| 3 Easy steps to Developing an Organisational Leadership Culture |
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| Written by Rha K. Cardinale |
| Friday, 29 August 2008 08:09 |
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Having a culture of leadership is an important element to success, at least if you want that success to be maintained over the long term in today's Australian economy.
It was once the case that a company looked to one leader to inspire them by his or her example, much as a rugby or football coach could take a team of average players and lead them on to a championship victory. Those days, sadly, are nearly gone. Business moves so fast these days with so much data to keep track of and so many new products and services continually emerging that there simply cannot be just one leader in many companies. Instead, a company needs a whole culture of leadership within itself which promotes those who take initiative to make things happen for the company when called upon to do so. Each department within a company, in fact, requires a leader or leaders of its own. The dynamic and globally reaching economy of New South Wales demands the presence of this new ethos in business; a culture of leadership which works in tandem with the national economic strategies of the nation of Australia as it continues to go strong into the new century. The state of NSW says in its economic plans: "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." In this new century, this is also the model of how a company should be run. STEP ONE: BUILDING TRUST AND A SHARED VISION A company's top management needs to get everyone in the organisation on the same page. Everyone has to want the same things and share extremely similar objectives for the company. In this way, everyone's individual and departmental efforts are going toward the same ends, reducing strife and maximising productivity of the company as a dynamic organisation. When people in a company feel inspired and feel that they are creating value, they are naturally motivated and whatever individual leadership talents they possess naturally begin to emerge for the benefit of all. In a company where everyone shares a vision for the future of the organisation, trust will flourish, as will innovation and the willingness to take calculated risks which can cause explosive growth, This can be a difficult goal to achieve, however, because people are used to always competing in business. Top management needs to guide people into sharing their personal, human side, such as by having people (themselves, too) share their personal histories with their groups and teams and eventually perhaps in large company-wide meetings. 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 A PLAN OF ACTION Now that employees are all on the same page and they and management know what possibilities to explore to make the company more prosperous, a sharply focused plan of action for the business that includes roles for everyone can be drawn up. Different groups and teams take on different goals that all get directed toward the same shared goals and vision, with top management acting as the guiding force. With a culture of leadership now established, a company can be more productive, forward thinking and of course, profitable. 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 more advice on building innovative teams |
