Successful leaders – those who are successful precisely because they are able to achieve the goals they set themselves – have 3–4 main characteristics that have stayed with me over the years.
First, having a clear goal – clarity about where the leader wants to steer their organisation and team. A leader must have a vision. Second, a leader must be able to keep the whole team’s activity consistently focused on the path to the goal. This goes hand in hand with the ability to say “no”. A leader must have the discipline to say “no” to things that take attention away from what matters most, and thereby say “yes” to getting specific things done that bring the whole team closer to the goal. Third, I believe that today a leader’s success lies in direct, honest and open contact with people. In other words, a leader’s main tool is their relationship with other people. If as a leader you can’t create a quality relationship where things can be talked about honestly and directly, it is very hard to put your vision into practice. And as a fourth success factor I would name the courage to decide and to let others decide too; and even more – to tell apart which way of deciding to use at which moment.
I talked with Veiko Valkiainen on the podcast “Juhtimiskvaliteet on konkurentsieelis” (“Leadership quality is a competitive advantage”, in Estonian) about leadership, successful leaders and four qualities that can influence a leader’s success.
See more on Veiko’s blog: http://www.valkiainen.ee/blogi/enn-saar-selge-siht-fookuse-hoidmine-ausad-suhted-ja-otsustusjulgus-edukas-juhtimine
