Perspectives in leadership

Leadership requires strength, brains and humility. A killer smile helps, and a killer instinct never hurts.

A boss leads the company by leading other bosses, who lead their teams toward a goal that makes the entire company prosper. That's the idea, anyway.

To digress, parenthood enriches the natural leadership skills we already possess. One does not have to be presidential material to be an effective leader. Parents, I'm talking to you. For one perspective, consider the state of being a parent. If the parent does the job right, the parent will meet the child's needs, and the child will grow into a confident adult who understands right from wrong. Teamwork with a spouse is ideal, but single parents can also adapt and survive. Parents lead children and the family.

Something about marriage and children complete the interpersonal picture. It feels so natural. I wonder how hard single people fight that urge, or if the urge even exists.

As for leadership, people will gravitate to different styles. Some styles are more effective than others. The best leaders lose the ego and put the responsibility of others first. Sort of like a good parent. As one boss told me in a one-minute leadership lesson: "Some employees, you just leave alone. With the rest, you need to know which ones to pat on the back and which ones to kick in the butt."

One style is the likable "be your buddy" boss. I have had a few of these, and they make the work atmosphere fun. A weakness, however, is that the style is more informal. I believe that the more formal a workplace, the more effective it can be. That doesn't mean stiff-suited robots and zero humor. There is the dickhead style of boss who injects any formality with fear. No supervisor should dangle an employee's job and threaten unemployment in order to make a point.

The best leaders I have seen in my career were decisive but considerate. They listened and were curious. They invited their followers onto a bus and traveled toward goals near and far.

My first real leadership role was in 2004. I had led other projects before, but had not managed an employee. As a community editor, I managed one reporter. She was newly hired, and two years older than me. Every day, she would come to me and ask if I had any stories. I had to give her every single story to write. Keep in mind, my boss was the one who hired the reporter. At the time, I always felt awkward telling her what to do. It wasn't until a few years into the next job -  as editor of a small staff - that I found the solution to leadership and effective management.

The answer boils down to three words: Lead every day. I made it a point to discuss daily, with a degree of formality, what my staff was doing that day and what they had planned for the next day. It could be a five-minute conversation or a 45-minute meeting. I made sure they knew I was paying attention to everything, not in a big brother way, but because I cared about the outcome of our efforts. I worked hard to make us feel like a team, and consistently showed the staff examples of their work that had an impact. I thought that the more I showed them what they did right, the more they would do the right things.