Recharge Your Leadership Mojo

6 MYTHS OF LEADERSHIP

Avoid them, become a better leader and watch your business grow

By Ron Ameln

Arthur Milton Porter III was hired by some of the area’s top corporations to go out and find qualified MBE/WBE businesses to compete for contracts. As a coach, his job was to not only find them, but help them sustain their companies and grow in
the future.
Helping them excel was more challenging.
The issue: Lack of leadership.
“I always thought it was interesting to see how one company and owner would excel and others would not,” Porter says. “It’s because of poor leadership. And we’re not just talking about MBE/WBE firms. We’re talking about all businesses.”
While corporations spend money, time and energy developing better leaders, small- and mid-sized firms have “winged it,” according to Porter, who is author of the book, “7 Steps to Start A Successful Business.” Porter is CEO of Kingdom Associates, a firm dedicated to helping others reach their maximum potential.
“Successful businesses discovered that in order to build the business, the first thing they need to do is build and grow the CEO. Companies used to fail when it came to growth because the back office wasn’t set up to handle the growth. Now, they are falling back because they lack the leadership ability to take the company to the next level.”
The first step in transforming leadership is realizing a change is needed.
“Business transformation begins with personal transformation,” says Mohan Nair, author of “Strategic Business Transformation: The 7 Deadly Sins to Overcome.” “Recycling your usual skills only recycles your past. Only by recharging your leadership mojo—getting back to your basic beliefs and rediscovering your passion in light of a new reality—can you transform yourself and your company.”
“If you want to build a better business, the bottom line is you need to become a better leader,” Porter says. “And leadership is not something you just develop, or attend a conference and check it off your list. Leadership is an evolving process.”
When it comes to leadership, myths abound. Porter has come up with some of the top myths of leadership.

Myth 1: Leading and managing are the same thing.

“Leaders lead people, managers manage the process,” Porter says. “Leaders focus on vision, manager’s focus on objectives. Leaders appeal to the heart, managers appeal to the head. Leaders are transformational, managers are transactional.”
If you are a manager, Porter says you’re not doomed when it comes to leadership, but, he adds, there needs to be a shift in thought process. “It’s a mind shift to think less transactional,” he says. “If you are going in with a management mindset, you will have a tough time being a successful leader.”

Myth 2: People who have knowledge or are highly skilled in an area should be leaders.

This is the equivalent of a successful football team taking its star running back off the football field and making him the head coach. Even though he’s a great running back, he may not have leadership skills.
“Knowing what to do and influencing others to do it is a completely different skill set,” Porter says. “Because you are highly skilled doesn’t disqualify you as an effective leader, but you need to learn what it takes to become a leader.”


Myth 3: The person with the position is the leader.

Porter believes the way corporate America trains leaders is often backwards. A company hires someone into a leadership position and then sends that individual to training to become a leader. Instead of that, these companies should see what members of their employment force actually have leadership talents. When they discover them, promote them into the leadership positions.
Gandhi was not capable of being a good lawyer, Nair points out. In fact, he was laughed out of his first case. Eventually, Gandhi realized he was at his best when serving others. It was his power source. Being successful in business today is not based on position or title but in service to a higher order, Nair says.

Myth 4: I can lead everyone the same.

People are different and require different styles of leadership.
“We are all working in a very diverse environment these days,” Porter says. “Employees range in age, race, etc. Leadership styles need to be individually based on who you are leading. Good leaders build relationships with people, and they learn what matters to them.
“As the world changes and becomes more global, what people want and their long-term goals vary. Great leaders will tap into that.”

Myth 5: Leaders have to have extroverted, charismatic personalities.

“Some of the best leaders are introverted and subdued, but they have influence,” Porter said.
No matter your personality, leadership starts with getting back to your basic beliefs and rediscovering your passions.
“Leadership isn’t about you,” says Nair. “It’s about others you serve. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and other social reformers have it right: They did not start out to be social reformers, they just wanted to make things right. They started with themselves, then their neighborhood, and then the world.”

Myth 6: Leaders accomplish tasks by controlling others.

Effective leaders encourage others to lead, to be creative and take ownership of the vision, according to Porter.
“People are not like robots,” he adds. “Pressure usually makes it harder to motivate someone. Good leaders are good delegators, and ironically, when you give up control, you actually gain more control.”
Nair says now is the time to refocus ourselves on becoming better leaders, “We leaders have the opportunity to make a living by realizing our higher selves and bringing out the higher selves of those around us. We must not squander that gift.”