50 Actions to Becoming a More Extraordinary Leader

                    This post is a summary of the article with the title above published at   https://jimshaffergroup.com/resources/50-ways-to-becoming-an-extraordinary-leader/

                  1) Every time a leader speaks or acts, his/her words and actions should communicate the story.    2) Although large meetings can be used to communicate the story, leaders can also take advantage of daily mini meetings in various parts to connect people and their jobs to strategy and goals.   3) Avoid mixed messages from different people trying to communicate the key messages.   4) Praise the person you see or learn about who is doing work that is consistent. Then tell the other people around them.   5) Inform the person who is not acting in a way that is consistent. Encourage him/her. Track the person's progress.   6) Reward people who uncover and report on problems.   8) Publicize and celebrate great responses.   7) Make simple forms of recognition, like a smile, hand shake or a high five, contagious. This is how recognition cultures are built.   8) Ask yourself every day what you have done to serve your team better. How have I helped my team grow?   9) Hold the managers accountable for using soft skills to generate results that are consistent.   10) Distribute articles describing what other companies are doing to improve. Discuss the ideas in your meetings.   11) Actively participate in orientation, training and development programs.  12) Be reliable. If your behavior is confusing, indecisive or inconsistent, others can't depend on you act in similar ways in similar conditions.    13) Always tell the truth. Honesty does not mean full disclosure.   14) When you make a mistake, apologize.    15) Use question to communicate that you want your team and its members to pursue excellence.    16) Keep your goals in perspective. Know and keep in front of you the imporatnt areas of your life such as family, etc.   17) Set aside a specific time each week for personal reflection. Ask questions, and caoture your reflections. What do I still need to focus on for next week? Have I made progress towards my long term goals? What new ideas do I have?    18) Identify the frustrating processes or systems that prevent people from achieving. Create a specific plan to make those issues go away permanently. Tell everyone what you did and why.    19) Scrutinize your working environment. Describe it as if you were visiting for it the first time. Does it bring people together or keep people apart?    20) Recognize someone in another discipline, department or area who helped your team succeed.    21) Invite hourly people to your team meetings. Ask them what the team does right and what the team does wrong. What can you do to help them get the job done right?     22) Use 25% of meetings to discuss the past; 75% to discuss the future plan and how you can improve on it.    23) Create continuous improvement teams to focus on future. Ask: What should we anticipate? Tell why it is important and what it takes.    24) Congratulate someone publicly for thinking ahead.     25) Stop rewarding or recognizing the fire fighters and start rewarding and recognizing the fire preventers.