What it takes to be a good leader?
Insights by Ian Davis, Former McKinsey managing director
Some background
Firstly, leadership is a non-hierarchical concept. There are people who are not in a leadership position but exercise leadership. In good organizations, people exercise leadership from the bottom up.
Secondly, leadership is a multi-faceted concept. We have different types of leadership, e.g. thought leadership, gang leadership, etc. Now we have the emergence of geek as a leader, as we are going in the knowledge economy.
Thirdly, it is conceptually driven. Leadership is different from industry to industry and from region to region. We should understand the context to be effective as a leader.
Fourthly, Good leaders can not be identified by characteristics. For example, not all leaders are visionary, actually, there is a brilliant CEO that doesn’t believe in having a vision: “The line between vision and hallucination is small indeed, I don’t like it”. You should identify it according to your own characteristics and adapt it to your context.
Leaders do these
There are 5 things that great leaders DO, notice the focus on doing rather than being which is a characteristic.
1. All leaders set a direction. It might be a vision or culture. They might write it down, articulate it or, like family businesses, never say it. But usually people in that company can say what that direction is, they know where they are heading.
2. Leaders initiate stuff, around direction they set. Sometimes they stop things from happening. They can go against trends. The import thing is that they start things.
3. Leaders sustain momentum around around these initiative. That’s why we hear these words describing leaders: tenacity, determination, bullheadedness. They stick with things and drive it through bad times.
4. They motivate people. It’s not just about inspiring, there are other techniques also: greed, fear, manipulation, encouragement. Although we do not suggest using all techniques.
5. All leaders lead by example. When they say something, they do. People in organization watch and listen and compare with the act.
Action items for the reader:
1. Spent a bit of time thinking about the context of your leadership. Study and understand your organization’s history, people, crisis, culture and values. If you think they are doing idiotic, understand why. If good people are doing something idiotic, the chances are they are not.
2. Learn leadership skills. communication, strategic planning, team building, EQ
3. Experience leadership skills. Judgement, diplomacy, statesmanship, cultural sensitivity. These takes time and happens with patience and dedication.
4. Nurture leadership in others. Give everyone a leadership opportunity, where they can exercise bringing difference.
5. Encourage and push people toward their excellence.
P.S. This article is abridged form of the following talk at the Stanford Uni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhZ3R022qyY&t=882s
