By Virain de Mel
Quite simply, this topic of “Helping Your Team To See Your Business Vision”, deals with one of the key processes of management which is leadership. The only way an organization is going to be able to communicate their vision to the employees is through the leadership of the managers of the business so that it will enable the modern organization to attract and retain employees.
The mere mentioning of proper leadership is not sufficient for this process. This proper leadership should consist of the following key traits so that talented individuals will be attracted to and retained in the organization.
The leader must have a vision. Leaders should learn to communicate the vision of the company to the people working under them. In order to do this, they should adhere to the following guidelines.
- They should learn to paint a picture with words. Speak it, write it, draw it, and touch it. Whatever methods that can be used to create a picture, should be done. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
- They should ask each of the other managers in the company to tell them, in their own words, about the vision of the company. This will show how well the vision has been communicated to the organizational members and it will enable for improvement and progress.
- As they work, the organization's vision should be in their mind every day, and they should reevaluate it occasionally so that it stays current with the changing times in which we live. It’s also important that the staff needs to be just as involved as the leader in keeping the vision up to date if it’s to be bought by the employees. So leaders should keep in mind to involve employees well in this process.
The leader must have passion. All employees want passion; in fact, they'll go to the ends of earth because of it, live and die for it. This can be well seen in the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the armed forces where they fight and hold on to that extra vital minute because of their leaders. It’s the passion of their leaders that makes them motivated to fight harder.
To build an extraordinary team, leaders should get the team members to feel passionate about the company and connect to the leader's vision. Passion is such a key part of being a great leader that if one doesn’t have it, one simply can't be a great leader. It’s also important to remember that passion is infectious. How a leader conduct himself with passion will make the team passionate to perform as well.
The leader must learn to be a great decision maker. The modern leader should follow the following process in making decisions. It’s called the Q-CAT:
- Q = Quick. Be quick but not hasty.
- C = Committed. Be committed to your decision but not rigid.
- A = Analytical. Be analytical, but don't over-analyze (Too much analysis can cause paralysis.)
- T = Thoughtful. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but don't be obsessive.
The leader must be a team builder. In order to become a great leader, one must develop a great team or, one might say, a well-oiled machine. Achieving this is not an easy task. Firstly, the leader can start by handing off responsibility to the team and letting the team to run with it. The leader should keep in mind not to breathe down their necks and micromanage, but make him available if questions or problems come up.
The leader must have character. Without character, all the other traits are of no use. That's because the innate character strengths and limitations play a critical role in the leadership style. So it’s important to identify these innate strengths and limitations individually.
In conclusion, it’s important not to forget to include the following as important characteristics of the modern business leader who is able to attract and retain talent for the organization.
Leaders must be focused on quality execution – this is what separates the successful leader from the failed one, as all the vision in the world is only as good as its execution. They must review objectively and regularly and be able to provide feedback to people for effective, high-quality execution.
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