Effective Characteristic of Leadership

1. Great Communicator
Good communication is one of the most important characteristic of leadership. A good leader is able to communicate well not only with the people he is leading, but with external parties as well. So what does it mean to be a good communicator? For starters it means saying what is required, not what is desired. Good leaders tell the truth like it is, without sugarcoating or fearing of hurting others feelings. A good leader knows what to say to get the best out of their followers. A good basketball coach never praises his star player after a great game. This is so that the player will keep on working hard to improve. However, after a lousy game the coach is always the first person to go to the player, give him a pat on the back and encourage him. Criticize when necessary, give credit where it is due, encourage when encouragement is needed and always listen to what your followers have to say. Being a good communicator is also being a good listener.

2. Decision Maker
Part of a leader's role is to make decisions and provide direction to those under him. Being a good decision maker means ;

Be timely - Being able to make decisions within the required time. Not spending too much time analyzing and considering each decision. Resolute - This means having the firmness and willpower to stick to each decision long enough to see it bear fruit. Flexible - To have the flexibility to change directions and decisions when it is discovered that the initial judgment may not be the right one.

Sometimes it is not possible to have all the information to make a decision. Thus, often times instinctive judgment is needed. A good leader trusts his judgment and has the courage to use it. Courage to make decisions defines a good leader.

3. Clear Vision
Another characteristic of leadership is to have a clear vision, on what the group needs. A good leader is clear on what he wants. This clarity of vision is imperative to ensure that the whole team is continually moving in the right direction. A ship needs a captain who knows exactly where it is suppose to go. There's nothing worse than having the destination constantly changed and the maps regularly replaced. A clear vision provides stability and certainty.

4. Trust Others And Be Flexible

Trusting other people is another characteristic of leadership. A good leader knows how to trust others, especially his followers. For everyone there is always this natural urge to try to take everything on board, to review all work etc. All this to try to ensure that everything is fine. There is nothing wrong with that, however often times it is done excessively. We must know that no one can do everything and be everywhere all the time. I've seen many real life examples of leaders who just can't let go. They have no confidence in their subordinates and don't trust them. A good leader trusts others. They believe in the abilities of others and are flexible enough to accept that everyone has their own way of doing things. Good leaders don't force their others to do things their way. It is important to trust others because it encourages followers to be independent rather than dependent. The leader then won't be bogged by having to provide guidance and directions all the time to the follower. Not only that, when trusted by their leader, people will usually perform better and more creatively. It gives them more self belief and a boost in confidence.

5. Lead By Example
This is a common saying but it is still very important. A leader has to lead by example. He has to set the standards. The leader must be the one putting in the most effort. He has to be the one putting in the most heart and passion into the cause. Only then will the followers be inspired to do the same. This is how the great leaders in the history of the world have inspired millions. Leading by example includes taking responsibility as well. Putting the blame for any failures on others will only make a leader lose the respect of his followers. A good leader always takes responsibility for everything.

6. Be Congruent
For a leader to inspire and influence his followers, he first needs to gain their trust. Nothing helps gain trust more than showing congruency. Congruency means having your thoughts, words and actions are all aligned. It means practicing what you preach. Doing so proves a person's dependability and trustworthiness. A leader who says one thing but does another will find it very hard to gain his followers trust.

7. Be Part Of The Team

A good leader does not consider himself to be the boss. Rather he views himself as part of the team, equal to all other team members. Leaders who consider themselves as part of the team quickly gains the respect of the team members. Followers will be more willing to help and give their best as they have a sense that the team is 'one' and everyone is in this together.

10 Reasons Why Top Sales People are Successful: Boost Your Sales Career
Written By Brian Tracy | Sales Success | May 16th, 2012 | 11 Comments

The top 20 percent of sales people earn 80 percent of the money. Your goal is to become one of the highest-paid people in your profession and accelerate your sales career using the vital keys to success in sales. Fortunately, this is easier than you might think.

Key to Success #1: Top Sales People Do What They Love to Do

All truly successful, highly paid sales people, love their sales career. You must learn to love your work and then commit yourself to becoming excellent in your field. Invest whatever amount of time is necessary to improve your sales career; pay any price; go and distance, make any sacrifice to become the very best at what you do. Join the top 10 percent. Get my FREE report: Everyone is a Salesperson

Key To Success #2: They Decide Exactly What They Want

Dont be wishy-washy. Decide exactly what it is you want in life. Set it as a goal for your sales career and then determine what price you are going to have to pay to get it. According to the research, only about 3 percent of adults have written goals. And these are the most successful and highest-paid people in every field. They are the mover and shakers, the creators and innovators, the top sales people and entrepreneurs.

Key to Success #3: They Back Their Sales Career Goals With Perseverance
A key to success in sales is to back your goal with perseverance and indomitable willpower. Decide to throw your whole heart and soul into your success and into achieving your sales

career goal. Make a complete commitment to improve your sales career and become one of the most highly-paid sales people. Resolve that nothing will stop you or discourage you.

Key to Success #4: They Commit to Lifelong Learning

Your mind is your most precious asset, and the quality of your thinking determines the quality of your sales career. Commit yourself to lifelong learning. I cannot emphasize this too often. Read, listen to audio programs, attend seminars, and never forget that the most valuable asset you will ever have is your mind. As you continue to learn, you will eventually become the one of the most valuable sales people in your company. The more knowledge you acquire that can be applied to practical purposes, the greater will be your rewards and the more you will be paid.

Key to Success #5: Top Sales People Use Their Time Well
Your time is all you have to sell. It is your primary asset. How you use your time determines your standard of living. Resolve therefore to use your time well. Begin every day with a list. The best time to make up your work list is the night before, prior to wrapping up for the day. Write down everything that you have to do the next day, starting with your fixed appointments and then moving on to everything you can think of.

Key to Success #6: They Follow the Leaders

Do what successful people do. Follow the leaders, not the followers. Do what the top sales people in your company do. Imitate the ones who are going somewhere with their lives. Identify the very best sales people in your field and pattern yourself after them. If you want to become one of the best sales people in your company, go to the top earners and ask them for advice. Ask them what you should do to improve your sales career. Inquire about their attitudes, philosophies, and approaches to their work and their customers.

Key to Success #7: They Know That Character is Everything

Guard your integrity as a sacred thing. Nothing is more important to the quality of your life in our society. In business and sales success, you must have credibility. You can only be successful if people trust you and believe in you. In study after study, the element of trust has been identified as the most important distinguishing factor between one salesperson and another, and one company and another.

Key to Success #8: They Use Their Inborn Creativity

Think of yourself as a highly intelligent person, even a genius. Recognize that you have the great reserves of creativity that you have never used. Say aloud, over and over, Im a genius! Im a genius! Im a genius! This may sound like an exaggeration, but it isnt. The fact is that every person has the ability to perform at genius levels in one of more areas. You have within you, right now, the ability to do more and be more than you ever have before.

Key to Success #9: They Practice the Golden Rule

Practice the Golden Rule in all your interactions with others. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Think about yourself as a customer. How would you like to be treated? Obviously you would want sales people to be straightforward with you. You would want her to take the time to thoroughly understand your problem or need and then show you, step by step, how her solution could help you improve your life or work in a cost-effective way. If this is what you would want from a salesperson selling to you, then be sure to give this to every customer you talk to.

Key to Success #10: They Pay the Price of Success

Finally, and perhaps more important than anything else, resolve to work hard. This is a great key to success in life. The key to success in selling is for you to start a little earlier, work a little harder, and stay a little later. Do the little thing that average people always try to avoid doing. When you begin your workday, resolve to work all the time you work. Dont waste time. Get going. Move fast. I hope you enjoyed this article on how to improve your sales career to become one of the highest-earning sales people in your company. If you have a key to success that has worked for you, please share and comment below!

9 Success Factors for Personal Growth: Moving Forward to Achieve Your Best Life
Written By Brian Tracy | Personal Success | May 21st, 2012 | 10 Comments

There are nine success factors that you must know in order to start moving forward in life. Each one of these success factors has been proven to be critical in the achievement of the best life possible for any given person. By systematically implementing one or more of these success factors into your life, you can put your foot on the accelerator of your own career and achieve the best life for yourself.

1. Education
The first of the nine success factors is education. In our society, the highest paid people are those who know more than the average. They know more of the critical facts, ideas and information than the average person in their field. As a result, they can make a more valuable contribution in a knowledge based society and live the best life possible. They are valued more, respected more and ultimately paid more money and promoted more often. The rule is that, to earn more, you must learn more. If you want to increase your level of income and achieve the best life for yourself, you must increase your level of intellectual capital and thereby the value of the knowledge component in what you are doing.

2. Skill
The second of the nine success factors that you can use to achieve the best life possible is simply Skill. Your level of ability in your field will determine the quality and quantity of your results. The better you get at what you do, the easier it is for you to start moving forward to get a particular level of results. As you increase your skill, through study and experience, you get better and better at doing the small things that increase the speed and predictability of your results.

3. Contacts
The third success factor for moving forward and achieving the best life is by developing an ever widening circle of contacts. You will find that every major change in your life is accompanied by a person or persons who either opens or closes doors for you. The possibility of the best life for you will be determined by the number of people who know you and like you and who are willing to help you. In order to broaden your network of contacts, you must network continually, at every opportunity. There seems to be a direct relationship between the number of people you know and how successful you are.

4. Money
One of the most important of the success factors, is money. Having money in the bank gives you greater freedom and the ability to take advantage of opportunities when they come along. If you are broke, or in debt, you have very few options open to you. One of the most important things I ever learned in life is that you are only as free as your options. If you have no options, you have no freedom. If you are stuck in a dead-end job that you cannot leave because you have no money set aside, you have put a brake on your potential. You are locked in place and have no option for moving forward. You can end up spinning your wheels and losing months and years of your time by the very fact that you have no choice but to accept whatever is being handed to you.

5. Good Work Habits

The fifth of the success factors that enables you to get far more done in a shorter period of time is simply good work habits. Your ability to increase your ROTI, or Return on Time Invested can enable you to accomplish vastly more in a shorter period of time than another person who is disorganized and sloppy. Developing good work habits requires that you think before acting. You make a list and set priorities on the list before you begin. Good work habits require that you consider the likely consequences, positive or negative of what you are doing.

6. Positive Mental Attitude

The sixth success factor for your career and life is to reduce the amount of time that it takes you to achieve your goals is by developing a positive mental attitude. A positive mental attitude is very much a decision that you make. Remember, you become what you do. If you engage in the same activities that positive, confident, optimistic people engage in, you will eventually become one of them and live your best life possible. Anyone can remain positive when things are going well. It is your ability to look for the good in every situation that you see positive and start moving forward in life.

7. Positive Image
The seventh of the success factors you can incorporate into your lifestyle, and one that can help you achieve the best life for yourself, is the development of a positive image. People judge you by the way you look on the outside, by the way you appear. The fact is that you judge everyone else by the way they look on the outside, as well. Taking time to present an attractive image in your person, your clothing, your grooming and your accessories can have an inordinate impact on the doors that open for you and the people who are willing to help you start moving forward in your life.

8. Creativity
Creativity is another wonderful way to start moving forward in life and to increase the speed at which you achieve your goals. Creativity is something that requires that you continually look for better, faster, easier, cheaper ways to get the job done. Remember, one good idea is all you need to start a fortune.

9. Character
Perhaps the most important of the success factors to accelerating your life is your character. Selfdiscipline combined with honesty will open countless doors to you. Trust is the foundation of all relationships. When people know you and believe in you and are convinced that they can trust you to keep your word and do what you say you will do, they will feel that they are far more likely to get the things they want through you, to get the things they want, faster, sooner, easier and with greater certainty. Thank you for reading this article on moving forward and living the best life possible. Do you know of any other success factors that can help accelerate your life and career? Please share your thoughts and comment below!