Being in a senior leadership position comes with its own demands and perils; which; the most successful leaders recognise and consistently work at overcoming.
The more effectively the leader can straddle between day to day operational matters as well as the tactical and strategic, the better would be the outcome.
Let's take a look at a few qualities the leader would do well to hone. While these may appear to be `soft' skills, they have the potential to be show-stoppers if not heeded to.
Having a personal `SOP': Introspection on what one wants to deliver apart from the expected deliverables for that position; is a useful first step.
A leader may have several smaller goals which progressively and purposefully take the department or organisation ahead, one step at a time.
An 'abundance' mindset: Leaders with an abundance mindset believe and act in ways that operate from a secure mental make-up. Opposed to this, leaders with a `scarcity mindset' often engage in `win-lose' styles. If everyone is to be a `winner', it takes tremendous maturity to live, lead and influence by example.
Taking people along: To carry out the vision and execute flawlessly, as a leader you would need not just a business strategy but also a people management strategy. Building allies and forging aliances in your constituency requires maturity and high levels of emotional intelligence.
Leadership is a lot about enabling diverse groups in the organisation to function seamlessly and deliver optimal output. Significant value is also generated when new ideas and suggestions are encouraged at all levels of the value chain.
Managing resistance is an all too familiar scenario and comes with the territory. It is vital to execution of strategic plans, that a leader adept at dealing with this and if not, the result is a distressed community of stakeholders.
Communication and connect:
The most successful leaders are often brilliant communicators - they listen and first seek to understand rather than speak and be understood.
The most successful leaders not only keep an open door policy but actively seek out engagement opportunities with all levels. As a leader you are in charge of creating this connected, living and thriving organization.
Simplify: Simplify all dimensions of work and work-life. New business complexities can be managed while avoiding organisational complicatedness. One could evolve ones' own context appropriate rules - the bottom-line being avoidance of bureaucracy and a complicated process and procedure driven team/ organisation.
One factor that remains consistent and non-negotiable across situations is about `doing the right thing'. It not only helps weather many a storm but also ensures one is truly the leader.
Courtesy: www.peoplematters.in
