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“Leadership is an action, not a position” ~ Donald McGannon
Great leaders formulate and successfully carry out missions, convey strategic plans to executives/board members, and motivate employees to perform their jobs with excellence and proficiency.
If a leader is serious about triumphantly accomplishing company goals, they MUST pull together a diverse team of people. Diverse teams are smarter. According to a 2015 McKinsey report on 366 public companies, those in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their competitor.
The concept of being a great leader is simple but it is not easy. Employees must believe in the cause they are working for, i.e., the corporate mission and its core values. They must trust the leadership of the organization if they are expected to follow them.
When mistakes are made, leaders must outline the failures…being careful about placing blame on team members/departments/units/divisions. They must focus on the priorities: (1) identifying the mistakes, (2) developing a plan to fix the mistakes, (3) teaching the mistakes and resolutions to the entire team and (4) ensuring that the mistakes don’t happen again.
The leader acknowledges mistakes, admits failures, and takes complete ownership of what goes wrong because he/she is responsible for EVERY action that takes place in the company (or in their unit/department/division). As a leader, there is no room for ego or a bruised reputation. The leader takes ownership of mistakes—it’s the right thing to do…no exceptions. Conversely, the leader gives the team all of the accolades when things go right and the mission is successfully accomplished.
Lastly, leadership principles must empower employees to control field operations and to dominate their industry; this can only be done with ongoing training and mentoring. To conquer the competition, a leader must not be ambiguous about strategy…every team member must be clear on how to carry out the mission to “hit the mark”.
It’s time to celebrate the arrival of a new year…make a fresh start by incorporating effective leadership principles.
Happy New Year !
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