1- Leadership at all levels The managing director has a wider
leadership role, which includes leading Leadership — whoever is doing it — is other leaders. As a managing director, about creating positive change to you have four special responsibilities. achieve long-term objectives. A Leadership involves setting goals (see A Create the vision, based on an 6), then moving the business towards understanding of strategic shifts and them. opportunities. Making the best use of resources, The vision need not be something you including people’s potential, is the key can methodically plan your way skill. towards. It gives a compass direction, B Leaders have to earn the authority to not a road map.
It must be worth the effort or it will not attract people and provide motivation. The end point must be able to be measured or verified. There should be no doubt about it when you get there.
B Form the team and a structure that
helps you achieve your goals. setting demanding targets and helping For example, if excellent customer them to achieve them. service is the priority, start by employing friendly, confident people. C Win commitment based on honest, realistic, two-way discussion. C Decide key business and personnel Make it clear that you expect policies. problems to occur, but that they will be overcome. D Manage rewards and discipline. Let everyone see that you are Use a range of incentives — besides confident about the long-term future. cash — to stimulate effort, ideas or whatever the business specifically D Create a climate of learning, so needs. people know it is safe to make mistakes (see box). 3-What do leaders do? Great mistakes Leadership involves taking on six tasks. Business is about planning, but you still A Achieve clarity about the changes that end up m oving forward by t rial and must happen. error. Managers who seek scapegoats For example, a courier business might when things go wr ong create an need to grow quickly — possibly by environment in which peopl e avoid acquisition — to achieve the critical experimenting and taking risks. mass that makes multi-drop trips Realistic leaders foster a cl imate in possible. which it is OK to make mist akes, as Once people are clear about the need for long as they are not caused by change, they will begin to work towards carelessness or stupidity. A retailer, it. for example, wil l back the buyer ’s judgment and give c ustomers a chance B Turn ideas into action points and to try a new line. If it flops, it is soon motivate others to act on them. forgotten. If it flies off the shelves , Be flexible about ways and means — supplies are scaled up an d everyone ‘tough on the what, easy on the how’. celebrates a success. In a business Ask managers to put proposals in a one where peo ple are not af raid to tr y -page summary plan, so you can see and fail, the flow of ideas can become the quality of their thinking. a major asset. Encourage people to achieve more by
E Keep going. Without persistence, even the best ideas can come to nothing. One survey found that 80 per cent of corporate change programmes had failed within two years. Of the surviving programmes which were successful, 75 per cent had come close to being scrapped at some point.
F Learn from your experiences. in small ways, with other
You are looking for lessons that will organizations. help you replicate your successes. Promote your business tirelessly and enthusiastically wherever you go. At the very least, make sure you do not make the same mistakes twice. Where do the ideas come from? 4-What must leaders do more of? Most leaders have their best ideas almost anywhere other than in the office. To be a leader, you have to act like a Many experts believe that leaders (even in hectic smaller businesses) should spend leader. The more of these things you do, half their time away from their desks. the more you will achieve. At work, there are too many distractions and you become immersed in everyday detail. Ideas come when people h ave time A Make time to look into the future, to think. rather than always letting today’s rush A Time spent doing anything that brings overwhelm your attention. you into contact with other people’s thinking and experiences may spark new B Make complex things simple. ideas. Talking to business people and friends. People try harder and make fewer Reading books (many leaders get mistakes when everyone understands inspiration from biographies). what is going on. Paying attention to magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV. C Always try to change the organization B Ideas can also come to you during time for the better and move it forward. you usually think of as unproductive, from a business point of view: When you see the chance to bring in At home — in the garden or the bath. real improvements, make the changes On trains and planes o r stuck in traffic now. jams. While walking, cycling or exercising. D Invest time and effort in networking. While unconscious, when you decide to Put in time with your contacts outside ‘sleep on it’. the business, especially friends who This is not coincidence. To focus intently run other companies. on a problem & th en let your brain carry on & chew it over while you are occupied Spend time talking to customers, with something else is often the best way industry experts and journalists. to solve it. Build alliances by co-operating, even
E Be systematic, so things do not fall C Train your people to use their through the cracks. initiative, and to present you with Your example will encourage other solutions, rather than problems. people to work in a methodical way. For example, instead of hearing ‘We need a designer’, you would like to F Add value yourself every day. hear ‘We need a designer, so shall I The best leaders sell, negotiate, plan draft a spec and find three for you to and administer every day and get choose from?’ through a mountain of work, partly Decisiveness is a virtue. Procrastination through managing their time rarely makes decisions easier. It usually effectively. holds other people up, and it is a bad Phone or visit customers and suppliers. habit that others tend to copy. Be seen to get personally involved. 6-Point the way 5-Making decisions Once you have delegated as much decision-making as is reasonable (see 7A), be dynamic in your own decision- making.
A Many decisions can be made immedi-
ately, without consulting others. When the decisions only affect you, or are minor or routine. When an inexperienced team needs to be told what to do. A Everyday leadership focuses mainly on When speed is vital. For example, deciding priorities and setting when you are close to deadlines. objectives. The objectives that are set need to be B More important decisions should be SMART (specific, measurable, agreed, made having consulted others. realistic and time-limited). Outline the objectives, problems and Leaders lead the search for ideas and ideas and invite comments. improvement. For example, they ask Participation in the discussion helps questions like: ‘Who do we know who win the commitment of those does this well?’ or ‘Whose brains can affected. we pick about how to tackle this?’ Involve others that may know more about the issue than you. B The managing director usually decides For example, you might commission a the strategy and direction for the piece of market research only to find business. In some companies, this role is that an employee had the answers shared by the chairman, or the board of already from a published survey. directors.
The classic formula for defining strategy has four parts:
Where are we coming from?
Where are we now? Where are we going? How are we going to get there?
From the answers, a strategy can be
derived. This gives a framework for assessing day-to-day decisions, to ensure they all move the business in the right direction. C Lead by example. 7-Manage the team Show the honesty and consistency that The lighter your management touch people want from a leader. when things are going smoothly, the Let everyone see from your actions more you have what you mean by excellent service. in reserve for emergencies. Show confidence. If there is a problem with a particular customer, let A Delegate more than you think is everyone see that you are prepared to possible. pick it up yourself and sort it out.
Break strategy down into projects that D Develop people’s potential.
individuals or small groups can tackle. Provide positive supervision. Ask Provide training for the team, and for people what they feel they are best at each person individually, including — and give them the chance to do yourself. more of it. Encourage employees to try new things. B Motivate people by showing you notice Create opportunities for people to everything that goes on. learn without risking disaster.
Build people’s confidence by trusting E Make communicating second nature.
them with challenging projects and targets Question, listen, and take time to Let people know their views and ideas ensure employees understand the are always taken seriously. reasons for any important decisions. Give full credit for every success. Consider how people will be affected Give individuals rewards that matter before communicating changes. to them. A half-day off may cost less and mean more than a cash bonus.
talents and learned technique. Play to your strengths and avoid — or work to improve — your weaker points. Here are eight key areas to consider.
A How good are you at working with
other people? business in France may well come Can you gain the respect and support from someone who has just done it. of others? Can you fire them up with your H Do people have faith in your integrity? enthusiasm, energy and vision? A good leader is open and flexible in approaching problems, but unwavering B How decisive are you? about values. Is your decision-making approach right for the circumstances (see 6)? Good Work! C Is your imagination a leadership asset? Is the detail and clarity of your vision an inspiration to your employees? Now if you’re serious about developing your leadership skills and the s kills of D Is your analytical ability a key your team; strength? you really need t o know mor e about E Do you have the energy and drive to how Dr. Salim Hajje, strategy work hard and see jobs through to consultant can hel p you reac h your completion? goals. If you accept nothing but the best, people will take their cue from you. Its where top professionals go to become successful... F Are you realistic enough to bring in other people to cover your back? Please contact me at 03-394325 You can benefit by working with 04-41 60 61 others who are not like you. For example, leaders who are strong on consult@business-unlimited.com the big picture often need www.business-unlimited.com process-minded nit-pickers to deal with the detail. This is truly a risk-Free call
G Are you prepared to learn from other Dr. Salim Hajje Ph.D. people’s experiences? For example, the best advice on doing