What It Takes to be a Great Leader
Communication and Motivation are vital if you want Followers
Nov 25, 2008
Vision
Great leaders have great vision. They can clearly see the big picture in their head and where they want themselves and their organization to be. Each day they motivate themselves by thinking about their vision and understanding that each step along the way and even failures will bring them closer to seeing their vision physically before them. Great leaders also have the ability to communicate their vision to others and motivate others to join them on the journey.
Ability to motivate others
Great leaders are passionate about their vision and it is this passion which enables them to communicate their vision to others. Followers, whether they are employees, clients or voters, can see a similarity between the leader and themselves. An astute leader will pick up on this and modify their language so as to best gain the trust and following of each group within a society. For example a great politician will, when talking to business people focus on the economic benefits that will be brought to the area under his or her governance, knowing that economic benefits is the area of the politician’s vision that has most similarity to the business people. The same politician when talking with families will not focus on the economic benefits area of their vision but rather focus on social benefits that can be anticipated such as improved child care and safer streets. A great leader’s ability to motivate others comes from the ability to assess an individual or a crowd by listening and then speaking about the area of the leader’s vision which makes the followers feel that the leader is one of them and asking for the follower’s help. Returning to the example of the politician, at the end of the speech – the politician (leader) will reiterate that the benefits outlined (leader’s vision) can only be achieved if the voters (followers) act and vote the politician into power (call to action).
Problem Solving
In order to achieve the leader’s vision, there may be obstacles along the way. A great leader can anticipate many problems which may occur and have out of the box solutions for them. Great leaders work on an open door policy and are available for their staff to come and discuss issues with. A great leader will use probing skills to get to the heart of the problem and will value the input of the staff member or other follower. This develops the follower and will enable the follower to become a great leader in their own time. Liker’s famous organizational improvement tome, The Toyota Way, outlines 14 principles of management that have meant that Toyota is the biggest car seller in the world. Of the 14 principles, 6 relate directly to the growth of human beings within Toyota’s employ. Another important Toyota Way principle concerning problem solving requires management to not be afraid to get their hands dirty (metaphorically speaking). At Toyota, management is required to spend a percentage of time actually undertaking the jobs of their employees. This gives management an empathic understanding of the conditions the employees work under and the types of problems they may face. A great leader will follow this principle in any workplace or other social setting in order to understand the people around him and what motivates them.
Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get On With It
After communicating their vision and motivating followers to join them, great leaders roll up their sleeves and get on with it. They don’t spend endless amounts of time pushing paper and having navel-gazing meetings. They are doers rather than gunners.
So if you want to be a shepherd rather than a sheep, create your vision, be passionate about it, motivate others, solve problems, but most importantly – roll up your sleeves and get on with it.
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