WHY UNITED LEADERSHIP WINS OVER THE CHARASMATIC INDIVIDUAL
Just in case you missed it, Saturday September 4th was International Leaders Day!
And while we are all crying out for signs of leadership, any signs at all, we are not overly optimistic that the Messiah is to be seen on the horizon
In the meantime, we can take solace in the research showing that organisations can at least, become more effective if there is a cohesive leadership team. Their role is to unite and drive the organisation towards achieving great results for their customers and other key stakeholders. Some twenty years ago the Mt Eliza Business School decided to fund a ground breaking, three-year research project into Winning Organisational Practice, seeking answers to the questions, who are the best organisations over the long term in Australia and what are their practices?
This study resulted in the book titled; The First XI Winning Organisations in Australia.
Of the nine practices, practice number 5, leadership, not leaders was the most instructive!
We could not get away from the conclusion that leadership is one of the keys. It is often the decision of leaders that start the journey, but it is not a single charismatic leader whose own actions are cause of the success. While there are plenty of examples here of significant leaders, it is the actions leadership takes as a group to build the organisation, not the personalities of the individual leaders, that are critical.
Further evidence, if it’s needed, comes from Patrick Lencioni the successful author of 5 Dysfunctions of A Team.
Lencioni posits that when members of the Senior Leadership Team meet, they should put aside their individual portfolio or departmental hats and concentrate on those strategic issues that will benefit the sustainability of the whole organisation.
We saw a fleeting glimpse of it when The National Cabinet first convened but sadly it didn’t last long!
So, while we are awaiting the next batch of Messiahs to descend upon us, lets get the Senior Leadership Team working as one and inspiring other leaders to emerge to turbo charge the achievement of great results!
In association with The Proven Group, Leadership at Work has designed and successfully conducted a tailored program for the SLT, Leadership at the Top, with significant results for the organisation.
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