In consulting on the topic of leadership over the past five years, I have repeatedly encountered men and women who have become frustrated with the lofty, conceptual terms often used to describe it.

After listening to a talk or reading an article on visioning, problem-solving, motivating and/or modeling, they will contact us and say, "But what does this mean for me? What do I need to do differently starting today to become a leader?"

Women, in particular, tend to ask for specifics, probably because they have had fewer opportunities to observe women leaders in action. The role models just haven't existed.

So, to meet this need for specifics, to answer the question, "What do I need to do differently?", we have developed a 10-point "Checklist for Lasting Leadership." If you can answer "yes" to all of these questions, you're well on your way to becoming an effective leader.

• Do I have clear vision of what I, my team and the entire organization want to become?
   
• Do I have a detailed plan - including quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily benchmarks for myself and each team member - for getting there?
   
• Am I openly and genuinely optimistic and enthusiastic about my job and the organization?
   
• Do I have a good understanding of how I am viewed by others: colleagues, subordinates and superiors? Do I regularly seek that type of input even when I am afraid of what I will hear?
   
• Do I value my employees and co-workers as people, taking time to get to know something personal about each of them, rather than as just workers?
   
• Do I try to catch people doing things right? Did I offer praise and thanks to at least two of them today?
   
• Do I listen, fully and completely, to others - regardless of the issue - before speaking?
   
• Do I share information - even bad news - promptly and fully with everyone on my team?
   
• Do I view conflict and disagreements as opportunities to learn something new rather than as unpleasant or even threatening?
   
• Do I exhibit integrity in all aspects of my life? Do I stay the course - no matter how rough or lonely - when I know I am right? Can I be counted on to live up to all my promises?

Clip this list, put it in your wallet, and check it once a day for the first two weeks, weekly for the next four weeks, and then monthly thereafter to put yourself on the path to lasting leadership and to become the role model you never had.

--

Cowan-Gascoigne is founder and president of The Leadership Co., a Cleveland consulting firm. She was formerly an executive at the Cleveland Clinic and a consultant with McKinsey & Co.

This article was originally printed in the Women's Work column in the Business Section of The Plain Dealer on Sunday, October 2, 1994.

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