Whether leadership is given with a title or earned through the respect of others, it is a unique and difficult skill that requires the ability and willingness to face the ultimate unpredictable variable: people. This variability takes the form not just of diversity of people (generational, cultural, educational, mindset, etc.), but also the differences in lives, emotions, situations, abilities, and preferences.
In this course, we distinguish between leadership (the people side of getting things done) and management (the process side). Both elements are necessary, yet not individually sufficient. These two aspects come together in five key drivers:
1. Take responsibility for the future (self-direction and learning agility) - Leaders cocreate the vision, work to achieve it, achieve results, and learn from their mistakes. They follow their values to create a productive culture through their leadership and focus on developing people to their maximum potential.
2. Build a culture of trust and psychological safety - Leaders make it safe for people to perform and to innovate. By creating teams and partnerships through the development of trust and respect, leaders are able to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
3. Create a culture for collaboration - Leaders allow solutions to develop from the best ideas of the group and take a team approach to problem-solving. A collaborative environment is based on trust in each other, and in the systems and resources needed to be successful. Leaders enable their teams to flourish by providing resources that are necessary to allow people to do their jobs well.
4. Communicate effectively - Leaders influence people in their work by building relationships, creating a compelling desired future, and helping people figure out where they fit into that. They do this through effective and empathetic questioning and listening to everyone with a perspective on the organization to help people feel a sense of belonging and being important They actively solicit feedback and act on what they hear to build credibility and trust.
5. Demonstrate reliability - Leaders do what they say they will do, and ensure that others do as well, to obtain the results that are vital for organizational success. They set clear performance objectives and close the gap between expected and actual performance through coaching and mentoring. They give credit to others not taking credit for themselves.
