Revenue Journal®

As I was coaching a salesperson recently, we talked about the differences between leaders and followers. It's an important distinction, especially during turbulent, recessionary times, which require all company leaders - and their employees - to meet new, higher standards. In many cases, the survival of their business depends on it. Leaders must become better leaders and their followers must engage in more leadership-like behavior.

I pointed out that if you were to walk into any conference room, and start observing - even if you didn't know anyone in the room before you arrived - you would be able to pick out the leader and the followers in about three minutes. It wouldn't matter where that leader was sitting at the table; it wouldn't matter what the leader was wearing or how old or young the leader was; it wouldn't matter what they looked like.

Employees often believe - and behave as if - managers were "born" into management. Sure, someone can inherit a position, but that's rare. On the whole, leaders are self-made, not born. Leadership is a learned skill. I am not talking about the people who rise in the ranks due to political shenanigans. I am talking about people who have rightfully earned the right to be perceived as a true leader, someone worthy of being followed.

In other words, anyone can learn to be a leader. Anyone can behave like a leader.

I asked the salesperson what the difference was between a manager and an employee. We ultimately agreed that it boiled down to behavior. And all behavior is a choice.

How does a leader behave?

1) A leader never loses his cool. The big difference between leaders and followers is the way a leader behaves when he first learns that something has gone wrong.

He doesn't scream and yell, although there are certainly times when he will display anger, when it's appropriate for the audience or the situation. He doesn't blame or badger. He doesn't start picking on the people who are trying to help him solve the problem, even if they had helped create the problem. He doesn't even sigh or roll his eyes. He simply accepts the fact that there is a problem, and sets to work.

2) A leader does not feel victimized. In one of my previous articles, I talked about the fact that you can't be a victor and a victim at the same time. You have to decide which it's going to be, and then start behaving that way. Victims are not, by the very nature of victimhood, victors.

We live in a culture that is obsessed with victimhood. The news is almost completely filled with stories of the perpetrators and their victims. Politicians - the other people who fill the news - spend most of their time telling citizens that they can stop being victims of [whatever], and become winners, if they would just vote that politician into office.

Given this culture, it is no surprise that employees often put on the victim's cloak and wear it - almost proudly - while they are at work. They think of their managers as "them" and they think of themselves as "us." They say negative things about their leaders, behind the leader's back, in an attempt to feel better about themselves and raise their status among their peers. Which brings us to #3.

3) A leader does whatever he can to avoid saying bad things about others. Imagine a Western movie featuring a strong, stoic sheriff, who is the obvious leader of the town. Imagine also, a town gossip. The gossip feels important when gossiping, but no one would ever mistake the gossip for the leader. Far from it.

What defines a gossip? Someone who takes pleasure talking about other people's misfortunes, mistakes, and shortcomings. The more someone gossips, the further they are from being a leader.

4) A leader gives people the benefit of the doubt, while keeping her eyes wide open. When it comes to behavior, "What you see is what you get." Have you ever seen someone say the word "yes," while shaking their head "no"? Pay more attention to the head shaking than the words.

Body language, when it conflicts directly with the words being spoken, is the better indicator of the person's feelings and intentions. Words are easy. People say all sorts of things and make promises all the time. People learn to lie at an early age, and only get better at it over time. Leaders pay more - much more - attention to body language and what people do, rather than what they say.

5) Leaders don't hold grudges. Losers hold grudges, leaders let them go. Yes, they address the problem. But they don't obsess about it. They don't spend hours thinking about how they will "show so and so who's boss," or imagine how they'll even the score when they feel they've been wronged. Leaders get more done than losers for this one reason alone.

When money gets tight, efficiency becomes incredibly important. Leaders are more efficient because they don't waste precious thinking time obsessing about negative situations. Their minds are not filled with an endless, I'm-a-victim dialog. If you are determined to behave like a leader, this is one of the first places to start.

If you find yourself engaging in a negative internal dialog, stop whatever you're doing and face up to it. Do whatever you have to do to come to grips with it. Write down your complaints - then destroy the evidence. Forgive the person. Think about how you will behave in the next similar situation, and then let the anger go.

Every time the primitive part of your mind tries to bring it up again, just tell it that you've already dealt with it, and don't need to think about it again. Then change the subject in your head to something constructive.

6) Leaders live to serve. Yes, I know. There are so many people who rise to the top because of their own ambition. They crave the recognition, the power, or the confirmation that they are worthwhile, and they can only get that from being in charge. But I'm talking in this article about the type of leader who is revered. The truth about people always comes out eventually, and in the case of real leaders - service-based leaders - that truth generates more respect, not less.

It's also important to make a distinction between the person who has a messianic complex - who thinks they are qualified to solve a particular problem - and one who simply sets out to solve the problem without the savior mindset. Both people might, in fact, be uniquely qualified to solve a particular problem, but the savior type is doing it in an attempt to be perceived as a savior, whereas the other person derives his satisfaction from solving the problem.

Part of serving your staff is to make sure they have everything they need to do their jobs. Nothing is more important to morale and productivity.

7) Leaders are humble. Another word for this is "gracious." When a real leader makes a mistake, he immediately owns up to it, apologizes to whoever should be apologized to, and sets to work repairing the damage. They don't shift the blame. They don't pretend that they never make a mistake.

8) Leaders communicate effectively. They know what the other person needs to be told - and what the other person doesn't need to hear. They don't bore the listener. They provide the big picture first - the context - and then they provide the necessary details clearly, and in the right order.

They are very efficient in their communication, but they are also tuned in to their audience. If they say something, and the listeners don't understand, they stop and explain. If they are starting to bore the audience with too much detail, they get themselves back on track. They start and end meetings on time. They make sure no one derails the meeting. And they make sure everyone understands what the meeting is supposed to accomplish.

When you are the leader of a company, people are expecting you to behave like a leader. You also need to have leaders working for you, people who can inspire, guide, comfort, and teach those working below them. And, if your staff members start behaving like leaders, everyone will become more productive. Your company will be a pleasanter place to work. You will be more likely to attract customers to your business; customers avoid losers and do everything they can to work with leaders.

That's why understanding leadership behavior - and making it a part of your life - is the best recession-proofing you can provide for your business.