seen or felt without them.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you either.

You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it.

indianchild . com

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Don’t stand in someone else’s shadow when it’s your sunlight that should lead the way.

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