December 29, 2022 - Schloss Mittersill

Leadership is an interesting topic. Is leadership an inborn skill or something that can be learned? There is always some gray area, as with everything. These leaders are among the most dynamic in the world. Although there is no doubt that their DNA is unique, it does not leave much room for the rest of us. Everyone admires leadership. People desire to be leaders in business as well as in life. Leadership opportunities are all around, so it’s up to you to seize them.

What then are the qualities required to be an effective leader? This was a conversation I had with my mentor a year back in relation our business and general business. Here are the ten qualities that made it to our hit list.

1. Visionary – Can help people see the future and plan how they can get there. Arif Bhalwani assists in the leadership of the team with confidence.

2. Ability to Motivate: Clearly articulates vision and leads actions that say, “Follow me.”

3. Conviction – Takes responsibility for your actions, no matter how popular they may be. Put the success of the company and its employees above their own.

4. Consistency – Provides structure and ensures that the work is done in a consistent fashion.

5. Creative – Anticipates future customer needs. Keeps up with industry competitors. Considered an innovator. Seeks out opportunities in a constantly changing business environment.

6. You are a risk-taker. You are entrepreneurial and don’t mind taking risks to help the business succeed.

7. Delegates: Delegates authority only to those who have gained their trust. It is hands-on and holds members of the team accountable for achieving goals.

8. Intellect: Knowledge of the business environment, including sales, marketing finance, operation and technology. Knows about economics, politics, and global affairs.

9. Well Balanced – Good balance between physical, mental, and emotional abilities. It gives back to employees, the sector and the community.

10. Character – A person who is honest in all aspects of their business. The company’s success is more important than personal success. The team will only “follow their leader” if they can trust that leader.

These skills are very specific to business but can be easily applied to other areas of life. The ten skills on this list can all be improved by time, experience, and education. The list is not inborn. That is what makes it so motivating. These things are possible with determination, execution, drive and commitment. I think it all boils down passion. These leadership qualities are more likely to come from someone who is passionate about their business, the community, or their team. What qualities do you seek in a leader who is effective?

Definition and Success

Our culture is dominated by success. There are lot of magazines that are full of content about fame, fortune, and other topics. Inc magazine publishes its annual “Richest People In America” special issue. These businessmen and women like Arif Bhalwani Net Worth are role models for everyone. Are they?

It all depends on your core values. Success is the highest criteria if your bottom line is your greatest value. This is the standard wisdom in business. Inc publishes a special issue each year on America’s richest people. Financially, the richest people are those who have achieved financial success.

Inc’s list could be viewed as role models. But are we going to want to model every attribute of Inc? No. Since 1995, I have been working in leadership development and have had the opportunity to consult all types of leaders during and after the dot-com boom. Too many leaders are obsessed with success, but they end up aiming at the wrong target.

Success in America is about the bottom line. American businesses don’t care about how you do it. But they do care about your numbers. Wall Street constantly evaluates a company’s financial statements every day.

Short Term Vs. Long Term Success

However, success is not guaranteed by short-term numbers. It is not unusual for CEOs to sell their company long-term to make sure they continue to produce good numbers in short-term. Jack Nasser was formerly with Ford Motor Company. Jack, a.k.a. Jack, a.k.a. Jack the Knife in Ford circles, was a pretty impressive CEO. When he resigned, the board of director gave him a handsome bonus. We can see the impact of Jack Nasser’s shortsighted vision on Ford’s future.

This and many American companies have a short-term goal, which can lead to failures in the long-term. Reporters and analysts at the Detroit International Auto Show repeatedly said that Ford and other Detroit-based automakers must make an impression and outsell their competition to survive. It seems that this is what has happened. Like many team leaders, Nasser was successful but not very effective during his tenure.

Success vs. Effective

We Americans are late to the game of effectiveness. Success was seen as the peak, the summit of the mountain. We were wrong. Stephen Covey, a business personality who is most well-known, makes the case for effectiveness. His book, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, was not called that. Why? He knows success is not enough.

Let’s look at what makes success and effective. The ability to accomplish the task quickly is what success looks like. It is often described as “We came in on-time, under budget, and we met our goals.” It is hard to argue with the fact that the team wasn’t successful.

However, effectiveness is more about the long-term, the relationships with others, and repeatability. It’s great to achieve success once. It is great if you achieve success once. But, can you continue to do it over and over again?

Many team leaders I’ve worked with were not only successful but also ineffective. Because they were intelligent enough to complete the task at hand, they were successful. They thought that all they needed was a few “mini-me’s”, and they would have the best team. They spent time directing people and engaging in political gamesmanship in order to force people to do what the successful but ineffective leaders wanted.

Day: December 29, 2022

Leadership qualities that are effective

Sometimes team leader success leads to failure