A mistake many leaders make is the self imposed responsibility to have all the answers. This is just not true. It is okay to admit to not having all the answers. Good leaders are willing to show their imperfections. Surround yourself with a solid executive team and you dont need all the answers. No one expects perfection, just leadership. Being President doesnt grant you supreme knowledge.

The Ego Factor

Stagnant growth, lost market share and panic response management are more likely to occur if strategic growth objectives are Ego driven vs. Profit driven which often leads to putting personal needs ahead of business needs. This is a common symptom of the lack of leadership in the organization. Leadership is quite different then management. Steve Kaufman in his DREF interview, NAWs leadership series (2003), stated that he did not invent the phrase Servant Leadership but he leans heavily toward that methodology.

The academics tell us a leaders role is to serve those people that report to him. He or She is not a dictator but their ultimate role is to serve, to allow those people to achieve their goals. Its a style that starts by asking; What do you want to accomplish rather than telling them what you want to accomplish. I would say that the servant leadership model is the one that I like to talk about. I like to talk about the most effective leaders being those that have volunteer followers not thosethat have draftees. And if your team could vote for a leader rather than be assigned a leader, would they still vote for you. Steve Kaufman, CEO Arrow Electronics

Servant-leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment. Warren Bennis, leadership scholar believes American corporations are over managed and underled. Great leaders get exceptional efforts from their employees. Effective leaders must have vision. A visionary leader has a clear sense for the future with the ability to turn their vision into results. This could not be accomplished if they let their ego get in the way. Communication is key to the process used to inspire others to act.

A servant leader makes a conscious choice to lead by being a servant first. He or she is sharply different from the person who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions. The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between these two extremes is where you find the most effective leaders. Your style is determined by you, your environment and the specific situation you face. But, if you stay in the grid between these two extremes, your effectiveness as a leader will be obvious.

Good managers get employees to respect them, effective leaders get employees to not only respect them but more importantly they get them to respect themselves.