7 High-Performance Leadership Skills in Demand Right Now

 7 High-Performance Leadership Skills in Demand Right Now

 

In today’s challenging business economy. High-performance leadership skills are in demand.   The question is what are the key traits needed in today’s leadership landscape? Here are seven that we see embodied in successful leaders

Strategic Business Thinking   

We live in a disruptive world; driverless cars, Airbnb, Gocardless and the list goes on. In a recent Harvard Business Review post, the discussion centred around the fact that leaders must always be prepared to adjust their strategies to make the most of the opportunities that appear left of field or tackle unexpected challenges. 

Thinking strategically is an ongoing process that involves assessing your business environment. Some straightforward ways to develop your capability in this area is by: 

• Being curious and genuinely interested in your company andwiderbusiness environment.      
• Being flexible in your mindset and trying new approaches and ideas.     
• Focusing on the future and thinking about your company’s operational conditions, and..
• Maintaining a positive outlook.

Communication Excellence   

To be able to motivate, encourage, inspire and develop your people you must excel at communication.   This involves understanding body language, the ability to interpret what people are saying, and what switches people off and on. Great leaders can pay attention to and understand people’s unseen language and non-verbal clues.   Outstanding leaders also create an environment where people are encouraged to share their opinions rather than complaining to others.  Everyone’s workstyles and behaviours are different and understanding how to utilise this knowledge in the way you communicate can make the difference between a motivated or deflated workforce.  

Authenticity   

Though it might appear the buzz word for today, authentic leadership is a must-have trait.   Authentic leaders are positive people with a personal self-concept that makes them open and truthful.   By building trust and generating enthusiastic support from those around them, authentic leaders can improve individual and team performance at an entirely new level.   Though the bottom line will always be critical as a performance marker, authentic leaders, appreciate that organisations grow through the efforts of their people who respond to a ‘real’ approach from their leaders.

Set Clear Unambiguous Goals And Move Towards Them 

Though this might seem like a throwback to 80’s management school theory, clear goals are as important as ever.   Having a clear, structured goal that is inspirational and one you move towards will inspire both you and your team. They really are your pathway to success.   The fact is organisations are here to do good in the world and also to make a profit. Goals are the path towards this. 

Collaborations Skills   

We live in an interconnected world. No longer is it acceptable to work in silos; in fact, they stifle creativity and can kill business growth. The successful organisations we work with at Zestfor have virtual teams and departments collaborating across the globe to achieve their outcomes. Organisations today exist in a complex and ever-shifting change environment. Consequently, leaders need to rely more than ever on their own collaboration expertise. 

Delegation Skills 

Sir Richard Branson said the best skill he has ever mastered had been his ability to delegate. Delegation is used to develop employees by increasing their responsibilities and instilling accountability. Effective delegation helps to identify what others can do – if given a chance. 

We shared an entire post on this subject here. Leaders who delegate effectively understand the importance of knowing the people they work with.   In other words, it is crucial for leaders to be able to reasonably predict how another person will perform the same task as they would. 

Accountability and Responsibility   

Look anywhere online about the definitions of these two skills, and you will find multiple ideas.   The truth?   A high performing leader has a healthy dose of both simply put, the difference between the two terms is that responsibility involves having authority over an action; often your teams outputs. Accountability means you are answerable for your own inputs in order to be responsible, you must be accountable and vice versa. That is why great leaders do both. Until next time, Julia

The Author: Julia Carter Virtual Team Trainer 

 

                                                     

About Julia Carter:  Julia Carter is the MD of Zestfor Ltd and specialises in working with leaders and managers of virtual teams to improve team effectiveness.  P.S. If you have any leadership questions, please click here to get in touch and let me know.