The first question that I ask in our business leadership workshops is “how does your company define leadership?” Often, I hear the following response. “Well, the company itself doesn’t have a formal definition that I’m aware of, however to me…. I guess that leadership is…”
Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for senior leaders to simply ‘expect’ their leaders to know what good leadership is, even though many companies don’t clearly define what it is in the first place.
If there is no company definition, and each of our leaders have a different idea of what they believe leadership is, then it can be difficult for the leader’s themselves, as well as those they lead, to know what ‘good’ looks like.
If our leaders can’t clearly articulate what leadership is, then how do they know they’re doing it?
The U.S. Army defines leadership as “The activity of influencing others by providing purpose, direction, and motivation, to accomplish the mission and improve the organisation.” This definition forms the foundations for consistent leadership across the organisation. It helps leaders understand what’s expected of them and it makes it easy to identify any points of failure.
Something that NZ businesses can learn from military leadership, is the importance of forming solid foundations for effective organisational leadership. That leadership training is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s a need to have. The best leadership courses in NZ, focus on brilliance in the basics and setting the conditions for their people to be successful.
