APU Business

Guidance for the New Professional

leadership-transparencyBy Donald Barnett
Quality Assurance Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs

This article was originally posted on the Great Leaders Inspire blog.

After countless applications and hours of interviews, you finally land a middle-management job which requires you to interact with front line employees while implementing the corporate strategy dictated by upper-management.  Where do you begin?  How do you build the foundations of successful leadership?  How do you avoid being just another manager who fails to inspire their charges?  These are difficult questions, and if you ask professionals in the field I am quite sure the answers would be varied and, often times, contradictory.  Granted, there are many facets to being a successful leader, but I propose the key attribute which must be cultivated is trust.

Upon examination, building trust is not one dimensional.  This process involves multiple facets which must be addressed in order to build the trust which is essential to effective leadership.  That being said, this process cannot be forced and must come naturally to the leader.  This idea, which may be seen in various theories such as transformational, servant, and the authentic styles of leadership, is not new, but I often find potential leaders fail to cultivate the trust required before attempting to lead their charges.  The results are more often than not, disastrous.

Leader, Know Thyself

Where do we begin?  I believe it goes back to the old adage which states we cannot expect others to like us if we do not like ourselves.  In this case, the successful leader must understand who they are, and what they believe, before they can expect their followers to know who they are and buy into their vision.  A leader must be confident in their convictions and, most importantly, be able to effectively communicate their ideals to their charges.

Visit Donald’s post on Inspire to read more on his leadership tips for the new professional.

About Donald Barnett

Donald Barnett is a Quality Assurance Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the current President of American Public University System’s chapter of Sigma Beta Delta, and recently has been conferred the degree of Master of Arts in Management at American Military University (member school of the regionally accredited American Public University System).  His interests revolve around organizational development, leadership, and effective training.  He is currently pursuing an EdD in Organizational Leadership and Development and hopes to use this knowledge to continue his service in the Federal Government while pursuing an adjunct teaching position online.

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