Don't Expect Your Leader to Have Leadership Skills
People in positions of leadership have certain skills and abilities and fundamentals which they use, and which they may have learned over time in order to become more effective in their leadership roles. However, their effective use of these skills, abilities and fundamentals does not necessarily make them a leader based on Maccoby's strict definition of a leader as someone people follow. A definition of leadership that incorporates all in leadership roles, even those who do not fit Maccoby's strict definition is - leadership is the process of motivating others to successfully achieve established quantitative objectives.
A leader or someone in a position of leadership:
- Has a vision of what they intend to achieve.
- States a vision which followers may clearly understand and then choose to help the leader achieve. The vision defines success in quantitative terms.
- Defines the overarching strategy to be employed to achieve success.
Leadership is exercised by someone who clearly states a vision which followers can understand, internalize, and use as a means to fulfill their own personal goals. A follower chooses to follow because they believe they can fulfill their personal goals (vision) through and by helping their chosen leader. Ideally, the achievement of desired outcomes fulfills the leader's vision and the follower's vision as well.
Leadership is exercised by people in positions that require it, for example, the CEO of a business entity. However, and this is an important however, the person who is in a position of leadership may not be (in fact rarely is) a natural leader, and this person may not have and or know how to use the fundamentals required for effective leadership.
This is the dilemma faced by most business organizations, and the root cause of poor performance throughout corporate America. CEOs and others in positions of leadership do not seek to fail, but because they are not properly equipped, failure is virtually a foregone conclusion, especially in times of economic slowdowns or periods of zero growth. Good economic times cover a multitude of leadership sins. Slow or zero growth economic periods expose leadership's weaknesses and flaws.
Effective leadership defined
Accordingly, the effective leader must have the ability to provide:
- A vision of what he/she intends to achieve.
- The overarching strategy for achieving success.
- The strategic organization requirements needed to carry out the overarching strategy.
- Quantitative objectives defining success
- A vision statement which, when understood by people in positions of following, will motivate them to choose to help the leader achieve. The vision statement defines success in quantitative terms.
- Competent people to fill critical management positions.
- A compensation system which measures performance quantitatively and rewards contributors appropriately.
Next month's installment is titled "Create a Solid Compensation Strategy That Rewards Leadership at All Levels"
