Powerful leaders create healthy, cohesive, and successful organizations that leave a lasting legacy. Their secret lies in the ability to develop a culture in which people want to belong, learn, and contribute. That starts with the leaders’ thoughtful reflection about the future, and their leadership approach.
It is no longer about power over others. It is about the more power you give away, the more powerful you become and the more powerful results your organization can produce. Powerful leadership includes harnessing and releasing the capabilities of people by pushing responsibility, authority, information, trust, and recognition throughout the organization. It means creating power for you as well as helping others gain power in order to contribute to the organization. And that takes a thoughtful approach.
Powerful leaders believe that:
- They create and leave a positive legacy in their organization.
- Everyone needs to be passionate and focused on the core (mission, vision, values & beliefs).
- They must continually assess where the organization is against the core.
- All initiatives need to be integrated.
- They have to create a culture of belonging, learning and contributing.
- They must be the primary role models.
- Continuous sharing of information throughout the organization is critical.
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It seems so basic, not so difficult. So why aren’t more leaders truly powerful? You’re a leader - ask yourself. Why am I not doing it? Here are some common reasons we’ve heard over the years:
- I’m doing what my bosses have done.
- I have no time to do ‘leadership.’
- I’ve delegated that responsibility.
The days of successful autocratic leadership where leaders ‘think’ and employees ‘do’ are gone. Consumers want products and services faster, better and more cost-effective. You can no longer do it yourself. No wonder so many talented people are leaving organizations to start their own companies or to join start-ups in order to feel some ownership. Leadership is your job. You’re no longer a technician or an individual contributor. Leadership is woven into the fabric of how you do your business in order to be successful. It is not an extra responsibility that you do if you have time. There are certain responsibilities that leaders just can’t delegate and leadership is one of them. Having a vision of the right tomorrow and mobilizing and empowering people are your job.
In order to be a truly powerful leader, you need to be able to answer the following questions affirmatively:
- Have I defined a legacy that I want to leave in my organization?
- Do I recognize my own strengths and weaknesses?
- Have I surrounded myself with the right leadership team?
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- Do we have an integrated approach to leading our organization?
- Can we clearly articulate who our customers are and what they need and want?
- Do I have a clear vision of a successful future for the organization? Am I passionate about it? Do we have a plan to get there?
- Do we have the right organization structure in place that allows people to do their best work?
- Have we created a culture in which people want to belong, learn and contribute?
- Have we taken action to contribute to the sustainability of the earth’s resources?
- Are we able to determine the levels of our success on an ongoing basis? Do we celebrate successes along the way?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, how do you know that it is true?
The success of powerful leadership rests on the foundation of shared commitment to vision, mission, values, and beliefs that define the right tomorrow. The ability of your organization to reach its vision depends upon your capacity to recognize your own limitations and appreciate the strengths of others. You must ante-up first because it all starts with you. It takes your willingness to step away from the quick, easy fix and move toward a reflective, thoughtful approach.
Are you willing to take the necessary steps to become a powerful leader?
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