5 Best Practices for Effective Leadership

Do You Know the Best Practices for Effective Leadership?

What does it take to lead well? Surprisingly, to build a successful company, even in high-tech, high-powered Silicon Valley, it is less about technical know-how and more about some proven best practices for effective leadership.  Effective leadership is really not rocket science, but it DOES take a powerful blend of skills that are infrequently encountered naturally in one person.

5 Best Practices for Effective Leadership
Here’s a list of five practices of the best leaders based upon data from our leadership simulation assessments.  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 Strategy
   If you want your strategy to succeed, you need to create and embrace an aligned organizational culture that supports your strategic priorities.   Once your strategic goals are defined, be crystal clear about how work must get done and how people are expected to behave (and not behave) in the pursuit of those goals.

   Effective leaders articulate the corporate values 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.

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 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.

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, 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 discussion to get the best results.

4. Link Behavior 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.
5. Use Time as Part of a Winning Strategy, Not the Determining Factor
   Effective leaders are masters of time management. They have to be able to 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.

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 Free Leadership Tools now.