My Review on Should Leaders Focus on Results or People Article

It all started in elementary school. My parents, my teachers, my neighbors, my basketball coaches, my aunts, my uncles, as a kid it seemed like everybody asked me the same question.  

Are you a leader or a follower?  

So I am reading a few leadership articles online about leadership and figured I give my personal take on the one that I found to be most interesting by dissecting the article and its key points.  Here is the article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-travis-bradberry/should-leaders-focus-on-r_b_9752950.html. Huffington Post titled this article should leaders focus on results or people?  So, what is leadership?

After James Zenger surveyed over 60,000 employees to see which leadership characteristics made leaders “great” in the eyes of their employees. This is what he learned. 

Leaders who primarily focused on results were seen as great just 14% of the time, and leaders who primarily focused on people were seen as great only 12% of the time.

If you aspire to be an advanced leader pay close attention.  Advanced leadership is more than just a title that can be earned.  Advanced leadership is more than the few people that always tell you that you are such a great leader.  Leadership is all about actions, behaviors, and discipline.  My purpose of writing this is to challenge your previous thoughts about leadership.  I wonder how many types of leadership styles are you currently aware of? 

The Article Says:
They deliver feedback flawlessly. It takes a tactful leader to deliver feedback that is accurate and objective but also considerate and inspirational. Leaders who are balanced know how to take into account the feelings and perspectives of their employees while still delivering the message they need to hear in order to improve.  

High Performance Coaching Says:
One of our top coaches Billionaire Brown is on the record saying countless times of one on one feedback he once received by Les Brown the #1 motivational speaker in the world.  The same guy who put the foreword on his first published book titled Silver Dollar Ebook.  

Les Brown asked him how many followers does he have? 
Billionaire Brown answered.  
Les Brown asked him how many people hop on his weekly calls? Billionaire Brown answered.
Les Brown asked him how many of those people are cutting him a check?
Billionaire Brown almost cried.

Can you imagine looking up to someone of that caliber and answering all of their questions with the hopes that they will be proud of your progress and instead they aren't proud at all.  Think for a moment.  Lets assume at the job you currently have that on a scale from 0 to 10 you feel that your performance at work is a 10.  Your boss asks you to come inside his office and he tells you that your performance at work is less than average.  I think we can all agree that not everyone on the receiving end of this performance feedback will take it like a champion.  One group of people will be offended by the performance feedback and may fly off the handle cursing out their boss.  The second group of people are like our now elite coach Billionaire Brown and will take that performance feedback and utilize it as a reason to ascend to the next level.  Advanced leaders know exactly what to say to who most of the time.  Billionaire Brown is 100% positive that Les Brown wouldn't say those same things to someone who couldn't handle it and use it for good. So remember as a leader to know who you are leading on a deeper level than a list of names you are leading.

The Article Says:
They put the right team of people together to execute a plan.


High Performance Coaching Says:

Executing as an individual is good. But it doesn't lead to greatness. Executing as a team is where greatness happens.  When I think about putting the right team of people together I think of sports.  Lets take the Chicago Bulls in the 90's. When most people think of the Chicago Bulls who won 6 championships we often think of Michael Jordan.  Until the advanced leaders step into the discussion.  Let me explain. Advanced leaders pay attention to the details behind a effective team.  The truth behind the legacy of the 90's Chicago Bulls is their role players were in sync with the stars on the team Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.  Forty Eight minutes in a professional basketball game.  I challenge you to ask ten aspiring young athletes in high school this question.  Would you rather have a guaranteed spot in the NBA only playing a maximum of four minutes a game for twelve years or would you rather take your chances going to college with a chance of being a superstar in the NBA one day?  I think we can all agree that most athletes would choose the route of taking their chances to be a superstar.  However  the Chicago Bulls was a well put together team filled with athletes that bought into the idea of winning and did whatever they're job was. Nothing more and nothing less.  I give Chicago Bulls 90's teams credit to management, coaching, and leadership of Michael Jordan.  Just because your team is talented doesn't guarantee success. But, if you put a talented team together that has a purpose of executing one plan you have something special. 

It annoys me to no end when someone says "I will be the bigger person".  Your probably asking why does that annoy me so much?  Call me petty however all the really big people that I have come across don't announce their act of being the bigger person before they do something big.  They just do it.  The same goes when two people are arguing and one person says to the other: I am going to take the higher road.  Why the announcement?  If you take anything from this article take this.  If you are a leader you don't have to make an announcement. Just do it.  I promise you that your leadership actions will be noticed by many without them knowing if you are a leader or not.  If you enjoyed this blog and have been looking for a good book on leadership I recommend 360 Degree Leader written by John C Maxwell.  




Have you worked for a balanced leader? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

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