Management Expert

A true leader will inspire leadership aspirations in those who work beneath them. A great leader will challenge their board to be ever better, and to succeed in their leadership role.

However there is a process called ‘Cronyism’, whereby a leader is fearful of those beneath him replacing them. If a protégé suddenly performs better than you could have ever imagined, it could only be a few years before they’re after your job. This fear results in leaders selecting poorer qualities candidates to work for them. In effect they surround themselves with incompetence. In an attempt to protect their career, they actually hamper it because they reduce the quality of senior management, and give those senior managers enough responsibility to do some serious damage to the organization.

A ‘Crony’ in charge of public relations could permanently damage the reputation of a 100 year old brand, a ‘Crony’ in charge of accounting could allow for corruption and fraud to leak into the accounting process, and in turn create a poor relationship with shareholders when they find out about the discrepancies. Cronyism is a very negative process, and is associated with leaders who have been at the top for so long that they feel fearful of the end. Much like a dictator in the Middle East who is prepared to kill his own people to stay in power, a poor leader may be willing to sacrifice much shareholder growth in order to keep their job.

Ironically, this behavior to protect ones job could potentially be the deciding factor in them losing their job. On UK Boards, a vote of no confidence could always be effected, removing a leader from their position, and of course shareholders must reappoint directors each year, which increases the job insecurity of those at the top.

However some leaders do reach out and encourage everyone to live to their potential, and I’d like to think that this is the direction that UK plc is heading in terms of their people policies and leadership training programmes.

Certain qualities belong to everyone but leaders possess certain qualities such as confidence, stability to an exceptional degree. If you wonder ‘What is Good Leadership?’ you could do worse than read the 10 qualities below that any leader should have to be an effective leader.

1. Vision: This is first and most important quality of a leader. Without a sense of purpose and vision, the leader will not be able to recognize what needs to be done. It also inspires the people working with or under the leader to get the job done effectively.
2. Ability: Everyone relies on the leader to get the job done properly and effectively. If the leader does not know how to do the job, no one will respect or follow the leader. The leader should have both knowledge and expertise to get the job done and achieve results.
3. Enthusiasm:  This quality is important when you want to persuade people to follow you and get the work done. The leader needs to be fully committed to the job as this will motivate and invigorate the people.
4. Stability: The leader cannot be emotionally occupied in him or herself, as this reduces objectivity in getting the job done on time and effectively. So the leader needs to make sure that when he or she is on the job; full attention is given to the job and tasks or duties that need to be done.
5. Concern for Others:  A leader that is caring and cares about the welfare of its people, is most likely to succeed. When the leader is loyal to its followers, the followers will be loyal to the leader.
6. Self Confidence: This quality comes within the leader. If a leader is not self confident he will not be able to do job effectively. The leader needs to make sure he or she is confident in all decisions and actions that are taken otherwise followers will ask questions and are most likely to disobey.
7. Persistence:  The leader needs to be motivated and determined to get the work done, even if it is very difficult.
8. Vitality:  The leader needs to have both strength and stamina to fulfill all the tasks of leadership.
9. Charisma:  This is a special quality that not all leaders posses, but once they do they can easily attract many people to follow.
10. Integrity:  Without integrity, followers will not trust the leader. Therefore the leader needs to make sure he or she is honest, courageous and has a strong sense of character.

Without these 10 leadership qualities, no leader will be able to get the job done effectively as there will be no followers. So if you are a leader of a department, company, school or even a group, make sure you brush up on these skills as they are defiantly needed.

Managing change is one of the most difficult tasks entrusted to those in a leadership position. Whilst no single leadership video will be able to make a serious change project flow like a smooth river – I hope that these resources below will serve as a great reference.

Who Moved My Cheese?

‘Who Moved My Cheese‘ is a concise, best-selling management change book. It’s website states that 24m books have been sold worldwide – which in management book terms is absolutely phenomenal. With so many satisfied customers, who are we to disagree!

The book is written in a light, entertaining style. The use of humour greatly improves its digestability, and ensures that the ideas contained within, stick. Also available is a new animated video version, which retains the funny style of the book.

For such a low price, I recommend you at least pick up this book as the start of your personal development surrounding managing change. (And no, I’m not being paid to say this!)

Stephen Warrilow

Stephen Warrilow is a change management expert. You can find his useful website here, which beyond offering reasonably priced courses, also has a host of free content.

Government Guidance

No, I’m not talking about regulation – this helpful government website contains a little-known toolkit which may help you effect change in an organisation – particularly a bureaucratic one such as local government. With many councils in the UK coming under pressure to cut costs whilst maintaining services, change management will be a vital skill for middle and senior management in government.

Are you wondering about how to be a leader? Being a great leader and manager is not something that can be scribed upon a chalk board or indeed blogged about in a ‘definitive’ way. In fact, I would argue that to insist that a specific ideology is needed to become a good leader, is to lose some of your credibility as an advisor. At the end of the day, all management authors appreciate that being a leader isn’t something that will automatically happen after a 1 day leadership course. Neither will one become a leadership and management guru after reading a single book.

Think instead of the pathway to leadership as a long and interesting journey. Shortcuts are taken at the owners risk. Many elements of this metaphor are very accurate, as I’ll now explore.

Keep Your Focus on Personal Development

Much like a ramble across the countryside, you need to have a heading otherwise you’ll end up wandering in circles, or worse – down a rabbit barren! Personal development is a concept you need at front of mind if you want ensure it works well for you. Pro-activity is a corner stone of successful development and managers would do well to remind themselves of their desire to grow into better leaders at least once a day.

Don’t take Shortcuts

An interesting and memorable walk will simply not happen if you keep jumping in the car and driving over to your destination. Life, they say, is all about the journey. The same is true about personal development. People see admirable leadership traits in leaders and assume they were ‘just born with them’, and therefore they aim to quickly emulate those behaviours to achieve a similar level of success. I believe this is destined for failure. Those leaders possess those useful traits because they have memories and experiences that formed and reinforce them each day. If you skip out those experiences, your development is insincere and unsustainable.

A Journey Passes Quicker With Friends

Your personal journey is your own, but your environment is people. Be open with others about your personal journey when the opportunity presents itself. Sharing aspirations with superiors can often kindle a good working relationship with your boss. Likewise, sharing advice and life experiences with those your junior will help others and hopefully provide a little reflection and perspective on what you have achieved so far.

There’s no need to be uptight and secretive like a Victorian regarding your goals and ambitions, as doing so will not help others, and won’t necessarily help you either. Remember – people are generally good, and by sharing your dreams widely, you will create the opportunity for someone to swoop in and help you out. Closing the door to that possibility is absurd!