Curiosity - Creativity - Commitment --- The Three C's
of Leadership BY: Rick Johnson CEO Strategist llc
People who get results are high impact leaders. They are consistent,
explicit and concise and they command a presence when they walk into a
room. They have enough charisma to turn the dullest moment into a
high-energy event. When they move on, others want to go with them. Their
openness and honesty creates a legacy which people admire and look up to.
They gain commitment and foster trust.
Most of us are not born leaders. However, a good percentage of us long
to become leaders of men and make deep connections in our careers seeking
that ultimate leadership position. It may be Sales Manager, Warehouse
Supervisor, Vice President, CFO or even CEO.
To achieve our leadership objective understanding the Three C's of
Leadership is essential:
* Curiosity * Creativity * Commitment
Curiosity
Every successful leader demonstrates a curiosity that would not be
satisfied without personal examination of what exactly were the causes of
failure to meet expectations. This was validated through NAW's (National
Association of Wholesaler Distributors) research "Profiles in Wholesale
Distribution Leadership.
http://www.nawpubs.org/orderform.html . In this project, individual
leadership models differed in their specific approaches. The common thread
that linked every model together was their respect for the individual and
the willingness and ability to listen with an understanding that
embellished their own leadership contribution to the organization. The
most obvious similarity between these the seven exceptional leaders
interviewed was the fact that they were all curious, creative and
committed. Leadership is about curiosity, scenario planning, strategic
planning and calculated risk taking. Effective leaders are excellent
listeners that have tremendous questioning skills. The power of influence
is often in the question and not in the answers. Effective leaders
understand this concept. A common trait found in every successful leader I
have ever been associated with is unhesitant curiosity. Curiosity about
their markets, their business, their industry, their employees and what it
takes to grow, prosper and create competitive advantage. These leaders
have accepted the fact that they may not have all the answers. More
importantly, they recognize that they don't have to have all the answers.
Changing a leadership style is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
Development of their leadership skills is a continuous process. This
process includes: * Enhancement of their instinctive curiosity and a
strengthening of their focus on being a customer driven organization.
Service and quality become a way of life within the organization and it is
used to support their competitive advantage. * Taking their vision and
redefining it as an end game which challenges their executive team to
create a strategic plan to meet this end game. * The recognition that
employees are the most precious asset and backing up that recognition by
the willingness to invest profits in the development of these employees. *
Empowerment that is accompanied by the resources necessary to succeed and
accountability for results. * Utilizing a board of directors as a resource
while sharing management challenges seeking policy and guidance,
incorporating contingency planning and scenario planning as a regular
exercise. Wholesale distribution organizations increasingly are
characterized by a large and incredibly complex set of independent
relationships between highly diverse groups of people. To be successful,
today's leader must determine how to get active involvement built on a
platform of creativity, commitment and curiosity out of their employees.
Creativity
Successful leaders take the time to listen, imagine and investigate
numerous alternatives. With the involvement of people they forge creative
solutions to difficult problems. They challenge their people to stretch,
go beyond their previous boundaries and think outside the box. Successful
leaders feed off their people and allow their people to feed off of them.
They give credit where credit is due. They give recognition as a means of
gaining respect. They believe individuals can make a difference. Through
these methods they learn to create new insights and possibilities.
Successful leadership means creating a sense of urgency, getting mutual
commitment to action. Action steps are always clearly defined and precise.
Often, due to the personification of the leader's own personality and
charisma, employees are eager to leap into action - without forethought. A
successful leader recognizes this possibility and takes the necessary
steps to avoid this pitfall by teaching precision in planning. They are
clear and explicit. They communicate with encouraging clarity that
commands ownership by everyone involved in the commitments made. The
successful leader is constantly building advantages into the
organizations. The belief is that you don't always have to be better than
your competition but you must be different. This concept demands
creativity and innovations.
Commitment
Commitment is critical element to success whether the company is in a
growth mode, a stabilizing mode or an acquisition mode or any other type
of circumstance. Failure to demonstrate commitment by the leader can have
negative consequences that inhibit success. Commitment is essential to
developing trust. Trust is necessary to get people to reach down deep
inside and give everything they have under the most difficult
circumstances. The reason people follow any leader, especially in the
business world, is due to trust. The only way to develop trust is by
demonstrating personal commitment to success. Talking to people with
respect to gain their respect and demonstrating your personal work ethic
is part of your commitment. Their respect is a key ingredient to
developing trust. Trust is gained when people think the company cares
about their welfare and recognizes the role they play in creating a
profit.. People have to think that the company not only cares about their
problems but that the leader and the company is committed toward making
every effort to solve them. Employees want to take pride in their leaders.
They are eager to give their trust but demonstrating the kind of
commitment as a leader that deserves that trust can not be over
emphasized. Don't let the employees down. Commitment to the employees and
the company is built around a true concern for the people within the
organization. It is based on fairness and consistency. The effectiveness
of a true leader is not measured in terms of the leadership he or she
exercises. It is measured in the leadership evoked. It is not measured in
terms of power over subordinates but in terms of the power released in
subordinates. Leadership is not measured in terms of goals and objectives
but it is measured in terms of the accomplishment of others as a result of
that leadership. Leadership is not measured in the decisions made, the
costs cut, the plans made. It is measured in terms of the growth in
confidence, sense of responsibility and acceptance of accountability of
the employees that are a result of that leadership.
Leadership and commitment are intertwined. They go together. Leadership
and commitment help create solidarity. Solidarity implies a unity within a
group that enables it to manifest its strength and exert its influence as
a group. Unity implies oneness, especially of what is varied or diverse in
its direction or clarity. Unity describes the inner relationships of
individual parts making up the whole. It is an achievement that demands
the probability of action and leadership. That action, that leadership, if
appropriate and precise, leads to trust. Demonstrate your commitment to
the company, to your employees and to success in every possible way. Your
employees need to know you are committed.
Once these principles are learned and practiced , leverage of these
leadership skills to develop the management team is the next step. The
true test of a successful leader is that he leaves behind the conviction,
the will and the understanding to carry on.
Leaders must make emotional connections with the management team that
surrounds them. They must encourage these people to open up, share dialog
and reveal dreams. They must teach and mentor. It's not as easy as Willie
Nelson would have you believe. A good leader is not intimidated by the
success of others. They encourage others to succeed and help them fulfill
their wants and needs. Leveraging leadership helps determine the hidden
factors in communication. Understanding inferences and assertions become a
key component to understanding people. Curious leaders have high
questioning and prospering skills that allow them to drill down to real
facts and issues. Leveraging their leadership allows successful leaders to
establish emotional connections, which diminish fear and intimidation.
This encourages enthusiasm and cooperation.
Excellence in what you do, continuous improvement aren't words. They're
a way of life. When you understand that they're a way of life, then the
change that you have in the way you perform is beyond comprehension
because you just wind up operating at a different level, and if you can
find a way to capture that in the culture of your business, in the culture
that you emanate to your people, then as this culture structure changes,
you have an opportunity for a superior level of performance. Excellence,
and that's what in the end it's all about. Excellence breeds a high level
of profitability. Chuck Steiner (2003) his NAW interview,
Success depends on more than just "best practice" success drivers.
Success demands a superior level of leadership--a level that requires deep
commitment. This commitment will not flourish in workplace environments
that are still dominated by the "slap & point" or the "carrot and stick"
method of management often used in the past.
About the Author
www.ceostrategist.com Dr. Rick Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the
founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in
leadership and the creation of competitive advantage in wholesale
distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with
distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team
coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to
create or maintain co
