Modern leadership styles in the changing world
Continued from yesterday
As a leader you must know yourself |
* An informal atmosphere is a competitive advantage.
* Make sure everybody counts and everybody knows they count.
* Legitimate self-confidence is a winner - the true test of
self-confidence is the courage to be open.
* Business has to be fun - celebrations energies and organisation.
* Never underestimate the other guy.
* Understand where real value is added and put your best people
there.
* Know when to meddle and when to let go - this is pure instinct. As
a leader, your main priority is to get the job done, whatever the job
is. Leaders make things happen by:
* knowing your objectives and having a plan how to achieve them
* building a team committed to achieving the objectives
* helping each team member to give their best efforts as a leader you
must know yourself. Know your own strengths and weaknesses, so that you
can build the best team around you. Then you Plan carefully, with your
people where appropriate, how you will achieve your aims. You may have
to redefine or develop your own new aims and priorities. Leadership can
be daunting for many people simply because no one else is issuing the
aims. Leadership often means you have to create your own from a blank
sheet of paper. Set and agree clear standards. Keep the right balance
between 'doing' yourself and managing others 'to do'.
Build teams. Ensure you look after people and that communications and
relationships are good. Select good people and help them to develop.
Develop people via training and experience, particularly by agreeing
objectives and responsibilities that will interest and stretch them, and
always support people while they strive to improve and take on extra
tasks. Follow the rules about delegation closely - this process is
crucial. Ensure that your managers are applying the same principles.
Good leadership principles must cascade down through the whole
organisation. This means that if you are leading a large organization
you must check that the processes for managing, communicating and
developing people are in place and working properly. Communication is
critical. Listen, consult, involve, and explain why as well as what
needs to be done. Some leaders lead by example and are very 'hands on';
others are more distanced and let their people do it. Whatever your
example is, it is paramount the way you work and conduct yourself will
be the most you can possibly expect from your people. If you set low
standards you are to blame for low standards in your people. "Praise
loudly, blame softly." Follow this maxim.
If you seek one single most important behaviour that will rapidly
earn you respect and trust among your people, this is it: Always give
your people the credit for your achievements and successes. Never take
the credit yourself - even if it's all down to you, which would be
unlikely anyway. You must however take the blame and accept
responsibility for any failings or mistakes that your people make. Never
publicly blame another person for a failing. Their failing is your
responsibility, true leadership offers is no hiding place for a true
leader. Take time to listen to and really understand people. Walk the
job. Ask and learn about what people do and think, and how they think
improvements can be made. Accentuate the positive.
Express things in terms of what should be done, not what should not
be done. If you accentuate the negative, people are more likely to veer
towards it. Like the mother who left her five-year-old for a minute
unsupervised in the kitchen, saying as she left the room, "...don't you
go putting those beans up your nose..." Have faith in people to do great
things - given space and air and time, everyone can achieve more than
they hope for. Provide people with relevant interesting opportunities,
with proper measures and rewards and they will more than repay your
faith. Take difficult decisions bravely, and be truthful and sensitive
when you implement them. Constantly seek to learn from the people around
you - they will teach you more about yourself than anything else. They
will also tell you 90 per cent of what you need to know to achieve your
business goals.
To be continued
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