Leadership Part III

Continued from last time…

In the last article, we considered some critical aspects of true leadership in general. In this article, we venture to look at effective leadership which eventually yields results.

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP DEFINED

When we take up the general subject of leadership, many people assume they qualify as they exercise some influence in one way or the other in their respective spheres of operation, but are all leaders effective? Do they reap the same results when they take up task? We hardly need to labour the point because the answer is clear: Not all are as effective. Highly effective people are leaders but they are much more superior in that when they take up a task; they succeed where others have failed or sweated to achieve similar results. In other words, an effective leader possesses intrinsic and internalised powers to get things done. For example, the effective leader builds teams, empowers people, coaches colleagues and has the capability to cause people to unleash their hidden potential to produce high results. Effective leaders are charismatic and possess certain unique characteristics to be highlighted later.

Having briefly defined an effective leader, we proceed to discover how an established leader can actually be even more productive.

How can a leader improve his/her effectiveness?

What gadgets will he or she use to achieve maximum potential? A number of ways come to the fore but the following will suffice for our purposes:

(1) The leader must be able to make decisions timorously, with consensus having considered all options laid bare. It is a disastrous situation when one is indecisive or makes decisions late. A leader must have the courage to make tough decisions and that, quickly,
(2) Ability to set goals: The leader must set high challenging goals and do everything to ensure that those goals are either met or excelled. Each year should bring new challenges.
(3) Ability to develop a cohesive teamwork – The leader must be at the forefront to build a culture of teamwork. He/she must study the staff and place them in the right positions while providing a conclusive environment. The leader will do this by assigning roles, building multi skill capacity, rewarding people as well as visiting them. The leader is empathetic and helps people to willingly go across their departmental walls to collaborate with others. This paradigms shift takes time but possible.
(4) By leading meetings and discussions. Regular meetings to discuss issues as a team is critical. When people are given room to express themselves, the feel “heard” and encouraged to be innovative. In such brain storming session, people are not timid or afraid to make mistakes or to disagree to a proposition. People pull together. Furthermore, the leader gets to know people better, removes prejudices and ultimately let people make the decision to which they will all willing subscribe. These meetings could be daily each morning 15 minutes, weekly or monthly as the case may be. This helps to assess the progress and check the pace or bench markets set. This approach avoids delays, minimizes misunderstandings and binds the team with invisible cords that are not easily severed.
(5) Analysing problems: The leader has to sharpen the prowess of analysing data, questioning where not clear and also intelligently interpreting issues, especially financial figures. The leader should come with a possible attitude and determined to apply ones mind. No longer are financial reports the private preserve of a certain elect few.
(6) Ability to give support. Once people notice that you are empathetic and not only interested in them when they are churning out your expectation, they will gladly soak into your leadership wing shadow. The leader must make every effort to build trust, look after people, sit with them, impart confidence and provide a supportive back up wherever possible. I am sure that the above traits, once cultivated will increase ones’ effectiveness ten fold.

MARKS OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER

The effective leader towers above peers in terms of abilities, creativity, achievement and influence on others. The following seven traits mark out the effective leader!

(1) Great leaders identify, cultivate and inspire enthusiastic followers
“Some people are successful but are not leaders” asserts Ken Shelton and I tend to agree. Some seem to blossom on the labours of predecessors or they themselves have a personality that forces people to do things, not necessarily that the people are inspired or challenged. These kinds of leaders work best alone and do not enrich others. Not so the effective leader! He/she is a source of comfort, self-acceptance & worth, cultivates a cohesive community culture that is of great help and challenge to others, to the extent that others want to imitate them. They are not merely content to have a following but an empowered following that is charged, visionary and highly result based at all times. In short, they enlist the cooperation, support and loyalty of others.

(2) Great leaders focus their efforts
Highly effective people have a goal all the time upon their mind and will neither look to the left nor to the right until the goal is achieved. Nothing will destruct or cloud their view of the destination unless it helps them to attain the goal. They think, ponder and move towards the mark diligently. In short, there are focused and will not waste any energy, time or let any opportunity flip by. He/she redeems the time as the time is short. One thing done at a time!

(3) Great leaders face and overcome great difficulties
To the ordinary mind, a problem is a great stumbling block that can cause them to abandon ship or sit down to mourn over the apparent misfortune. On the other hand a great leader looks at hurdles as challenges and stepping-stones to higher heights of service. In other words, the leader learns from mistakes and builds on the successes by the same token. Ordinary leaders struggle where proactively effective leaders sail plainly. The effective leader is resilient despite the many setbacks.

(4) Great leaders expect more from themselves than they do from others
If you do not believe you are worth anything or able to do much, you will go as far as you believe. If you believe that, you can achieve much, you will obviously achieve success after success. The smaller successes lead to bigger ones until you excel by leaps and bounds. Effective leaders expect and believe that they themselves can do anything provided they put their head to it. In other words, the effective leader has a right self worth, a good head and a high confidence to achieve the objectives timorously and consistently so. In a way, they are “self contained” although they strongly believe in teamwork and net working. They master their functions very well. They demand more from self and willingly work relentlessly hours on end until the mark is reached. They are not only achievers but also self-starters and creatively so.

(5) Great leaders are not afraid to make tough decisions.
Many a leader will shrink back to make tough decisions for fear of becoming unpopular, misunderstood or loss of face. The effective leader is not afraid of all these but will meticulously & wisely worm his/her way through the problem to communicate an objective truth. The leader will consult widely, think through issues and give the final verdict, ready to bear all the consequences of the decision passed.

(6) Great leader have a vision and utmost faith in themselves to fulfil that vision.
If there is one attribute that marks any effective leader, it is that of having a vision to look into the future. With all the energies to hand, the leader sweeps across the present into the distant future, facing all challenges positively. Not only does the said leader have a blurred vision but a clearly distinct and attainable vision to which he/she will throw in all their weight to attain. Before launching out, the leader has great faith in the self to fulfil the activity according to expectations and beyond. Many a leader usually is chancing or makes pronouncements before hand, probably without even counting his/her troops for the challenge ahead. But effective leaders are resolved and determined to win, which is half the battle won. Are you such a one?

We continue looking at the traits of great leaders in our next article, mean while, weigh carefully whether you are indeed a leader. What about those that rule over us in our land, churches and homes? The ensuing article completes our brief analysis of the grand subject of leadership.