Inspirational business leader publishes a collection of non-traditional tips for leadership success that deliver elite results for all management levels and helped him reach the Top 10% in 3 different industries
One of the most common questions for both rookie managers and seasoned executive veterans when chatting with any consultant or adviser is “What are your top leadership tips for success?”
If you’re serious about taking your management career to the next level, Best-selling author, CEO, and successful business leader, David Long, shares his “12 Point To Do List” to get you headed in the right direction.
True leaders do these things every day. As you read each one, make a note of how you can incorporate it into your daily life as the leader in your business.
David Long’s 12 Tips for Leadership Success:
1. LEAD YOUR PEOPLE.
Don’t manage them. Being the leader you should be pulls people toward your goals and the goals of the company. Being merely a “manager” forces you to use a cattle-prod to get the results you want, and builds no loyalty between you and your people. You’ll lose many great employees if there is no loyalty to you.
Be the leader YOU would want to work for!
2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR PEOPLE.
Forget this, “No fraternizing with the troops” junk. Napoleon didn’t manage his troops; he led them, and they were willing to die for him. How loyal are your people to you? Work on improving that loyalty every day — with every employee!
3. LEADERS ARE LEARNERS.
If you don’t read and try to improve constantly, your people won’t. Number 3 on our list for leadership tips for success has to do with educating yourself.
If you read and share what you’re learning, then others will follow suit. You’ll have a much stronger and more bonded management team when you’re all committed to improving yourselves and your people. Turn off the TV and read 30 minutes a day to start; try to build up to at least an hour a day.
4. GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE ON YOUR TEAM — NOW!
Remember, if you have a weak team, your career will not be successful. Hire, train, prune, and promote our best people (for more on this, check out my post on the Association for Talent Development’s blog: Why a Manager Must Hire Right, Train, Prune, and Repeat).
This is the number one aspect upper management wants from you. Having the right people on your team shows others that you are a true leader capable of higher positions.
5. START YOUR BOOK CLUB MEETINGS IMMEDIATELY.
Grow your people as you grow yourself. There is nothing that I have developed that comes anywhere near the results we have received from the times we are together as a team discussing topics that make us better team members, leaders, parents, neighbors, and friends.
“Be the leader YOU would want to work for!”
6. START YOUR MASTERMIND GROUP TODAY.
In Built to Lead, David shares all the reasons to have your own Mastermind Group, so be the first of your company’s leaders to start your own group.
Call the prospective members, and share with them the resources from Built to Lead. If you wait, someone else will call you! Your chance to be seen as a true leader will pass to someone who took action. Thinking about doing something means nothing.
Taking action is all that matters.
7. IDENTIFY AND SPEND TIME WITH YOUR WINNERS.
During your book club meetings, you’ll see employees stepping forward and emerging from their shells. Encourage, but don’t force this to happen.
When you see talent and a potential leader in the group, encourage that person to pursue a leadership position, and show them Built to Lead. Share your own leadership tips for success. It will shorten their ramp-up time and learning curve to become someone you can promote.
8. ALWAYS KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE.
Thomas Jefferson’s advice about attitude bears repeating here: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
Your attitude is the foundation from which your employees will base and form theirs, so make yours the best in the company. Others will notice, you can believe that. Never bad-mouth the leaders above you; your people will do the same to you, and rightly so.
Don’t teach them bad habits. Display the attitude you would want your people to emulate.
9. PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS.
Keep doing the right things, day in and day out, and it will pay off for you. Don’t take the path of least resistance. Always think long-term with every decision you make. If you think short-term too many times, your career will be short-term as well. You’re better than that.
10. RECOGNIZE YOUR WINNERS.
Remember, “What gets recognized, gets repeated.” If you want more employees to be loyal to you, be loyal to them first by recognizing their accomplishments. Everyone wants significance. Give it to them, or you’ll lose them to someone who will.
William James once said, “The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” If you fail to realize and use this tip for leadership success to your advantage as a leader, you won’t be a success very long. For help on how to recognize employees, click HERE for more details.
“Success does not mean ‘more money.’ Bigger & more expensive things do not bring happiness. Growing yourself and those around you does.”
11. DEVELOP YOUR OWN MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.
In Built to Lead, David references the “Shark’s Teeth Leadership Development Program.” Create your own, so that when there’s a vacancy on your team, you aren’t scrambling around trying to get someone to fill the spot who may not be qualified.
Remember, have your leaders developed to the level where you have a surplus of “teeth” ready to pop into the available leadership spots on your team or other teams. Either way, you’re the leader who trained them, and that’s the quickest path to upper management in your company.
12. SUCCESS COMES FROM DEVELOPING AND HELPING OTHERS.
Success does not mean “more money.” Bigger and more expensive things do not bring happiness.
Growing yourself and those around you does. That includes your family and friends as well. “Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” That’s your goal. Find and develop leaders from all who cross paths with you in life.
Watch David’s recent video interview discussions on what it takes to be a great leader
How Consistency and Development Combine for Hotel Industry Success
The Power of Leadership Development: MyEmployees CEO, David Long & Ryan Ruiz, AOM of Dave & Buster’s
Motivation & Mindset: MyEmployees CEO, David Long, w/ Golden Corral Rockstar Franchisee, Elri Parker
More about David Long and “Built to Lead”
For more on how to effectively recognize and appreciate your employees, check out Built to Lead: 7 Management R.E.W.A.R.D.S. Principles For Becoming a Top 10% Manager, written by David Long, CEO of MyEmployees. This book is now a favorite resource for leadership tips for success all over the country. It reached #1 on Amazon’s Best Seller’s List for Business Leadership five times, and #10 on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller’s list.
David Long is the Founder/CEO of MyEmployees, a 30-year-old firm in the Top 1% Worldwide in the Employee Engagement and Recognition industry. His firm specializes in helping managers build stronger, more engaging relationships with their team members while linking the rewards and recognition program to the desired goals of the company. David believes (and lives to his very core) what Zig Ziglar said was required to become truly successful in life. he said, “You can have ANYTHING you want in life IF you will FIRST help others get what they want!” As a result, David has touched untold lives through the years, including employees, clients, friends, and family… and he’ll show you exactly how he did it through his authored works and speaking engagements.
Click HERE to get your copy of Built to Lead: 7 Management R.E.W.A.R.D.S. Principles For Becoming a Top 10% Manager TODAY!
For more great leadership tips, check out…
Becoming a Great Leader – Part 3: Attitude
When you care about what you’re doing, your employees will care about what they’re doing….
Put the LEADER in ETL
Tips for Leadership Success: 12 Point To Do List to Become a Top 10% Manager (updated 12/8/23)
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