Leadership Matters

Whether it is in business or government, leadership is top-of-mind for all of us right now. Strong leadership results in strong outcomes for any organization, from the top to the bottom line. It’s good for the business side of things, but strong leadership is even better for the people who work for the organization and make it successful from the ground up. I’ve thought a lot about what makes organizational leadership truly effective, and I’d like to share some of that with you. 

Successful and effective leaders in every organization need a core set of skills to drive an organization forward. Here are three elements that I believe create the kind of strong leadership that benefits the organization holistically: the ability to identify the right direction; the ability to identify common interests; and the ability and commitment to communicate. To have expertise with this combination of skills enables business leaders to build effective organizations, achieve objectives, and manage effectively when facing headwinds as well as when enjoying tailwinds. Let’s dive a little deeper into these attributes.

The Ability To Identify a Direction or Goal

Try this exercise when you have the opportunity to become familiar with a new-to-you organization: have a one-on-one conversation with eight or ten of the employees, and ask, “What are this company’s primary goals?”. You’ll see a direct correlation between the success of the enterprise and health of the organization, with how well any employee can answer that question. Leaders with well-developed direction/goal setting skills enable team members to bring their full set of abilities to the mission, and apply them with the confidence that they are aligned and contributing to the common purpose. Less skilled leaders may endorse hollow slogans, or otherwise fail to own responsibility for this core principle. 

A great leader possesses the ability to point the organization in the right direction, where employees can work together towards the company’s mission. From this vantage point, a leader appeals to the best in all of us, and unifies the team instead of tearing individuals down. 

The Ability To Identify Common Interests

“We’re all in this together!” can have a horribly cynical sound to it, if it’s patently untrue. Take, for example, organizations in which the rewards for senior managers are badly out of proportion to those for middle managers and lower level employees. Skilled leaders recognize that finding common interests is not a nice-to-do. It is a must-do. We have different roles, we occupy different boxes on the org chart; but the measure of success under this type of leadership rewards you and I alike. Those rewards include our compensation, our job security, and our opportunities for learning, growing, and advancing in our careers. You want those things. I want those things. We’re all willing to exert ourselves to create those things.  

When leadership teams realize that divisions weaken the company, and they make it a priority to find a common ground that can drive everyone forward, that leadership team will succeed in building a strong and thriving organization. 

Ability And Commitment To Communicate

If your career spans a long enough timeframe, you immediately realize how important effective communication is for any leadership team. This goes far beyond just “sending out a mass email and hoping for the best.” To thrive and grow as an organization, leadership must skillfully describe the goals, and institute rigorous monitoring and feedback for performance related to those goals. This skillset avoids so many frustrations, and creates the means to address challenges head on. If you have ever experienced leadership like this in your career, you never forget it. It is the difference between the meeting you attend knowing your role and responsibility, and the one you attend unsure of its purpose/your role – the meeting you leave with greater clarity about priorities and next steps, and the one you leave, and a week later can’t recall what it was about. 

Effective communication brings us together and unites us in a cause for the good of the organization -- and ourselves. Where weak leadership divides and uses scare tactics to enforce change, strong leadership recognizes that vulnerability and swiftly changes course. 

It might seem audacious to boil leadership down to three skill categories. And yet, I put this to you as food for thought. Our collective understanding of the role and responsibilities of our national leaders is in great flux – a time of transition demanding our attention well beyond what we were accustomed to just a short time ago - and with higher stakes. We are realizing that leadership matters so much more than we ever thought. 

And wouldn’t it be fantastic if all leaders had a clear vision into the future, superior beings who never err, never falter? Until such a unicorn appears, we’re best served by finding people skillful in goal setting, finding common interests, and communicating. These types of leaders appeal to the best within all of us, unveiling the power that results when we put our differences aside and work together towards a common goal. 

Clara Conti is a former chief executive officer, corporate restructuring guru and founder of multiple business startups. Connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter.