Leadership Skills - What Makes Good Corporate Leadership?

Be it in the form of the “great teacher” who captivated your classroom or the manager who inspired nothing but resentment, most of us have, through the course of our lives, encountered both good and bad leadership. The topic is undoubtedly a little mysterious, as some people just seem to have the elusive combination of insight and ability that make them stand out from the crowd; Winston Churchill had the gift, William Hague apparently didn’t.

The majority of us, thankfully, will not ever be called upon to lead the nation but nonetheless, within in our jobs, families or hobbies will probably be called upon lead occasionally. In the world of business, the ability to be a “leader” is extremely important, not least because any position of responsibility will also require some kind of leadership and being able to embrace and succeed in that role brings a whole host of benefits; an inspired workforce, career advancement and increased productivity but conversely, endeavours poorly led are surely destined to fail.

Given that leadership is of such importance then, it is certainly worthwhile seeing if we can improve our own skills. Admittedly, the ability to deliver inspirational speeches or to perfectly gauge your office atmosphere can take years to develop. However, there are certain leadership skills and methods that can help and are teachable. The following are some general points and exercises that will help to get you thinking along the right lines; however, it’s worth remembering (as Theodore M. Hesburgh points out). “The very essence of leadership is vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” So perhaps, above all, the most important act of leadership is to clearly define your goals and then to communicate them effectively.

Leadership Qualities

There are many styles of leadership and, of course, there is no absolute right or wrong way to lead. But even though good leadership is necessarily specific to the environment it is used in (as what works on the battlefield probably won’t be appropriate in the classroom). There are certain qualities that are at the core of good leadership and underscore any successful style. Here are the four key points generally regarded as the fundamental character traits of a good leader:

Vision

As pointed out above “You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” and never was a statement truer with regards to leadership. Recently companies have started to see vision as essential to any successful business model, and approach it through the development of a mission statement. However cynically one views these grand statements though, it is hard to argue that they’re wrong in theory, even if they can be a bit cheesy. On a smaller scale though, being able to inspire a sense of shared direction in your team helps you to motivate and to lead; as if you all share the same goal, success or failure is a group rather than an individual activity.

Communication

It has been said that “there’s nothing more demoralising than a leader who can’t clearly articulate why we’re doing what we’re doing”. Communication is of paramount importance in good leadership, as although there is a time and place for blindly barking orders - concisely explaining requests and explaining their importance is a far more reliable way of getting results. However, communication must also be viewed as a two-way street because many a leader has failed through not listening to and heeding the advice of those he leads.

Fairness

Fairness, of course, covers a huge range of actions but be it in a sporting, business or social environment; being seen to be fair inspires trust and trust defines the relationship between leaders and those they lead. Practically this means acting consistently and for the benefit of the team rather than the individual. Shying away from favouritism and treating people equally on the basis of their merit or ability. It’s not rocket science but acting fairly will help to avoid the minor grievances that undermine a leaders’ authority.

Example

It is for no small reason that people often describe good leaders as “leading from the front”. Getting involved and setting the example explains in actions rather than words why someone is in a position of leadership. Be it an officer leading a charge on the battlefield or a manager working on the shop floor, the action lets people know that the leader values each job enough to do it himself if needs be and that is a powerful motivator for those prone to feeling their job is unimportant or undervalued.

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