I've always been a little obsessed with Leadership. If you've been there and had to lead people it can become an obsession - working out that magic formula that will guarantee results (to get it done), and improve your ability to lead those people effectively time after time.
The first challenge is defining it - my own personal favourite is:
'The ability to inspire followship'
I feel that succinctly says it all...
You will see on the blog a few other posts on the characteristics too (see my obsession!). One that has been well put, from a favourite book of mine called Good To Great by Jim Collins (http://amzn.to/1ej5Osw), is the concept of a Level 5 Leader. There are two characteristics that define those leaders who make it to the top of their companies, and what is more, lead their companies to success - Humility and Fierce Resolve.
Level 4 - Effective Leader
'Catalyzes
commitment to and vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision;
stimulates the group to high performance standards'.
But a Level 5 - (Chief) Executive
'Builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical combination of personal humility plus professional will'.
The book is well worth a read, some very US based examples but the concepts and messages are very clear and something all leaders and potentially great leaders can learn from. Take a look here for more on this. http://hbr.org/2005/07/level-5-leadership-the-triumph-of-humility-and-fierce-resolve/ar/1
So a question for you - What are you doing to move from Level 4 to 5?
Innovation and Wild Ideas
And talking of innovation.....well, it's right at the heart of any business isn't it? Needing to come up with new ways of pleasing your customers, new ways of providing your services, and even, obviously, new products.
When you're the boss it's a hell of a pressure to be the one who always thinks of the new stuff - spotting the problems and then finding the solutions, listening hard to customers to get those essential insights that will keep you one step ahead. You often feel you're the only one who's doing it! Solution - you need to leverage the people and teams in your organisation to do the spotting for you - set up some way of capturing 'ideas from the front line' - and do reward the spotting, even if you don't (or can't) do something with the information. The key is to get more eyes and ears out there and to encourage it as the culture of your business. Ideas are good. Make it a theme for the month...
Another way is to seek out and cultivate the 'wild ideas' people - there's always one somewhere in your organisation. You know - the one who (when finally asked) says 'I've been thinking we ought to try.....' And sometimes it really is wild, but for every five or six crazy ones there is usually one that has some legs and can be modified, or used as is, to take the business forward. Seek them out and have a talk, you never know...Ideas are good.
And if you want an example of a wild ideas guy take a look here. http://www.scottsbarlow.com/100-awesome-business-ideas-for-2014/
Scott really does have some wild ones...... let me know which ones you think are goers!
#innovation #wildideas #ideasaregood
When you're the boss it's a hell of a pressure to be the one who always thinks of the new stuff - spotting the problems and then finding the solutions, listening hard to customers to get those essential insights that will keep you one step ahead. You often feel you're the only one who's doing it! Solution - you need to leverage the people and teams in your organisation to do the spotting for you - set up some way of capturing 'ideas from the front line' - and do reward the spotting, even if you don't (or can't) do something with the information. The key is to get more eyes and ears out there and to encourage it as the culture of your business. Ideas are good. Make it a theme for the month...
Another way is to seek out and cultivate the 'wild ideas' people - there's always one somewhere in your organisation. You know - the one who (when finally asked) says 'I've been thinking we ought to try.....' And sometimes it really is wild, but for every five or six crazy ones there is usually one that has some legs and can be modified, or used as is, to take the business forward. Seek them out and have a talk, you never know...Ideas are good.
And if you want an example of a wild ideas guy take a look here. http://www.scottsbarlow.com/100-awesome-business-ideas-for-2014/
Scott really does have some wild ones...... let me know which ones you think are goers!
#innovation #wildideas #ideasaregood
Doing Less, Leading More - the type of leadership that get things done
Here's a great article on a key theme - doing and leading. I think it asks some really valuable questions about something that is quite close to my heart, and in actual fact at the top of the page right here on the blog. Take a look: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/12/doing-less-leading-more/
The key distinction and insight I believe is that to do less and lead more you have to be able to get things done through and with, people. There is no point in being a good leader, in fact you are not being a good leader if things are not being achieved, getting done.... The question is how.
Are you getting it done by doing it yourself, or by doing through other people, by leading them? An interesting and perennial problem we've all grappled with. The instinct to roll up ones sleeves and crack on and do it yourself and be the pacesetter, is very strong, but ultimately that is not leadership.
As the article says.........'the softer skill sets, the real leadership, the ability to work with others and through others, to execute, that is still in very scarce supply.” Learning how to do this and to embed it into the culture of the organisation is the challenge.
The key distinction and insight I believe is that to do less and lead more you have to be able to get things done through and with, people. There is no point in being a good leader, in fact you are not being a good leader if things are not being achieved, getting done.... The question is how.
Are you getting it done by doing it yourself, or by doing through other people, by leading them? An interesting and perennial problem we've all grappled with. The instinct to roll up ones sleeves and crack on and do it yourself and be the pacesetter, is very strong, but ultimately that is not leadership.
As the article says.........'the softer skill sets, the real leadership, the ability to work with others and through others, to execute, that is still in very scarce supply.” Learning how to do this and to embed it into the culture of the organisation is the challenge.
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