Coach Barrow

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Chris | July 11, 2008

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Its been great to spend a couple of days at my desk here in Falmouth - working on some projects, planning, articles and preparation for the weeks ahead.

I have to admit that my working days have been fewer hours then normal, part of a battery-charging exercise that I have focused on during the last 2 weeks - and I’m feeling a lot better as a result.

Ready for 2 action-packed weeks ahead of business club meetings, workshops and bespoke coaching in Manchester, Crewe, Wrexham, Birmingham, Leeds and East Grinstead - phew!

I suppose the biggest business thoughts I have had in the last fortnight have been about effective leadership. What happens when it’s in evidence.

I could write a book about “the absent leader” and the ways that shows up.

But let’s reflect here on the more positive view and describe the characteristics of a good leader:

they trust their teams to do good work
they enroll and engage people in a vision
they fulfill promises
they are swift to praise and slow to chide
they say “please” and “thank you” on a regular basis
they invest time in taking responsibility, rather than apportioning blame
the people who work for them regard the time as a period of great personal development
when things go wrong, they focus on solutions and worry (if ever) about what went wrong and whose fault it was at a later time
they are supremely committed to the needs and outcomes of their clients and manage to create healthy profits at the same time
they look for ways to add value to all of their relationships

Becoming a great leader is a calling, not a job. It can be a lonely place sometimes - and that’s why it’s so important to have an inner circle of close friends who can share the darker moments and give insight and tough love.

Anyway - for your entertainment on this Friday afternoon - here is some traditional Cornish music from this year’s Royal Cornwall Show -truly, wonderfully, awful.