LEADERS....ARE THEY FACT OR FICTION?
A large part of most cultures is teaching individuals the importance of taking charge. In America, we spiritually inspire and scholastically educate each individual (you and me) to take control of our lives by making decisions and in doing so, we directly impact or control our destiny. We have been taught that this would produce leadership qualities in each of us; qualities that would continue to spawn national economic might for our country. Yet, today we are inundated with issues that emphasize communal participation, employee empowerment, tolerance of all views, consensus, understanding and......yes, the virtues of political correctness.
The unspoken message is that the old ways of doing things is bad. Leaders today are caught in a dilemma of insecurity that gives way to wallowing in an interminable sea of self doubt and unfocused direction. More and more, leaders are abdicating their responsibility of decision making, leaving that for consensus, and are gently trying fence sitting. I seem to recall that in my youth, too much fence sitting only gave me painful splinters in the most embarrassing locations.
Neither time, nor politics, nor economic conditions alter the fact that followers expect and need leaders to lead! Excellence never comes without pursuit. Excellence never is achieved without direction, discipline, structure, hard work and sacrifice: Excellence is a tough task master. This is not to say that a dictatorship or autocracy is necessary or good, but the only thing more debilitating to the follower is a leader who has no direction or clear focus. Excellence can never be achieved without strong definitive leadership.
Whether employees or followers, individuals need to be respected because many of them know a lot, but they don't know everything and rarely, if ever, are in position to see the big picture. That is why a strong leader is necessary to maintain a clear and focused organizational direction. To obtain consensus periodically is good; however, consensus should not be confused with agreement to the lowest common denominator.
Organizational behavior should be clear, concise and unambiguous and may at times be painful. Leaders are not responsible for followers reaching their career goals, obtaining and maintaining personal happiness or achieving fulfillment of life's aspirations: Fostering an environment that inspires the followers to accomplish such things is a leadership responsibility.
Of course anyone can declare that they are a leader and demand respect, but it takes followers to judge that you have earned their respect and then give it. There are five major points that basically sum up what leaders have a right to expect:
1.demand discipline, insist on orderliness, professionalism and self restraint,
2.require people to do their jobs and to conduct themselves in a responsible and considerate manner,
3.have a sense of urgency and expect others to perform accordingly. Each job should be recognized as necessary and its completion important to the organization,
4.expect everyone to take responsibility for identifying problems and to contribute ideas on how to effect improvement,
5.insist that creativity be recognized as an ally, and instead of fearing to try something that may be bold or innovative, make creativity a part of daily performance.
Now, having identified what leadership must expect and demand from followers, leaders must:
1.articulate their vision. Define the mission, identify specific objectives and set priorities,
2.be clear and consistent. If your vision cannot be understood within five minutes by a stranger, it is not clear enough. Your personal actions must also reflect your vision,
3.be competent in their knowledge. It is not necessary to be an authority on every procedure, but you must be able to exhibit a working knowledge of the process and certainly be aware of how all components fit together,
4.be fair and humane. Everyone needs to be treated with respect and dignity, until they exhibit behavior that forfeits that aspect of civility. Leaders need to be, and can be tough, but they also need to be open for give and take with co-workers,
5.be committed. Always be ready to accept whatever job or task comes along that may need to be done. Let your followers know that you are willing to work with them, that you support their efforts and appreciate their loyalty,
6.set standards of excellence through your own performance and DO NOT accept mediocre performance from others.
Leaders need to define and establish a corporate culture that can accommodate the dreams and aspirations of many..... followers, peers and supporters, yet remain focused to the primary objective. Leaders need to consciously sculpt a corporate goal that is far reaching, yet obtainable. The very nature of leadership demands that leaders lay down the corporate challenge and dare the brave to run the gauntlet. Providing the challenge, the inspiration to meet the challenge and the vision to go beyond the challenge are the missions of leadership and the keys for achieving excellence.
Without a doubt, the last few years have been filled with many uncertainties; global economics, political instabilities and social unrest issues parade across our print media and TVs nightly. Business environments, by their very nature of competition, are never certain. When uncertainty does invade an organization, the smooth functioning of that organization is disrupted and destabilized. At times, infiltration of uncertainty into the organizational structure may be inevitable. When it happens, it is important to quickly control the situation.
What can leadership do about managing uncertainty? Many leaders choose to say that they remain flexible and thus, the organization can move quickly with changing times. There is no doubt that, in today's world, only those who can respond quickly to the ever-changing customer needs and fast changing technological environments will succeed. However, "keeping one's options open" consistently can create a destabilizing ambiguity within the organization by depriving the organization of a clear focus. These leaders frequently rationalize or use the "open" posture to mask their inability to plan ahead, set objectives, or develop internal coordination strategies, and they almost never establish a method for measuring results. Questions can never be answered because there is never any concrete information to be shared due to the posture that everything is changing so rapidly and the "open leaders" are too busy trying to figure it out.
The key to being an effective leader is to be prepared to take advantage of the opportunity when it is presented. This means that an effective leader is one who is always armed with knowledge and is flexible, but never ambiguous. Never personalize uncertainty, always acknowledge its existence and meet it head on with knowledge and information. Present inspiration and always articulate the higher objective.
It has been said that, good leaders are born, not bred. Whichever is the case, in a fast changing environment, an individual's ability to assimilate new information and adapt to shifting circumstances is critical to success. Effective leaders are:
1.intellectually curious and develop insight into problems and issues,
2.inspirational by their own desire to excel. They lift people out of petty preoccupations and enjoin them to pursue objectives that are worthy of the best efforts, and they always provide motivation for improving performance regardless of the performance of others,
3.maintain and exhibit high levels of energy. Regardless of the success of the last task, you are only as good as your capacity to meet the next hurdle. Talent and ability are not sufficient. If energy levels decline or endurance is lacking, accuracy declines, lower quality work is produced and judgements become distorted,
4.not just hard working "workaholics". They are disciplined individuals who like to accept challenge as growth opportunities,
5.individuals who demonstrate integrity and perform ethically. Others learn that this is a quality that can be depended on and it induces people to trust and follow. Integrity is the root of honesty, fairness and consistency.
Success and achievements are never the end, only the beginning. Once an organization is running smoothly and efficiently, leaders are often besieged with a different set of problems. How can the winning edge be maintained? Usually, the winning edge is lost....those who created the success become the weakness. Loss of desire, letdowns, self indulgent satisfaction; all lead to the deterioration of maintaining the winning edge.
Excellence is an acquired taste. Continuing to accomplish excellence requires maintenance through hard work and discipline: By remaining focused with a desire and the "eye of the tiger". Too often, success is closely followed with the arrogance of accomplishment.
Achieving success gives a deep sense of fulfillment and pride. Unfortunately, this same sense of pride often turns to arrogance giving a false sense of invincibility. Many "WINNERS" relax too much, too long, and repose in their offices with an attitude that their superiority can overcome any future obstacle: if any deficiencies exist, their overall superiority will be enough to compensate. Many truly think that others will give them their next success on a silver plate just because they have been successful or performed in the past.
The true fact is, a winner can never relax. Continuing to be a winner is like hitting the bull's eye on a speeding target. The only thing harder than winning is doing it again and keeping the winning streak going. Maintenance of success demands that people continue to improve, following the same integrity path that took them there in the first place.
Leaders who have been successful and continue to be successful maintain their leading edge by:
adhering to the same work ethics that brought their first success,
planning a celebration of success and enjoying it for a short time, but do not allow momentum to be lost to complacency or self indulgence,
acknowledging the individuals who surround them by praising and encouraging their efforts,
being aware that complaints and gripes may stem from those who were not around to participate in the first success and doubt the possibility of a repeat performance,
evaluating the reasons for their success objectively. Was this an earned win or a windfall? Were we that great or was the competition that bad? Are we a dynasty, the current champion, or just the beneficiary of a given set of circumstances?
A good leader sets the good example, realizes and accepts all the obligations of leadership including that of being a role model, continues to encourage others to achieve loftier goals and never, ever, expects others to follow the "do as I say, not as I do "fools-golden rule.
Mr Metals |
