Effective Leadership - 5 Cool Ideas

5 Cool Ideas for effective leadership from Michael Caruso: 

1. The team improves right after the leader does.

• Enough said.  

2. It's true that if you train your employees, some will leave.

• Training can be expensive and it never seems to be finished. Sometimes you'll spend time, energy, and money grooming employees only to have them leave your employ. This is a far better scenario than not training your people and having them stay.

3. Motivation remains a mystery to many leaders.

• Uncle Aristotle said it first. Later, Sigmund Freud published his famous Pain/Pleasure Principle, which states that two basic things motivate people:
• a) The anticipation of pleasure, and
• b) The avoidance of pain.
• Strong leaders use both hot and cold water to motivate, and, as usual, the magic is in the details.

4. Leaders should not solve problems for direct reports.

• When a leader becomes known as a "fixer," the team stops trying to solve its own problems and brings all its issues to management.

5. A leader's greatest skill is the ability to speak to groups.

• Sure, we like leaders who can compose well-written memos. Yes, it's important for leaders to read budget reports. But the ability to think and speak on your feet can make or break a career.