WHAT IS LEADERSHIP, ANYWAY? Based on an article by Larry Reynolds, TJ, April 2006, p.16-18

Transcription

1 WHAT IS LEADERSHIP, ANYWAY? Based on an article by Larry Reynolds, TJ, April 2006, p.16-18

2 FOUR KEY QUALITIES THAT ARE CRUCIAL TO ALL KINDS OF LEADERSHIP

3 LIKE MOTHERHOOD, EVERYONE AGREES THAT LEADERSHIP IS A GOOD THING But what exactly is it? And what skills do you need to be a good leader?

4 NOT JUST AN ACADEMIC QUESTION Fates of entire nations, of organizations and businesses large and small depend crucially on good leadership Your career progression certainly depends more on your leadership skills than it does on any specialist expertise

5 CONTEXT The role of a leader depends to some extent on it Leading a political party is not the same as leading and organization or a business Nevertheless there are 4 key qualities essential to all kinds of leadership

6 1. CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO If you merely accept things as they are, you might be a very competent manager, but not a great leader

7 WINSTON CHURCHILL Challenged the status quo throughout his long political career As the head of the British Navy during WW1, he suggested conversion to oil-fired warships to give them an extra few knots of speed When admirals argued that this was completed against the traditions of the Royal Navy, he retorted, Rum, sodomy and the lash are the traditions of the Royal Navy, and got the change Most of his cabinet wanted to make peace with Hitler in 1940, but if he had not challenged this, the course of world history would be very different

8 IN BUSINESS Challenging the status quo is also a driver of progress Herb Kelleher challenged the idea that air travel was an expensive luxury, created the first budget airline and made a great deal of money He is the man we have to thank for EasyJet and Ryanair

9 2. ABILITY TO ARTICULATE A VISION

10 VISION Churchill challenge the status quo and had a big and ambitious goal to win the war and eliminate Nazism Nelson Mandela had a very clear vision for a genuinely multi-racial South Africa Richard Branson has a clear vision for the Virgin brand in music, air travel or railways and show that small companies can beat bigger ones by providing better services Important but tricky to get it right Many organizations think they have a vision, but actually what they have is hallucination Not vague statements of aspiration Clear, exciting and achievable Many leaders fail this test In the early 1980s, Michael Foot, the leader of the Labour Party was good at articulating a vision for his party, but it was so specific that it earned the nickname the longest suicide note in history

11 3. WINNING COMMITMENT

12 COMMITMENT Having a vision is not enough you have to be able to win commitment to it Foot s rival Margaret Thatcher was extremely good at winning it, at least from people who mattered In the workplace, the leaders you remember are those who are able to win your commitment How do they do that? Is it just charisma, or do they have some secret techniques for winning people over?

13 CHARISMA Somewhat surprisingly, it is not an essential leadership quality Charismatic business leaders were found to be no more likely to be successful than uncharismatic ones (although they were paid more) You have to be willing to get to know people as individuals, and to show that you know what makes them tick

14 20 TH CENTURY If you challenged the status quo, articulated a vision, and won commitment to it, you could be a good leader, however dubious your personal values and conduct JFK and Bill Clinton are good examples

15 4. TO DO THE RIGHT THING The fourth essential leadership for the 21 st century

16 DOING THE RIGHT THING To have a clear set of ethical values and beliefs and to live by them When Nelson Mandela was released from prison, one of his first acts was to visit Fidel Castro, who was the only world leader to offer public support to him in his early days as an ANC activist making him one of the few trustworthy political leaders of the 21 st century

17 THE 4 KEY LEADERSHIP QUALITIES 1. Challenge the status quo, 2. Articulate a vision, 3. Win commitment, and 4. Do the right thing Applies to leadership everywhere So where are the great leaders? Is it because they are not good at singing their own praise, or is it because there just not very many good leaders worth telling the world about?

18 WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you are good leader? Do you need to be?