A culture of leadership is vital to the success, at least the continued and long-standing success, of any company or business in Australia today.
Time was that companies could look to a single great leader to inspire them, like some great rugby or football coach running a team of largely mediocre athletic talent so forcefully that he takes it to the heights of a champion. But those days are vanishing. Today business runs so fast, there is much data, there are so many new products and services and technologies to keep track of, that there cannot be only one leader most of the time. There needs to be a whole culture of leadership in the company, a culture that promotes and rewards anyone taking the helm when the time is right. Each single department within a company now needs at least one leader.
This new business culture is an important one to adopt, given the fast growth and global ties of the New South Wales economy as the state and the country of Australia move on into the 21st century. As the economic plan of NSW itself states: "a strong economy allows us to provide the excellent services such as healthcare, education, and policing which the public expects...we are...innovative people who want a society built on fairness, equity, and collaboration...(a) society built on these principles will be more productive, wealthier, and fairer."
A company in this new century should also be run in this fashion.
STEP ONE: BUILD TRUST AND A SHARED VISION
The top management at every company needs to make sure that each and every person within the organisation is on the same page if they are to proceed. All persons must agree on the same goals and objectives for the company. When everyone is working towards the same ends, then conflict within the organisation is minimised. People who feel that they are building something of value will naturally be motivated to maximise this success. This will bring out their natural talents for leadership, which is good for the company as a whole.
In a company with a shared vision, where everyone trusts each other and there is nothing to fear from conflicts of interest between individuals or departments, innovative business solutions are conceived and the calculated risks that can take a company to another level are taken.
This may at first be difficult to achieve since people in the corporate world are so used to being in constant competition. However, with an example set by top management, this goal can be reached. A good way to begin is to encourage employees to share their personal insights and experience with others; first on a departmental level, but eventually throughout the company as a whole.
STEP TWO: EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES
People within the company must be brought around to a way of thinking which lets them take new and different possibilities into account. This is the way that top management thinks, but this view must be inculcated company wide. People have to be shown that it is OK to think outside the box and come up with truly new ways of doing things. One way to do this is to get people to sit down and think about some questions which pertain to them personally. These can include: "where do you see yourself in five years? In ten? How about your retirement party, what do you think will be said about you?" Questions about what are the positives - and the negatives of the company could be asked, along with questions dealing with how to handle unforeseen events are good ways to foster this sort of creative thinking.
Management needs to digest the answers and then share them with department or team leaders, eventually distilling them to all of the employees and getting everyone to further reflect on and contemplate what has been learned.
STEP THREE: ESTABLISHING AN ACTION PLAN
Now that the entire company is on the same page and everybody within the organisation is working towards a common vision of growth and success for the company, a plan for success can be plotted out. Each department will have its own goals to meet. These all will help the company on its way to the common goal which all will work to achieve. Top management will both steer the ship and act as cheerleaders for the company as it moves forward to ever greater success.
Having a culture of leadership firmly in place will lead to greater productivity and profitability through the use of creative, forward looking thinking by everyone in the company.
Time was that companies could look to a single great leader to inspire them, like some great rugby or football coach running a team of largely mediocre athletic talent so forcefully that he takes it to the heights of a champion. But those days are vanishing. Today business runs so fast, there is much data, there are so many new products and services and technologies to keep track of, that there cannot be only one leader most of the time. There needs to be a whole culture of leadership in the company, a culture that promotes and rewards anyone taking the helm when the time is right. Each single department within a company now needs at least one leader.
This new business culture is an important one to adopt, given the fast growth and global ties of the New South Wales economy as the state and the country of Australia move on into the 21st century. As the economic plan of NSW itself states: "a strong economy allows us to provide the excellent services such as healthcare, education, and policing which the public expects...we are...innovative people who want a society built on fairness, equity, and collaboration...(a) society built on these principles will be more productive, wealthier, and fairer."
A company in this new century should also be run in this fashion.
STEP ONE: BUILD TRUST AND A SHARED VISION
The top management at every company needs to make sure that each and every person within the organisation is on the same page if they are to proceed. All persons must agree on the same goals and objectives for the company. When everyone is working towards the same ends, then conflict within the organisation is minimised. People who feel that they are building something of value will naturally be motivated to maximise this success. This will bring out their natural talents for leadership, which is good for the company as a whole.
In a company with a shared vision, where everyone trusts each other and there is nothing to fear from conflicts of interest between individuals or departments, innovative business solutions are conceived and the calculated risks that can take a company to another level are taken.
This may at first be difficult to achieve since people in the corporate world are so used to being in constant competition. However, with an example set by top management, this goal can be reached. A good way to begin is to encourage employees to share their personal insights and experience with others; first on a departmental level, but eventually throughout the company as a whole.
STEP TWO: EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES
People within the company must be brought around to a way of thinking which lets them take new and different possibilities into account. This is the way that top management thinks, but this view must be inculcated company wide. People have to be shown that it is OK to think outside the box and come up with truly new ways of doing things. One way to do this is to get people to sit down and think about some questions which pertain to them personally. These can include: "where do you see yourself in five years? In ten? How about your retirement party, what do you think will be said about you?" Questions about what are the positives - and the negatives of the company could be asked, along with questions dealing with how to handle unforeseen events are good ways to foster this sort of creative thinking.
Management needs to digest the answers and then share them with department or team leaders, eventually distilling them to all of the employees and getting everyone to further reflect on and contemplate what has been learned.
STEP THREE: ESTABLISHING AN ACTION PLAN
Now that the entire company is on the same page and everybody within the organisation is working towards a common vision of growth and success for the company, a plan for success can be plotted out. Each department will have its own goals to meet. These all will help the company on its way to the common goal which all will work to achieve. Top management will both steer the ship and act as cheerleaders for the company as it moves forward to ever greater success.
Having a culture of leadership firmly in place will lead to greater productivity and profitability through the use of creative, forward looking thinking by everyone in the company.
About the Author:
About the author: Rha K. Cardinale is an expert at transforming companies and transforming a culture of innovation. See the "Great Leadership" website for detailed advice on building innovative teams
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