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| What are the Most Vital Leadership Skills? |
What makes a leader? Many consider that effective leadership requires an “X” factor involving certain mysterious, nebulous characteristics reserved for a chosen few who are simply born to lead – either you’ve got the leadership DNA or you don’t. While people do have specific knacks or skills or natural inclinations, the subject of who makes a great leader and who does not are often shrouded in a cloak of mystery and authoritarian opinions. Based on my studies and experiences, I can tell you point blank that being a successful leader is a lot more “nuts and bolts” than you may have been led to believe. While it is true that some excel at it more than others, leadership nonetheless involves skills that can be learned and practiced. What then are some of the most vital leadership skills?
Integrity
Being honest with oneself and others is fundamental to life, regardless of whether one is a leader or not. When you stick to your guns and remain an honest individual, people respect you whether or not they admit it. Words like integrity and honestly get used in insincere and hollow ways – thus violating the very spirit of those words. The way I’m using these words is rather simple. Do you keep your word once given? Can you be trusted? If you mess up, do you do all you can to properly fix it? Expect this from yourself and you can start expecting it from others.
Productivity
A key part of leadership is to lead by example. When your own personal output is impressive, you can demand the same from others. Many executives and business owners have a distinct quality wherein they work very hard on a consistent basis. Thomas Edison famously said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” The word productivity indicates that you see your work through to completion and tangible results. The leader is often the one working the hardest since he or she sees the big picture.
Ability to Communicate
Being able to communicate is a fundamental skill in a leader. The most important aspect of this is the ability to get others to complete assignments. If you issue a directive, does it get done? Making sure it does get done is a crucial component. How do you make sure it gets done? Do you simply threaten to fire people? I suppose that has some workability, but it is extremely limited. The most valuable skill you have in this regard is your ability to communicate. Can you get through to people? Do they listen to you? When you are passionate about what you are doing, when it is a worthwhile endeavor, it becomes easier and simpler to get others on board. Ideally, everyone else is just as excited as you are.
Skill in Organizing
Being able to establish a new activity and get it rolling, and organize an existing activity and make it expand, are all integral to a leader’s formidable skill set. Organizing in the broad sense requires the ability to get finance, hire new people, acquire premises, get a product line running, and a myriad of other skills. Being able to do parts of this and partnering for the rest is often what is required. Many of these skills are not taught in schools or even business school. You have to either figure it out yourself as you go along, or seek out and find reliable sources.
New Ideas vs. What Works
A leader should not be afraid of trying new things, yet should be keenly aware of what works. Many an impressive leader demonstrates the remarkable ability to walk this fine line. Don’t be afraid of new ideas. But if something works, don’t be afraid of sticking to it and not changing anything.
Probably the most notorious example of a major marketing error was Coca-Cola’s introduction of New Coke. After some supposedly positive results in test markets, the broad announcement and distribution of New Coke elicited 400,000 calls and letters berating the company for altering an American staple. Less than three months later and an avalanche of bad publicity, Coke was reintroduced as Cola-Cola Classic and the American public breathed a sigh of relief.
I’m not an advocate of sugary drinks nor am I an advocate of stupidity, but I do tell people to “think outside the box.” I guess it’s up to you how far you wish to go. Some of the most effective and revolutionary ideas came from people who broke the mold and refused to conform. Courage and imagination are notable leadership characteristics.
Fairness
No one likes to work night and day only to see a lazy associate get promoted due to his “connections.” A great leader operates on performance and productivity. The people working for you should feel secure in the knowledge that they will be rewarded and compensated for their hard work and contribution, not their penchant for flattery or their golf score. And those that think flattery and golf scores are the sole yardstick for promotion will discover they are mistaken (no offense to golf intended). Equality and fairness should not be treated as hollow slogans – they are words to abide and live by and great leaders exemplify them.
Ability to Delegate
Start combining all these skills and traits and you’ll start to see a complete picture forming. A fundamental part of that picture is the ability to delegate. Key to that is the willingness to delegate. Some businesses stay small when the owner feels he must do everything himself because he’s the “only one who can do it right!” There comes a time to get over that idea. True, finding people to do the work the way you want it done can be difficult, but it can be done. You may need to carefully select people and you may have to train them personally. Proper delegation of work could mean fewer grey hairs for you, as well as the potential to grow as a person and as a company.
Vision
Many great leaders and great minds have a common trait which is the ability to visualize something and work industriously towards its attainment. Edison said one percent inspiration, but do not underestimate that one percent. That single percentage is the catalyst that sets the whole chain reaction into motion. The ability to look into the future and see what others do not, and the skill to act in the present and effectuate a positive result in the future – these are upper level leadership qualities.
Persistence on a Given Course
One of the ways that a true leader stands out from others is that he or she never seems to give up. They get knocked down by bad timing or bad luck or whatever it may be, and they proceed to get up and go back at it with even more tenacity. The word “failure” doesn’t seem to exist in their vocabulary. When others hear “failure,” they hear “lesson” or “opportunity.” An infinite number of things don’t get done simply because no one did them or gave up in the process.
One’s level of persistence could be a personality trait, but it can also be a skill to practice and hone as you would any other skill. This is done (at least in part) through self-discipline and removal of distractions and ignoring the naysayers. We all get discouraged, but we can all benefit from cultivating such positive qualities in ourselves.
Professionalism
A common trait in leaders is that they are good at what they do. If they run a fine tailoring business, they are extremely good at it. If they do bookbinding, they do it with quality and flair. Any skill can be brought up to the level of being almost art – or indeed being art. You can detail a car to the point of it being a work of art. Even just watching someone operate at this level is like watching art being created before your very eyes. A good yardstick is to promise an excellent job and then work to exceed this. Work to deliver higher quality than what was expected and deliver it ahead of time and with courtesy. But at the very least deliver what was promised. A leader should continuously cultivate this mindset within the company.
The Details vs. The Big Picture
“Detail oriented” is something you see on resumes and it is an important quality. A lot of the time, doing a good job boils down to the details. In some professions, like neurosurgeon or bomb technician, a micrometer or microsecond can be the difference between life and death. Other jobs have a wider margin of error, but details are always important. When you run a company, large or small, it is necessary to
THINK BIG and ACT BIG.
Often, it is up to the person in charge to see the big picture and act accordingly. You can have everything arranged perfectly in your retail displays, yet the shop remains empty. So a primary focus will always be expansion, acquiring new customers, and retaining already existing customers. At the same time, it is often the details that can make or break you, such as a website that doesn’t work right, a misplaced file, or a delivery that doesn’t happen. The details vs. the big picture is yet another tight rope act a leader must be able to perform.
Responsibility
No one expects you to be a perfect leader overnight. You have to work at it and dedicate your time and effort. It’s not something everyone wants to do. There is another word forever intertwined with leadership:
RESPONSIBILITY. Not everyone rushes headlong into responsibility. Some bolt in the opposite direction at its mere mention. Factually, responsibility doesn’t have to be scary or menacing. Simply deciding to be responsible for something and confronting (facing) it takes you a long way toward its resolution.
The Secret
What is the secret? I’d sum it with the words
CREATIVITY and
ENJOYMENT. That’s right, just plain having a good time doing what you’re doing works its own distinct brand of magic. Combine all the elements listed above and don’t forget to make it creative and fun. Maintain your sense of humor and keep things on a high plane. People are drawn to a person who has the ability to make nothing of adversity and emerge victorious no matter the odds and keep a sense of humor in the process. Enjoy what you do. Stay passionate about it and stay true to the sense of wonder that you started with.
About the CEO
Per Wickstrom is the CEO of Best Drug Rehabilitation, a treatment center with a program that focuses on helping people through holistic methods. After overcoming his own struggles with addiction over a ten-year period, Per graduated from rehab and decided to dedicate his life to helping others find their freedom from addiction. His rehabilitation facility has helped thousands enjoy a lasting recovery. Wickstrom also offers both business, health, and addiction recovery inspiration on his personal blogging site,
www.perwickstrom.com
