Next Level Leader

Every company wants team members who perform at a high level. Traditionally these are employees who are committed to areas which will advance both the company objectives and their own leadership influence. Next Level Leaders understand the importance of commitment and are willing to invest themselves deeply in these four important areas:

A COMMITMENT TO LOYALTY: It may seem counterintuitive, but great leadership requires exceptional followership. The willingness to shed personal agendas for the sake of corporate ones, along with an unwillingness to compromise your moral values for the sake of groupthink 1 will advance your leadership influence regardless of your position. Your influence is the key to your leadership, and that influence is related to your character, which shows up in how loyal you are to your leader, as well as the company mission and values. Moreover, nothing will destroy your influence quicker than undermining your leader or being disloyal to the mission and values of your company. Napoleon Hill, in his book, Think and Grow Rich wrote, “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.” 2 Great leaders avoid failure by being committed to loyalty while building the same in others.

A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE: Some may confuse the idea of excellence with perfection, but striving for perfection, whether in your company or personal life, can lead to anxiety over details which have little effect on outcomes. The better approach is to strive for excellence. Contrary to perfection, which concerns itself with the end product, excellence concerns itself with the process of doing things. Excellence is a characteristic of the work you do, and it’s measured by whether that work is done well or poorly. Excellence is reflected in the thoughts of Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.” 3 If done well, striving for excellence delivers energy, positive attitudes, and unity in an organization when team members help one another achieve it for their common benefit. Next Level Leaders are committed to excellence, striving for things like efficiency over carelessness and productivity over wastefulness in their work as well as that of their team.

A COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION: Next Level Leaders must be lifelong learners who are committed to their continued education. These are the leaders who invest themselves in learning which keeps them up-to-date on new ideas, trends which may affect the future of their company, and leadership principles which increase their value to the team and its potential for success. Great leaders seek to surround themselves with those who are

A COMMITMENT TO TEAMWORK: One of the greatest enemies of teamwork is individualism. It’s easy to spot team members who are committed to individualism. They’re the ones who take the credit when the team does something well and dispense blame when it doesn’t. When it comes to responsibility, their primary objective is to avoid it. Next Level Leaders operate much differently. Instead of taking an avoidance approach to issues, they take a proactive approach by identifying opportunities which can improve the company’s performance. Leaders who are committed to teamwork listen for reoccurring issues which are especially troubling to the company leader and are holding the team back. They’re the first to take the lead in laying out a preliminary plan to solve the issue. They’ll seek leadership approval or consensus to develop the plan more fully before executing it. They’re invested in the company and team’s success and don’t sit idly by when solutions are needed. Rather, they’re committed to solving problems, investing themselves into working with others to bring about the team’s ultimate success.