Essentials of Leadership

Leadership Imperatives :

Here I am sharing seven Leadership Imperatives , or essential capabilities , that really represent the crucial knowledge and skills leaders need to succeed in an environment that challenges to remain unpredictably in the months and years ahead.

• COACH & DEVELOP for results

Leaders get work done by others.The ability to effectively coach for success and for improvement is critical to getting work group results.Developing others through effective training and targeted experiences is one of a leader's most important contributions to the organization.

• DRIVE PERFORMANCE

Leaders are responsible for getting the results personally and from their work groups.Setting performance expectations and holding people accountable are critical for getting results.

• INSPIRE Loyalty & Trust

Retaining talented employees is the leader's job and employee satisfaction is the key to retention.Good leaders create an environment where employees can maximize their talents and perform at or above expectations.

• MANAGE Work

Resources , time , and budget need to be deployed effectively for leaders to meet their work group' objectives.

• PARTNER Within and Across Teams

Whether it is a formal team or an informal group that needs close teamwork, in order to be effective , creating and maintaining a high-performing team and cross-boundary partnership is a key leadership role.

• INFLUENCE Through Personal Power

Leaders need to get things done without using position power , either because it's inappropriate or they're leading people who are peers or who are not direct reports.

• SELECT TALENT

Identifying , evaluating , and selecting internal and external talent are essential skills for the most leaders.

For Leadership Imperatives , the Interaction process is to be established first as prescribed below:

The Interaction Process

When people interact , they generally have two kind of needs:

1. Personal Needs - to be valued ,understood, involved , and supported.
2. Practical Needs - to reach a productive outcome

So while talking about the interaction process , first need to address people's personal needs and build trust and stronger working relationship with five Key Principles. This Key Principles as stated below help you to avoid hazards , take advantage of opportunities , and make people feel appreciated , understood, involved and supported along the way.

Five Key Principles

• Maintain or enhance SELF-ESTEEM
• Listen and respond with EMPATHY
• Ask for help and encourage INVOLVEMENT
• SHARE thoughts , feelings, and rationale (to build trust)
• Provide SUPPORT without removing responsibility (to build ownership)

Then to meet practical needs , you will have to structure the discussion by using five Interaction Guidelines as below:

Interaction Guidelines

1. OPEN

• State purpose of discussion
• Identify importance (impact on/benefits to person,team,organization)

2. CLARITY

• Seek and share information about the situation/task
• Identify issues and concerns

3. DEVELOP

• Seek and develop ideas
• Explore needed resources/support

4. AGREE

• Specific actions , including contingency plans if appropriate
• Confirm how to measure progress

5. CLOSE

• Highlight important features of plan
• Confirm confidence and commitment

Effective Feedback

• Timely
• Balanced
• Specific

An easy way to remember to give complete , specific feedback is to use the acronym STAR.

Positive Feedback (STAR)

ST - Situation or Task . What was the problem , business opportunity , challenge , or task ?

A - Action . What was said or done to handle the situation or task ? For developmental feedback , what did the person or team say or do that was ineffective?

R- Result. What changed , for better or worse , because of the person's or team's actions , and what was the impact or consequences of that result ?

For Developmental Feedback (STAR/AR)

ST - Situation or Task

A - Action

R - Result

A - An alternative Action

R - The enhanced Result the alternative action might produce

Being a catalyst: (Catalyst Leadership)

• Is a broad mind -set - an overall approach to leading others
• Is believing that in today's changing workplace, individuals must take place personal accountability for getting things done .
• Means coaching , supporting , and advising others to take the initiatives in getting things done.
• Means consistently behaving in ways that energize and mobilize others.

Catalyst : Someone who sparks action on others.

By RR Thakur , COO ( Pro Biotech Industries , Nimbus Nepal)