5 Best Practices for Effective Leadership

5 Best Practices for Effective Leadership
Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn

Do You Know the Best Practices for Effective Leadership?
According to research from Harvard Business Review, only 8% of leaders are considered very effective at both strategy and execution.  Surprisingly, to lead well, it is less about technical know-how and more about some proven best practices for effective leadership and high performing teams.  Effective leadership is really not rocket science, but it DOES take a powerful blend of mindsets and skills that are infrequently encountered naturally in one person.

5 Best Practices for Effective Leadership
Effective leaders create the circumstances that enable their people to perform at their peak and accomplish shared goals together in the unique context of their changing market realities, strategic game plan, cultural expectations, and capabilities.

Here’s a list of five practices of the best leaders based upon data from our leadership simulation assessments and action learning leadership development programs.  They are related to clarity of thought and expression, a sense of what motivates and makes people tick, and a willingness to ask good questions of the right people and to truly listen to their answers.  How do your leadership development programs stack up?

  1. Define the Team Culture Required to Execute Your Team’s Strategy
    If you want your team’s strategy to succeed, you need to create and embrace an aligned organizational culture that supports your strategic priorities.   Once your goals and strategies are clear enough, be purposeful about how work must get done and how people are expected to behave (and not behave) in the pursuit of those goals.

    Effective leaders assess their organizational culture, articulate the corporate values and team norms that matter most, and define the way business will be done on a day-to-day basis. Defining and communicating your ideal organizational culture comes first. Then you must not only model it, you need to hire people who fit your desired culture, reinforce the right behaviors, and put processes and practices in place that ensure organizational alignment and consistency.

    You will know you are on the right path when your team is healthy enough, accountable enough, and aligned enough to consistently deliver high quality results.

  2. When Organizational Change is Needed, Communicate It Clearly
    Not many organizations can succeed without being able to flex with and adapt to internal and external pressures. But organizational change often inspires fear and decreased performance in employees. The best leaders know when change is needed and are able to deliver the message of change in a way that inspires, rather than demotivates, their work force.

    To support organizational change of any kind, employees need to understand the rationale behind the change, know what their role will be in accomplishing the change, and feel confidence that management can affect the change in a way that puts everyone on a winning path. The goal is organizational effectiveness. Once that is understood, the majority will work toward the better future.

    You will know you are on the right path when your team feels actively involved in the desired changes that are under their control and believe that the changes are worthwhile.

  3. Facilitate More than Lead
    Many leaders suffer from an over-inflated ego. They rise to the top of their organizations and begin to think they know it all, especially if they surround themselves with fawning flatterers who don’t dare to disagree. Instead, the best leaders know what they don’t know.

    The best leaders get consistent feedback, seek differing opinions, help to solve problems, and ask good questions. They listen carefully to answers from those they respect and are willing to change their own thinking from what they learn. Effective leaders are curious, eager to grow, and encourage challenging discussions to help make the best decisions.

    You will know you are on the right path when your team trusts you to lead the team to future success.

  4. Link Behaviors to Results
    All successful leaders need to deliver results; but the best leaders focus less on the specific results than on the critical few behaviors and leading indicators that are predictive of the desired results. In other words, it matters that your employees are capable, confident, committed, and focused on the right activities and ways of working.

    You will know you are on the right path when your team operates with a strong orientation toward results.

  5. Use Time as Part of a Winning Strategy, Not the Determining Factor
    Effective leaders are masters of time management. They set priorities and use their time wisely. However, the best leaders do not focus on time alone; they keep the big picture in mind.

    The goal is not to do more things in the time allotted but to do the most important things and, when time has run out, adapt the strategy to what can be accomplished within the available time frame.

    You will know you are on the right path when your team can effectively balance the urgent and important.

The Bottom Line
We believe that it is the responsibility of every leader to create the circumstances for success for their team.  If you want to help lift your team’s performance to the next level, follow these proven leadership best practices.

To get some research-backed leadership tools for success, download 12 Research-Backed Leadership Tools.

Evaluate your Performance

Toolkits

Get key strategy, culture, and talent tools from industry experts that work

More

Health Checks

Assess how you stack up against leading organizations in areas matter most

More

Whitepapers

Download published articles from experts to stay ahead of the competition

More

Methodologies

Review proven research-backed approaches to get aligned

More

Blogs

Stay up to do date on the latest best practices that drive higher performance

More

Client Case Studies

Explore real world results for clients like you striving to create higher performance

More