If you’re in a leadership position, you already know. If you’re aspiring to a leadership position, you either know or should know before going any further.
As a successful leader, you hold many jobs.
And you had better be awfully good at all of them. Don’t take those carvings on Mount Rushmore for granted; there’s a lot behind them. The MLK Jr statue at his memorial is there for many reasons, many of which remain unseen by the passing glances. The “C” on a sports star’s jersey (captain of the team) did not get there only because she’s a great athlete.
Whether you do – or aspire to – lead a global corporate giant or are at the helm of a small but effective charitable foundation, leadership is leadership and is comprised of many components. Here are three that it’s a sure bet good leaders have mastered.
[Please note: I began on my path as an independent leadership advisor in 1997 and have provided assessment and advices to leaders in 25 industries in organizations from the behemoths in electronics, big pharma and biotech, financial services, consumer products, food, and energy to higher education, medical centers, and social services to small startups and nonprofits. I repeat: leadership is leadership. More than a quarter century of experience tells me that.
Communications Head
Leadership depends on, more than anything else, vision, and a leader needs to see things that others don’t. That assumption accepted, the leader is expected to articulate as clearly and compellingly as possible what that vision is. Communications, as defined by most master’s degrees, is not the leader’s job, but setting a sterling example of great and effective communications is.
Psychologist
Leaders are there to instill change. If change is not necessary, either is leadership, quite frankly. That’s where management comes in. Leadership leads between paradigms; management manages within paradigms. Here’s the other part of that equation: good management keeps things steady, calm, and predictable; great leadership stirs things up, topples the apple cart, and creates change. Guess which needs more care. Right. The psychology of change is delicate and fragile and is like holding a baby. Understanding the social and psychological effects of change – even on those who bring it – is essential in a leader.
Cheerleader
Undeniably, we all want and need encouragement, no matter how high up the ladder or out front in battle we are, and anyone who says different is probably trying to strike an unrealistic pose for a stature somewhere. As my country cousins say, that dog won’t hunt.
Great leaders know and understand this, and weave into the very fabric of their organizations a culture of rewards, recognition, and reinforcement. Yes, these are admittedly extrinsic motivators and they don’t replace or supplant intrinsic motivators, but try running the place without them.
More jobs for the leader
Of course there are more issues on the leader’s must-have list, but in 27 years of leadership advisory, these three have shown up most frequently – almost always, in fact – and, it is agreed, carry the most weight.