In this cutthroat and competitive business environment it has become imperative for both new and established organizations to be on top of their game. Staying constantly in top form and delivering results requires the organization to have people in the management with strong leadership skills. These people are even more important for companies that are yet to make their mark in the market.
As part of our initiative to support the growth of start-ups and encourage them in their endeavours, we had recently conducted a roundtable on Leadership Attitude – to understand and discuss what makes a good leader – one that people would willingly follow?
In response, our team came up with the following attitudes of a leader – that all those aspiring to lead must imbibe and also pass on to their teams to ensure that their venture is successful.
Know your worth – All successful people have a healthy self esteem and know what they are worth. They neither take nor behave in an unacceptable manner with anyone. Amongst all, this quality that gives rise to self belief and confidence in one’s ability is the most important one.
A to-do list – To make sure that their day is productive, leaders plan to do the most important work in the first two hours of the day i.e. they apply the Pareto principle – which suggests that one must give importance to the 20% of the tasks that generate 80% of the results.
Clear work schedule and follow up – Leaders have a well prepared work schedule for all the tasks that they want to achieve, they set clear deadlines for these tasks and regularly follow up on it – approximately in four to six weeks.
Compulsory savings – Savings come in handy during those rainy days or ‘periods of recession’ and are important both for individuals and organizations. Successful people ensure that they compulsorily save at least 10% of their income every month.
Develop intuition – Successful leaders not only use the data and information available to them but also their intuition – gut feeling, to make decisions. According to the book blink – by Malcolm Gladwell, which is about rapid cognition – the rate of success for decisions taken based on gut feeling or intuition is 60% and 40% for those decisions that are arrived at by following a logical thought process.
Clear definition of success – Success is a very relative term. What one person considers as successful may only be a small achievement or goal for another. Leaders have a clear understanding of what success means to them.
Cultivate kindness – It is important that in a hurry to win this never ending race of achievements we do not overlook the importance of or forget basic human qualities. All successful people have a strong sense of empathy and they consciously practice kindness of word and of deed. Along with this these people are trust worthy, act with integrity, are approachable and most importantly they are likeable.
Take risks – Success is part dependent on our ability to take risks and work out of our comfort zones. Opportunities often come disguised as risks, threats or challenges, which if evaded have the capacity to become regrets. So, to avoid falling into the trap of ‘what if’ thinking and holding regrets– cultivate a habit of at least taking some calculated risks.
Practice meditation – All successful people practice the art of meditation. This technique helps them keep calm and think clearly when faced with adverse or challenging situations.
Learn to apply the correct response to stress inducing situations – There are four major reactions that occur in instances of perceived harm or attack – fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. A successful person knows how to judge a situation and react according to it. For e.g. if it can be fought – then stay and fight. If the situation is more powerful than you – then retreating or flight response does not make you any weaker.
Know your personality type and that of your core team – For an organization to be successful, it is important that the core team is made up of people with different core strengths that complement each other. Leaders have the basic knowledge of personality types and also the weakness and strength of each type. This knowledge helps them build a strong and competitive team with a multitude of skills. They have also perfected or nearly perfected the person-job fit in their organizations.
Ability to take tough decisions – This is one quality on which a lot of success is dependent on. Leaders should be able to set aside their emotions and take decisions for the larger good of their people and company.
Above par people skills – Leaders now that a lot of their success depends on how they communicate with the people who work for them. They use respect and tact in all their communication so as to ensure that no one goes away feeling hurt or humiliated. The best leaders work on building relationships with the people who work for them by ensuring that they now their names, a bit about their families and for the immediate team – their goals and aspirations. These small pieces of information go a long way in building a strong and motivated team.
The God complex – Leaders know that they are not shielded from failure. They do not let their successes to get to their heads and develop a false sense of self or haughtiness.
They do not take rejection personally – Leaders know the rules of the game; they do not take rejection from investors, market or the public personally. Instead they work harder and smarter to acquire the required support.
Networking – Leaders are expert networkers – they spend adequate time on meeting and cultivating relationships with people whom they would want to work with or those whom they would like to do business with in the future.
They believe in Karma – What you sow is what you reap and what goes around comes around – are the two mantras that leaders live by.
This list is just the tip of the iceberg called Leadership, but it’ll help you to get a head start on building the awesome team most organizations would wage a war for. Start with these and build your own definitions and mantras to aid your journey in building a successful and enduring venture. We’re always there to support 🙂
Guest Post Contributed by Praveen Singh, 99Tests