by Awe Busuyi Rapheal

Created on: August 12, 2010   Last Updated: August 15, 2010

Anybody can work on and cultivate leadership traits. Leadership is not necessarily by birth, intelligence, good looks, height, and other intrinsic traits, but by following some time-tested principles in running a business or any human organization to achieve success.

First of all, an effective leader must be visionary, envisioning where the organization is going with a clear perception of how to get there. But it is not enough for the leader to have vision; he must communicate the vision effectively through the necessary channels of communication throughout the organization. He must not stop there, he has to take the bull by the horn by single-handedly and resolutely taking the major steps that will take the vision to the next level. For example, the manger of a small or medium-sized pharmaceutical company can have the vision to expand the enterprise into a big multinational company and get every employee to see and work for the attainment of this by envisioning it first and then communicating it effectively through the necessary channels. He then goes a step further to do the major works towards the achievement of this goal and motivate the workers through the right incentives.

A leader needs dedication and commitment to the achievement of organizational objectives. As we all know that a car without fuel will be going nowhere, vision is not an end in itself but a means to an end; dedication to its attainment is the fuel that will get it to its destination. Dedication entails pulling out all the stops, spending whatever energy and time and resources instrumental to the achievement of any task at hand. Success lies in the ability of the leader to be dedicated and inspire commitment on the part of the team or employees. He leads by such examples as diligence, punctuality and timeliness to show everyone in the organization what seriousness should be like. In the morning, you should be the first person to be in the office. You should also do the most difficult tasks in any mission at hand.  You need to adopt ‘deeds and not just words’ as your watchword. Action is the mark of a leader as he is always vigorously and actively pursuing the vision of the organization with energy. In this way he can enthuse his subordinates to do the same and work toward the company’s objectives, hence success in inevitable.

Openness and transparency are essential hallmarks of a successful leader. All employees must be carried along concerning the success of the organization. It is quite unique of a leader to make all workers know that the success of the organization is all theirs. This is especially important in a small company unlike in big ones where everybody is restricted to his unit. In a small business, if the boss buys a new car for example and the business atmosphere is not so transparent, employees are bound to think that he has siphoned the funds of the company to his own pocket. This will do nothing but dampen their enthusiasm as they will have a feeling that ‘they are holding the bull by the horn and their boss is only enjoying the fruits of their labor’. But when they are well-furnished with necessary information about the company, it builds trust and mutual respect.

Last but not the least a leader must be motivational and not de-motivational. The best measure of demotivate in any company is staff turnover as a result of dissatisfaction with the managers’ approach to business management and leadership style. Also, he must be democratic when workers are skilled and professional, but a little autocratic but not harsh when they are less skilled.  

            

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