by Kathleen Currie
Great leaders are taught, not born, says Linda Hall, an executive coach with more than 20 years’ experience. Hall designed and coordinated the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Leadership Institute for Women Journalists, held in July with support from the McCormick Foundation.
"There is a myth that only a lucky few can decipher the mystery of leadership,” says Hall. She says that the team of Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner has identified the five “practices” that make great leaders. They arrived at these habits of great leaders after collecting data from some 300 case studies and 100,000 surveys from around the world. Their conclusions are contained in their 1987 book, The Leadership Challenge.
"If you do all five of those practices, you’re on your way to being a great leader,” says Hall.
What are the Five Practices of Great Leaders?
1. Challenge the Process. Leaders look for opportunities to challenge the status quo. They look for innovative ways to improve the organization, and in doing so, they experiment and take risks. Leaders know that risk involves mistakes and failures, but they accept disappointments as learning opportunities.
2. Inspire a Shared Vision. Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They envision the future, creating an ideal and unique image of what the organization can become and they enlist others in their dream, getting them to see exciting possibilities for the future.
3. Enable Others to Act. Leaders foster collaboration and build spirited teams. They actively involve others and understand that mutual respect is what sustains extraordinary efforts. They strive to create an atmosphere of trust and human dignity, which strengthens others and makes them feel capable and powerful.
4. Model the Way. Leaders create standards of excellence and then set an example for others to follow. They create interim goals so that people can achieve small wins as they work toward larger objectives. They unravel bureaucracy when it impedes action, guide people when they are unsure of where to go or how to get there and create opportunities for victory.
5. Encourage the Heart. To keep hope and determination alive, leaders recognize contributions that individuals make. In every winning team, the members need to share in the rewards of their efforts, so leaders celebrate accomplishments and make people feel like heroes.
Adapted from The Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
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Kathleen Currie is the deputy director of the International Women's Media Foundation.