17 BE AN EXAMPLE OF EXCELLENCE Continued from previous page 5. Reaffirm your personal Values and place the statement or list of Values on your office wall where you can read it easily. Alternatively, use quotations that embody your values. One such quotation I have used for many years is this: Work for a cause, David, not applause Remember to live your life to express not to impress Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, Just make your absence felt - Attributed to Grace Lichtenstein Remember personal Values are beliefs based on the following and similar concepts: Honesty Integrity Loyalty Humility Empathy Compassion Tolerance Respect (for all) Your Values broadly reflect what you aspire to be when you are at your best throughout your life. Think of your Values as those attributes or behaviour patterns you can lose but no one can give them back to you. Therefore put the necessary effort into declaring to yourself what really gives your life meaning. It is likely that there will be a spiritual dimension to it. Our spirituality often defines and feeds our Values. Let your Values drive your behaviour, not just your thoughts and words. 6. Embrace failures and fears. Make them a source of lessons for life rather than excuses for inaction. Take the lessons learnt and do better in the future. Try your best to keep a positive mindset despite setbacks. Aim to be personally resilient not only in work but in life. Always “keep it real” but accentuate possibilities. Try to eliminate its not possible and I can’t from your frame of reference in work and in life. Attitude can be the final arbiter of your altitude. 7. Celebrate incremental successes as you put your improvement plan into action. This means monitoring is part of plan implementation. Monitor improvements both as a leader and as a person. The celebrations for one will help you in the other sphere. 8. Discuss your plan with someone you trust deeply. Ideally, you should select a person who knows you well in both your professional and personal spheres. Make that person part of a silent group of motivators; persons that you can confide in without the fear that your trust will be violated CLOSING THOUGHTS Leaders, you are always being assessed by those you supervise, those on the same hierarchical level and those to whom you are accountable. They may not share their assessments unless you invite them to do that. Their unspoken (at least to you) assessments affect not only how they relate to you but how they work with and for you. We remind you please do not think that because you are at the apex of the organisation you no longer need to learn or develop new skills – Learning has no Expiry Date. We leave you with just four short but sagacious quotations of the hundreds of quotations on leadership that reinforce the points we have made in this article. The speed of the Leader determines the pace of the pack. — Ralph Waldo Emerson A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting. — Russell H. Ewing Good Managers care little for their designation and more for their job. — Herman Steiner If you think you are it, riding ahead of the pack, look back to see if the pack is still there. — Unknown
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