LEADERSHIP MADE SIMPLE

LEADERSHIP MADE SIMPLE : An Excerpt from chapter 18 of "Touching People's lives" by Michael R. Losey

Leadership is the capacity to influence others to jointly work toward a specified goal.

There are key elements to watch out for and these are;

- Recognizing change

- Solving problems

A good leader should have the necessary skills, abilities and (knowledge) diversified experience in order to execute the following activities;

• Identify and define a possible problem

• Generate alternative solutions

• Evaluate the alternative solutions

• Determine the "best" solution

• Take actions to "mitigate" the disadvantages of the best solution

• Implement the decision

• Follow up to evaluate the success of the solution

• Take corrective action, where necessary

The major contributions to doing the right things are the leader's

1. Initiative

2. Creativity

3. Interpersonal skills

4. Values

The execution of good leadership can really be simplified as follows:

• Intelligence: this is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. This capacity and potentials which could be natural or acquired through education and experience are applied to thinking and problem-solving.

• Initiative: this is the ability to do something without being directed. It is always good to virtualize the next action or requirement as against awaiting instructions.

• Innovation: the capacity or ability to always look for new and better solutions so as to be on top of the game. Though a leader needs more than intelligence and experience to be innovative, S/he needs the ability to follow through the new ideas to fruition.

• Integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Honesty and trust are central to integrity. The leader must appear and remain credible to all and sundry. His /Her stories and words must be consistent.

• Interpersonal -> this is the most important of all the skills to lead and work effectively with others.

Culled from SHRM

TALENT ACQUISITION:

There are mainly two parties to talent acquisition:

• the employer

• the potential employee ( job seeker)

Their needs are unique and different but when a congruence is found the organisation stands to benefit the more.

For the employer during the interview , it is important to get answers on the following questions from the job seekers

a. Do they have the skills required?

b. Are they trainable?

c. What is their work history/experience?

d. What soft skills do they possess?

However, the uppermost concern of the job seekers are

a. What is my job description?

b. What is the remuneration like?

c. What is the culture of the company?

d. Where is the company sited?

STILL ON TALENT ACQUISITION

What do you look out for in recruiting today's talent? The watchword is ADAPTATION.

The ability of the potential employee to adapt to various changes in the life cycle of a company (ranging from acquisition, expansion, downsizing, rightsizing, outsourcing to technology) is very key.

Adaptability involves a person's ability and willingness to respond to the ever changing business environment. How can the employer or HR identify the ability of a candidate to adapt in a business environment that continues to change? HR must look out for the candidate's:

• Interpersonal skills

• Character traits ( integrity and reliability)

Though experience is very important in recruiting for certain positions but the emphasis on technical knowledge should be played down as such are continuously outdated if not improved on.

The candidate must be adaptive and open to learn and be trained. It is proved that the following traits can help predict the adaptability of a candidate:

(a) High Cognitive ability -> allows ability to learn new tasks or technologies more quickly. This includes complex problem-solving and critical thinking

(b) Conscientiousness -> ability to be rugged in the face of uncertainty and strive to deliver a given task.

(c) Openness to experience -> ability to learn from any experience that comes his/her way, i.e. the good, the bad and the ugly.

HR should look out for these traits as well as incorporate ways of measuring it during the selection process. By extension candidates should also develop or improve on the above traits.

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