Tips That Identify Authentic Leaders From the Rest

04 May Tips That Identify Authentic Leaders From the Rest

What distinguishes Authentic Leaders versus The Rest (Bosses, Autocrats, and Tyrants, etc.)? Here are a couple of things that stand out….

• Leaders are credible – they actually know their business – The Rest only assume they know.
• Leaders focus on the why and the how – The Rest focus only on the what
• Leaders care first about their people – The Rest care first about the results those people generate
• Leaders stay in the game but let the players play – The Rest try to dictate the game and worry only about the score
• Leaders earn trust by giving it freely – The Rest lose trust because they don’t offer it
• Leaders are committed to a vision of what can be – The Rest are focused only on where we are now
• Leaders understand the power of “we” – The Rest are focused on the power of “me”
• Leaders recognize their position can only be earned – The Rest depend on a company title
• Leaders affect the heart and the head – The Rest affect only the hands and the feet
• Leaders help make us better – The Rest say only “you better…”
• Leaders freely extend credit and praise – The Rest demand credit and praise
• Leaders search for solutions – The Rest search for blame
• Leaders build people equity – The Rest simply spend it
• Leaders influence and support – The Rest command and compel
• Leaders develop more leaders – The Rest often extinguish them
• Leaders are respected – The Rest are either feared or despised.
• Leaders have your back – The Rest are on your back

Most companies can boast of very few authentic leaders.  In some cases it may be because they haven’t taken the time to decide what a real one looks like.