What Distinguishes a Key Leader from a Normal Leader?

There’s so much talk about key leaders, but what distinguishes key leaders from other leaders and how do we spot them? Below are a few points to consider for identifying your key leaders.

1. Know what a key leader is:

A key leader is someone whom you rely on, more than others, to move your business forward. Note the emphasis on the word, forward. Key leaders aren’t differentiated from others by how well they execute the work, but rather, how they help move your business into the future.

2. Know what a key leader does:

Sure, a key leader can execute the work effectively, but their real value is in their ability to create growth and establish competitive advantages for you today and tomorrow. Key leaders don’t just manage the value proposition, they create value.

3. Know how to spot a key leader:

Consider evaluating key leader potential by comparing the following characteristics of a leader versus a key leader.

I hope this helps. Onward!

Connecting in a Disconnected World

When we talk about being connected in terms of our relationships, what do we mean? How do we connect with people? How do we establish that connection and how do we maintain it? To me, being connected with somebody means that I have an established and mutually beneficial relationship with that person. They understand me and I understand them. There are no ulterior motives and neither party is trying to take advantage of the other party. It is a win-win mentality that is open and comfortable and these sentiments are felt throughout the relationship.

What happens when parties become disconnected? When there is a loss of mutual benefit and a win-win mentality one or both parties will end up feeling a negative impact. Disconnect between a leader and an organization can lead to greed, poor business decisions, loss of jobs, loss of respect and, in extreme cases, the demise of the organization. Today’s leaders need to ensure that they engage and invest relationally in their organization in such a way that will result in transparency, mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Below are some things that leaders can do to align, or connect, themselves with the values and goals of their organization and the people that work with them:

1. Show vulnerability – Don’t be afraid to share yourself with others and to expose parts of your true personality. By sharing your personality, your team is better able to relate to you. A leader who can relate to her employees can ask more of them during important and intense times.
2. Be passionate – Don’t hesitate to show your emotions. I’m not pushing for the unbridled emotions of a leader, but maybe we’ve gone too far the other way and suppressed our emotions. Our passion is expressed by our emotional energy, and it truly inspires others.
3. Adopt a cooperative mindset – Pursue win-win scenarios every time. Not only will this pursuit help you build and establish trust, but the pursuit is more productive than win-lose scenarios. Why, because true collaboration and sharing of valuable ideas happen between people and organizations that trust each other.
4. Invest in others – Take the time to get to know the people you work with. Know these 3 things about them:
   • What are they good at?
   • What makes them come alive?
   • How do they uniquely contribute?

By doing some of these relatively simple tasks leaders can elevate their performance by having the ability to connect. Try it!

Onward!

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 Leadership 1 Comment

4 Communication Considerations for Today’s Leaders

Rarely, if ever, have I heard someone complain about being over-communicated to. On the other hand, I almost daily hear of complaints for a lack of communication from others. Over-communication doesn’t exist, under-communication is prevalent – and it seems like it always has been.

Communication is tricky today as anyone can communicate anything to anyone at anytime from anywhere. Fierce competition and finicky consumers have forced successful organizations to prioritize agility and nimbleness in their organizations. No one can deny the extreme challenges of our marketplace.

These challenges call us to shift our thinking as it relates to how we communicate. Here are 4 principles to consider:

1. Communicate Early: The speed of business forces us to get the word out fast. No longer do we have the luxury of full analysis. Today, agile businesses have agile leaders who can form assumptions based on limited data. These leaders don’t wait for complete investigations before they communicate issues or opportunities. They may hold back their judgment for the final analysis, but they aren’t holding back the discussion.
2. Communicate Often: The speed of business forces us to communicate in shorter segments today. Exhaustive, “fully-baked” conversations are a rarity these days as our pace doesn’t allow for the communication emersions. Because of this, the best leaders are sharing information with more people more often. More is better when communications are forced to be brief.
3. Be Concise: Speaking of brief, few things are more burdensome today than a rambler. I want to be fully present in conversations, but sometimes it can be difficult in a conversation that drags. Don’t burden others with your communications. Know your points, communicate them efficiently, make sure they are understood, and then get out of there.
4. Be Precise: The danger in communicating early is that you communicate misinformation. Since we don’t always have the luxury of full analysis, we must prioritize accuracy in our communications. Be careful not to grandiose your ideas. Stick to the points you’re confident in and don’t allow your communications to stray to the irrelevant or unimportant points.

Hope this helps. Onward!