
Traits of Successful Leaders (2): The Shift from Authoritative to Participative Styles
The Ability to Manage Expectations & Priorities (3)
One of the more contemporary and desirable traits of effective leaders is their ability to manage expectations. That includes managing the expectations of investors, shareholders, employees,
suppliers, the community and other stakeholders; trying to deliver too much too soon often results in nothing being delivered particularly well.
In his book, “From Good to Great,” Jim Collins, a highly regarded author on leadership writes, “We've all been told that leaders make things happen—and that's true: But it is also true that good-to-great leaders distinguish themselves by their unyielding discipline to stop doing anything and everything that doesn't fit tightly within their one big initiative.”
Effective leaders, of the past and present, carefully articulate what the end goal is and have a robust plan to get them there.
Leaders understand that they are working with scarce resources – people and capital. Their imperative is to prioritize initiatives based on the impact and the ease of implementation and then allocate their resources appropriately.
“Under promise and over-deliver”, is an oft-quoted mantra. It may seem exceedingly obvious but it is infrequently put into
practice. Some leaders want to appear as able to do everything, but sometimes strategy is choosing what not to do. (from Mind Resources)