The Secrets of Effective Leadership (PART 1)

I'm 28 years old and I have had a total of about 8 years of full-time work experience. That said I feel incredibly privileged to have worked with many incredible leaders. As such, I make a conscious effort to observe those around me and absorb as much as I can in an effort to improve my own leadership skills.

Perhaps it is premature, based on my limited years of experience and young age, to have such strong opinions and beliefs about leadership - I've come to the conclusion that it is easy to spot out an effective leader because they stand out like sore thumbs. In my opinion effective leadership is partially learnt, partially something that you're born with, and very much something that you can improve upon by learning from others - what I like to call the ‘Secrets of Effective Leadership':

"There is no substitute for hard work"

Some folks are creative but have a hard time keeping focussed on the objectives, some folks are book smart but can't stop their analysis paralysis habits, some are gutsy and will push their way through and some can talk the talk but have little substance behind what they say. And then there are some who will work harder then the rest and execute - I'm not talking about those that put in the long, inefficient hours, but rather the ones that learn to work harder and smarter with time. This is a real leadership quality in my opinion and there simply is no substitute for hard work. At the end of the day every project and every team needs one of them. That said, it is important to note that an effective leader will realize that they may not always be the most creative, or have the best analytical skills, or be aggressive enough to solve every problem, or have the communication skills to charm the audience - an effective leader will recognize the importance of having one of each of the aforementioned in order to build a powerhouse team that has all the tools required to excel.

"Are you confident or cocky?"

I am convinced that one cannot climb the corporate ladder without an incredible amount of confidence. Confidence is the key to leadership success; without it one would have a hard time influencing and leveraging others - an essential skill set for any leader. I believe that confidence is not something that you can just turn on; it is something that comes from hard work, knowledge and experience. The problem is that confidence often turns into cockiness and even overconfidence with time. An effective leader will recognize the fine line that exists between the three and consciously recognize when they cross that line. How do you know when you are becoming arrogant? I think it's when you start losing respect and influence from your peers and subordinates. How do you know if you're becoming over-confident? My former boss would remind me each time before taking a trip to a client's site, that if I wasn't nervous about the trip/project then I was overconfident and not prepared. It was always a message that I would ignore at first but then it would scare me enough to make me work harder in an effort to cover off all possible angles of failure.

"Having the courage to shine bright"

As one climbs the ranks, as one gains influence and respect, as one becomes an effective leader, it's hard not to feel shy about moving past your mates, your colleagues, and even your former bosses. It's hard recognizing for the first time as a progressing leader that you've got enemies who wouldn't mind seeing you fail. It's also hard becoming comfortable with the fact that your leadership decisions will never be liked by 100% of your subordinates/colleagues and that you will never be able to satisfy everyone. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that an effective leader needs to find a way to become comfortable with all of this. A quote comes to mind about this. It's from Nelson Mandela's inaugural speech in 1994: "Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won't feel insecure around you."

Stay tuned for PART 2...