Leadership of reference
What is leading leadership?
According to Wikipedia, a meek it is “any entity in a given domain that serves to create or influence trends or to foreshadow future events.”
That definition serves the subject of this article well, as what I hope to convey are the leadership qualities that are most conducive to influencing others for positive change.
Interestingly, the etymology of the word “referent” is more instructive, even profound. One story says that English shepherds used to employ a gelding, also known as wether – to help manage the herd. Despite the Ram’s lack of virility, the flock of sheep, not knowing any better, followed him anyway. To make it easier to locate the flock in large fields or thick fog, the shepherds hung a bell around the neck of the groom. Hence the term referent.
Today’s multinational business environment is immobilized by a thundering storm of financial instability, a thick fog of indecision, and a terrifying lack of leadership. Today’s executives and entrepreneurs must weather this storm. They should guide those who choose to follow them with courage, inventiveness, innovation and vigor. Most importantly, they must lead from a position earned through effectiveness and reliability, not simply dictated by their CEO title.
A good example is IBM. Bridget van Kralingen, CEO of IBM North America, explained in a recent Forbes article: “If you go back about a quarter of a century, IBM was on the cusp of success,” he began. “Over the past two decades, we had practically invented general-purpose computing for business. We had helped put a man on the moon. Our researchers won Nobel Prizes. Our revenue and market share soared as customers clamored. To our latest products, they were the toast of Wall Street. “
“Less than a decade later,” he continued, “we were toasting. In 1993 we published what was at the time the largest loss in American business history, $ 8 billion. We had missed a number of key technological changes. Customers … we were being abandoned for faster, more agile competitors. One major business publication labeled us dinosaurs. Another said our era was over. “
“Finding our way back to growth and success was a difficult and painful process,” he concluded. “But it illustrates that companies on the edge of the abyss can make a difference if they do what is necessary.”
What is necessary for a leading leadership?
Courage: Doing what is necessary often means instituting fundamental change, and change can be terrifying.
Furthermore, leadership presupposes leading from the front. You can’t run your business from the sidelines or from a comfortable office separate from your followers. They need to see you on the battlefield, bravely putting you on the line for them. An effective leader should never ask his co-workers to do something that he is unwilling to do himself. Leadership worthy of the term requires courage, because courage inspires.
Inventiveness: Being successful as a leader means never giving up. Failure is not an option. If you have resources, you can always find a tool to solve the problem. Your task as a leader is to find appropriate, inexpensive multifunctional tools and learn to use them yourself and then teach your followers to be experts as well. Once this is done, you will find that your coworkers provide you with solutions, not problems.
Social media is the Swiss army knife of the online toolbox. Whether your goal is to expand your customer base, solidify your reputation, beat your competition, provide timely and efficient customer service, or reduce the cost of doing business, there is easily accessible functionality for that purpose.
Finally, diligence and creativity require you to constantly review technology, always looking for the next tool to increase your effectiveness and efficiency.
Innovation: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea.
Leadership is much more than a skill; it is a perpetual, creative and infectious mental process. The resulting innovations are the hallmark of inspiring leaders.
Your mental discipline is best used when you always push yourself beyond the limits, and the scope of your organization should always exceed its scope. An effective leader is never satisfied with the status quo.
Companies like Apple have conclusively shown that innovation is the most trusted weapon in the corporate arsenal. Without it, a company stagnates, and with it, a company becomes remarkable. Innovation is the shortest path to profit, the most direct path to brand recognition, and the most satisfying reward for both your employees and your management.
Vigor: Physical or mental strength, energy, capacity for natural growth and survival, strong feelings, enthusiasm, intensity, and even efficacy and legal validity, are all elements of vigor.
An effective leader must aggressively tackle every task, every decision, and every competitive situation with strength and endurance. You must create an atmosphere of corporate wellness and inspire your coworkers to do the same. You must radiate passion for your job, your company, and your mission. Most importantly, a vigorous leader is always ready for action and action is always the precursor to success.