Leadership is the power to present vision and goals and lead members. A competent leader uses his or her influence to present a vision to its members and produce good results.
Leader’s behavior, directly and indirectly, affects numerous members, so it is important to show exemplary figures outside of work, such as values and actions, to demonstrate effective leadership.
If you understand leadership correctly, you can become a leader who can be imitated not only in work but also in everyday life. In this article, we will introduce you to the six principles to become a competent leader and to introduce global leadership skills that are in increasing demand in recent years.
What is Leadership?
Leadership is the power to present vision and goals and lead members. A competent leader uses his or her influence to present a vision to its members and produce good results.
6 Principles of a Competent Leader
1) Make Decisions with Mature Judgment.
Leaders make important decisions to lead members. Leaders are given the authority to make decisions, but they also come with responsibility for making decisions. Leaders’ decisions are often made through independent judgment rather than through escalation. Given the company-wide strategy and goals, it is also a leader’s decision-making that breaks down goals and distributes tasks. Therefore, mature judgment is required to present alternatives to various problems required in the work and to make decisions in order to lead team members to their goals.
2) Present a clear goal and vision.
When the company’s instructions and the opinions of team members disagree, there are situations in which the opinions of employees are ignored and instructions are given unilaterally. If you are a good leader, you need to accurately communicate the company’s goals and vision in the middle to make employees understand and collect opinions.
In situations where management’s decisions are to be communicated, it is necessary to understand in advance the background from which the decision was made. Management may have decided to Unlock Potential with Balanced Scorecard Automation, as an example, and this has shown them that things need to be adjusted slightly in order to improve performance. The next steps are to be able to explain what this entails to staff, help them to understand the work that needs doing, and then assign the various tasks to those who will be able to complete them the best. Good leaders present clear goals and visions, and in order to promote growth, they move the hearts of members to create results.
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3) Match Words and Actions
Leaders’ words and actions are taken for granted, but it is not easier to practice than expected. In a real work environment, there are often times when there is a difference between the direction executives are pursuing and the actions taken. However, if the leader’s instructions and actions do not match, members may feel confused and distrust from the leader, which can negatively affect trust and belief in the organization as a whole.
For example, if a leader says he values a balance between work and rest and sets a goal that can only be achieved when employees work overtime, this can be interpreted as being inauthentic and may lead to backlash from employees. Or, while emphasizing the corporate culture of cultivating in-house human resources through internal promotions’, employees may eventually lose their trust in the leadership shown by management if they continuously recruit talent from outside.
4) Show Followership.
Aristotle, a Greek scientist and philosopher, said, “Anyone who doesn’t know how to follow others can never be a good leader.”
Followership, which many leaders overlook, is an important item in leadership and a starting point for good leadership. Followership refers to open communication that can listen to and reflect the opinions of employees, not communication that unilaterally gives instructions and commands to members. A competent leader gives support to the right opinions, enables members to actively share their opinions, and helps them become competitive by taking the lead in decision-making.
5) Trust and Motivate Members.
To be a good leader, you have to accept that a leader isn’t always perfect. A leader’s important role is to understand the competencies and skills of its members and to have a trusted person in charge. One of the important traits we see in great leaders is a strong belief and belief in our members. Effective leaders are well aware of their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of their abilities, and have the ability to fill each other’s shortcomings through trust through team members who can compensate for their weaknesses.
Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, said that the role of leaders is to providing a vision for the future, creating a healthy corporate culture, cultivating the right talent, and showing the direction they should go.’
A good leader he refers to is a leader who guides people to use their abilities to the fullest and suggests a path for them to think together as a mentor. Achieving the goals of an organization requires the participation of several members, so the ability to draw out the talent and enthusiasm of members is a virtue that a leader must possess.
A good leader should be able to motivate each member to work with ownership rather than coercive instructions.
The Requirements For Successful Motivation are:
- Continuous Communication
- Fair Employee Evaluation
- Set clear goals
Only leaders who lead members through trust can help them understand their employees’ potential and help them grow.
6) Evaluate and Reflect on your own leadership.
Leadership is not a fixed concept, but changes according to the nature of the team or group. Therefore, leaders should improve their roles and management methods according to the situation, and continuously establish their roles as leaders through continuous communication with members. Let’s assess your leadership and look for improvement as a leader by asking the following five questions.
5 Basic Questions Yuo Should Know for Diagnosing Leadership
Do you take responsibility for your mistakes and praise good results?
Do you properly distribute work to team members and ask for help? Or are you trying to do all the work on your own?
Are my behaviors, personalities, mindsets, or attitudes a model for subordinates or co-workers?
Do you encourage members to do their best and encourage them to do better?
Do you create an environment where members are not afraid of challenges, and do you emphasize lessons from mistakes rather than blame on them?
Successful Global Leadership Skills
Along with globalization, the demand for global leaders who can lead global business is increasing, and the qualities required of leaders are also changing in line with global trends. In addition to the qualities of a leader, we will introduce global leadership skills that have become more important in recent years.
1) Understanding and Responding to Global Business
To become a successful global leader, you need an understanding of the global market and expertise in your field. It is also important to have the ability to address the many challenges arising in a rapidly changing global marketplace and the insights to provide countermeasures. In order to understand the diversified market, data analysis and market trends must be predicted in advance, and leader’s judgment determines the organization’s performance, so understanding and insight into global business is essential.
2) Global Communication Skills
Excellent linguistic communication and communication skills are important for smooth business development in the global market. To become a successful global leader, you must strive to acquire foreign language skills, as well as the persuasion, crisis management skills, and flexibility to lead successful business negotiations.
3) Understanding of Diversity
It is important to have business manners of any culture. However, as the methods vary slightly from country to country, understanding and adapting to various cultures are essential qualities that global leaders must have. We can create positive results in global business negotiations if we deliver appropriate greetings through a deep understanding of other cultures and customs, and build trust with overseas stakeholders through appropriate business manners.
Furthermore, as global leader, we must have an open attitude toward diversity regardless of nationality, culture, or gender. Not only in business negotiations but in many situations, such as persuading bosses from different cultures and coordinating work with colleagues, an understanding of diversity can be a key skill in driving success.
