‘100 Great Leadership Ideas’ (II)
This week, we’ll continue with ‘100 Great Leadership Ideas’ by Jonathan Gifford.
Part 4: You and the Organization
Be Meritocratic: Colleagues must be treated even-handedly. People must be selected and rewarded on the basis of their talents and abilities only. In a meritocracy, harder work and exceptional efforts are rewarded above the average. Spreading reward evenly is not meritocratic.
Drive the Culture right through the organization: Leaders need to rediscover and re-emphasize the original values of an organization from time to time and to ensure that the values — — the culture — — are understood by everybody.
Encourage diversity: There is an ingrained tendency to recruit people who will fit into the organization’s existing culture: people who are ‘like us’. Build teams of people with different attitudes, skills and experiences. Because organizations that are very homogeneous are badly equipped to deal with change.
Implementation: The organization that best executes its strategy will be successful. Set the direction, put the right people in place, and work like crazy to execute better than anyone else, finding best practices and improving them every day.
Make small improvements: Once the vision is established, it is more likely to be achieved by a series of small advancements than by dramatic leaps forward.
Encourage an attitude and a spirit within the team that makes people feel that they have not had a successful day unless they have made some improvement to their part of the operation.
Practice democracy: Democracy in organizations is not about deciding everything via the ballot box, it is about allowing the intelligence of the organization as a whole to influence the organization’s future.
Colleagues must be invited to contribute and even to voice dissent, but nobody has the right to obstruct. They will feel empowered as their opinions are sought and incorporated into the organization’s behaviour.
Part 5: Personal Qualities:
Be firm: Leaders should establish clear standards and benchmarks of behaviour that must be seen to apply to every group and individual.
If any group or individual is benefitting unfairly from a position of power or influence, every other member of the team feels disadvantaged.
Be honest: Leaders must act with honesty and integrity at all times. When there is unwelcome news to disclose to colleagues, be honest and realistic.
If the company has news that will not be welcomed in the outside world, always disclose it. If you attempt to disguise or avoid releasing the news, it will eventually become public and you will be judged to have tried to cover it up.
Confidence and humility: Leaders cannot function without self-confidence. They have to believe, with justification, that they are the person best suited to make key decisions on behalf of the organization. However, an arrogant leader will fail to build a successful team.
Successful leaders are confident in their abilities, but see themselves as team players and as enablers, influencers and facilitators rather than as commanders.
Part 6: Personal Behaviour
Listen, Learn and Act: Listen to what anyone has to say; understand his or her point of view; learn and adapt.
Show the team that they are allowed to have problems and that the organization will supply them with the necessary help and support.
Say Sorry sometimes: Without apology there is no recognition that mistakes have been made, there is no announcement to the world of the intention to change and most importantly there is no emotional contract between you and the people you care about. Saying you’re sorry to someone writes that contract in blood. Also, saying ‘thank you’ can improve your relations with your colleagues.
Stop being Judgemental: Treat every idea that comes your way from another person with complete neutrality. We simply say ‘thank you’. People will begin to see you as a much more agreeable person. They will brand you as someone whose door they can knock on when they have an idea.
一. 美國總統拜登本可撤銷一些特朗普設立的關稅與須制裁的實體清單, 但他不敢這樣做, 因為他知道, 對中國是不能鬆手的, 一鬆中國就會一飛衝天, 叫美國策馬難追。
二. 世上有所謂人權問題的國家多的是, 為何要單挑中國呢? 美國有很多盟友, 如沙特阿拉伯與科威特等, 至今仍行封建制度, 由王室世襲, 有何人權可言?
三. 美國看到中國比他們走得好, 在正途競爭上贏不了中國, 所以只好使出行政手段去制裁中國。他們似乎忘記了, 他們一向主催的是自由競爭, 而非行政干預。
