The Four Cornerstones of Effective Leadership: Looking, Listening, Learning, Living
What is a leader? Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to see many styles of leadership. I have known people who were great leaders, and I have known great people who were not leaders. I have watched and studied those who are successful leading people and have taken note of those who are not.
In your career, you will have opportunities to lead. This is obvious if you are in a supervisory or management position, but everyone has opportunities to lead. Everyone. Maybe you will lead a small team on a project. Maybe you will lead your peers with your skill and professionalism. Maybe you will lead your boss by taking action, solving a problem, and enabling him or her to make decisions.
Leadership is a philosophy. It is the study and discipline of influencing others. My personal leadership philosophy can be broken down into four elements. I believe that these four elements are the foundation, or cornerstones, of effective leadership. If these four cornerstones can be fully realized, then the framework of a good leader can be constructed.
Looking
"Where there is no vision the people perish."
— Proverbs 29:18
Leadership begins with looking. To be a successful leader, one must first be a successful follower. Much can be learned from watching others who are effective or ineffective leaders. Looking also encompasses watching our peers and subordinates. Leaders must watch for shortcomings in order to correct and prevent; leaders must watch for signs of stress in order to support and assist; leaders must watch for success in order to praise and encourage. Finally, Looking refers to vision. Leaders must be visionary. They must be goal-oriented and be acutely aware of the proverbial “big picture”.
Listening
"The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people."
— Woodrow Wilson
Listening can be an attitude as much as an action. It entails more than just hearing words that are spoken. Leaders listen for unspoken things, read between the lines when necessary, and carefully examine what they hear before jumping to conclusions. A good leader listens to supervisors and subordinates, to others’ ideas and opinions. They seek both sides of any situation and hear with their hearts as well as their heads.
Learning
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."
- John F. Kennedy
The framework of a leader is never truly complete. It is constantly under construction. A strong leader is forever on a quest to learn more; about their job, about the people around them, about leadership itself. A good leader learns from their mistakes and learns from their successes. They learn to adapt, to manage their time, to manage stress. They seek wisdom rather than knowledge. True leadership utilizes experience but is not limited by it.
Living
“Never separate the life you live from the words you speak.”
- Paul Wellstone
Finally, a leader must live what they believe. They must lead by example and inspire through their own contagious convictions. A leader avoids hypocrisy and double standards at all costs. They invite challenge and rebut mediocrity. They are satisfied only with excellence, in themselves and in others.
What is a leader? It is someone who leads, and others cannot help but follow.
