Highly effective leadership is needed throughout every organization, from the first-level managers to the CEO. The chief human resources officer must take the lead in developing leadership programs, processes, and events to ensure that leaders are ready and effective.
As a core criterion, the expectation of leaders has always been to “get the job done” by managing assets and people in a complex global environment. Often missing has been a more holistic view of the process in terms of how to motivate, engage, reward and lead employees.
20th Century research began to crystallize the way effective organizational leaders are viewed and subsequently developed. Few depictions of effective leadership have withstood the test of time as well as that of Peter Drucker, who articulated the eight core practices of the effective leaders he worked with over his sixty-year career. According to Drucker, effective leaders do the following:
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Ask, “What needs to be done?”
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Ask, “What is right for the enterprise?”
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Take responsibility for decisions.
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Take responsibility for communicating.
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Are focused on opportunities rather than on problems.
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Run productive meetings.
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Think and say “we” rather than “I.”
There is no doubt that leadership development is important, and it has changed dramatically in the past decade. How leaders are selected for programs and the specific ways in which programs are offered and structured are significant issues that define the current status.
Can't Get Enough Leadership (ebook at $.99)