Introduction: This tool offers a profile of the leadership mindset that’s required for building the organization recommended in this learning system. It should be used to provoke your thinking.
The profile is presented on two levels. The first level offers a number of characteristics a leader needs to master to be effective in the 21st century, which are referred to as Basic Elements.
However, to lead an organization to extraordinary execution will require having the characteristics described in the second level, Distinguished Characteristics. Leading by adopting the basic elements will get you in the game.
To win, you need to master the distinguished characteristics. Take a look. Consider the implications. See what you think.
Basic Elements
Basic Elements: These are critical competencies for just getting a seat at the table. No one will posses all of these characteristics, nor have all of them mastered to the same degree. That’s okay. Just work to stretch yourself in the categories where you need development. At the same time, compensate for your weaknesses by establishing supportive processes in your company, and draw others into the process, who can add to what you lack.
| Intelligent: The leader of the 21st century has to be bright. Intellectually the leader must be quick to see patterns and grasp complex ideas. Strong analytical skills are required. Solid verbal reasoning and expression skills are critical. I want to include an element of emotional intelligence into this concept as well. The leader will be helped by a good capacity to control his or her emotions and to grasp the emotional needs that the company has for its leader. The leader cannot become complacent or lazy. |
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| High business drive and motivation: It is critical for the leader to have a strong desire to work in the business world, as well as in the specific business itself. Strong drive is characterized by ambition, which includes an avid interest in the business, an eagerness to be involved, and the motivation and will to do what it takes to be successful. This is an especially important element for family businesses that are in their second or later generations; holding a leadership position simply because of an accident of birth, while lacking the drive and motivation to be involved in the business and excel, will not result in a strong leader capable of leading a business to achieve extraordinary performance. |
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| Strong grasp of the industry: The leader has to have a keen grasp of the dynamics of the business environment in which the company operates, understanding the big picture, or broad contexts, as well as strategic issues. It isn’t enough to have a great idea or product; the leader needs to have the ability to anticipate trends and opportunities, understand their relevance, and create appropriate strategies, and needs to be able to apply this ability to the customer’s business as well. |
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| Strong analytical skills: The ability to analyze situations, people and problems is another requirement for getting into the game in a meaningful way. Being able to think abstractly, to bring clarity to ambiguous situations, to cut through complexity and grasp the underlying dynamics, to recognize emerging trends and patterns in the data are important in orchestrating the workings of complex organizations. |
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| Articulate: Leading people in today’s workforce is more about inspiring than telling. The leader has to have the ability to frame complicated ideas in ways that make them accessible to average people. S/he needs to be able to reach out and provoke the hearts and minds of people on the team. Sharing the business idea and communicating the company’s story are important elements of leadership when the workforce is educated and mobile. |
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| Tough Minded: A leader has to deal with facts. He or she needs to demand the best of him or herself as well as the human resources of the organization. I don’t imply here that the leader needs to be mean-spirited or a bully. The rigor called for throughout this text is only going to occur if the leaders of the company take themselves and their business idea seriously. Of course you can, and need to, have fun, but within the context of full effort seriously spent. Anything less is little more than dabbling in business and counting on conditions to grant you the slack required to carry on. |