General Principles Of A Leader

There can never be a step-by-step guide for how to be a leader. The world is so varied and the situations that call for leadership so wide-ranging that one approach can never work in all cases. This means that a leader must be able to adjust his or her approach based on the circumstances. However, despite the lack of a universal “right way” to be a leader, there are general principles of leadership that have broad applicability and will make a leader more successful in any situation.

The most important of these principles are for the leader to understand the domain, respect people, and set and maintain focus even in the face of obstacles. One quality that makes a leader effective understanding of domain. A domain is the context in which …show more content…

A superb Facility Manager will understand how all of the divisions of their park operate and the outward rippling implications of the actions and decisions of each.

It is an impossible task for any leader to have all of this knowledge all of the time. As a result, just as important as “knowing” is knowing when one does not know. A good leader is always able to admit a lack of expertise, will know where to go for the answer, and will not hesitate to go there and get it. Admitting lack of understanding is the first step on the road to full comprehension and a good leader will not claim more knowledge than he or she possesses. Even if it were possible to know everything about his or her domain, doing so would not be enough by itself to make a good leader. A leader will never succeed to full potential without understanding his or her people. The Holden Leadership Center at the University of Oregon quoted author Robin Sharma as writing , “leadership is about people.” (Sharma, “10 Things Authentic Leaders Do”, 2009) There can be no leader without followers. If the leader fails to understand the followers and does not work to build them into a team, then organizational success will not be a collaborative endeavor and is much less likely to be achieved. In contrast, a team made of a leader and followers who understand .