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Nextiva
Ken Blanchard refers to leadership development as the 7% of a company’s annual sales differential, which means that, according to Blanchard’s “Cost-of-Doing-Nothing Calculator,” every year of delay costs an organization 7% of their annual sales.
There's nothing worse than poor leadership . It leads (pun intended) to disengagement, finger pointing and a victim mindset that avoids accountability. Without exceptional leadership, no company will bridge the gap from excellent to exceptional, which is Tomas Gorny, CEO of Nextiva, an award-winning cloud business, cites leadership as the most important behavior that any CEO, any entrepreneur or individual can display.
Here are five lessons learned, according to Gorny, for acquiring and wielding great leadership qualities:
1. Leadership Is Not About Commanding People
When people talk about leadership, one of the first things that come to mind is hierarchy and giving orders, but leadership is not about telling others what to do and expecting them to ask "how high?" when you say, "jump." People want to know why, and Gorny learned that the best way to get people to work is to make it clear why they are working.
Employees want to feel like they are part of the team and not just another minion. The easiest way to do this is to involve them in the process by listening to them. Help them understand their efforts make a difference.
2. Understand That You Are Only As Good As Your Team
As the CEO of any company, it’s easy to climb on top of a high horse and believe you're on top of the world. Gorny believes that although it’s easy for a leader to allow their ego to get in the way, it's also something that every leader must guard against.
The fact is that you are only as good as the team supporting you . A team that refuses to give their all for a leader or manager derails everything and everybody associated with them and their project. Everybody is smarter than anybody , and only by keeping people on your side will you meet larger goals.
3. Is Everyone Pulling In The Same Direction?
When Gorny first started his business career long before becoming the CEO of Nextiva, he noticed that many people didn’t know what they wanted from their boss. And even if they did, the boss's vision changed--frequently. Such uncertainty led to different teams being unsure of where they were going or what was expected of them,which led to lost time and effort that could've been better spent elsewhere. Clarity is everything.
You have to ask yourself whether your entire team is working towards the same goals and whether everyone is moving in the same destination. If the answer is no, fix it. As the leader, you are responsible for sharing your vision through effective communication skills.
4. Do You Have The Desire?
Gorny believes that when somebody is hired to lead a company they should have an unquenchable desire to do better. It doesn’t have to involve running a Fortune 500 company or becoming a millionaire, but it has to be something. This desire has to get them out of bed every day and it has to be more than a salary. There's a reason why purpose prevails, and it's because it pulls rather than pushes you when the going gets tough--and nobody likes being pushed.
Whenever somebody is hired to lead a department at Nextiva, they're examined for their desire. Gorny quizzes every potential hire on what their goals are and what motivates them to keep going. This is far more important than any hard skills to obtain optimum results. A leader who doesn’t have the desire or the hunger to achieve is unlikely to inspire confidence from the people working under them.
5. Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Inspiration
Inspiration is an untapped power . It’s crucial to the continuity of your company, its long-term success and to perpetual learning. Leaders encourage others to realize untapped potential that they never knew they had.
Leadership ensures the survival of a company. Leaders must be willing to communicate and make sacrifices that serve the purpose of the company--not themselves. Do that, and you're on track to becoming exceptional.
