Why Your Good Leadership Isn't Great.

Good To Great. An incredible book by Jim Collins — relates how certain companies overcame their obstacles and pushed themselves from being just good companies to the stars of their industry. It chronicles how they made the leap, what they did, and what they didn't do. How can you make the leadership leap with your team and go from just being a good leader (and that isn't bad) to a great leader? Here are some basic qualities most leaders use and how to kick each one up a notch to great:

Integrity

When was the last time you really assessed YOUR performance? Do you stand by what you say? I'd like you to think back to three major or difficult decisions you had to make over the past year and review how did you make them? What was the result? Do you feel that you stayed true to your ethics and that your decision grew you as a leader in your organization?

Vision & Planning

How much of your time is focused on looking forward? Not just a few days or weeks, but months and years? How much of your time do you actually design personalized visions for your team — where you see them going?

Communication

What kind of communicator are you? Do you find yourself speaking more than listening? How can you communicate more effectively and efficiently in 2011? Do you know what talents and issues your team leaders have? How you can show them top-notch communication styles that they in turn can show their teams?

Persuasion, Motivation, & Coaching

What techniques do you use to get your teams to efficiently execute company strategy? Have you revisited your motivational and coaching behaviors? When was the last time you learned new ones? Do you treat everyone the same or do you personalize your coaching to ensure that you not only get 100% out of each person, but they in turn are encouraged to do more?

Adaptability

How did you handle adversity in the past few years? It's been hard on a lot of us. What behaviors did you see come to the surface and which ones did you desperately need for certain circumstances? What tools do you have at your disposal to help you better adapt to changes in the marketplace and the competition?

Decision-making

Do you make fast decisions or really take your time? What effect does this have on the flow of work coming from your area? Are you a micromanager? What information do you rely on? What can you do differently in 2011 to make faster and more reliable decisions?

Most of all — it's self-reflection. It's taking the time and energy to understand your current behaviors and how they are working. If they work, but at your team member's detriment, you might need to rethink some of your strategies.

Do you have any other areas that are critical to building GREAT leadership skills?

The One Mistake We All Make.

"In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."— Warren Buffett

If you don't know Warren, he's an American industrialist and philanthropist widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often called the "Oracle of Omaha", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people (third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011).

So he knows what he is talking about.

It's interesting Warren places integrity first. In today's work- and marketplace, the focus is centered on intelligence and energy. How much do you know? What experience do you have? What have you done? Are you willing to spend 10-12 hours a day (and more) knocking it out of the park for me?

But we always forget about integrity. A definition of integrity — "Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty."

Let's be honest — how many times do you experience a concerted effort by management to adhere to moral and ethical principles? Where everyone displays a powerful moral character? Where people don't lie and endeavor to tell the truth in their business dealings?

I'm not saying the marketplace or workplace is totally devoid of integrity. But it does take a back seat to profits, targets, stock price and power. Not even a back seat . . . it's in the trunk with the spare tire.

In the wake of all the turmoil with Wall Street, Washington, and many boardrooms, (and even on Twitter lately) we all need to begin to make harder choices based on integrity. Who we invest in, who we purchase from, who we do business with.

And sometimes we need to look within for our anchor to integrity — because sometimes we fall short. We need to also pay attention to our own actions and decisions and how they impact others.

Whatever we do, we will continue to face ethical challenges. It's how we react to them that counts.

What do you do to stay ethically anchored?