Episode #381: Key Competencies Needed To Lead Others (Part Two)

In Part One we looked at two broad categories of leadership competences around being Self-Aware and having Accountability. In this next tranche, we will look at being Others-Focused and at being Strategic.

Others-Focused has many sub-points, but today we will investigate five key aspects

Inspiring

Through role modelling and communication skills, leaders can and should inspire followers. The olde days of the boss having to know more than everyone else has gone. The focus has shifted to developing followers, through personal interest and example. Are you consciously, systematically doing this?

Develops Others

Once upon a time, certainly when I first started work, there was no particular concept that it was the leader’s role to develop others. Individuals had to step up and do it by themselves. This is fundamentally what all leaders had done in the past. Today however, business is more complex and fast moving, so everyone needs help. One of the issues is the struggle between selfishly focusing on your own glorious career and the role of others in boosting that cause and your own efforts to selflessly boost the careers of your direct reports. Companies need leader producing machines. The talented rise faster and higher by demonstrating they are that very elevating machine. Those who can demonstrate they can produce leaders are given a bigger remit to do that at scale. Can you do it and are you doing it?

Positively Influences Others

Rabid rivalry and internecine warfare between competing thrusters amongst the leadership team permeate the wrong messages to those below. Disciples pin their hopes to the banner of the thruster they think will go higher and take them with them. Everyone is grasping the greasy pole, trying to climb over each other to the top. Politicians and sycophants abound inside companies and are a vicious form of poison, because they are playing all ends against the middle to feather their own nest. The leader sets the tone. Not whining about others in the company, not playing petty internal power games and keeping firmly focused on beating the external rivals is the correct path. Are you and all of your colleagues on it?

Effectively Communicates

Personal capabilities and mastery of one’s designated tasks are the usual path to promotion. Being 100% responsible for oneself is different to being responsible for a team. This is where leadership communication skills are soon shown to be frayed and tatty. Speaking the lingua franca is frankly so what? Communicating key messages and inspiring and persuading others to your path are the required skills. Few leaders do a great job because many are locked into the belief that all this communication stuff is fluff and hard skills are the only currency. They are doomed to be low altitude flight path denizens, because companies are looking for people who can move the masses forward. Is what you are doing every day moving them forward?

Providing Direction

This sounds so simple. I mean how hard can this be? What if it is the wrong direction though? What if we are all being urged to sprint faster off the cliff? This is the VUCA world of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Setting the correct direction isn’t the easiest thing for leaders these days. We can’t know if the direction is correct until we start down the path. The clue is to adjust when confronted by unpleasant hints about the actual truth. We need to keep adjusting to the market realities and not become too convinced of our own genius and superiority. Has your leader ego convinced you that you are always correct?

Being strategic is one of those tropes of leadership, but what does it actually involve? Let’s look at couple of issues.

Innovative

This competency sounds obvious and easy except that very few companies, let alone people, are actually innovative. Think of all the companies you have worked for and nominate how many came up with any significant innovations? We are better off developing the innovation muscle of the entire team, than relying on our own scampy offerings. If you are substantially personally gifted in the innovation department then hats off to you. How many people like you then have you ever worked with? The answer is clear. The collective team, if harnessed properly to the task of coming up with innovative ideas, can do it together. The sticking point is, do you know how to marshal your team to do that?

Solves Problems

The is another obvious competency, except that are you the one running yourself ragged solving everything? Have you delegated tasks sufficiently so that others can share the burden? Leaders should be involved with big strategic issues, not with every small fry decision. If you are in the problem weeds and getting down and dirty with minor issues, it is time to rethink how you have positioned yourself as a leader.

Uses Authority Appropriately

Does every decision have to run by you? Are you in too many meetings? Are you hooked on your own authority and feel the need to be on top of everything? Developing staff means letting go and giving them some things to try and possibly fail with. “There are no mistakes, only learning opportunities” is a good mental intervention, for when your staff screw things up. Delegating your own power is a tough one for driven leaders. However, if you want to rise, you have to breed successors like rabbits, so that there are plenty of people to take over so that you can rise up the ranks.