Level 5 Leadership!

Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Good to Great talks about Level 5 Leadership characteristics: Humility & Will, Ambition, Compelling Modesty, Unwavering Resolve, etc.

Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company…they are incredibly ambitious-but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.[1]

This is the most important lesson that most people don't get – i.e. the ability to separate emotion and sell the idea by aligning it with the corporate vision and overall strategy.

A true leader is someone who is all about his followers; a person who is honest, supportive, who can provide vision and focus, and who motivates its followers by listening to them and providing regular constructive feedback. In presence of true leadership, companies can make transition from shinning to shining and from Good to Great.

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[1] Good to Great by Jim Collins

Creating value through people

One point that most of the companies overlook these days is the importance of its people. “Management through spreadsheet” is becoming more common these days. Costs are being managed quarterly in a rush to satisfy wall-street expectations and lay-offs have become a norm! This narrow focus on quarterly performance has put companies on a downward spiral.

The financial performance of a business is not something you can or should directly control. It is achieved by providing superior value to the marketplace. Marketplace value is a consequence of energizing and focusing employees to create and deliver value. To make money, managers should not spend their time managing money, but should instead devote their efforts to the things that produce the money: the enthusiasm, commitment, and drive of the labor force.[1]

More and more executives these days are focused on trying to make money, and mostly disregard the motivation and feelings of the people who are the real engine of the company.

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[1] Creating Value Through People by David Maister