Successful leaders demonstrate courage, focus and engagement

“Leadership Matters: Appreciate GE’s Immelt” by Todd Thomas makes the following insightful observations after observing successful leaders such as Jeffrey Immelt CEO of General Electric, John Stumpf CEO of Wells Fargo and Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.

Courage: Each of these leaders, and those around them, exhibit the courage to make the decisions they feel they need to make regardless of the immediate and short-term reactions of the market, media or public. They know in their heart-of-hearts that they are making the right decisions for the right reasons based on the information they have available at the time.

Focus: Each of these leaders has also shown an ability to narrow their concern and their attention to a nearly single-minded focus. Whether it is integrating an acquisition, staying true to their roots, or forging a new corporate culture, each of these leaders knows what he is trying to accomplish and is not swayed from the overall future.

Engagement: The other interesting aspect of these leaders, and leaders like them, is that they are not going it alone. All three of the leaders mentioned above are known for their efforts to engage other leaders and employees in the future of their organization. Companies do not magically deliver results –the work of the employees within those companies makes the difference between success and failure. Effective leaders today do not leave out those who are below them in the hierarchy but depend on their involvement, ideas and engagement to make it in the future.

These three attributes of leadership are essential. Courage is necessary to bring about the change necessary to navigate the future, focus ensures that we keep our attention on what’s important for today to shape the future and engagement ensures that the change is sustainable over the long-term.

• Decide what next bold action you need to take today.
• Do you have a narrow focus on the few critical actions you need to take to shape the future?
• Are you taking people on the journey with you?

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Focus, Courage, Engagement, Management, Business

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Tagged as: Engagement, Focus