Defining Qualities of Effective
Leadership - Another Free Business Article From Lismore
Lawyers
For starters, effective leaders are . .
.
1. Humble
2. Decisive
3. Selfless and self sacrificing
4. Empathetic
5. Disciplined
6. Good communicators (they communicate the agenda
clearly and effectively)
7. Fair and unprejudiced
Effective leaders . . .
8. Maximize the potential of their people
by empowering them
9. Surround themselves with people smarter than they
are
10. Do not care who takes the credit
11. Admit that they are infallible and admit mistakes
when they make them
12. Have a burning desire to make a difference . . . a
positive difference
This list is by no means exhaustive. In fact, I can go
on and on.
But no matter how long the list of leadership qualities
is, I can tell you honestly that without three of these
leadership qualities you will inevitably fail as a
leader.
What are these four uncompromising qualities
of effective leadership?
1. Surround yourself with people smarter
than you
2. Acknowledge mistakes when you make them. Take
corrective actions, learn from them, and move on
3. Maximize the potential of your people and
4. Be selfless. Serve your people and your
organization. Abhor personal gain.
The desire for personal gain will colour your judgment
and will ultimately lead you to the path of
failure.
To illustrate, consider what happened recently in the
company where I work.
As I write this, I work for a global beverage company
with roots in the UK. I am in one of the offices in
West Africa.
My company's cocoa based beverage drink has about 50%
share of the country's total cocoa based beverage
market.
Clearly, it was a big operation. Some two years back,
my company's CEO and the finance director were
fired.
Why? Over statement of company accounts.
The company wasn't doing well. Instead of telling his
bosses so, the CEO . . . with the collaboration of the
finance director . . . tempered with the accounts to
make the company look good and thus, retain his
position as CEO.
This situation went on for about three successive years
before external auditors contracted by the parent
company in the Uk detected the fraud.
That incident resulted in a loss to the company of over
$116 million U.S. dollars. And shareholders have been
told they should not expect dividends for the next two
years.
The CEO was a young talented fellow who had been CEO of
the company for over 10 years.
He was well respected in the community, even winning
the position of "The Most Respected CEO" in my country
twice.
So, what went wrong? What took him down?
1. The desire for greater prominence, greater fame, and
personal gain.
2. Arrogance. He refused to admit he was wrong and wind
down production to match demand and market
opportunities (He had a vision to make the company a
billion dollar company by year 2010. He called this . .
. project marathon).
When the market wasn't growing as fast as production
was growing, he refused to slow down production. The
factories kept on producing at break-neck speed and the
company kept on acquiring more warehouses to store what
was produced that the market could not accommodate)
3. He surrounded himself with 'yes men' - directors who
were at his mercy . . . directors who stood by and
watched while the life investment of shareholders went
down the drain
Make no mistake about it.
No matter how good you currently are, no matter how
intelligent you may be, no matter how many awards you
have won, you will fail eventually if you are not a
selfless leader.
Remember all the leadership qualities discussed above.
But whatever you do, do not forget the four most
important leadership qualities.
You can be a great leader. Effective leadership is
within your reach. It starts by understanding
leadership qualities you need essential for effective
leadership.
The good news is . . . these attributes can be learned.
And . . . this is your big chance.
