“The mark of an effective leader is the impact she/he has on the attitude and performance of others and in the legacy, they leave when they move on” ~ Tom Peters
What constitutes great leadership? How similar or different will be your answer to this question compared with mine? And if I expand this farther, how does perceptions and opinions about the subject and the phenomenon of leadership vary from one person to another? However similar or dissimilar the responses maybe, the perceptions and opinions on leadership would definitely be shaped and influenced by lived experiences. My compilation of the list, the “5Cs of Effective Leadership”, is culled from my nearly three decades of observing, perceiving, and “doing” leadership across diverse industries and organisations.
C1: Courage~
Deepest and unwavering courage in own beliefs and values. Courage to project and promote the followers. Courage to hold self and others accountable.
Shouldn’t this be a hygiene criterion in anyone who is a people manager, however large or small the team may be? Courage indeed is an unconditional attribute for leadership at any level. Without this, leadership is meaningless. And the very reason this needs to be put firmly and foremost in this list, is that there are too many examples of people occupying leadership roles who, despite having other qualities, have adverse impact in the systems they are, for their followers, themselves as well as for their organizations, due to lack of, or suboptimal levels of this leadership attribute.
Leadership is a 24X7 job. You don’t stop being a leader for your people every day at close of business hours or over the weekend. And your actions (or inactions) are constantly observed by your followers and in turn influencing their impressions of your leadership. How does courage of a leader look like in action and through observed behaviours? Is the leader able to stay true to the north start of his/her deepest values and principles even under stress and pressure? It’s not easy. Often temporary compromises seem to be “practical”. But there are no half measures here. You are either there or not there. There’s nothing in between.
Projecting team’s achievement is admirable. But how about projecting team’s achievements even at the cost of self-projection? Promoting followers does not necessarily imply a promotion for a direct report. It’s about promoting their achievements, successes, lobbying for resources or opportunities. It’s about stepping up when the chips are down and to allow the team to be in the limelight during the highs. My favourite leadership guru, Lao Tsu’s take on “best” leadership – “… and when (her)his work is done, (her)his aim fulfilled, they will say we did it ourselves”. It takes great courage to step back for your followers and let them shine in the moments of greatest glory.
Great leadership is about the courage to hold people accountable, starting with self. Holding oneself accountable is about being vulnerable, which creates the impression of the leader being humane and inspiring at the same time. It’s not easy to say “It’s my bad”, and all the more for leaders whose followers expect them to be right, all the time. And yet a leader who owns up to his/her misses is enabling a culture of high accountability– a hallmark of a high performing team. It also takes courage to hold people accountable for their behaviours and performances. A leader who does this consistently and fairly is multiplying leaders from among the followers.
C2: Control the Controllable~
Razor sharp focus on what could be controlled and influenced. Rest is distraction.
The need to control one’s environment is one of the primary drivers of human behaviour. And yet there is only so much which is potentially controllable by anyone. Even for the most powerful global leaders, there is a limit to things which they can control directly. This desire to control and the inability to do so is one of the primary stressors for many, including leaders. Leaders need to demonstrate their great focus on what they can control, and what they could potentially influence. Anything which does not fall in either of these spheres of control or influence, is a potential distractor and cause for stress and anxiety. Along with demonstration leaders could imbibe in their followers this attitude and focus. This is a great way to build resilience, performance orientation and change readiness in their teams.
C3: Choose the battles carefully~
Engage in only those battles which are “must win” to win the war. Rest is inconsequential.
Organisations are political systems were competing for resources and conflicts are inevitable. The effective leader is discerning in looking at conflicts with an objective and strategic stance. Getting involved in every conflict is draining and de-energising. Choosing to engage with those conflicts which are critical to address in order for the team to meet its strategic goals, and letting go the ones which are not helps the leader and the team to direct their energy meaningfully and effectively. This also is a great way to build one’s personal brand – a leader and a team who do not get carried away by “ego” but gives primacy to the mission at all times.
C4: Commitment~
Deepest and sustained commitment in facilitating the learning, growth and well-being of employees.
This leadership attribute is perhaps what builds the strongest emotional bonding between the leader and the follower. A leader who invests quality time and efforts in learning and growth of employees is giving one unequivocal message consistently – “I care”. I read an interesting quote somewhere – the employee is saying to the leader – “if you make me more desirable to the competition, I will have no reason to leave”. A leader who is invested in building capability and employability of the employees, is enabling talent stickiness and development. It also takes courage to let go of a high-performing employee to another role, team or organization. But a leader who encourages and enables their best talents to take on larger and different roles and assignments is a true magnet for great talent.
C5: Communication~
To inspire and influence followers to reach and be their best versions. Consistently.
Effective leadership is “getting others want to do, what you are convinced should be done”. And communication is the tool available to leaders to inspire and influence others to “want to do”. The effective leader communicates a compelling vision of a desired future state along with purpose and urgency of reaching this desired state over and over again. Consistency is a hallmark of great leadership communication. This helps the team retain focus on the vision and goals and reach and be at the very best consistently.
I am a firm believer of timelessness of fundamental leadership principles not only during times of “business as usual”, but all the more when things are in a constant state of flux and upheaval, as in the present business context. The 5Cs could help leaders create significant impact on the attitude and performance of their followers, and leave a legacy which the successive line of leadership is inspired to sustain and even surpass.
