Three Top Competencies for Effective Leadership Development
An article published by the Leadership Development group highlighted eight core competencies for critical leadership success. The article makes an important distinction about each and every one of the core competencies. They can all be assessed and most importantly they can all be learned or better stated developed over time. A close look at the eight core competencies reveal that a few stand out. This blog article will discuss in some depth three of the eight core competencies.
Core Competency Number One: Leading People
This is perhaps the most important of all core competencies. Leaders lead others in the pursuit of the vision, mission and goals of the organization. Leadership is not telling other people what to do but rather creating the opportunity for others to engage in activity in furtherance of the vision, mission and goals of the organization. Good leaders display leadership in a variety of ways. There is no one leadership model to follow. Good leaders lead by example. This is seen in a variety of ways such as giving inspirational speeches such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
Good leaders surround themselves with good people and delegate to those people the critical tasks and responsibilities required to get the job done. In short, leaders delegate appropriately and praise those who perform liberally. Good leaders understand that it is not really about them but rather it is about "US"! The ability to develop good leadership skills is possible.
Core Competency Number Two: Strategic Planning
The failure to appropriately plan is essentially planning to fail. Good leaders understand the value of strategic planning. Leaders who understand that strategic planning is not a once a year or even a once a quarter event are able to achieve significantly improved business results. In essence, to good leaders strategic planning is a way of being.
Strategic business planning needs to take place at every level of the organization. Strategic planning done properly will help to build good teamwork because it is done in a collaborative manner. Members throughout the organization must be involved. Obtaining input from as many of the team members as possible provides numerous benefits. Employees who work in an area of the business often have great ideas about how to do things more effectively and efficiently. A good leader listens and makes changes as necessary to gain competitive advantage.
Core Competency Number Three: Inspiring Commitment
Good leaders are able to work with other people to accomplish the vision, mission and goals required for sustainable business success. This cannot be done with employees performing at just an average or even below average level. Employees will go the extra mile for a good leader. Good leaders by their very nature make the people around them better. Inspiring commitment is another way of really saying employee engagement. Engaged employees perform better.
It is true that hiring the right people is crucial to building the right team. Good leaders understand this and work within the organization to make sure the right people are hired. It is the ability to train and develop people after hiring that separates the average company from the industry leaders. Good leaders spend a lot of time training and developing the people who work for them. This makes sense because it is the people themselves who will be asked to perform ninety-nine percent (99%) of the work.