Leadership Acumen – Build it up with these C’s

In the words of author John C. Maxwell, “A leader is somebody who knows the way, Goes the way and shows the way”. Nobody is a born Leader. They all have learned the skill to play leadership roles with time.

A leader may grow out into a Good leader or a Bad leader. Leaders have different approaches to handling the teams of the organizations they are leading. The attitude and approach of a leader not only determines the success of the team but also impacts the Organization in many ways. Whether an organization is climbing the ladder of success or going down the performance graph, look at the leadership for more insight on the reason. A good leader may help the team members grow their potential, while a bad leader may cause the team to suffer from low self-esteem, stress, and inadequacy.

I have worked as an intern and full-time employee for several places and have seen many types of leaders. The Emotional intelligence Quotient of Good leaders was always good and they were mostly people with high levels of ethical standards, large-hearted, kind, compassionate, hardworking, confident, and secure individuals.  while the bad leaders were mostly narcissistic, insecure, incompetent, incapable people who wanted to control things to a suffocating extent. British Author, Marcus Buckingham says it in one sentence, “People don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad managers”. So if a manager is good to work with, Most people will stay loyal to the organization.

Communication is a key quality a leader showcases through his art of managing people. The way a leader communicates to his/her team sets the tone for the day ahead. The 10 C’s of a leader are Communication, Clarity, Character, Confidence, Competence, Candidness, Courage, Commitment, Competitiveness and Connection. It is up to the leader now to take these C’s in a good direction or in a bad direction. Each C has a very relevant significance in the right functioning and growth of a team.

Some Organizations have a very stringent and suffocating work culture which eventually increases their fallouts with the team now and then and often also, decrease their Employee retention rates. While some organizations put enormous efforts in knowing and helping their employee grow which results in employee loyalty and higher retention rates eventually resulting in greater stability.

Higher retention rates not only impart stability to an organization but also instills a positive work culture which reflects in the growth mindset of each individual employee. Whereas, on the other hand, Lower employee retention rates make an organization highly unstable. Every few days new teams keep coming and going without delving themselves to the ethics of the institution. This in turn makes the organization face numerous obstacles within and it trickles down to their public interface also in the long run.

So how does a leader get in the wrong shoe or right shoe? What do the leaders need to keep in mind while leading an organization? Below is a summary of various things that ought to be on a Leader’s mind while in the LEAD.

What makes a good leader?

•     A good leader must be an excellent Communicator, by which not only he/she should have a command over the language but should also have a high emotional intelligence coupled along with enhanced persuasive skills.

·       A Good leader should be Confident in his abilities and strive for self-improvement every day and stay updated with the current trends.

·       A good leader will always keep up the optimism in all situations. She/he will motivate the team instead of scaring them to nervousness.

·       A good leader will accept responsibility instead of putting the blame on other team members whenever it is required.

·       He/she will create Clear expectations from the work instead of a confusing blueprint. She/he will ask goals to be delivered in a clear systematic thought process. (This will need an understanding of the task thoroughly themselves first).

·       A Good leader shall also try to understand the Unique capability of each team member and allot tasks likewise in order to gain better results and realizing fuller potential. Work division should be based on that. Don’t ask a fish to climb a tree. Value your team.

·       A good leader needs to be Candid and approachable to work with.

·        A good leader will be a Competent individual who has been through the struggles on the way up the ladder and has proven his meddle along the journey. One cannot be a Leader by instinct alone. It ought to be backed up by real-time experience of the domain as well.

·       A good leader will always respect time and energy of the team members.

·       An organization may be large or small but is eventually connected with the mental health of its team, lesser work stress in the team will be essential for running a happy organization. A good leader will ensure that the team is in a good mental health frame by listening to them more often and reaching out to help as and when possible.

·       A good leader will be Competitive in his energy, he/she would want to bring the best benchmarks to his team and will try to evolve the team to higher levels of output.

·       A good leader will also refrain from making assumptions about others without knowing the true situation. He/she will always refrain from acting on impulse over judgment or preconceived notion and rather try to be patient and figure out what went wrong or right in any situation before assuming anything.

·       A good leader will have the Courage to take the team forward with risks and at times confrontations as well for the sake of his team with the external world.

·       A good leader will never allow feelings of resentment and negative behavior to grow amongst his team members. If he/she observes any restlessness or negativity in the team, it is part of their job to bring their team to a good consensus and a positive work environment.

·       At the same time, a Leader should never tolerate bad manners of any team members and must always point out politely as and when required to the team member regarding the bad manners.

·       A good leader will always be respected more for his Character and moral standards. Leadership coach Brian Tracy also encourages people to keep their word as a leader. Integrity is the most valued trait of a leader.

·       A great leader will always have a great Connection with his/her team and will be in good bonhomie vibe with his team. A great leader knows it is more with sweetness in tone than a stern attitude that a human being can be made to realize his/her full potential.

·       A good leader will be Committed to his team and will always be dedicated to not only see the best in them but also do the best for them.

·       A leader should be Visionary and must have growth-related goals mapped in his mind to take the team ahead along with the organization.

These were just some of the mainstream points that define what a leader should or should not do. Every person who has an inclination towards leadership roles in his or her organization can learn to be a leader by following best practices observed across organizations over time. However, with experience and dedication, many things will be learned only on the journey of leadership.

Bestselling author Shiv Khera advocates the 3C’s for decision-making powers of a leader, which are the Decision of Command, Decision of Consultation, and the decision of Consensus. He also adds that the best leaders have always created a consensus in the absence of one.

As John Quincy Adams, American Diplomat states, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are a leader”. 

A dream to become a leader is desirable but to be good, loved, respected and Leader of significant impact, there is a lot to learn on the way to the top.