Women and Leadership Books

What Makes You Tick?

In my own journey of self-discovery, I’ve learned how important it is to discover what drives you internally—what makes you tick. When I speak to young people, I like to ask what subject at school really engages and excites them. Surprisingly, many have no clear answer. They haven’t really gotten to know themselves, which makes me wonder how they will make wise career choices for themselves. Life is too precious to spend it doing work that does not make you feel alive every day.

This process of self-discovery begins with looking at and listening to yourself. It requires the ability and willingness to reflect on yourself and your life, a quality that is less common than it should be and that every would-be leader needs to begin practicing at an early age. What do you most love to do? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What kinds of challenges engage you and bring out the best in you? Answering these questions honestly and objectively can be a challenge, but it’s worth the effort to learn more about your greatest assets—your own mind and heart.

By the time you’ve developed a sense as to what career path you find attractive, test yourself in the real world. Pay close attention to the feedback you receive from others. This will help you discover how your talents may link up with realistic career options and where you are most likely to be able to add value to the world. Then, having chosen a path that expresses your aspirations in a realistic fashion, work hard to improve your skills through continual practice and learning.

This is the start of the journey of self-discovery that every aspiring leader must take—the launching of the ship, if you will. But there’s much more to learn if you want to make your voyage a successful one.

Discovering your true interests and strengths isn’t always easy. For many people, it is a matter of trial and error, with false starts and missteps along the way. Of course, those false starts are not necessarily wasted. In fact, they can often provide knowledge and experience that proves critical to your later success. Many people discover, having studied one field in school, launched their careers in a second field, and then, perhaps, flourished in a third field, that all their areas of knowledge and expertise end up being relevant and helpful in the work they ultimately find most meaningful.

So in your voyage of self-discovery, don’t dismiss any opportunity to learn as “irrelevant” or “useless.” The truth is that you can never know for sure what kind of knowledge may prove to be valuable at a later stage in your career—a stage that may be impossible to foresee.

In the book, you can read more about the tools towards effective leadership. Until our next blog, please share with me your comments as I look forward to our discussions.

Best Regards,
Hussein A. Al-Banawi
Author, The Unknown Leader

Five Key Trends for Leadership Development

The driving force behind the success of any organization is the leadership strength of its employees. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, the concept of leadership development is critical for the success of the businesses. Therefore, the article focuses on discovering and nurturing the seeds of leadership in an organization. We are highlighting here, a list of five trends for leadership development that business leaders need to focus on today.

Boot-camp Training
A recent study shows that 91% of the employees feel that they have too much work on their plate. When it comes to education, the beginners should be given a break and therefore “boot camp-style learning” is a perfect way. Educating employees has become, today, essential and the learning method needs to be practical and challenging. With training, the business leaders should also include chances for team bonding and team building activities, to allow for business beneficial brainstorming discussions with colleagues.

Engagement with Employees
Organizations with engaged workforces have higher productivity and profitability and it is a huge market advantage. In recent years, several studies have conducted that in an organization, mere 15% of the employees are highly engaged. More than 60% of the workforce was found to be only engaged with their particular tasks. Business leaders should know the important factors that engage their team members.

Investment in leadership development
As per recent studies, an organization should invest a particular budget to develop first-line employees. Developing the first level of workforce must be a priority on any organization’s agenda. These leaders are generally promoted to their post based on technical skills and knowledge; but it is their people skills, that determine their effectiveness and success in their new leadership role. Today high-impact corporates are creating leadership councils that are composed by senior leaders to motivate, engage and develop talent.

Technology is a key to leadership development
Technology plays a major role in leadership development. Technology savvy companies have rapidly become an integral aspect of today’s leadership effectiveness. With the latest technologies adapted by the corporations, communication between leaders and employees become easy and smooth. Technology will connect employees and clients making collaboration and information flow faster.

Transparency
The 2008 financial meltdown and the fall of some big businesses have emphasized the importance to maintain transparency in businesses. Recent studies show that 60% of CEOs in companies are now making more disclosures about their risks, strategy and financial performance. According to them, the pros of this practice are improved decision-making, innovation and better reputation. They have brought into focus the significance of transparency as a best practice.

Accepting new challenges and motivating other employees is what defines today’s leader. Therefore, keeping abreast of important leadership trends is the key to success. If organizations can implement these trends into their initiatives, they will achieve an even more productive year.

Seven Things A Leader Should Always Avoid

Being a leader isn’t easy. You have to be informed and motivated simultaneously, while handling other people to get the outcomes you want. An excellent leader is not the one who doesn’t make any mistakes. He is the one who learns and understands from them. Some of these mistakes may be obvious; some may be a bit more uncertain. But they are crucial and should be avoided at all times. Here is a list of such often mistakes that should be avoided to achieve successful leadership.

• Ignoring the Individual, Concentrating on Processes
The organization is recognized by its employees. If you have the dedication and commitment of your employees, you have gone a long way to being an efficient leader. Many leaders make the mistake of placing the procedure over and above their team, with dreadful outcomes.

• Ignoring the Problems of Team Members
All the team members will not get along well with each other. That’s just how it is. However, not considering the tiffs and broken connections between team members– expecting they will “work it out” or the problem will “go away with time” generally results in a collapse which disturbs the team dynamics.

• Egotism and Overconfidence
It is one of the old saying that ““Pride goes before destruction”. The pitfall of many leaders is that their initial success begins to inflate their egos. Never ignore your origins, do not think you are invincible or perfect, and don’t put yourself above anything or anyone.

• Never Act like a Dictator
Remember that you are a leader of your team members and not the boss of your company. The moment you start acting like some kind of excellent leader and ruling over your members, you can bid your success goodbye.

• Unwilling to Adjust to Change
Change is inevitable. It will always be there and it will always occur. You must first be willing to agree that the things will always change and you must be willing to make the best out of it. If you can do or do it with consistency and positive mindset, then you’re on your way to becoming a top-notch leader.

• Never Say It Cannot Be Done
Getting things done, actually, is one of the most important things a leader must do. They especially never tell that a concept is difficult. Instead, they discuss how to get it done. Whatever the challenges, a leader always knows that there is a way out, under, or around almost every hurdle. And they know that hope and trust are more powerful than cynicism.

• Blame Others for Outcomes
There is another famous saying that excellent leaders look “in the mirror” when things go incorrect and “out the window” applauding others when things go right. In reality, when things are wrong, it is the leader who is accountable for the achievements of his team. Having people responsible for their expertise is important; accusing them for mistakes or issues is a non-starter.

If you want to enhance your leadership capabilities, then try to prevent the mistakes which act as challenges in the path of success. Have an emotional attachment with your people so that you can be more conscious about your team and their needs. Once you are a leader, your team should always come first – this is, at the center of, what excellent leadership is all about!

What is Authentic Leadership?

Real leaders are true to their principals, willing to admit mistakes and accept responsibility and capable of emerging whole and sound when tested. Authenticity is a particular signature of real leaders – a connecting thread that makes every step in their life journey into a unified whole. It brings all the other qualities of leaders together in a satisfying combination, just as a special spice or a distinct herb can create harmony among the various ingredients that give a meal a memorable flavour. Authentic leaders are able to connect with others so the other are eager to embrace the message and vision.

When we think of leaders who have inspired millions to join great causes, we usually think of men and women of deep authenticity – leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, with his profound personal commitment to Indian independence and non-violent resistance; Nelson Mandela, who sacrificed 27 years in prison before seeing his vision of a free, multiracial South Africa realised; and Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal, who in the sixties selflessly championed the early modernization of the Kingdom.

When I interview job candidates, I like to ask, “Tell me your life story. Explain how one experience led you to the next and what it all means.’ I am often surprised by the number of candidates who are unable to explain how the various things they have done fit together; sometimes they are unwillingly to acknowledge mistakes or to take responsibility for their choices.

By contrast, true leaders welcome having their decisions scrutinised and tested. They understand that a failure of decision is not necessarily a failure of character, and that every mistake is an opportunity to learn and grow. This understanding, too, is an aspect of the authenticity that is a hallmark of the leader.

Authenticity is closely intertwined with integrity and ethics. People who are authentic are unafraid to reveal their true selves – and this can be the case only when they feel sure that they have done what is right according to their best lights, rather than fudging the truth, cutting moral corners or taking advantage of ambiguity to benefit themselves at the expense of others. We often describe people of integrity by saying ‘They have nothing to hide’. And the expression highlights the transparency that goes with integrity and depends upon it.

Until our next blog where I will speak on ‘nurturing’, please be assured that I welcome your comments and discussions.

The Unknown Leader – Best Leadership Training & Development Books in UAE, Saudi Arabia. Find more information to https://theunknownleader.com

Regards
Hussein A.Al-Banawi
Author, The Unknown Leader