Are you searching for ways to increase your ability? Check your LEADitude! LEADitude is your attitude toward leadership. It is the mindset involving how leaders motivate employees, create a vision, and engage team members to achieve organizational goals.
A tool to determine LEADitude success is an internal measurement called leader GPS. Understanding the power of emotional intelligence and connecting with other leaders is the focal point of this article. Both will help you increase your latitude factor.
How Do I Increase LEADitude?
Use your leader’s GPS. Leader GPS is a compass to navigate interactions based on signals provided by team members. This tool is a culmination of inherent behaviors and skills developed over time.
For example, your leader’s GPS is a gauge that defines motivation, inspiration, and ability to influence teams through organizational vision. Additionally, a leadership GPS provides a path for leaders to engage team members on a personal level.
When leaders have a direct connection to people, this action increases the capacity for emotional intelligence. Why, may you ask? Simply put, we are emotional beings. The reality of leadership involves managing individual and collective behaviors. While many leaders would prefer to overlook certain emotions displayed by team members, it is unlikely that such behavior will lead to the desired outcome.
Let’s Get Personal…Professional
LEADitude ability takes into consideration the interpersonal aspect of managing groups and how to respond to situations. Specifically, many team members don’t know how to work through conflict.
Others may not check external situations at the door. In this economy, some have a hard time focusing at work, given the myriad of challenges faced before and after work. The convergence of each scenario may lead to adverse outcomes if the leader shows low LEADitude.
A high acumen for LEADitude is demonstrated when leaders show genuine interest in the person. For instance, showing commitment to improving interpersonal dynamics by having a greater awareness of others’ feelings is a step in a positive direction. Responding to team members in a manner that shows understanding and practical ability to manage emotions will help maintain organizational balance.
Better Team Dynamics Leads to Better Performance
Performance factors include organizing teams, ideas, and capital that lead to increased profitability. Such skills are necessary to produce a workforce that yields a solid competitive advantage. It is also paramount in sustaining growth and increased profitability within the organization.
Managers must be agile in response to market changes. This ability to adapt provides a linkage to how the organization will emerge as an industry leader through the employment of knowledgeable individuals.
Better team performance is a reflection of better LEADitude and the use of the leader’s GPS. In this case, the leader GPS tool results in the ability for leaders to improve organizational influence and LEADitude.
Do Your Research!
Another critical part of LEADitude includes mirroring the behaviors of other strong leaders. Effective leaders share wealth! A great way to learn what other leaders are doing involves social networking. There are a number of forums that provide links to great articles, blogs, and interactive webinars designed to build skills.
Topics may include how to develop interpersonal relationships, lead a multigenerational organization, and effective communication. Full participation in skill-building and leadership networking activities will contribute to the mission of producing desired results for stakeholders. This action will also build a leader’s GPS navigational ability.
Developing Leadership Skills
The adaptive leader will develop and implement key behaviors, including providing better direction, support, and participation in activities that lead to the collective achievement of the team. This process of adaptive leader behavior allows the employee maximum opportunity to follow and experience goal achievement. The result here is increased LEADitude.
LEADitude is an important factor for leaders to increase individual and team performance. Having greater awareness of personal ability and steps to be taken to improve organizational impact is a key factor in developing leadership skills.
With employees in mind, focus on ways to connect with people within the organization. This may take place in an individual setting or during group activities.
Partner with other successful leaders. The outcome will provide a number of practices that leaders can immediately implement for improved personal and team performance. These results will yield improved trust and a greater level of emotional intelligence.
An intrinsic return on your investment will reflect improved leadership ability and a more acute leader GPS. The big win is when team members aspire to follow their leadership vision and willingly work to achieve performance goals.
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How Do You Increase Your LEADitude?
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Really excellent article Florida!
Florida,
Great post. I will be sharing your post with my leadership team to discuss and assess our LEADitude at our next Leaders Chat session. This post also reaffirms the importance of building quality relationships with those you lead. Leading is such a hugh responsiblity. Good stuff & Thank you.
Florida,
I love the concept of the GPS analogy of leaders. Leaders SHOULD be navigated by their staff in order to understand the human capital of there organizations.
The human component of organizations seems to be missing due to some companies needing results and not the people that produce the results.
Great read from one Capella student to another!
Florida…this is what I needed…and this builds on the conversation that we previously had the other day!
You are awesome!