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Leading a New Company into the 21st Century posted by Peter J. Patsula

Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Leaders

WHENEVER a new company is launched, the owners make numerous decisions affecting the lives of employees and customers, and whether they like it or not, become leaders. Strong leadership is essential to entrepreneurship, demanding an innovative and decisive mindset, marketing genius, and the ability to focus on both ideas and people. Effective business leaders must also nurture these same qualities in their employees, because an effective business leader recognizes that all employees are potential leaders ... and a great company is only as great as its weakest ... leader.

Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Leaders

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Characteristic #1
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Are not afraid of talent.

Effective leaders do not feel threatened by capable contemporaries or subordinates. They seek out skill and creativity with great passion.

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Characteristic #2
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Breed success in others.

Effective leaders exude personal influence and are able to inspire – not demand – the respect and loyalty of others. They understand that all people want to be successful at what they do, and thus encourage others to do their best, and as much as possible, actually show them how. They realize that to breed success in others, ultimately breeds success for their company.

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Characteristic #3
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Demonstrate high moral standards.

High moral standards frequently distinguish effective leaders from manipulative, scare-crow-type leaders who tend to use flattery, compliance, confrontation, indirect threats, and position to manipulate subordinates.

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Characteristic #4
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Eradicate the red tape.

Effective leaders do not confuse the means and the ends. They are not bound by the controls of protocol and process. They break rules if they have to as well as invent new ones. They are unencumbered by management theory and standards established by others.

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Characteristic #5
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Focus, focus, focus.

Effective leaders choose a priority and clearly, repeatedly, religiously, urgently, attentively, and passionately focus all their discussion and energy on that priority. They realize that focus is critical to decisiveness, and that without it, they would lose the support of their workers in challenging situations.

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Characteristic #6
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Live and die by Spiderman's credo.

Effective leaders know that the corrupt use of power creates a vile corporate poison that can quickly spread throughout an entire organization and paralyze it. They also realize how little courage it takes to criticize the decisions of subordinates rather than stand by ones own. Effective leaders understand: "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility."

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Characteristic #7
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Wander around frequently.

Effective leaders get out of their office and wander around their organization. In fact, whether their priority is product quality, customer service, innovation, courtesy, getting customer input, or safety, they realize that their success revolves around committed people; and the only way to get that commitment is to work with people. This does not mean they spend a good portion of their time socializing, rather it means that they spend a good portion of their time finding out, observing, listening and talking last, not first. NOTE: During his 57 years as Marriott Corporation’s CEO, founder J. Willard Marriott, Sr. read every customer complaint card.

The Penalty of Leadership

The following poignant yet inspiring ad for the Cadillac Motor Company, appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, January 2, 1915:

In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, in literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few.

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