We hear a lot about the essential qualities of great leaders or simply successful leaders. Some of the qualities highlighted include good listening, honesty, patience, respect for others, communication, openness to input from others, and a non-judgmental attitude.
I want to suggest that of all the essential qualities of a great leader TRUST is the one upon which all the others stand. Leadership is built on trust.
Accountability: the quality or state of being accountable; especially, an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.
The word accountability likely raises various ideas. For example, for what is a leader actually responsible? And what is beyond the leader’s responsibility? That could be the focus of our discussion; however, let’s take a different approach. Let’s accept the notion that the leader is accountable and responsible for her choices. And let’s focus on the idea that when it comes to choices, the leader should know the buck stops with her.
Motivating members of your leadership team is an ongoing challenge for most leaders. The sometimes-daunting task of knowing what to do to keep them motivated can be discouraging.
The unfortunate reality is that demotivation often proves easier. If you want to demotivate your team, do nothing; but keeping them motivated takes intentional action from you as their leader. Let me suggest a few things you can do to keep your team motivated.
The story is told of a little boy trying desperately to move a rock that stood in his path with his father looking on. The rock was more that the boy could manage to move on his own. As he struggled while fussing and complaining about the rock, his father said to him, “Son, why are you not using all of your strength?” The boy responded with utter frustration, “What do you mean I am not using all my strength, can’t you see I am giving it all I have got?” The father responded, “Yes, but you did not ask for help.”