The Leader
http://www.gowebage.com/articles/18/1/The-Leader/Page1.html
Super Admin
By Super Admin
Published on 06/24/2008
In a complex world, it is much better to have a leader who tends to be indecisive until he or she has gathered sufficient information than to have a leader who is decisive but wrong. That problem is compounded when the leader is also resolute, because she or he refuses to change direction in response to changing conditions. The absolute worst leader is one who is decisive, inaccurate, resolute, and evasive. Evasive suggests that there is a lack of ownership in the problem and an unwillingness to confront the truth. You may want to use these criteria to evaluate leaders around the world over the past 100 years. You wiil find that the most-positive results came from DARING leaders, and the most DIRE results came from hubristic leaders who made quick (but wrong) decisions and then failed to own responsibility for the outcome.
Effective leaders are able to identify the right strategy, structure, people, processes, technology, and cultural requirements for meeting marketplace and customer require- ments. This ability is not only based on experience and intuitive gifts, it also requires rigorous analysis of the condit.ions and standards operating in the marketplace. Great lead- ers are gifted in their ability to see possibilities and to be brutally honest about the reality of the situation. Seeing possibilities against the backdrop of realities is one of the most glaring attributes of effective leaders.
Doing the analysis means studying economic conditions, market opportunities, competitive threats, and organizational infrastructure and capabilities. These competencies characterize a leader who does his or her homework and who insists upon adequate decision support information.
Honing generic skills and establishing the right mind-set entails creating the conditions in which strategic thinking can occur. These competencies characterize a leader who under- st~s that leadership requires more than "faking it." Leaders with these competencies are able to create an environment in which innovative thinking thrives.
Doing the analysis means studying economic conditions, market opportunities, competitive threats, and organizational infrastructure and capabilities. These competencies characterize a leader who does his or her homework and who insists upon adequate decision support information.
Honing generic skills and establishing the right mind-set entails creating the conditions in which strategic thinking can occur. These competencies characterize a leader who under- st~s that leadership requires more than "faking it." Leaders with these competencies are able to create an environment in which innovative thinking thrives.