Leading at Your Highest Level

Ever wonder how CEOs of large companies like Houston’ s Hewlett Packard or Apple Computers succeed at leading such cutting edge businesses? Ever wonder what they have that their competitors don’t? Well, the answer is simple- leadership skills. Not just any kind of leadership, but what experts like Ken Blanchard call High Performance Leadership. Mr. Blanchard and several other scholars of management and leadership contend that the quality output of a company is directly related to the quality of that particular company’s leadership.

Leadership is about influencing others by tapping into their power and potential to impact a greater good. Leadership should not be purely about personal gain or goals; it should have a much higher objective. What is a higher objective, you may ask? It takes priority over short-term goals such as profit and is considered honorable. Leaders don’t always take employee morale and job satisfaction into consideration. For some, results are the only thing that matters. But we are talking about the next level. At most Fortune 500 companies, leadership has a higher responsibility. Developing people-both customers and employees-is of equal importance to results. Therefore, leading at the next level is all about long-term results and human connections not just the bottom line.

Bosses and Leaders

There is a huge difference between a boss and a leader. Bosses say, “Go” and leaders tend to say, “Let’s Go.” Leadership is all about taking others to the top. There is a huge misconception that great leaders accomplish big things without the help of anyone. This is simply not true. Abe Lincoln, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr, Donald Trump, Sean Combs and even our new President Barack Obama (who can always be quoted as saying how he relies on the strength of his wife Michelle) have all needed the help of someone or a group of people to get where they are today. The moral of this story is simple, if you want to be a successful leader, you will need the support of many people. In other words, you will never get ahead unless people are behind you.