A ship without a captain is a ship that never leaves port. A ship with an ineffective captain will never reach its final destination. And a ship with a bad captain will soon have a mutiny on its hands. So what about a ship with a good captain? Those are the ships that sail where they planned to go, and survive storms and raiders during the journey.
It’s the well captained ships that complete their voyages. Why is that, you ask? As Victor Lipman, an executive coach and author of The Type B Manager: Leading Successfully in a Type A World, says, it’s because a truly effective Leader understands how to “…make everyone around them better.” And potential realized under a skilled leader is what separates the strong from the weak in business.
Good Leaders Communicate To Inspire
Helping each sector and employee understand how and why their contribution is valued and necessary to the overall outcome of the company is a gargantuan task in and of itself. A good Leader can connect with many people on multiple levels through inspiring and honest communication.
Think of Elon Musk with his wide range of thoughtful communications: techno-speak memos when dealing with engineers, as well as his irreverent Tweets that show his sense of humour and convey the wonder he possesses at the goals and accomplishments of SpaceX and Tesla.
Good Leaders Build A Cooperative Culture
A good Leader sets the example. They do not ask from their employees that which they would not give of themselves. Sounds monumental, but it’s actually very basic. No one will dedicate themselves to an executive who spends their time sunning themselves on a yacht while the rank and file labour over a desk.
Leaders that create a workplace with a positive culture do so because they realize that everyone should be on the same page in terms of drive, support and the knowledge that they are ALL working towards the same goal.
Good Leaders Share Their Vision
Good Leaders communicate and update their management team and coworkers on a regular basis to keep them in the loop when new developments and challenges arise. Heading an entrepreneurial organization means charting the course for a variety of teams all functioning at different levels of involvement, timelines and goals.
When the destination is clear, navigating through business challenges becomes achievable when a good Leader inspires those around them.