The Hindu Business Line : <I>Eight skills for leaders </I>

Raw intelligence, commanding presence, and great communication skills. Do these attributes top in your wanted list when you go searching for leaders? If yes, you may not be alone; only, you may be wrong. "Personal attributes are just one small slice of the leadership pie, and their value is greatly diminished without know-how," writes Ram Charan in `Know-How' from Random House (www.oxfordbookstore.com) .

Being highly intelligent doesn't mean that a person has the knack for making good business judgments, explains Ram. "How many times have you seen people confidently making decisions that turn out to be disastrous? How often have you heard a vision that turned out to be nothing more than rhetoric and hot air?" Our salvation lies in `leaders who know what they are doing'; those who are adept at a bundle of `eight interrelated skills' the book describes.

Ram defines know-how as `what you must both do and be to lead your business'. The first skill is to position your business `by finding the central idea that meets customer demands and makes money', and also to `appropriately reposition' when required. Next in his skill-list is the ability `to pinpoint external change by detecting patterns ahead of others and put your business on the offensive'. Connect the dots, urges the author. "Finding patterns is akin to solving a puzzle, so personality traits like tenacity and confidence are necessary to keep searching for the missing pieces," guides Ram. Qualities to avoid are `arrogance and insecurity', because these can cause you `to filter out unwanted news and other points of view'.

Third skill is about `getting the right people together with the right behaviours to make better, faster decisions and achieve business results'. Aligning people's efforts is not too different from `herding cats', says Ram. He is aghast that `the social system at many businesses is out of sync with what it ought to accomplish'. Look at the interaction among your people, and information flows, exhorts Ram. Don't instead put `the cart before the horse' by falling back on `changing the organisational structure, replacing key people, and altering what is measured and rewarded'.

Actively search for leadership talent throughout your organisation, and create career moves that can test their ability `to take on more complexity or learn new skills'. For, it's up to you to build `a pipeline of leaders'.

Essential read.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

More Stories on : Books | Manage Mentor | Management

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Leading from the front

Becoming a global Indian

The fast track to success

Set deadlines to stop procrastination

`HR must be part of business strategy'

Eight skills for leaders

India Inc's global gambit... I

India Inc's global gambit... II