Perspectives & Strategy

Sadly leadership is one of those qualities that is not taught at either school or university.

I was asked the other day whether I thought gender has a role to play in an individual’s leadership? I have never though it has. Men and women may be physically different, but I do not believe that they are psychologically different. It is a pity however that there have not been too many female political leaders (this is the arena where leadership is at least publicly on display), but it is still worthy to note that 43 women have held the post of prime minister or president since the end of world war 2 and that is an important number.

The fact of the matter is that few people have thought about what makes a good leader in any field until very recently, which is very sad. Leadership is a skill that can be learned, although some people may have natural skills. In addition that is an old adage that people are promoted to the level of their incompetence – which should be nailed as a false statement immediately.

Here are some of the qualities within a person that can help anyone become leadership material (this list cannot possibly be definitive – please feel free to add you own via comments):

♦ Demonstrating a good track record – make things happen

♦ It is about understanding the needs of the business, not your technical brilliance

♦ You need a passion and belief in what you are doing

♦ Demonstrate that you can be trusted to get the job done

♦ Be a person other people want to follow

♦ Fit in

♦ Be a coach or mentor to others

♦ Listen more than you talk and when you talk make it significant

♦ Demonstrate your decisiveness

♦ You are willing to make mistakes and learn from them

♦ You can manage the set-backs and bad-news

♦ You are in control of your own destiny

♦ Make sure your personal life is consistent with your professional life.

Debra Benton says “right now, where you work, there are people behind closed doors desperately trying to find someone to promote or develop for a larger role”. It is true I have either attended or managed a few of those meetings and know how right she is. Leadership is about being a business enabler and being able to do what is necessary to get the job done.

Early in my career we went through an office move. I was the last person still working at the old location and the first person working at the new location. My boss wanted to know how in the midst of turmoil I was the only one working – I told him it was about being focused on the goals of the business. The important things, the key files, my PC, and everything I needed to start work first thing in the morning went in my car. The setup time was a few minutes once I found my desk and I had re-focused on the key problem of the day while many others were still trying to find their boxes. This was a trigger for being put on the leadership track in that firm.