Tuesday, November 5, 2013

What Do Effective Leaders Have in Common?

"The best executive is one who has the sense to pick good people to do what they want done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Teddy Roosevelt – US President

What characteristics do all leaders possess? Here are four to consider:
1. Commitment to a vision
2. A means to communicate that vision
3. Ability to build trust among associates
4. A positive self-image--leaders believe in themselves.

In addition to these four traits, a good leader also possess two vital people skills: communicating with and motivating employees.

Communication. To be a leader, a manager can't believe he or she is on a pedestal. One company limited the dividing walls in its building so there is easy access to every employee with no knocking required. This company also holds formal meetings weekly for a group of managers who try to identify problems in each department.

A telecommunications company holds a meeting of the entire company every six months and once a year holds a series of roundtables. This company also conducts employee attitude surveys in which employees anonymously ask questions of upper-level management.

Motivation. Can a leader best provide a sense of direction for his or her company by quantifying goals? There is mixed opinion on this.

One theory is that goals need to be specific for each individual. Target bonuses are seen as helpful.

The opposing view considers the adverse consequences of not meeting goals--if employees fall short of the goals, it can act as negative reinforcement. People have built-in insecurities, so goals must convince employees that they are incredible.

Some systems make everybody a winner. A goal system at IBM was mentioned as one illustration of positive reinforcement. IBM emphasizes respect for the individual by tilting the review system to the affirmative--70% of employees make the goals.

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