The Effective Integral Leader
Being a leader is a complex and challenging job in today’s environment and it is important to check regularly if what you are doing leads to results, job satisfaction and a high level of performance from your staff. Many leaders, however, are too busy to spend time considering whether they are an effective integral leader or not. They are so focused on getting things done and keeping the organisation/business operating successfully, they don’t ask for feedback about how they are managing and leading people.
We have asked over 10,000 leaders on our 360 leadership profiles to rate themselves on their leadership skills and over 30,000 people to rate their leaders. We found that there were ten specific leadership skills that most contributed to being a good leader. The skills could be summarised into four areas that good leaders do well:
People leadership,
Managing tasks and performance,
Strategic goal management; and
Visionary and change leadership.
The following ten questions summarise what we have found people most want from their leaders. Have a look at these questions to see if you have ‘the right stuff’ to make a good leader!
People Leadership
Do I ask good questions, am a good listener and coach and develop people?
Leaders are usually smart people who have a lot of experience and are good at making decisions. That is why they are chosen to be leaders. Because these skills have gotten them to a leadership role, it is hard for them to ask questions and to listen to what their staff have to say?
Do you ask good questions and a lot of them? Do you ask questions that encourage people to tell you what they really think, feel and are doing? Do you use phrases like: “I’m curious about……tell me more about this?” or “That’s interesting, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.”
Leaders develop people. They develop and coach other people because they know that people want to improve and grow. They also know their organisation needs to build leadership capability including the next generation of leadership. Do you help people learn and provide them opportunities to try new things in their job? Do you spend time with each person at least once a month to see how discuss what they are doing well, how they can improve and what skills they would like to develop and how?
2. Do I appreciate and praise others?
People feel good and are motivated to keep doing a good job when they are given praise for doing a good job. Do you praise people when they do things well? Do you show people that you appreciate what they do? How do you do it – with a thank you, give them a token of appreciation, do something for them? Genuine praise and appreciation shows that you appreciate people for who they are and for their contribution. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and liked, praising and thanking people are a way you can show them you care.
Visionary and Change Leadership
Do I clearly communicate a motivating vision?
Good leaders create and communicate a powerful vision and translate it into reality that everyone can understand including how they can fit into it. When you have a clear and worthwhile vision, it inspires others to help make it happen. Is your vision clear? Have you communicated it in a way that people understand? Do they know what they need to do to turn it into a reality?
3. Do I effectively implement important changes including dealing with people who resist change?
Do I take a well organised, planned approach to change using best practice change management techniques or do I just decide to change things and respond as things come up?
Change is needed in modern organisation to stay up to date and ahead of the competition. Leadership is about bringing about change and good leaders do this effectively. They not only know what needs to change but they are able to shift the systems, behaviours, attitudes and culture of their organisation and the people who resist the change. Are you good at managing change? Do you take the time, use the processes and provide the resources tools and systematic approach to change that is necessary to make it successful? How do you manage the resistors and critics who resist change? Can you provide some examples of where you have managed change successfully?
Performance/Task Management
4. Do I meet regularly with my staff to set clear, tangible goals and time lines?
Do you meet regularly face-to-face with your staff to set and review clear tangible goals with specific times for it to be completed and the standard you expect? People want to know what they are expected to do, when they are expected to do it and what standard of performance is expected. This seems an obvious part of leadership, but many leaders don’t make the time to do this or don’t make the goals smart (specific, measurable/observable/achievable, and timelined). If we asked your staff what their goals are, when they were due and what standard is expected, would they be able to?
5. Do I deal with poor performance and behaviour?
The area that many leaders don’t handle well is dealing with poor performance unacceptable or behaviour. If there is someone that isn’t meeting the level of performance required or who is behaving badly (e.g. coming in late, being aggressive to others) and is affecting other members of the team, have you talked it over with them? Have you defined what they aren’t doing and what needs to change - the gap in their behaviour or performance? Having this difficult conversation is one of the most difficult aspects of leadership, yet it is one of the key skills that separates the good leader from the mediocre one.
Strategic Goal Management
6. Do I have clear strategies and goals – and regularly review their progress?
Communicating a clear vision is important but having a strategy and tangible goals helps everyone know in concrete terms what they are working toward and what they must do to achieve them successfully. Have you developed strategic goals and priorities and assigned people to be responsible for each of them?
How often do I bring my team/department together and review the progress on these strategic goals. Based on organisations we have worked with; good leaders have their teams review the progress on strategic goals every three months and make changes to their actions plans. They regularly discuss the status of strategic goals in their weekly meetings (rather than just the tasks that people are doing) and have a major update every three months.
7. Do I establish and review regularly the priorities for each of my staff so that they stay focused on the important things that contribute to our success?
It is common to see many people working on individual tasks based on what’s demanded of them by customers, other work colleagues or people higher up in the organisation hierarchy. They can be working very hard and get a lot done but when we stand back and look at how useful it is, it doesn’t contribute to the highest priorities and strategic direction of the department or company.
Do you ask your staff to provide you an up-to-date list of the key priorities they are working on, if they are on target in time and budget and what they are planning to do to make sure it is achieved, including how you can help?
Being Wise and Authentic
8. Am I positive, resilient and calm during difficult times?
It is easy to be a leader in good times, but can you be a good leader even in the tough times. When things don’t go well, are you able to stay positive?Are you able to keep yourself and others positive and motivated even when you experience disappointment and failure? Good leaders don’t allow themselves to be critical or negative when things aren’t going well. They know if they don’t stay positive and bounce back after experiencing problems and difficulties, others will be effected, and the morale of the whole department would be impacted.
Do I stay focused, calm and in the present moment rather than get distracted? Do I try to do too many things at once? When things get difficult or the situation looks like it’s going south, do I stay clear headed and able to make decisions?
If a leader can’t keep his or her attention on what she is doing and the people she is with, it sends a message that she is
10. Do I live up to my word?
Leaders are watched and what they do sets examples. Leaders have authority and power, so they need to be worthy of the trust people have in them. They need to live up to their word. Do you live up to your word and do what you say you are going to do? Can people count on you when you tell them you are going to do something?
Taking time to evaluate yourself on these questions can help you move from an OK leader to a good one – and even to a great one. Consider which areas you can improve upon and determine what actions you will take to improve the area you didn’t do so well in. After you write down your answers to these questions, do a brave thing and invite a few people who you can trust to give you honest, constructive feedback to give their views of your leadership on these areas.
Then put together a plan with specific actions you will do and when – and tell your team and your boss what you are going to do and how they might help you (e.g. remind you if you forget, congratulate you if they see you doing these actions).
This process of self-evaluation is a good start, getting feedback from others is even better. If you want to get more formal feedback on how good a leader you are, we have a range of 360 leadership and management profiles that can provide you clear feedback which compares you to other leaders.