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In order to be That Leader a person has to be able to comprehend the organizational leadership structure and how it impacts the business culture, its identity and the business norms.  In other words, That Leader needs to understand how the company works.  How does the company want leadership to communicate, enforce policies and provide feedback between it and its employees?  How is the company organized in this regard?



If a leader doesn’t know the form of organizational leadership of his business, he is going to make strategic mistakes in how he leads his team and how he communicates with those on higher tiers of management.  Finally, the leader has to know which approach he or she needs to take to get the teams cooperation. There are only two approaches—emphasizing rewards for success or penalty for failure. It has been shown over and over that a leader who emphasizes rewards through positive reinforcement will inspire the team to do their best.

That Leader will have to learn with each team member how often to praise. Too much praise can have the opposite effect, as parents know to their sorrow. So what are the attributes, skills and knowledge a leader needs in terms of structure?

Attributes

• That Leader governs by policies. Going by gut reactions can lead to perceived unfairness by the team. Policies spell out the structure that anyone can do to get recognition, as long as you don’t set the standard over the moon.


• She is law abiding. She would not expect her team to follow policies if she isn’t will to follow them herself.


• He has respect for those in higher tiers.


• She is a team player herself.


• He is driven by the mission.

Skills

• That Leader will gather and evaluate data.


• She will be able to communicate and formalize operating protocol between her team and the company.


• He will see the forces and the ecosystem of the business.


• She will be a problem solver and known to make good decisions.


• He will learn how to synthesize various viewpoints.


• She will be able to identify and resolve conflict.


• He participate in effective meetings.


• She will deal with values, vision and the future with eagerness.


• He will ask questions in order to keep policies up-to-date.

Knowledge

• That Leader will know the company policies.


• She will know in general what members of the up-lines roles are, what their responsibilities, procedures and budget are.


• She will know the roles of her team leader.


• He will know how to conduct effective meetings.

One way to understand the company structure is to create organizational charts. This keeps everyone in front of That Leader along with what their roles in the organization are. This again should not be written in stone because as the team or company grows, there will be changes toward the ultimate goals.

So what traits listed above are you proud to describe you?

Was there any trait you would not consider desirable?

What trait are you working on to become more descriptive of you?

This information is from Washington State School Directors' Association and found on http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/

Jaco Grobbelaar, owner of BroadVision Marketing, helps business owners and business professionals put marketing strategies in place that consistently secure new clients. He can be reached at jaco@broadvisionmarketing.com or 707.799.1238. You can “Like” him at www.facebook.com/broadvisionmarketing or connect with him on www.linkedin.com/in/JacoGrobbelaar.

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