So what is leadership?  Surely leadership is leadership…period!  But before you can command the “Follow Me,” battle cry, you would do well to learn to put your followers first, and to communicate inspiration and motivation to them with every contact.Is there a leadership blueprint to follow?  Well, not exactly – but there are 3 simple principles that you can take to make a daily difference in your leadership abilities.

1.  Give them a mission!  Make sure to set goals for yourself and your team.  Be very specific about what it is that you want to achieve, and the measurable steps that you’ll take to get there.  Communicate this mission to your team members; give them something to believe in!  Tell them, “This is what we’re going to do, this is how we’re going to do it, and this is why!”

2.  Take care of your troops!  Make sure that you’ve given your team members the training that they will require to get the job done.  Invest in their success.  Set high standards for everyone; people want to be involved with an organisation that is going somewhere and that is based on honesty, ethics and integrity.  But be prepared to cull the non-producers:  When necessary, retrain them, get them moving along, or let them go if they’re resistant.

3.  Everyone wants to be appreciated and sometimes, it’s the little things that make all the difference.  Pick up the phone and make that dial:  “I just wanted to call and let you know how great it is that you are a part of this team!”  That one phone call has the power to motivate a mouse to roar!

Successful leadership will be yours when you follow these simple principles:  Set and communicate a team goal, develop your team so they have the skills to achieve that goal, and recognise their efforts.  You’ll quickly find that more goes right than wrong and you’ll keep it that way by staying focused on the positive.  Be consistent in all you do, and in this way, you’ll build your organisation on a solid foundation of trust and sound leadership.