6 Keys To Leading So People Want To Follow Your Lead

What does storytelling reveal to us as being the key attributes leaders everywhere need to exhibit to encourage employees to follow them both in good times and in bad? That’s the basis of my conversation with Forbes columnist and leadership writer/consultant, Erika Andersen.

Erika is the founding partner of Proteus, a coaching, consulting and training firm that focuses on leader readiness. Erika also serves as a consultant and advisor to CEOs and top executives from several organizations including GE, Gannett Corporation, Time Warner Cable, Rockwell Automation, Turner Broadcasting, and Madison Square Garden.

In addition to her popular business blog on Forbes, Erika is the author of three books, including her latest one, “Leading So People Will Follow”, which examines the “hero story” motif and what it reveals as the six core attributes successful leaders use to inspire others to follow their leadership.

Over the course of our conversation, Erika shares a number of stories and examples to illustrate these key leadership attributes including:

• How leaders can overcome the current short-term focus in order to motivate and empower their employees to commit to their long-term vision for their organization.
• Why leaders must be both passionate and dispassionate in order to gain awareness of the concerns and needs of those under their care.
• The underlying behaviour that helps leaders to understand what’s behind the actions and words of those you lead.
• How leaders can be generous with their limited time and resources in order to ensure the collective success of their employees.
• What leaders really need to do to exemplify trustworthiness in their leadership.

As I mentioned at the end of the show, I’d love to hear what you think about this episode, as well as what other topics you’d be interested in hearing more about in upcoming episodes of my show. You can share your thoughts/ideas by leaving a comment below or by filling out the contact form on my website.

I’d appreciate it if you could help support future episodes of this leadership podcast by taking a moment to rate my show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your preferred streaming platform.

Noteworthy links:

• Buy Erika Andersen’s book “Leading So People Will Follow” on Amazon.com (or Amazon.ca for Canadian readers).
• Learn more about Liz’s work and her company at Proteus-International.com.
• Read Erika’s business blog on Forbes.