Leadership Today

The failings of leadership have been cited as a cause of the global financial crisis. Perhaps this can be said of any significant crisis. So what does it take to be a successful leader in today's economy? Below is what industry leaders identify as the six essential characteristics of today's rising leaders.

What seems to be missing from this list below, obtained from industry leaders themselves, is ethics and morals. I think that is the biggest contributing factor to the various economic, political, social and environmental problems we face.

Their list:

1. Ambitious. Emerging executives are highly ambitious, but retain a balance between their ambition and arrogance. They are comfortable with their assessment of a situation.

2. Decisive. They aren't afraid of making decisions at an operational, tactical and strategic level. They don't hesitate to take action and responsibility for driving change, and can handle lots of information from a variety of perspectives to make effective, strong decisions.

3. Brave. They should be able to walk into a boardroom and hold their own. They need to be flexible, knowledgeable and have impact. A good emerging leader remains clam, in control, garnering respect by they way they hold themselves and delivering messages with confidence.

4. Empowering. They have the ability to empower other people in an organisation. They are happy to push decision-making downwards and don't need to hold onto a lot of the nitty-gritty work. They promote other people's ownership while still providing guidance and support to their team.

5. Entrepreneurial. They tend to be entrepreneurial, looking outside to see what's going on in the marketplace. They seek out innovative solutions to problems, challenge set paradigms, and reject the status quo. They focus on external drivers rather than just internal ones.

6. Visionary. They are able to set strategic direction, seeing where a business is heading and understanding the short- and long-term issues. They tend to be quite innovative, stepping outside the box and are able to put guidelines in place to set the pace of change and make things happen.

[Source: Human Resources Leader, 15 September 2009]

7 Action Ideas for Leadership Development

1. Determine the best leadership style for your organisation
2. Identify current and potential leaders within the company
3. Identify leadership gaps
4. Develop succession plans for critical roles
5. Develop career planning goals for potential leaders
6. Develop skills road map for future leaders
7. Develop retention programs for current and future leaders

Leadership Tips brought to you by the letter, "H"

THE FOUR H's OF LEADERSHIP

HOPE
Research by Harvard Business School shows that people want to see progress rather than receive recognition; they want to see they're making a difference and get a sense that things are getting better. The good news is leaders don't have to go too far to find hope in 2010. There is no doubt that the economy and general employment conditions are getting better so there is still plenty of reason for optimism and hope.

HUMANITY
This is best reflected in a company's CSR. It's about connecting with the community -whether through charity, demonstrating conscionable corporate governance, or using influence in a positive way. The corporate world is very powerful and its leaders need to recognise they can create positive outcomes for their employees outside of work. Afer all, companies are comprised of people and we all have a desire to better the lives of those around us.

HUMILITY
Humility means not being a celebrity leader and remembering what it's like to walk alongside your staff. If you sit in boardrooms all day you'll lose touch with your employees - the key is to never stray too far away from the shop floor. Some of the best-performing and more enduring companies have self-effacing leaders who are able to look in the mirror when things go wrong. They can take a good look at themselves, their decisions and their methods, analyse the situation, and look at how they can make a difference.

HUMOUR
Never lose the ability to have a good laugh at yourself. Leaders who relax and enjoy being at work put their staff at ease. Given we spend so much time at work, we should enjoy what we're doing. Laughter is particularly important for leaders because its effects cascade through the organisation. It's well documented that a happy employee is a productive employee.
[Source: Human Capital, issue 8.4]