Leadership is not about winning a popularity contest, it's about getting great results. To do so, leaders must challenge people not to do what they want to do but what they don't want to do.
This means getting people out of being comfortable achieving average results to being uncomfortable doing what's needed to get great results. Of course, people so challenged will often get angry with you.
Provoking people's anger comes with the territory of being a challenging leader. In fact, if you are not getting a portion of the people you lead angry with you, you may not be challenging them enough.
This does not mean you let their anger fester. You absolutely must deal with it. After all, you can't motivate angry, resentful people to be your cause leaders.
But there is another angry person you have to deal with. If you don't deal with that person, you won't be able to get the results you're capable of. That person is you.
For just as people get angry in a challenging leadership situation, so do you. It's only natural. You may get angry at their not understanding the challenge, or their not taking the action you want, or their not listening to you, or their not being totally committed to doing what you think is important, or their disobeying you, or their trying to undermine your leader, or any number of things.
Just as you must recognize that in the give-and-take of leadership encounters, you'll occasionally get angry, you should also recognize that such anger is your great opportunity. An opportunity for you to achieve great results.
To understand this, I want you to remember David Coffin and Aristotle.
When writing my book, Executive Speeches: 51 CEOs Tell You How To Do Yours, I interviewed C.E.O. David Coffin who said, "I'm patient, reasonable, even tempered. But once my patience runs out, I give my best talks. .... Something has to be done. You want to get it done!"
I counsel leaders that great results happen in the realm of the free choice of the people you lead and that to give people choices, leaders should be "patient, reasonable, even tempered." They should also be great listeners and adapt at asking good questions
... most of the time.
Occasionally, however, leaders must let their patience run out. They must get angry and show people they're angry ... because something has to be done and they want it done!
However, just getting angry and communicating that anger is not enough to seize the opportunity that anger can provide. That's where Aristotle comes in.
Aristotle wrote in Nicomachean Ethics: "Anyone can be angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, in the right way -- that is not easy."
If you get angry, think of David Coffin and Aristotle. Be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, in the right way -- and you'll find you're getting increases in results.
2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com
The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com
In most aspects of human activity, the pendulum of fashion... Read More
"Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of... Read More
Leadership skills training programs empower you to influence, persuade or... Read More
Which one is a goal? I will lose 15... Read More
Studies have shown that companies that have acquired competencies to... Read More
On airplanes, in restaurants, in the newspaper and on television,... Read More
The ancient Greeks had a saying: "When Aschines speaks, the... Read More
The Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness talks with Dennis... Read More
Leadership is not about winning a popularity contest, it's about... Read More
Have you ever noticed that since the early part of... Read More
No matter what role you play in your company, becoming... Read More
What do the major generals who are leading the war... Read More
It's a common occurrence, a CEO leads a company to... Read More
Tao Te Ching said to be written by Lao Tzu... Read More
A Leader is not a certain type of person or... Read More
I just delivered a free speech. I am a great... Read More
Mentoring is one of the best ways to learn, to... Read More
1. The West Point Way of Leadership.GREAT book by a... Read More
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill had a framed... Read More
What you are about to read may be found in... Read More
A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals... Read More
Although new ideas lead to creative solutions, they can be... Read More
When people make a decision (either consciously or unconsciously) to... Read More
The date was Saturday, April 11, 1970, the time 13:13... Read More
10 Ways to Beef Up Your Leadership SkillsHave you ever... Read More
I am fascinated by problems. I like to think of... Read More
The Lakota tribe of Native Americans has no word in... Read More
In the Wall Street Journal, Franklin Lavin, U.S. Ambassabor to... Read More
One of my favorite memories growing up as a child... Read More
If you gather 100 experienced leaders together to share with... Read More
When you first meet someone who is blind, deaf, or... Read More
7 Awe-Inspiring Leadership Power-Generating Strategies!Here's a really simple way you... Read More
It was a time of turmoil. In November 1979, supporters... Read More
President Ike Eisenhower once demonstrated the difference between leadership and... Read More
Many solopreneurs work in a team environment either with their... Read More
Did you know that people who lead strategically resemble fine-tuned... Read More
Making any decision without having all of the information and... Read More
Go to any educational institution, look at airport bookshelves, shopping... Read More
Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most remarkable men in... Read More
At one point or another, we have all been either... Read More
History teaches that when people needed to do great things,... Read More
DESCRIPTION CMOE's Leadership Skill Training addresses a wide range of... Read More
OK, I know this title sounds self-serving and hard nosed,... Read More
According to the dictionary choice means "to select freely after... Read More
Perhaps noted as one of the greatest United States presidents... Read More
Within every business lies a network of people who are... Read More
What exactly is Charisma? Most would agree that it is... Read More
I had the good fortune (or misfortune depending on your... Read More
At your next staff meeting consider leading your team through... Read More
Spencer Johnson really hit a nerve when he wrote Who... Read More
"Of every noble work the silent part is best, Of... Read More
It happens easily. You're conducting a meeting and suddenly a... Read More
95% of Workers Fail Because of This...But They Can Fix... Read More
We watch the star athlete calmly make the final shot,... Read More
What motivates people to work and to achieve? What circumstances... Read More
Charlotte decides to do good. Charlotte is a highly motivated... Read More
Many people are interested in the characteristics of a great... Read More
Leadership is what every organization needs and so few have... Read More
"Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll... Read More
People don't leave jobs; they leave bosses. -- AnonymousCongratulations. You're... Read More
Tough and challenging times will surely come. That is a... Read More
There is a steady stream being written and taught about... Read More
The Leadership ChallengeLeaders in today's society are faced with an... Read More
Some people mistakenly associate supervisory positions, or seats of power,... Read More
If you want to be a leader who attracts quality... Read More
How do you measure the success of a training or... Read More
Leadership |