What Followers Expect from Their Leaders

Effective leaders have certain traits that followers want, demand, and expect, such as encouragement, integrity, and empowerment. Leaders model the way; they coach and mentor their followers. Leadership is a set of learned practices and acquired skills and traits that anyone can master by building on previous experience. To be an effective leader it is never about you. Developing and building more leaders should be every leaders passion. Being an effective leader should be every leaders mission. There are three kinds of leaders: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who sit around and wonder what happened. Without a doubt, Toastmasters are leaders who MAKE IT HAPPEN. Are You The Kind of Leader Others Want To Follow? The key is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making you the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go (John Maxwell). Truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve others. Leadership, is the process of influencing others, to help others accomplish goals and objectives. Every single one of us is a leader, whether we serve as an elected officer, or as a mentor to a fellow club member. To become an effective leader you must learn first to become a good follower. Leading others effectively helps us lead our own lives in the directions of our dreams. Leaders build teams and Promise only what they intend to deliver even if it means they have to say no to protect their reputation of dependability. Deliver what they promise and more on time. Keep confidences and resist the urge to use private information to appear valuable, important or popular to fellow leaders. Stay on top of the information flow in your field. Remember: The strongest person at the meeting is the one with info and the ability to use it to persuade others. Use a sense of humor to keep serious situations from becoming problems. Know how to congratulate and motivate others. Be fair in discussions. Avoid extreme positions and personal attacks. Speak positively to others. Know our organizations history, business, mores and codes of behavior and follow them. Smile, its difficult to get angry with someone whos genuinely happy. Know how to deal with difficult people dont take it personally.
~1~ Compliments of Wendy Harding, DTM Candidate for International Director, 2011 - 2013 Region IX www.wendyharding.com

Handling Conflict and keep emotions in check. Sharpening Listening Skills. Satisfying our members their needs, their wants as well as award, recognize and honor them. Making the most of Meetings. Followers need leaders who are nimble and not possessive about the way things are done around here. (a change imposed, is a change opposed). Create an environment for your followers to share ideas without fear of being ridiculed it creates productivity and creativity. Your mission is to guide, motivate and inspire. Leaders get their authority from below their followers; managers get theirs from above. Leaders lead people; managers lead things and projects

Followers want leaders to have fundamental values such as honesty, integrity, and character, along with desire, hard work and faith. Make a habit of under-promising and over delivering. If you can do that, youll find that more often than not you have happy customers, and when it comes to your personal life youll have an abundance of family and friends who appreciate you, and show it! Making a promise just because it makes you look good if youre unable to deliver on it, or even worse, simply have no intention of actually doing so -- has the potential to back fire on you in ways you simply cant imagine. Dont take that chance your level of achievement depends on it. Dont keep secrets and dont encourage rumor mills.
Followers want leaders who empower them. Leaders should be able to instill attitudes and feelings in people so that they can and will accomplish objectives that enhance their personal and professional lives. Great leaders, with shared vision and motivated followers, equal success. The real difference makers as a leader and most important qualities for success are having and maintaining a positive attitude, the ability to work with and motivate people, possessing good communication skills and having goals. This is what leadership is all about. Attitude is so contagious especially when we allow it to turn our doubts of the past into passions of today and set the stage for our tomorrows. We have total ownership of our attitudes. No one else has the power to alter our attitudes without our permission. Our attitude allows us to become more empowering than money, to rise above our failures and accept others for who they are. It is more important than skills. Our attitudes can be used to build us up or put us down the choice is ours. It also gives us the wisdom to know that we cant change events of the past. Having and maintaining a positive attitude is fundamental to success. Nothing constructive can be accomplished with a negative attitude.

~2~ Compliments of Wendy Harding, DTM Candidate for International Director, 2011 - 2013 Region IX www.wendyharding.com

Followers want to be treated with respect. It is amazing what people can do if they are treated with respect, encouraged to do their best, are appreciated, and work in a positive and caring team environment. Study after study has indicated results showing up to 300% increase in productivity when followers feel that they are important. Tell someone that he is stupid or dumb at a certain thing, that he has no gift for it, and that he is doing it all wrong, and you have destroyed almost every incentive to try to improve. But use the opposite technique; be liberal with encouragement, make the thing seem easy to do; let the other person know that you have faith in his ability to do it, that he has an undeveloped flair for it and he will practice until the dawn comes in at the Window in order to excel. (Dale Carnegie) Followers want their leaders to have vision and values. Leaders whose styles are dictatorial, explosive, non-decisive, uncommunicative, lethargic and politically motivated need to revamp their style. Leaders need to be trusting, encouraging and caring, and to encourage them to become the best they can be. Followers need to feel important and successful. If you the leader can accomplish that, you will be important and successful. Leadership is not just for extroverts only. It consists of the ability to create a vision, to communicate it, train it, and mobilize followers to carry it out. Introverts lead through technical know-how and others follow them because of their expertise. To increase leadership effectiveness, a leader should: Be flexible, not rigid. Recognize that there is no one best way to lead. Avoid being occupied with control. Monitor performance in terms of results relative to goals. Use a persuasive personality to get things done. Avoid the force of power, unless absolutely necessary. Balance an emphasis on getting the job done with a concern for personal feelings and relationships. Do whatever it takes to help the group attain its goals. Keep channels of communication open. Be available. Maintain an effective flow of twoway communication. Set the pace for the group by being a positive example. Be enthusiastic and actionoriented. Set high standards. Dont take credit for a unique idea originating from a follower. Do whatever it takes to help followers become the best they can be. Make a special effort to help followers who are deficient in any aspect of their jobs. Serve as a buffer to protect followers from pressure, uncertainty, and frustration.
~3~ Compliments of Wendy Harding, DTM Candidate for International Director, 2011 - 2013 Region IX www.wendyharding.com

Match individuals to jobs that suit them. Work to empower followers. Give followers opportunities to show their capabilities and growth. Instill in followers the attitudes and feelings that they can and will accomplish objectives that will enhance their personal and professional lives. Provide deserved performance feedback, both positive and negative, using public praise and private criticism. Provide recognition and rewards that are commensurate with performance. Involve followers in plans, goals, decisions and processes that affect them. Make a genuine effort to understand followers. Know their strengths and weaknesses, personal goals and career interests. Be sensitive to factors causing follower dissatisfaction. Resolve conflict in a timely manner. Be a good listener. Provide security provide followers with an environment of security in which they can grow and develop. Encourage them to take risks, and assure them failure is only another opportunity to succeed. Develop a follower into a leader - Leaders think in terms of other people. They dont focus on themselves and their individual successes. They think about the success of the organization and other people. To develop others, a leader must teach them to think in terms of how they can promote others, develop others, take along others. Leaders must give followers permission to develop authority. They, in turn, must take responsibility for earning it. We build leaders. As our International President, Gary Schmidt, writes: Toastmasters is in the building business. We dont build homes or toasters; we build people with confidence, leadership and service. Leaders assure followers that they can indeed become more than they are; Toastmasters provide the tools to build our confidence. Leaders help others to live better lives and reach their potential the highest calling of leadership and its highest value (John Maxwell) Great leaders make their followers feel bigger than they are. Soon the followers begin to think, act, and produce bigger than they are. Finally they become what they think they are. Henry Ford once said, One of the great discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldnt do. A nurturing leader provides the security a potential leader needs to make that discovery. Reward Production people rise to the level of expectations. They try to give us what we reward. If you want your people to produce, then you must reward production. Establish a Support System nothing hurts morale more than asking people to do something and not giving them the resources to accomplish it. When you look for potential leaders, select people with obvious strengths, even if you see weaknesses. Develop a personal relationship with the people you lead and equip. Listen to their lifes stories, their journeys so far. Your genuine interest in them will mean a lot to them. Try to learn
~4~ Compliments of Wendy Harding, DTM Candidate for International Director, 2011 - 2013 Region IX www.wendyharding.com

as much as you can about your followers and do your best to win their hearts. If you find their hearts, theyll be glad to give you their hands. Your job as a leader and follower is to grow others. So teach and dont assume; keep in mind that leaders are also learners, able to acknowledge mistakes and change their behavior accordingly. Be a good coach. Coaching is the hallmark of a great leader. Teach, encourage, help your followers set goals and targets they would fear to set because they sell themselves short. Most people are always capable of delivering more than they believe possible. Focus on results and hold your follower accountable. Dont be afraid to make course corrections when necessary then get back on course. Be a good decision maker Zig Ziglar was fond of saying: if you have to kiss a bullfrog, dont sit around and stare at the slimy sucker too long. Kiss him! And Id like to add that if you have to kiss more than one, kiss the ugliest first. Dare To Risk: Some people look at things the way they are and say why. I look at things the way they could be and say why not (George Bernard Shaw). Leaders who risk nothing, do nothing, accomplish nothing, have nothing -- often become nothing. Sailors will never discover new lands if they are not willing to lose sight of the familiar shore. The same is true with leaders.

Additional Resources for Leaders and Emerging Leaders:

Remember, the famous American Author Anonymous once said, After it has all been said and done, there has often been more said than done. Dont let that be said about your leadership. If you want to improve your leadership skills, or want to grow leaders, you must read! Challenge yourself to read any and all things on leadership and make things happen within you. Listed below are a few leadership books which I have read time and time again and highly recommend: Books:
The Science of Success; Think and Grow Rich and Shut Up; If you want a free copy of the Science of Success or Think and Grow Rich you can find them on the Internet for free; just search free e-books. Stop Whining and Get a Life by Larry Winget. The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. One of the most influential leadership books for me. I have and continue to read it time and time again. Cultivating the Leader In You by Craig Harrison; Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun by Wess Roberts, Ph.D. Developing the Leaders Around you: How to help others reach their full potential by John C. Maxwell
~5~ Compliments of Wendy Harding, DTM Candidate for International Director, 2011 - 2013 Region IX www.wendyharding.com

Creative Leadership: Mining the Gold in Your Workforce by A. S. Migs Damiani with foreword by Zig Ziglar. The Leaders Voice: How Communication Can Inspire Action and Get Results by Boyd Clark and Ron Crossland The Leader In You, How to Win Friends, Influence People and Succeed in a Changing World by Dale Carnegie, Associates. Also by Carnegie: How to Develop Self Confidence And Influence People Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders, by John Baldoni Making It Happen Leadership Keys For People Who Must Produce Results by Bob Alexander The Right To Lead by John Maxwell

I believe it was Jim Rohn who said dont worry what the cost of the book is; worry what it may cost you for not reading the book. You see, why not read what made others successful and learn from successful people, emulate them, instead of your trying to re-invent success.
Magazines: Harvard Business Review Magazine; Success published by Darren Hardy: Success is an incredible magazine with a free CD in every issue; website is full of video clips by such noted motivators as Stedman Graham; Maxwell Taylor, Jim Rohn, Chris Widener, Robin Sharma, Jack Canfield, Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar. Of course, each of the above named individuals have websites of their own; many with invitations to subscribe to their free monthly/weekly inspirational/leadership newsletters/blogs. I highly recommend you check it out. My advice to you: subscribe to as many leadership blogs you care to: http://kevineikenberry.com; seeds@success.com; http://simpletruths.com ; www.simpletruths.com; http://www.rainmakerthinking.com (Bruce Tulgan).They are free and filled with lots of potential leadership nuggets.

~6~ Compliments of Wendy Harding, DTM Candidate for International Director, 2011 - 2013 Region IX www.wendyharding.com