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Some say great leaders are born, not made. And while there are some born leaders, many more have honed their leadership skills through extensive practice. I am going to tell you who is a leader and what to do to become the most effective leader you can be.
The leaders have differed widely in their personality traits and life stories. Some have been charismatic, some very modest. Some came from poor backgrounds, others grew up amid great wealth. Some of them came by their leadership abilities naturally, and many others worked hard at developing them.
But all of these men and women have shared three critically important skills: They have been driven by an inspiring vision of success. They have excelled at communication. And they have exercised superior judgment.
Leadership success always starts with vision. Henry Ford dreamed of a car families could afford. Steve Jobs dreamed of an easy-to-use computer that would unleash creativity. Nelson Mandela dreamed of an integrated, prosperous South Africa.
These were heady ideas, and they attracted more than a few sneers. But they weren't the daydreams of lazy people with too much time on their hands. They were deep-seated passions, magnetic enough to capture the minds of just a few devoted followers at first but ultimately the imaginations of millions of women and men.
A compelling vision has that power. It inspires, clarifies and focuses the work of individuals, stop and take a hard look at your vision of success. What is it? Do you even have one? Often, in the rush to get things done, to launch a new project or product, we ask people to get behind our efforts without ever really giving them a good reason why.
Your vision need not be as grandiose as Mandela's. It probably shouldn't be, unless you have Mandela's phenomenal array of talents and experience. . It's fine to start with something smaller, like launching a new product line in your business, or publishing a book or instituting new technology to improve your customer service. Just pick something that matters, something that excites both you and your colleagues.
But even an incredibly compelling vision won't do much good if it remains only in your head. That brings us to the second key skill: communication. For busy leaders, there's always the temptation to keep your thoughts to yourself, often because there's so much other pressing work to do. Stopping to talk and listen can seem a waste of time. It's easy to cut off debate too early, especially in this economically trying moment.
Still, mustering the discipline and time to share strategies with your staff or talk directly with your clients is only half the fight. You still need to communicate effectively--and that means being your organization's chief listening officer. When key information needs to be shared, some leaders will simply send out a memo or give a speech (without leaving time for questions) and check "communication" off their list. Later on, they'll wonder why their customers don't like a product or why their men and women don't understand their new strategy.
We can all learn a few things from A. G. Lafley, the CEO of Procter & Gamble. There's nothing flashy about him as a leader, but he's led a remarkable turnaround at P&G during his nearly 10 years at the top. He's done it by relentlessly communicating his core message: "The consumer is boss."
Lafley holds meeting regularly with buyers of P&G products. That's one of his top priorities. He'll visit them in their homes and join them for shopping trips to get their feedback, and he does so all over the world. He lavishes the same attention on his employees, meeting them in their offices, listening to their ideas and thanking them for their service. We're wise to imitate him.
A third key element of successful leadership involves judgment. In the end, your judgment calls, which are rooted in your character, become your legacy. Without the right values, judgment can easily be trumped by perverse incentives that encourage poor ethical choices.
Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis covered this topic well in their excellent book Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls. Not every single judgment call you make needs to be correct. But you need to make the right calls consistently on the big choices involving strategy and talent.
Good strategy judgment frequently means a leader must find a new path when his organization is heading in the wrong direction. How well you can do this depends on your ability to scan the horizon and ask the right questions. But unless you have the right people on board, you can't execute your strategy. You need to get the right talent, and you need to ensure that it's positioned appropriately throughout your organization--and this is a constantly evolving process. The skill sets you need and the places in your organization where your men and women best fit will change as your environment and competition shift and new opportunities arise.
For instance, Ann Mulcahy became CEO of Xerox , when it was on the verge of bankruptcy. She led a phenomenal recovery by exercising great judgment. Mulcahy's first move was to meet with the top 100 executives at Xerox and ask them to stay and fight for the company's future. All but two of them did.
She also got out into the field to meet her employees and scout talent. She surrounded herself with good people and made sure they knew she needed them. She looked into the future and saw brighter days ahead for Xerox, even when key advisers were urging her to consider bankruptcy.
In her view, that future depended on re-engaging with customers through a strong sales team, launching innovative products by investing in research and development and reinventing the company's approach to its operating expenses. That strategy, developed in cooperation with her colleagues, rallied the entire organization. It provides a fine model for us as well.
As you see, the effective leadership is much more than simply giving assignments and direction. It requires vision, collaboration, planning and practice. And this all takes time and a lot of hard work. If you aren't one of those "born" leaders, be prepared for a serious commitment to honing your leadership skills.
Here are some tips for effective leaderships
Assess your personal strengths and weaknesses
A good leader excels in some areas, but also understands his or her limitations. Knowing these strengths and weaknesses will help you delegate responsibility accordingly, hire people who complement you, and know what areas you need to work on to become a better leader.
Learn how people perceive you
Good leaders have a thorough understanding of how they're perceived. This knowledge will make you better able to communicate with employees and understand what qualities you need to work on to manage more effectively. For example, if you are known as being a bit too harsh, you can work on your tone of voice and use more praise. It is often hard to know how employees perceive you, so try to observe them closely or ask them in a non-threatening way such as, "If you had to name my best and worst qualities, what would they be?" An anonymous comment box might also elicit the information you need.
Know the traits the group values in a leader
There is no one-size-fits-all leader. To be an effective leader for a certain group, you will need to understand what qualities the group values. Trust? Creativity? Organization? You should hone whatever qualities they value (ones that will also inspire them to work smarter and harder). If you don't know the answer to this question, observe your group members or simply ask them what makes a good leader. They will likely appreciate your commitment to their concerns.
Develop a vision and solid goals
Members of a group need to know what they are working toward. Your job as a leader is to work with your employees to set measurable goals with achievable milestones along the way. Your team members should know your vision for the group as a whole and for them as individuals.
Know the organization
An effective leader knows the purpose and goals of his or her group, the purpose and goals of the overall organization, and the best strategies to achieve these goals. The leader understands not only how his or her group operates, but also how it operates in the context of the entire business. You should know what each department and individual (assuming your business is relatively small) does and how it affects the organization as a whole. You should also understand the external operations of the organization.
Know the industry
You should know the industry trends, major players, marketplace and other relevant information for the industry in which you work.
Make your meetings work
When you call a meeting, you need to know how to make it productive and lead to concrete action. The first step in this process is to set an agenda for the meeting and follow it. End the meeting by clearly outlining the "action items" or important points from the meeting.
Follow up the meeting with notes about what happened in the meeting as well as any specific action items and who is responsible for executing them.
Learn to communicate better
A good communicator should not only speak clearly and with confidence, but must also be a good listener. Here are a few tips to speak with confidence and clarity:
* Prepare what you have to say
This includes thoroughly researching your subject manner and outlining your speech.
* Practice
Practice your speech in front of others if possible. It might also be useful to take a public speaking class.
* Know your audience
Tailor what you are going to say to your audience. Make sure you make it clear why this speech matters to them. Also, know what they want out of a speech - do they just want you to hurry up? If so, keep it short.
* Visualize your success
* Make eye contact with your audience
* Act confident, even if you are not
* Look your best
* Be a good listener
Good listeners look for verbal and nonverbal cues from others. It is often an effective strategy to paraphrase what the other person has said to make sure you have understood correctly.
Recognize and encourage employees
One of the biggest motivators for employees is recognition for their good work and encouragement along the way. Motivate your employees to continue with a project, and then praise them as they do good work along the way.
Build your team
An effective leader usually does not, and should not, work alone. He or she should communicate with members of the team, as well as show team members how to work well with each other. All members should be encouraged to participate in the group.
Don't be afraid to innovate and take risks. An organization that neither innovates nor takes risks is likely to fail in the long run. A good leader will step out of the safe zone for a good idea.
Learn from your mistakes
Leaders slip up. Use your mistakes as a steppingstone for improving your leadership skills.
Develop a leadership style that works for your team
"Situational leadership," one of the key management theories, is based on the idea that a leader should choose his style based on the willingness and ability of the group to accomplish its goals. If the group is unwilling and unable, the leader should be extremely hands-on, providing a lot of help, structure, direction and encouragement to the group. If the group is willing but unable, the leader can be more of a coach, providing direction, guidance and inspiration. If the group is willing and able, the leader can be more of a delegator. If the group is unwilling but able, the leader should focus on building relationships and motivating employees. These are merely guidelines. A leader must read the group, understand what it needs to succeed and how to make that happen, and then do it.
Practice makes (close to) perfect
Becoming an effective leader takes practice. Work on your skills. Seek feedback so you can improve. Try new methods when something doesn't work. The more you work on becoming an effective leader, the more likely you are to get there.