COPY others ideas. Who said you need to be a original? Learn your craft off others once you’ve identified the best. Others have. Why not you?

(Please comment, or give an alternative)

THINK of Simply The Best and an image of singer Tina Turner springs to mind. She sang an iconic song and suggested in the lyrics that we could be better than all the rest.

Well, no doubt you would like to be the best in whatever job or role you find yourself in. There are certain aspects of your character you can consider when trying to make yourself better.

Firstly, creativity, imagination, call it what you will – challenge yourself to find different ways of achieving a certain task. Take criticism in the spirit it is intended, to help you, and make sure when you are handing it out that it is constructive and based around helping the individual improve. Say ‘well done’ when it is appropriate.

Don’t stick to a tried and trusted formula, such as selling techniques you might have used over many years. There is the old adage ’stick to what you know best.’ And that might be what made you the successful person you are today. However, be flexible. Allow yourself to move with the times. Be adventurous.

Also, be enthusiastic, energised and show people you are excited about what you’re doing. Show them you care and they will care too. Try to copy what other people do well. Model yourself on someone you admire. And always be receptive to learning.

Attention to detail in areas such as finance, to make sure you are aware of profit/sales in the business environment is also important. Be on the ball. Be the best.

Time to Read – 90 seconds

Darren Fell, Managing Director and founder of Crunch.co.uk, is an entrepreneur and a persistent one at that.

Indeed, when I asked him on the phone for his one single leadership lesson, above all others, he spoke with passion about persistence, based on his own personal experience of being on the point of business collapse, and how he kept going.

As we feature persistence a lot, I asked him for another, and this is what he wrote:

I see many people who stop at the idea point. Is it good enough, will it work? The continual questions are often not helped by an unwillingness to talk the idea through with as many people as possible as they are scared it may be stolen.
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ARE you a people or systems driven person? Do you do the right thing or do you focus your energies on making sure things are done right? And do you originate your own ideas, or simply implement others?

Whether or not you are a leader, or simply a good manager, depends on your answers to those questions. Who says so? Well, Charles Helliwell, a behavioural analyst & mentor, and founder and publisher of Business Personality Audits (www.bpaudits.co.uk) believes there is a distinction between the two.

Like all good subjects there are differing viewpoints. Our very own David Taylor often says it makes no difference. Your definition is what counts, as long as you are taking taking action and going in the right direction to achieve your goals. So, what do you think? Please read Charles’ thoughts and respond via a comment on the website or by emailing me, Clive Barrett, at clivebarrett@nakedleader.com.

Here is what Charles has to say:

“Too many people still confuse strong leadership with good management and vice versa. So I thought I would provide some simple and straightforward examples of both to enable individuals to determine their own individual preferences.

“There are many and varied distinctions between leadership and management; too many to mention. The most successful executives are those who understand those distinctions and manage to blend them in such a way to suit their own characters and personalities. Rather than list and debate the numerous and varied definitions of each, I’ve taken four which I believe are the key ingredients to successful management.

1. Leaders focus on people, whilst managers focus on systems.
2. Leaders do the right thing, whilst managers do things right.
3. Leaders inspire trust, whilst managers rely on controls.
4. Leaders originate, whilst managers imitate.
“So, are you a good manager; an inspirational leader or a little bit of both? We can all cite examples of strong leaders, but how many of us can do the same for good managers?
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IN business, as in sport, you are nowhere without the team. In some cases that might be as an individual with an entourage of people to help out.

Delegation is one key area of playing that team game well. Doing so will allow you to make maximum use of the resources available to you, for the benefit of the group. Different personalities can bring a lot of added value to the team and delegating a task can mean that person grows and learns new skills.

Thinking about who you will hand a particular task to is important. An urgent project might need someone who is quick, experienced and knows what they’re doing. A task that can take longer might be better suited to a person who has never had the opportunity to undertake that kind of work.

They need that string to their bow to allow them, and the company/team, to benefit. Short-term gain is vital – so to is the longer-term development of those around you.
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