Qualities Of A Strong Leader

Leadership is core to running a business. If you are looking to develop your leadership skills here are some key qualities that should be considered:

-A leader must be infectious. A strong leader will inspire the team to go that extra mile. The Chief Executive Officer of a major company will normally possess strong leadership qualities.

-Must display confidence, conviction and connection with employees.

-A leader must understand what are his value principals. As a leader, it is important to do it your way. Do not copy other people’s styles as everybody is different. Choose a style that works for you. A CEO promotes culture within the business.

-Leadership is a 24 / 7 commitment. A leader needs to provide direction, monitor the key drivers of the business and assess the training needs of key staff.

-It is important to develop a brand for the type of business you are running. As a visionary, the leader must effectively promote the business and develop strategy. A leader must be passionate and honest in order to engage the team.

-Give praise and understand the importance of providing feedback. 15-20% of positive changes in performance are the result of feedback. This helps to achieve impact.

-Can use the 80:20 rule when giving feedback. Should be forward focused. 20% of your time should be spent discussing what has happened to get to this point (you can’t change this). The remaining 80% should be spent looking at what we can do to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Every point can be positive.

-Make feedback a part of what you do. Don’t make it a 6 month form filling exercise.

-A leader must set realistic and achievable goals in order to motivate staff. However, it is important to set challenging targets in order to meet the desired goals.

-Leaders must invest in people and their training. It is important to bring in the right mix of people and skills to the business.

-A leader must be aspirational. Most CEO’s will have a vision beyond tomorrow. It is important to understand that it is not possible to manage the business day to day and be forward thinking at the same time.

-A strong decision maker is not afraid to change the direction of the business.

-The CEO needs to have a strong understanding of the business. However, there is a common misconception that the CEO must be an expert in all fields. This is not the case. The CEO needs to demonstrate a strong understanding of the key products. Other members of the team will be employed to provide their expertise on individual aspects of the business.

-The CEO may delegate some of the key tasks to the Chief Operating Officer (or COO). However, the CEO will very rarely delegate the visionary piece. It is important that the CEO is seen to drive the vision for the company. The CEO must plan for what will happen next year and the year after.

-Many large multinationals have suffered from the short termism associated with the market. Not many CEO’s are in place for more than 3 years with a major listed company. This encourages short termism and CEO’s will often find that they must think in terms of a 2-3 year plan to establish themselves.

I hope you have found this summary useful. More details on leadership and coaching can be provided on request.