Are you a Leader or Manager?
My years at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation here in Kansas City, provided several great opportunities to understand and be trained in the art of leadership. Many people who occupy a management position don't really understand the differences between being a leader and being a manager, the same is true in the real estate business.
Managers will try to tell employees what to do, leaders allow associates to develop their abilities. Leaders will coach, not micro manage. Leaders will delegate responsibilities, but more importantly, they will understand what these six levels of delegation are and how to use them. There is an art in using these six levels of delegation, but I don't want to go into that now. I will create another post here on Active Rain on the six levels of delegation later. Let's get back to leadership.
As someone who proved himself to the world, Lee Iacocca built his reputation as a straight shooter known for telling it like it is. In his recent book, "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" Iacocca doesn't pull any punches. He emphatically describes his views on a crisis he feels is plaguing the United States today -- a leadership void in both government and corporate boardrooms. I believe it also follows entrepreneurs like us in the real estate business.
In his book, Iacocca provides a road map of nine points he feels are critical for leaders today.
Here are the nine qualities every leader should have:
- Curiosity. Listen to people outside the "yes sir" crowd and read voraciously.
- Creativity. Take risks. Go out on a limb. Leadership is all about driving change.
- Communicate. You should be talking to everybody even your enemies.
- Character. Have the guts to do the right thing.
- Courage. Commit to sitting down at the negotiation table and talk.
- Conviction. Have a fire in your belly.
- Charisma. People follow a leader because they trust them.
- Competent. Surround yourself with people who know what they are doing. Become a problem solver.
- Common sense. A basic element that links leadership with reality.
Should you get the chance to read Iacocca's book, you will notice his goal is to wake us up and inspire change to eliminate the current leadership crisis. You can get a full review of "Where Have all the Leaders Gone?" at http://www.amazon.com/.
So, are you a leader or a manager? Do you lead by example? What do others say about your abilities to lead? It's a challenge, but I believe we all have the ability to be a leader. What do you think?
David L. Britt, MBA
Olathe, Kansas
David L. Britt Real Estate
Heritage Real Estate
The Heritage Real Estate Team
Olathe Neighbors 
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