Contact Us

A Born Leader? Would Your Office Elect You?

  • By Andrea Schlapia
  • |
  • November 8, 2012

We have all heard it, “He/she is a born leader!” Do you believe that to be true?

Leaders are not necessarily born as leaders, instead, they encompass the desire and willpower to become an effective leader. Successful leaders develop through education, training, self-study and experience.

With the election behind us, we can wonder what changes will take place under the leadership of our elected officials. Will our leaders serve our country, states and communities keeping promises and the  hopes and dreams of us, “the people” in mind? If you held an election today in your office, would your team choose you as its’ leader? What characteristics and qualities does a leader need in order to be chosen to lead our nation, our community or yet, your firm?

We have identified that leadership is primarily learned. The skills and knowledge a person possess contribute to the development of leadership, while other attributes make a leader unique such as:

  • Beliefs
  • Values
  • Ethics
  • Character

At the most basic level, a leader is someone who leads another. That alone probably isn’t going to be enough to land a leadership victory. A true leader carries vast qualities under one hat. People are naturally drawn to successful leaders because they inspire others, they are likeable and they lead through example. Failure of leaders to live up to employee expectations is the heart of leadership tribulations.

So, How Do You Get Elected To Run Your Office?

We have gathered a list of the most important qualities employees want in a leader.  Here they are:

  • Trust Employees typically rank trust as the #1 trait essential to that of a leader.
  • People skills Employees prefer an environment where they can thrive, share and grow vs. the traditional “command and control” style of leadership.
  • Good communication skills Be honest and open about what is happening in your business.
  • Decisive Provide clarity and direction in decision making and use structured dialog to aide in reaching group decisions.
  • Motivational Strive to bring passion and positive energy to the workplace every single day. Consider the rollercoaster of the nation’s economic status – you still have your business. Provide your employees with a source of positive energy.
  • Inspiring Those that can inspire a group of people to perform at a higher level, produce more effective, efficient and productive teams.
  • Accountable Being accountable means accepting responsibility for outcomes both good and bad.  You don’t blame others.
  • Developers Leaders develop and empower their team in ways that allow their employees to feel successful, most of the time.

Leadership doesn’t happen haphazardly. It takes a lot of self discipline, a vision and a goal to continually develop and enhance your own set of leadership skills and knowledge. Leadership also means you are leading a group, working together to accomplish common objectives and goals. Being a successful leader also means you have a successful, engaged team by your side.

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

-Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) Political Economist & Author

Ironstone’s Vision is to forge and guide the personal and professional lives of entrepreneurs and business professionals alike to realize their full potential. Coaching and consulting allows us the opportunity to form an environment where success happens and goals are reached. 

Read more about our coaching and consulting program here >>

 Start your transformation with Ironstone as your Partner for Performance

Contact Ironstone with your branding questions & let’s get started! 

Have a question or comment for Ironstone? Contact us!>>

 

• Email us at Office@IronstoneHQ.com
• Call our office at 800-917-8020
• Connect with us:

Are you just getting by or are you getting better? Get started today!

Author Bio

Andrea Schlapia, RCC™, HCS, sHRBP, is the Founder and CEO of Ironstone, which represents the culmination of her 20+ year career within the financial services industry. Her experience began as a financial advisor evolving into a consultant coach for advisors entering the field. This ignited her passion to support others through learning and development of best practices in order to achieve substantial results. To this end, she followed her desire into positions of senior-level practice management specialists for Dreyfus, Prudential, and DWS Investments prior to the realization of Ironstone.  Andrea’s focus is on practice management strategies to enhance and improve both business and personal life. Andrea identifies 4 key performance areas known as the Fundamental 4™, which are required to design, develop, and sustain a successful business. Through coaching sessions and speaking engagements, she captivates her audience with interactive, high-energy presentations which are built with “how-to” strategies resulting in real-world implementation for significant impact. Andrea has been featured in multiple publications and audio broadcasts as a specialist and distinguished spokeswoman in the financial industry.

AndreaSchlapia