One of the newsletters I receive in my in box is design lines, from Shel Design. I was just flicking through some of her older editions and came across this quote which I felt was worth sharing:

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it
Dwight Eisenhower
It is an interesting statement. Some people act as if leadership is about making others do what you want, regardless of their wants and needs, but the results are much better if the people following can work towards something they want, too.

So next time you have to lead someone, think about how you can put the project into their terms. For instance, instead of “You need to make more sales so I make more money”, approach it as “If you increase sales by x%, I will give you a bonus.”