Leadership in the 21st Century

At the most basic level, a leader is someone who leads others. But what makes someone a leader? What is it about being a leader that some people understand and use to their advantage? What can you do to be a leader? Here's what you need to know and do.

A leader is a person who has a vision, a drive and a commitment to achieve that vision, and the skills to make it happen. Let's look at each of those in detail.

The Leader's Vision

A leader has a vision. Leaders see a problem that needs to be fixed or a goal that needs to be achieved. It may be something that no one else sees or simply something that no one else wants to tackle. Whatever it is, it is the focus of the leader's attention and they attack it with a single-minded determination.Whether the goal is to double the company's annual sales, develop a product that will solve a certain problem, or start a company that can achieve the leader's dream, the leader always has a clear target in mind.

This is a big picture sort of thing, not the process improvement that reduces errors by 2% but the new manufacturing process that completely eliminates the step that caused the errors. It is the new product that makes people say "why didn't I think of that", not just a toaster that lets you select the degree of darkness of the toast. Edison did not set out to build a better candle, he wanted to find a whole new way to illuminate the darkness. That's the kind of vision a leader has.

The Drive to See It Through

It is not enough to just have a vision. Lots of people see things that should be done, things that should be fixed, great step forward that could be taken. What makes leaders different is that they act. They take the steps to achieve their vision.

Is it a passion for the idea, an inner sense of drive, or some sense of commitment? Whatever it is, it is the strength that lets leaders move their vision forward despite all the obstacles, despite all the people saying it can't be done, it's too costly; we tried that before, or a dozen other excuses. The true leader perseveres and moves forward.

Trait and Skills a Leader Must Have

There are things that set leaders apart from other people. Some people are born with these characteristics. Others develop them as they improve as leaders. These are not magic bullets. They are things you can do and be if you want to be a leader.

Traits of a Leader

There are as many traits of a leader as there are lists of what makes a leader. Here are the fundamental traits of a leader from my perspective:

Has Integrity….. People have to believe that you are pursuing your dream because it's the right thing to do, not just because you are ego driven.

A People Person….Understands the differences that make people unique and is able to use those individual skills to achieve the goal.

Is Positive…. A leader encourages and rewards people. They make you want to do it and do it right. A leader is not a negative person and doesn't waste time/effort telling everyone what they're doing wrong.

Leadership Skills

Beyond the personal traits of a leader, there are specific skills someone must master if they want to be a leader.

Effective Communication - It's more than just being able to speak and write. A leader's communication must move people to work toward the goal the leader has chosen.

Motivation - A leader has to be able to motivate everyone to contribute. Each of us has different "buttons". A leader knows how to push the right buttons on everyone to make them really want to do their best to achieve the leader's goal.

Planning - The leader has a plan to achieve the goal. He/she doesn't get too bogged down in the details, that are what managers are for, but rather uses a high-level plan to keep everyone moving together toward the goal.

Bottom Line

Leaders dream dreams. They refuse to let anyone or anything get in the way of achieving those dreams. They are realistic but unrelenting. They are polite but insistent. They constantly and consistently drive forward toward their goal. You can be a leader. You will be - when it matters enough to you.

Leadership and Business

Companies go out of business and suffer huge losses for many different reasons. We usually don't get the full story when it comes to these situations. Many of them have to do with people in leading positions, with very poor leadership skills. Recognizing someone in the workplace in a leading role, with poor leadership skills is fairly easy.

An executive lacking leadership skills is someone who often reprimands employees out of anger or with an angry tone. A true leader very seldom feels the need to lose their cool with the people who work for them. They do not treat their employees like children. Leaders know that their success comes when they have a team of people who are willing to follow them and not forced to follow them. When employees just come to work to collect a paycheck, it affects the success of the company, usually in a negative way. True leaders know this, which is why they will try to create a pleasant, focused work environment for their employees.

Managers or executives with poor leadership skills always demand results with no intention of getting involved themselves. True leaders lead by example and have no problem getting their hands dirty if necessary. Poor leaders also despise employees who get results by taking initiative. Poor leaders don't like it when people succeed outside of their written agendas. True leaders are always open to new ideas and strategies, and don't get upset when a person doesn't follow their system to a T, as long as they are achieving their goals legally.

Executives who lack leadership skills fail to address the questions and concerns of their team members. Poor leaders will view most of their team members as insignificant anyway. They will usually have their favorites and treat all others with a level of disdain. When an employee has a complaint, a poor leader will let that person believe that something will be done, yet fail to take any action regarding it. True leaders know that their team is only as strong as their weakest link, and make efforts to build up and encourage all employees who need it.

Executives are responsible for managing a team of driven employees to success. While all managers and executives are aware of this, many fail to properly handle their roles as leaders. Good leaders never try to use a negative approach to get positive results. Good leaders are never close minded to new methods and strategies in this ever changing world. Good leaders never view their team members in an insignificant manner. Company executives with poor leadership skills tend to unintentionally stir up strife within their companies. Good leaders know that a house divided against itself, cannot stand. 

Leadership: A Battle Strategy

It's a good thing to believe the people leading you into that metaphorical battle has his or her next steps planned out and ready to execute on command. How is this accomplished? Is there really a grand scheme by which every move made has an anchor? We'd like to think that to be sure. Success involves executing a well thought out strategy that has been thoroughly scrutinized. This is my take on how a well run business might do this.

Traditional Planning Methods 

The traditional way for government organizations to plan is for a group of people, usually executives/management, but sometimes including employees, to get together for some period of time each year. Generally, inadequate time is allocated to the exercise, but if it is completed, it results in a document that contains a mission statement, broad organizational goals, and other elements as is deemed appropriate. Then, the plan is usually hidden away somewhere, never to be seen again. Traditional methods yield traditional results. As a wise man once said "If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will get what you have always got". It needn't be this way. 

Reconceptualizing Strategic Planning

Planning should be considered as a blueprint for change. The plan should be the basis for introducing controlled change into an organization so it can adapt to changing times. By anticipating shifting demands, the plan serves the purpose of allowing the organization to control its own direction, rather than waiting until political forces demand change (and demand change NOW). In addition, the plan allows for consistent monitoring of success, and re-examination of the degree to which organizational resources should be structured and allocated to achieve future goals. 

But, if we look at strategic planning in this light, as a blueprint for change, we also need to consider that any organization has built-in inertia.. the tendency to keep on doing what one has been doing. On its own, the strategic planning process, as traditionally undertaken, is insufficient to overcome this inertia. Other forces need to come into play if the plan, and proposed changes get implemented. 

Leadership - The Key Force 

In the context of strategic planning, leadership means a number of things. We can outline the role of leadership in the following ways, keeping in mind that leadership may come from appointed leaders (management and executive) and from the ranks

1. Those in leadership roles ensure that as many members of the organization as possible buy into the values, mission, and broad organizational goals. There are two components to this function. First, leaders manage the perceptions of staff with respect to the planning process. Remember that most people have experienced the "plan-in-the-drawer" syndrome, where effort expended in planning is seen as wasted when the plan is ignored. Prior to the planning process, leaders must emphasize that THIS TIME, things will be different. 

Second, leaders manage the planning process so that staff feel that they have adequate input into the process, that they are heard, and their values and visions are incorporated into the final plan and its implementation. Specifically, leaders arrange things so that the process is open, and conforms to accepted rules of communication. That may mean hiring an external consultant to orchestrate the planning sessions. It will certainly mean that rules get established to guide participation. Everyone who wants to participate should have the opportunity, and even reticent staff should be gently encouraged to involve themselves. 

2. While managing perceptions of the planning process is important, the critical role of leadership occurs after the plan has been completed. Leaders must treat the planning results as the "organizational signposts that guide behaviour and decision making". After all, nobody is going to take a plan seriously if the formal leaders ignore it, or never refer to it again. 

If you are serious about using strategic planning as a tool for organizational success, consider some of the following actions.

A. When working with staff to set individual objectives, be sure to mention how the individual objectives will contribute to the achievement of the mission and organizational goals as outlined in the strategic plan. Make sure that the employee is familiar with the plan when individual objectives are set. 

In addition, at each meeting with each employee, work with the employee to help him/her determine how the values outlined in the strategic plan apply to them. In other words, given the particular values, strategic goals and mission statement how is the employee to behave or make decisions. 

B. Once the strategic plan has been completed, the formal leader of the organization (and perhaps others) should present and discuss the plan with the up-line manager or executive. It is NOT sufficient to send a copy. Because you will need up-line support to implement the plan, you will need their commitment, and commitment will only come from discussion and explanation of the plan. 

C. At staff meetings, when decisions are required, explain how the strategic plan is used, or is to be used to make decisions. If you are the manager communicating a decision you have made, explain your rationale in light of the mission, values and goals expressed in the plan. If you are using a participative decision making process, help staff refocus on these components of the plan, so that they can be used to guide decision making

D. When doing performance reviews with staff, ask the individual to explain how his or her actions are consistent with the elements of the plan. How has their action contributed to organizational goals? Has their behaviour been consistent with organizational values? What needs to change so that the individual can further contribute to implementing the plan? Consider recognizing contributions to achievement of the plan, even if the individual did not have specific responsibility as outlined in their individual objectives. And, when setting future objectives, consider writing an objective that refers to the values expressed in the plan. For example: "Will act in accordance with the organizational values expressed in the strategic plan". If you go this route, make sure -that~the implications of these values are clear to the employee in terms of his or her behaviour. 

3. A final role of leadership is to create more leaders. One goal that formal leaders (executives, managers) can set for themselves is to encourage down-line employees to take on some of the leadership roles outlined above. This can be particularly effective in decision making. The ideal situation is for staff to internalize the plan to the extent that some take on the role of reminding people of the plan, and its relevance to any given decision-making process. Cultivate leaders in your organization by giving increased responsibility, and encouraging this kind of leadership behaviour. 

Conclusion 

Leadership, regardless of when it comes from formally appointed leaders, or Informal leaders, provides the link between planning and doing. Effective leadership helps alter perceptions about strategic planning, and the organization itself, helping to overcome inertia, the tendency to keep things the same. 

Without leadership, most strategic plans will end up as dead pieces of paper. Most importantly, when planning occurs without leadership, cynicism increases when staff see that the plan is being ignored, or even violated. The outcome of this is that formal leaders suffer a loss of credibility.  

Leadership: It's all about style

Running a business has its challenges, one of which is learning how to pick a good leadership style. Everyone has their own leadership style that works for their business and works well with their employees. To help you find a leadership style, here are a few of the most popular:

Charismatic Leader
This is the type of leader everyone wants to have. A person with natural charisma is full of life. They enjoy what they do and people love working for them. They have knowledge that helps to bring out the best skills in the people they lead. A charismatic person also sees the joy in life and helps to create a positive atmosphere.

People like to be around a person that has charisma because they can find a way to get through difficult situations. Being around a group of people is easy for them because they have natural charm that others gravitate towards. The other important quality a person with charisma has is the ability to establish trust with their employees.

A charismatic leader always has a plan for the future. They have a vision that is easy for others to follow and they have smaller goals that can help their employees understand how they can reach the end goal. Because of the leadership qualities this person has, employees don't even think twice about following this person wherever they go.

The Micro Manager
Many small business owners are micro-managers. Since they started their own business, they have more money and interest vested into the company. This causes them to have a hard time relinquishing control to their employees. When you deal with employees that are blue or white personalities, a micro manager will be successful because they can help to push those individuals. Micro managers are red personalities because they like to be in control all the time. They may not always bring a positive attitude to the office, which can cause employees to become stressed and overwhelmed. Micro managers have a difficult time taking criticism from others and they often are not afraid to hurt other's feelings.

If you know that you are a micro manager, you may need to work on yourself to start offering more control to your employees. Start by assigning some of your smaller projects to your employees and work on establishing trust with your staff. Your people skills will need a serious overhaul so make sure you look for different ways to connect with your staff.

You can still be a micro manager, but you just need to loosen up a little bit and learn to accept that your employees will not work the same way you do.

The Passionate Leader
Similar to the charismatic leader, the passionate leader is a person that absolutely loves what they do. A passionate person has a vision for the future and they can easily convince others to follow them. Their passion for their job can easily rub off on their employees as they see how enthusiastic they are.

A person that is passionate has a vision, but they usually need help to find a way to make this vision a reality. Involve your employees in the brainstorming process and ask them to help you discover goals. This helps to energize the office as everyone is working toward the same goal. A passionate person can get a large following and they are often the best leaders for non-profit organizations.

There are several other types of leaders, but these are the top 3 that are often seen in the business world. Don't be afraid to come up with your own leadership style just make sure you are a trustworthy person and you are willing to listen to your employees. Bring a positive attitude to the office to harbor a positive workplace.