People
Issue No. 30 - August/September 2006
Very essence of business leadership
by Mr Paul Smith
What are the essential qualities of an effective leader? Can these be recognized in young people? Can they be developed?
These questions arose in a meeting I had with a top admissions officer of a leading graduate school of business. This official was reflecting on the profile of applicants to be accepted in the school.
Her definition of leadership has stuck with me: leaders are "people who leave their footprints in their areas of passion".
And, in fact, this admissions officer was showing leadership by inviting me and others in to talk about admissions profiles.
She was taking an already excellent process, and rather than being complacent with it, she was making it even better. She was leaving her footprints in her area of passion.
Ambidextrous Leadership
Great leaders have to be ambidextrous.
They have to be able to execute capably within the current business paradigm, "the way we do business." On the other hand, they must be able to reflect on the current paradigm, find ways to improve it and manage the large-scale change.
You need two hands, and a lot of commitment, to change the propeller on the airplane in mid-flight, but that capability is the essence of successful leadership.
Think of it this way: some day your current job will be a line entry on your resume. Under the entry, you'll have two or three bullets to describe your major accomplishments. "Did a good job of doing what always was done" can't be one of them.
They should be your successes at changing the current paradigm — this is how you showcase your leadership.
There is a lot of sense in reflecting at the beginning of a new job on what you want the two or three bullets to be, and deliberately setting about building them over the course of your job tenure.
Can you be a good leader without being a good manager? In my experience, the best leaders are also great managers, and the best managers have strong lead...
