Tips for Energizing Leadership

• According to Jack Welch, “The world of the [future] will not belong to managers … who make the numbers dance …. The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders – people who not only have an enormous amount of energy but who can energize those who they lead.” Why? Because the difference between dreams and delivery often has less to do with what you say, than how you say it. We've all heard too many new strategies, too many new initiatives, to get inspired each and everytime another one comes along. And, if we can't inspire ourselves, what chance do we have with the people who work with us? This is why "Leader as an Energizer" is so important. Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a group of Scandanavian managers who had some great tips for energizing people around a message. I think that their list is worth sharing:
  * Make sure the message is crisp, sharp, and clear
  * Give them the brutal facts –No B.S. –Don’t evade or avoid – be honest!
  * Emphasize the uniqueness of our new idea/offering
  * Give people reasons to believe –Why will this time be different? –How you will win if we do this!
  * Be inclusive rather than exclusive (recognize contributions and make this "our" plan rather than "mine" –You need buy-in to make this work –More ideas are better than fewer
  * We’re going to “kill’em”… and have fun! –This ought to be bold, serious, energizing, and a bit outrageous
  * Get’m to believe –By zooming-in on key issues –Referring to customer perceptions –Don’t try to fool your own people
  *Show them what we’ve got… make it tangible –All too frequently, we’re in this position because we can’t get past the dreams; this time it’s different!
  *Have a story to tell –Build a thread that winds its way, inexorably, to a successful finish & make it vivid
  * Present the campaign –This is the place for specifics: what will we do? where will we do it? When? What will make it different? How will we make money?