6 E’s of Great Leaders

What is it that leaders actually do?

These are the major practices of leadership that we must enact on a continual basis to be able to have  the amount of influence and impact we desire, in our work lives or any role in which we’re leading other people ?

1: Envision: Great leaders envision a compelling, different and vibrant future than what’s here. Where there’s no vision, people perish, so we have to envision. If you set a vision one time and forget about it, it’s not going to help you accomplish the influence or impact that you want.

2: Enlist: Enlist other people to share their voices, their perspective, their dreams and desires for where you could be going. People support what they create. If people are involved in the ideation of a vision, they’re involved in creating ideas, brainstorming, figuring out what it is we are about. Ask questions, pay attention to their needs. Enlist others to support and build this vision, this ideal future, together.

3: Embody: As leaders, we have to stand for and demonstrate and show and portray what we really believe in.

4: Empower: Giving people the decision-making authority and trust to be able to work toward this vision. It means allowing them the autonomy, strength, and input, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, abilities, technology, tools and training to allow them to succeed as they march with us to achieve something extraordinary and phenomenal.

•                   Great leaders come in.

•                   They nail the vision.

•                   They get people around it.

•                   They stand for something.

•                  They empower people at the beginning, give some training and then they just disappear.

 5: Evaluate: Evaluate their skills, needs and the ethics that are going on in our organization, in our team.

We’re evaluating on these questions:

•                   Are we being excellent?

•                   Are we being ethical?

•                   Are we being excellent and ethical as we are progressing?

•                   Are we progressing? If not, why?

•                   Are we being ethical? If not, why?

•                   Are people being excellent? If not, why?

 6: Encourage: Encourage. Be the champion. Be the cheerleader. Be the person always motivating, inspiring and uplifting people.

            That’s leadership. The six E’s: Envision Enlist, Embody, Empower, Evaluate, and Encourage. It’s important to us; that there’s a purpose, a mission to it that we feel deeply within us is so powerful; and we honor, respect and love those we work with. Now people are standing up and they are helping come up with a vision. They are championing and cheering on, bringing in and enlisting other people. They are standing up for something. 

            They’re living that value and truth. They are empowering other people and championing the cause. They are your eyes and ears, evaluating how the organization or mission is going. They are encouraging it so it doesn’t just ride on your shoulders.

When we do that right then we have this thing called leadership.

Wish you all a very happy new Academic year.