I think Professor Warren Bennis said it best. “Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.”
As leaders, you may struggle with the second half of this each and every day.
The word “leadership” can bring to mind a variety of images. For example:
A political leader, pursuing a passionate, personal cause.
An explorer, going into an uninhabited forest, for the first time, clearing a path for the rest of his group to follow.
An executive, developing their company’s strategy to beat the competition.
Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about clearly mapping out where you need to go to as a team; and it can be dynamic, exciting, and inspiring.
Yet, while leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide their people to the right destination, in a smooth and efficient way.
Note:
Leadership means different things to different people, and different things in different situations. For example, it could relate to community leadership, religious leadership, political leadership, and leadership of campaigning groups.
My definition of an effective leader is a person who does the following:
- Creates an Inspiring Vision of the Future
Vision is a realistic, convincing and heart-felt depiction of where you want to be in the future. Vision provides direction, sets priorities, and provides indicators, so you can see the results you wanted to achieve.
Therefore, leadership is proactive – problem solving, looking ahead, and never being satisfied with things as they are.
- Motivates and Inspires People
A clear vision provides the base for leadership. But it is the leader’s ability to motivate and inspire people that helps them deliver that vision. The leader must be able to inspire the team to make needed changes in the way they do things to connect the vision with people’s individual needs, goals and aspirations. The leader must also, from time to time, restate the vision in terms of the benefits it will bring to the team, the company and its clients.
- Managing Delivery of the Vision
Leaders must ensure that the work needed to deliver the vision is properly managed – either by themselves, or by delegation, and they need to ensure that their vision is delivered successfully and effectively. This helps to ensure that the changes needed to deliver the vision are implemented smoothly and thoroughly, with the support and backing of the people if affects.
- Coaching and Building a Team to Achieve the Vision
Individual and team development are important activities carried out by effective leaders. To develop a team, leaders must first understand team dynamics. A leader will then ensure that team members have the necessary skills, abilities and support to do their job and achieve the vision.
Leadership also includes looking for leadership potential in others. By developing leadership skills within your team, you create an environment where you can continue success in the long term. And that’s a true measure of great leadership.
Note:
The words “leader” and “leadership” are often used incorrectly to describe people who are actually managing. These individuals may be highly skilled, good at their jobs, and valuable to their organizations – but that just makes them excellent managers, not leaders.
So, be careful how you use the terms, and don’t assume that people with “leader” in their job titles are actually creating and delivering change. There may actually be no leadership at all. With no one setting a vision and no one being inspired can cause serious problems in the long term.