Great leadership is the backbone of the success of any organisation. Effective leadership enables a team to achieve its goals, inspire others to perform at their best, and create an environment where the team can grow, thrive and be productive.
However, being a good leader is not a walk in the park and requires a set of skills, attributes, and behaviours that need to be constantly refined and updated as you lead a diverse team of people.
To help leaders access how they are doing currently, Harvard published a leadership checklist that highlights the essential qualities and behaviours of a successful leader which we would explore below;
1. Articulate a Vision:- Formulate a clear and persuasive vision and then communicate it to all members of the organisation.
2. Think and Act Strategically:- Set forth a pragmatic strategy for achieving that vision both in the short and long-terms, then ensure that it is widely understood. Consider all the players and anticipate reactions and resistance before they manifest.
3. Honour the Room:- Frequently express your confidence in and support for those who work with and for you.
4. Take Charge:- Embrace a bias for action. Take responsibility even if it is not formally delegated, particularly if you are well-positioned to make a difference.
5. Act Decisively:- Make good and timely decisions, and ensure they are properly executed.
6. Communicate Persuasively:- Communicate in ways that people will not forget. Simplify and clarify.
7. Motivate the Troops:- Show empathy and appreciate the distinctive intentions that people bring then build on those diverse motives to draw the best from them.
8. Embrace the Front Lines:- Delegate authority except for strategic decisions, and stay close to those most directly engaged with the work of the organisation.
9. Build Leadership in Others:- Develop leadership throughout the organisation. The best leaders develop new leaders.
10. Manage Relations:- Build enduring personal ties with those who look to you and work to harness the feelings and passions of the workplace.
11. Identify Personal Implications:- Help everybody appreciate the impact that the vision and strategy are likely to have on their own work and future with the organisation.
12. Convey Your Character:- Through gesture, commentary, and actions, ensure that others appreciate that you are a person of integrity. Show empathy, no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
13. Dampen Over-Optimism:- Counter the hubris of success, focus attention on latent threats and unresolved problems and protect against the tendency for managers to engage in unwarranted risk.
14. Build a Diverse Top Team:- Leaders need to take final responsibility, but leadership is also a team sport best played with a roster of committed and capable individuals.
15. Place Common Interest First:- In setting strategy, communicating vision and reaching decisions, the common purpose must come first, and personal self-interest last.
As you think about how to be a better, more effective leader, utilising this checklist is a good starting point to lead better.
And as a business owner or hiring manager, one of the ways to start leadership on the right foot is by hiring the right people, and we can support that process.
From our pool of trained, work-ready young people, our recruiting team can support you in finding the right person for your business.
Send an email to communications@waveacademies.org or call 09090074238 to get started.
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