Never underestimate the softer side of leadership.
By the time you become a senior leader, you have already
mastered the technical skills. What may be missing, however, are the nuances
and the seemingly simple truths that get lost in the noise around how to run an
organisation. These are the softer skills, which may look simple, but are
deceptively so.
There is nothing simple about empowering people so that the
decisions they make and the actions they take are aligned with the overall values
and strategy of the organisation. It is not easy to remember the importance of
rewarding your team continuously with praise and acknowledgement of milestones
achieved, especially while you’re steering an organisation to an endpoint over
the horizon.
Leading is less about analytics and decisions, and much more
about aligning, motivating, and empowering others to make those decisions.
These truths are part of essential elements of leadership. Although strategic
and practical, they are inspiring and motivational, as the entire organisation
becomes aligned behind a greater purpose and a grander mission that is bigger
than any one individual.
To be a leader is to make others believe; in challenging
times to convey that “everything will be okay,” and that together the team will
find a way forward. As a leader, you must have confidence in your own ability,
but most important in your team. Leadership is humbling, knowing that it is
never about you, as the leader. Leadership is all about what others achieve.
No matter how many times a footballer practices a shot, what
counts most is his performance with the team. So too it is with leadership.
Leaders seek feedback on what can be improved, make the change, and measure the
outcome. Leaders review some performance indicators on a daily basis and others
weekly. However, the best measure of all is talking to and observing customers
and employees. Through the tone, cadence, and content of the feedback you receive,
you can glean what no computer screen or spread-sheet can reveal; you can gauge
the subtleties of whether the organisation is engaged and aligned to the
purpose, vision, and strategy, as well as where the opportunities and
challenges can be found.
The softer side of leadership is vital to results because if
unheeded, it will become a leader’s blind spot.
Being a leader, being a CEO, is
not just a position; it is a privilege and a responsibility.
The lessons
learned from the leadership journey are numerous. Leaders are not simply messengers
of corporate strategy. The leader’s job is to be the message—not only in words, but in demeanour, mannerisms,
decisions, and actions.
It is the nuances of leadership that make the difference—the
soft side, which just may be the hardest part of all.
