Then, hard decisions. You know, leaders have to make hard decisions. We're making a hard decision in moving, um, how to make some hard decisions about finances and changing financial planners and that here a few years ago. Those are tough decisions. You know, maybe with COVID, people, companies, leaders had to make hard decisions about who to keep, who to let go, do we keep the doors open. There's a lot, a host of hard decisions out there.
But being an effective leader, you have to make hard decisions. Again, you've got integrity, you lead by example. But, you know, the buck stops here. A leader has to make hard decisions. Sometimes they're not fun; you wish you didn't have to make them, like if you had to lay somebody off or let somebody go. But you've got to make hard decisions. Okay? That's how you can be effective in leadership.
And then another big one that John Maxwell's quote kind of referred to is recognize success, right? Leadership is a team thing. You've got a team or an organization, business, employees that you're leading. Recognize their success, right? You didn't get there on your own. I don't believe there's any such thing as a self-made person. Uh, nobody gets successful on their own. Whether it's in politics, business, sports, whatever, you had help; you had coaching; you had mentorship.
So recognize success of people. If a teammate performs well, helps you reach a goal, or you get, hit a company milestone or something like that, recognize that success, guys. It's really important to recognize those that have helped you along your way and not try to take all the credit. Because again, what we're back to number one: integrity. If you have integrity, you do not take all the credit. Recognize others' successes.
And then this is a big one. This is a big one for me. Effective leadership requires that a leader empowers others. And this was huge for me three years ago when I left the company I was working for, because there were some really, some bad things happening with leadership. There's a real lack of leadership throughout the whole organization.
But when I started talking, I started talking about leadership because it was my passion. I realized, I've read John Maxwell's "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership," the law of the lid number one, I saw that take place, and I said I want to step up and start talking about leadership because it's lacking. I've seen it lacking so lacking in my last company.
But I was empowered by people like Val Campbell, like Adam Reaker, saying, "Brad, you really know what you're talking about; you're doing a great job; you're doing some great stuff." And I'm not saying I'm the best leadership teacher, I just could point to a number of other people, John Maxwell being one. But leaders empower others, right? Leadership isn't just a solo journey, right?
One of the traits of effective leaders is in empowering others; you create other leaders. So empowering others gives other people the ability to fail and learn and succeed on their own. So you let other people take leadership of their role, their job, their position, whatever, and empower them to do that. You can't micromanage. I think micromanagement's the opposite of empowering. Nobody likes, certainly I don't like, to be micromanaged. But give other people, empower them to do the best that they can in the role they're in. That's how you, as a leader, can help empower others. Recognize their talents and lean on them. Again, it's a team game. Don't try to think you've got it all because you've been this company owner for so long, you've got an MBA, and you've got this and that. You still need other people. Smart leaders hire people smarter than them and then let them do their job.
And then, motivate and inspire. Again, I think all these things lump together. If you've got integrity, you know you're an effective communicator, you listen, you have empathy, you lead by example, you're empowering, you're going to motivate and inspire others. Again, this just goes back to: be the leader that you would follow. I would follow somebody that demonstrates integrity, that sets a good example, that helps empower me.
So leaders, also to be effective, you've got to motivate and inspire people, right? If you have bad leadership, you're unmotivating and uninspiring, and that's not a good environment to be in.
So I hope these tips, these observations on these qualities, help. That's what I got for you today, Sunday Morning Leadership.
Hey, I'd love to get your feedback or input on this. What did you like? What could I have added? What did I miss? I encourage you to implement these qualities so that you can be the most effective leader that you can be.
Lead by example; be the leader that you would follow. Guys, have an awesome Sunday. Bye-bye.
