“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, become more, you are a leader “
John Quincy Adams
In a recent article, we considered the importance of every business/organisation having Clear Vision, Values and Strategy. Indeed, it is in our experience so important to have Clear Vision, Values and Strategy that we refer to it as one of the two “Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200” elements of our exclusive Success Through People© Model.
Now we take a look at the other “Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200” element of the model – Effective Leadership.
So What’s it all About?
The best businesses have great leadership. Leaders need to be:
- effective from both task and people perspectives
- achievement-focused
- technically capable
- able to align the activity of their teams to the strategy of the business
- self-aware, authentic and relatable
- consultative and consistent.
While each individual leader needs to be effective, leaders also need to be collectively effective, particularly as the business grows. They need to be “on the same page” in terms of vision and values for example, and they need to work effectively together in order to determine and achieve the right strategy for success.
The Evidence:
There’s been a huge amount of evidence gathered over the years to support the belief that effective leadership is critical to business performance.
As a starting point, consider the following:
- Leaders displaying constructive behaviours are seen by others as having 43% higher quality work relationships (Human Synergistics)
- 37% of people say they have left a job because of poor leadership (Institute for Strategic Change, Harvard Business School)
- Leaders exhibiting the most constructive behaviours are seen by other as being 34% more effective in their jobs (Human Synergistics)
Tips:
If individual and/or collective leadership in your business is not quite as effective as it could be, consider these tips to start heading in the right direction:
- Provide opportunities for leaders to receive individual feedback and coaching on their management/leadership styles and plan for improvement (diagnostics such as Everything DiSC® and the Human-Synergistics LSI can be valuable).
- Consider the collective effectiveness of the management team and identify development or other opportunities to improve.
- Place leadership on the agenda as an item for discussion at the next management meeting. Gather views regarding current individual and collective effectiveness. Discuss what “good” leadership looks like within your business and what can/should be done differently?
- Develop a simple matrix of the core capabilities (knowledge, skills and personal attributes) required of managers, then assess current incumbents and provide support to fill identified gaps.
Keen to see how your business/organisation is doing in terms of the Success Through People(c) Model? Take our free STP Scorecard and receive a comprehensive, personalised report with tips and tools to help you and your business achieve Success Through People.