How You Can Become A Better Leader

By Bill Bergfeld

In the midst of the recent economic downturn and the blatantly noticeable upward surge in my operating costs, I sat staring at my office walls wondering how I was going to pay the bills this month. Just when I thought I had everything figured out; I discovered that I did not have anything figured out. Six months earlier, I was riding high, thought I understood everything and yet now I had to admit...I did not. That is when one of the most important life lessons hit me. That lesson being: True leadership matures when challenged. We become better leaders when, and only when, we face difficult situations. By working through the impossible, we acquire the wisdom to successfully lead our organization through the unimaginable.

Now I am not going to make you believe that I have figured it all out, because I have not. I am going to give you my perspective on leadership and how we mature in our leadership style as business challenges come our way.

Great minds still argue about the nomenclature assigned to leadership styles. In no way am I down playing their work or their nomenclature in what I am about to discuss. I am simply apologizing in advance if I ruffle some feathers.

Probably the most basic style of leadership is what I call the Boss Hog. Here is the guy with a title, a clipboard, and a desk. If we had to describe his primary style, it would be that he is task focused. He has been given an assignment from his superiors and he will do everything in his power to make sure it gets done. For him, there are three ways of doing things, the right way, the wrong way, and the Boss Hog way. He is a positional leader meaning that his followers only do what he says because he has the authority to remove them from the group (fire them if you understand what I mean). He acts decisively, he is focused on the end result, he is determined, he is consistent, and he is reliable (sounds like my German Shepherd). Unfortunately, he does have some shortcomings; he is very impatient often to the point of being rude and abrupt; he is hard headed, stubborn, and slow to change; since he is always right, he almost never listens to suggestions from subordinates; and he seems to value manual effort more than wisdom. The Boss Hog leader tells people what to do - that is his style of leadership.

The second style of leadership is what I call the Lead Cow. (Yes I know that the term cow refers to the female of the bovine species, but for this discussion Lead Cow has no gender.) Here is the guy with a title, a clipboard, a desk, an office, and a file cabinet. If we had to describe his primary style, it would be that he is goal focused. He has been given a vision from his superiors, he sets goals to accomplish that vision, and he translates those goals into tasks for his Boss Hog subordinates. The Lead Cow is more of a coach than a boss. He is most often team oriented, he usually accomplishes things methodically and logically, and he is quite accomplished at delegation. He values teaching and often times involves himself in the actual work of a project in order to instruct his subordinates on the how of doing things correctly. Far too often, his goals are too lofty, unrealistic, and overly ambitious and because of this he places too much responsibility on his subordinates. The Lead Cow leader shows people what to do - that is his style of leadership.

The third style of leadership is what I call the Horse Trader. Here is the guy with a title, a clipboard, a desk, a corner office, two file cabinets, and a secretary. If we had to describe his primary style, it would be that he is group focused. This guy is a people person. He gets along with everyone. He is very smart. He avoids risk and he embraces caution. His strongest allies are his openness to change, his willingness to listen, and his ability to think on his feet. No matter what is thrown his way, he seems to come up with the necessary resources to handle it. His tendency toward caution can prevent him from taking advantage of opportunities. He seems to sometimes get trapped in paralysis by analysis meaning he is indecisive. He confuses leadership with popularity and because of such; his organizational skills and his ability to accomplish goals suffer. He works best if he has several Lead Cows on his team. The Horse Trader leader negotiates with people on what to do - that is his style of leadership.

The fourth style of leadership is what I call the Melting Pot. Here is the guy that basically has it all - a title, a clipboard, a desk, a corner office, two file cabinets, a secretary, and a private parking space. If we had to describe his primary style, it would be that he is the go-to guy. He is the man with the plan. He is the source of all ideas. He is an innovator, a creator, and a visionary. He seems to have a sixth sense about leadership acting intuitively more than logically or methodically. He is charismatic, personable, confident, and influential. He amazes subordinates with big ideas and infects them with enthusiasm. Risk means nothing to him. Spontaneity is his motto. His biggest weakness is his next big idea. Because of this, he is easily distracted and often times lacks follow through on projects. But, that does not matter, he can motivate. He can enlist the Horse Traders to tell people what needs to be done, enlist the Lead Cows to show people what needs to be done, and enlist the Boss Hogs to make sure it all gets done correctly.

If you look at these leadership styles, you are tempted to determine which one fits you best. The answer is simple - none of them. Everyone has a leadership style that is a mixture of these four types. The real question you should ask is not which style am I - but how can I become a better leader?

First of all, learn to listen. Listen to your subordinates, your leaders, leaders in other organizations, leaders in other industries, your customers, your potential customers. Just learn to listen. One thing for sure, if you are always talking, then you are always listening to the things that you already know. Listening is a scary thing. You might actually hear the truth about your shortcomings and your weaknesses. Without knowing the truth about your weaknesses, you could continue down a path of failure recognizing it only too late.

Second, learn to be enthusiastic. Enthusiastic, not only in your actions, but also in your words, the way you communicate with your team. Be enthusiastic in your thinking; have a mental pep-rally. Be enthusiastically encouraging, gracious, thankful, and forgiving with one another. If you are not enthusiastic, then you are automatically depressed - failure focused - hopeless.

Third, learn to be men and women of character. Do what you say and say what you will do. Honor your commitments to your friends, your family, your work, and your faith. Keep your promises. Hold loyalty sacred. Give more than asked. Take less than offered. Empower others, helping them to achieve. Do right and despise wrong. Care for others. Look to serve instead of waiting to be served.

Finally, be willing. Willing to step up to the plate, bat in hand, and swing at the strikes. You do not have to be perfect, you only need to hit safely 3 times out of 10. A 300 batting average seems to pay quite well these days.

Bill Bergfeld is a professional Network Marketer and owner of multiple businesses. His passion is leadership; his current online project involves aging and methods of reversing its affects. You can contact Bill at bill@billbergfeld.com

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