Leadership Principles

Overview What are the key principles of leadership? What is the importance of knowing yourself and your role? What is the importance of setting the example? What is the importance of caring for your people? Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Overview How can you communicate, educate, equip, and motivate? What is the importance of accepting your responsibility? What is the importance of developing teamwork? Chapter 7, Lesson 3

How did the person’s actions reflect his or her leadership qualities? Quick Write Read an American Biography or Americans in Action article from an earlier lesson in the textbook. Then write a list of words that indicate that person’s leadership qualities. How did the person’s actions reflect his or her leadership qualities? Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Key Principles of Leadership Ideas about leadership have changed Many businesses used to have a “top-down” management structure But by the mid-1980s, boundaries between the top and the bottom had become less distinct Leadership became a shared responsibility Graphic courtesy of Clipart.com Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Key Principles of Leadership Part of your job as a future leader is to understand leadership theories and styles By demonstrating strong values, building trust, focusing on results, and motivating, you will influence your team members In so doing, you will help them adapt to the challenge of service in an ever-changing world Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Key Principles of Leadership To help its men and women understand the behaviors expected of its leaders, the Air Force has adopted a set of leadership principles A leadership principle is a rule or guide that has been tested and proven over the years by successful leaders Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Leadership Principles Know yourself and your role Set the example Care for your people Communicate, educate, equip, and motivate Accept your responsibility Develop teamwork Chapter 7, Lesson 3 Photo courtesy of Clipart.com

Knowing Yourself and Your Role To be a successful leader, you must recognize your strengths or abilities, as well as your limitations You must then build on your strengths and try to overcome your weaknesses As a leader, you must understand your own role Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Knowing Yourself and Your Role You must also understand how your team contributes to the overall mission of the organization Finally, you must make sure that each team member understands how his or her role relates to the mission Chapter 7, Lesson 3 Photo courtesy of Clipart.com

Setting the Example Setting an example means giving people a strong model to imitate As a leader, you must set the standard for your team by your actions as well as your words If you are arrogant or domineering, you will command little respect Chapter 7, Lesson 3 Photo courtesy of Ilene Perlman

Setting the Example Self-control is also essential—a leader who cannot control himself or herself cannot control others Lack of self-discipline in a leader destroys the team’s unity and its ability to perform Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Caring for Your People Caring for people means putting others’ needs before your own To take care of people, you must know them well and be sensitive to their needs If people are worried about their personal lives or other issues, they cannot focus fully on the task Then the mission suffers Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Caring for Your People If your people believe you care for them, you will earn their confidence, respect, and loyalty Caring for your people involves establishing clear lines of communication between you and them Chapter 7, Lesson 3 Photo courtesy of Ilene Perlman

Caring for Your People The bottom line about caring for your people is this: People who feel cared for are people who become self-motivated Self-motivated people can accomplish the impossible Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Communicate Communication and information should flow continuously throughout the organization Successful leaders listen to their people Providing feedback is also essential As a leader, it’s your job to keep all communication channels open Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Educate People need training to do their jobs well Professional military education, technical training, and on-the-job training are the formal means by which Air Force personnel receive training Informal training, practice, and personal experience at the unit level reinforce formal training Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Equip Part of your responsibility as a leader is to make sure your team has the equipment it needs to do its job The leader’s responsibilities include identifying needs, securing funds, and obtaining the necessary supplies, tools, and equipment to accomplish the mission Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Motivate A leader’s greatest challenge is to motivate team members to achieve the high standards set for them The ability to generate enthusiasm about the mission may be the single most important factor in leadership Chapter 7, Lesson 3 Photo courtesy of Ilene Perlman

Motivate To motivate people, a leader must understand their needs and align these needs with the unit’s requirements Recognition is one of the most powerful motivational forces One of your goals as a leader should be to provide an environment that fosters and rewards self-motivation Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Accepting Your Responsibility Gen Curtis LeMay once said “If I had to come up with one word to define leadership, I would say ‘responsibility.’” As a leader, you are responsible for ensuring that your team accomplishes its mission If you fail, you are accountable for the consequences Gen Curtis LeMay : Chapter 7, Lesson 3 Photo courtesy of US Air Force

Accepting Your Responsibility If you are not willing to accept responsibility for failure, you will lose your credibility and respect Accountability requires discipline Just as a leader should reward a job well done, he or she must discipline those who fail to meet their responsibilities or standards Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Developing Teamwork The leader’s job is to mold a collection of individuals into a cohesive team Cohesion is the ability of a team to stick together when it works toward its objective As the leader, you should know how the various roles of individual team members fit together Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Developing Teamwork You should create and maintain an atmosphere of teamwork and cooperation to meet mission demands Cooperation is the ability of team members to work together to accomplish the team goal Teamwork comes when people are willing to put the team’s mission before all else Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Review A leadership principle is a rule or guide that has been tested and proven over the years by successful leaders Leadership Principles: Know yourself and your role Set the example Care for your people Communicate, educate, equip, and motivate Accept your responsibility Develop teamwork Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Review As a leader, you must understand your own role Setting an example means giving people a strong model to imitate Caring for people means putting others’ needs before your own Successful leaders listen to their people Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Review People need training to do their jobs well Part of your responsibility as a leader is to make sure your team has the equipment it needs to do its job A leader’s greatest challenge is to motivate team members to achieve the high standards set for them Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Review As a leader, you are responsible for ensuring that your team accomplishes its mission If you fail, you are accountable for the consequences The leader’s job is to mold a collection of individuals into a cohesive team Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Summary What are the key principles of leadership? What is the importance of knowing yourself and your role? What is the importance of setting the example? What is the importance of caring for your people? Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Summary How can you communicate, educate, equip, and motivate? What is the importance of accepting your responsibility? What is the importance of developing teamwork? Chapter 7, Lesson 3

Next Done—leadership principles Next—leadership style and mission demands Chapter 7, Lesson 3 Photo courtesy of US Air Force