Thinking about the critical skills of leadership, I will put my hand up and admit that it took me a number of years after I became a manager to understand the difference between a manager and a leader.
I did what my manager was doing and thought that would work.
How naïve that was!
I was fortunate to be approached to work with another company where my boss was a real mentor. He understood leadership, and I learned the simplest of lessons from him – you manage things, and you lead people!
Simple but so profound.
The “Hygiene” Factor
Working with companies in different industries with different cultures, I am frequently fascinated by how leadership is misunderstood and very often not valued as highly as it should.
There is the token “acknowledgment” and “talk” about leadership, but it is not alive in the culture of the business. Those companies are at risk if they do not change – sustained success is a consequence of great leadership.
I am not dismissing management as unimportant. Process and systems need to be managed with efficiency and excellence – they are what I call the “hygiene” factor.
Leadership is what sets you apart.
I am often dismayed when I observe that those who are charged with leadership so often struggle to know what leadership means and what it takes.
Recently, I was asked to speak at a business conference where I took the opportunity to talk about leadership skills, and I also want to share them here with you.
So, here are my six leadership skills:
1. Leaders Get Results
To have a reputation as a leader, you must have a track record of getting results, but getting results in the right and honorable way.
Many are surprised when I put this first, as they often equate leadership with “soft” skills and not hard-nosed business results. But it is fundamental for any leader to have a track record of achieving the required results. No avoiding it!
2. Leaders Care About Their People
Not just in words but in their behavior. There is an old saying – people will not remember what you say, nor will they remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel.
The bottom line is that your people know you care about them – for their sake.
3. Leaders Share Their “Why”
We all know that businesses must make a profit – that is a given. But that is not the purpose. When Steve Jobs set up Apple, his “why” was not about money, computers, or mobile phones. It was about giving a “new experience.” True leaders are clear about their purpose and mission and spend time communicating that to their people. They also clearly live it.
4. Leaders Deliver on Their Commitments
Leaders always do what they say they will do. When you say you will do something, your people must have the mindset that it will definitely happen – not that “all things being equal, it will happen” mentality. There must be no doubt.
5. Leaders Develop Talent
Your people are more developed and have acquired more skills due to your leadership. If you cannot say that, you have failed.
You must motivate and encourage your people to reach levels they thought impossible or unattainable. If you don’t, what benefit have you been?
6. Leaders Clearly Value People Over Process
If you clearly do not trump people over process, then the process becomes more highly valued than people, and your people are lost in the milieu of statistics and reports. As a leader, you must demonstrate through your behavior and decisions that people are above process – all the time.
So, what do you think?
If you had to pick your six traits, what would they include?
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What Are Your Six Critical Skills of Leadership?
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I liked all the points of the leaders priorities. Broadly I would like to convey the same thing in another way. A leader must have focus on people, and this is a skill learnt from ones own internal sources hidden deep within. Next priority on process- and for this skill to acquire one has to depend on outside sources of informations on the subject. In short a leader has to have access to both his inner and outer source of knowledge for a sustained performance.
I think that in any organization processes are more robust than people. In case of poor leadership people will left their job at that time all work and competencies associated with the person who is doing job will go along with him. I such critical situation any best leader will not save the damage he has made for organization. It is always better that processes are far above than people.
Vikas. Food for thought…very similar to the old adage “what came first…the chicken or the egg”.
I understand your point, but consider this…how sustainable is your process if it continues to lead to unproductive employees; it leads to burnout, employee disengagement and consequently turnover and a significant impact on your top and bottom line. Do you change the process that needs to be one of sustainability or do you continue the process that ultimately costs your business significantly.
The process may make sense technically or even conceptually to you, but if your drivers of the process can’t drive this process at all, what needs to come first…people or process? You may initially build a process, but when you hire employees/people to produce the product/deliver the service, you may have to modify the process so that, that very important balance and operational sustainability is struck. Again…what’s the point of your process if you have no people to work within the parameters of your process?