Leadership Training Will Develop Your Pattern Skills

Author : Bill Thomas

Leadership Training Will Develop Your Pattern Skills

By: Bill ThomasWho is the better leader, Sarah or Jim? Both are managers of

their respective departments, theyve taken similar leadership

training courses and they have the same number of team members.

According to their bosses, they are well-respected supervisors

and they seem to be equally as effective as the other.However, when surveyed, Sarahs people rank her leadership as

being superior to Jims style. In particular, Sarah was seen as

caring, committed, casual and highly competent. On the other

hand, Jims teams felt his leadership style lacked compassion, a

clear focus, empathy and control over most circumstances. What

could account for these glaring differences?Most leadership training courses fail to prepare leaders for the

realities confronting them and their people - that we operate in

and need to manage the whirlwinds of our complex lives. People

are physical beings, we think and calculate, aspire towards

ideals and feel emotions, we have family, household, social and

community responsibilities.Somehow, leaders have to understand and manage the challenges of

the human condition. Short of becoming a master sociologist,

psychologist or cultural anthropologist, successful leaders like

Sarah have learned to handle those challenges by employing a

variety of work patterns.Sarahs Success Pattern One - Show Them You Care, In-Time!While she doesnt spend hours of her time doing so, Sarah does

make it a priority to inquire about, linger around and delve

into the personal lives of her people every single day. Of

course, she asks them how their day is going but she puts even

more effort and emotion into concentrating on a family problem

or relationship situation of her one or two people.For instance, Sarah made some time to ask Helen about her sons

weekly football game and found out he was slightly injured -

Sarah heard Helens concerns for her sons safety so Sarah

decided to give Helen information about parental support groups

and the next day she shared a few sports injury website

locations with Helen too.What Sarah really gave Helen was her time and attention - Helen

was shown appreciation and concern for being a mother, caregiver

and homemaker. Sarahs total investment in time was a mere 20

minutes, the return on her investment was Helens loyalty, trust

and commitment to helping the department succeed.Sarahs Success Pattern Two - Bridging The Gaps, In-Knowledge!Jim believes leading is commanding, however, Sarah views leading

as an exercise in learning. A few times each week, Jim gets

unpleasant surprises and once or twice a month, he receives a

disturbing shock.Sarah actively assumes she has gaps, shortfalls and errors in

her knowledge - so she methodically and persistently looks for

ways to gather as much information as possible. She relies on

the different perspectives, the answers to open-ended questions

and the possibility-thinking of others to strengthen her base

of knowledge.Being a "student" of human nature, the workings of Nature and

the dilemmas of the human condition, gives Sarahs leadership

competence many opportunities to blossom.Sarahs Success Pattern Three - Provide Superior Service,

In-Deed!Jesus Christ taught, "The greatest among you, will be servant of

all." History proves the wisdom His words - the most successful,

enduring leaders have left legacies of great service for those

whom they led - just ask the people of India (Gandhi), Israel (

Moses), USA (Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, etc.), African-

Americans (Lincoln & King), South Africa (Mandela & Tutu), or

Great Britain (Churchill).Sarahs leadership style involves asking about, listening for

and clarifying the needs, desires or experiences of her

associates. She successfully serves the ideals of her teams

mission by:=> Accepting the risks and uncertainty inherent in all decisions,=> Realizing how humility and meekness leads to wise

deliberations=> Avoiding the unethical, immoral behaviors which result in

failed venturesUsing conversations with her followers and the counsel of other

accomplished leaders, Sarah treasures their wisdom, she

discovers new ways to be of service and she makes more on-target

decisions.
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to

learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for

their apparent disinclination to do so." - Douglas AdamsAs we seen in Sarahs examples, leadership invokes the acts of

looking, learning and loving. Sarah also inspired us to adopt

open-minded, possibility-oriented, self-regulating attitudes.Effective leaders employ patterns of behaviors, priorities and

styles to study, serve and support their people, their missions

and their knowledge. Leadership skills training courses which

include the subject of work patterns provide leaders with

reliable foundations for success."Love takes up where knowledge leaves off."

- Saint Thomas AquinasBrotherly love, faith, inquisitiveness, service and creativity

are willful acts - when you intend on being like, acting like or

becoming like those actions, you will achieve them. Wise leaders

use pre-determined patterns of actions, resource usage and

mental controls to energize their visions and transform the

ordinary into the extraordinary reality.Copyright (c) 2006, Mustard Seed Investments, Inc.,

All rights reserved.Bill Thomas publishes "The Leadership Toolkit" - an in-depth,

result-oriented training program designed to improve your

leadership skills, energize creativity and transform you into a

persuasive, empowering, effective leader. Inspire Confidence, Be

Innovative, Strengthen Your InfluenceGet "All the Tools You

Need To Lead!"Leadership Skills Training Toolkit

Keyword : leadership training, leadership skills training courses, develop leadership patterns