How To Grow a Leadership Culture in Your Company: 3 Easy Steps
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by: RhaK.Cardinale
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A culture of leadership is essential to the success of any company, or more to the point, the sustained success of a company over the long term in the Australian economy.
It was once the case that a company looked to one leader to inspire them by his or her example, much as a rugby or football coach could take a team of average players and lead them on to a championship victory. Those days, sadly, are nearly gone. Business moves so fast these days with so much data to keep track of and so many new products and services continually emerging that there simply cannot be just one leader in many companies. Instead, a company needs a whole culture of leadership within itself which promotes those who take initiative to make things happen for the company when called upon to do so. Each department within a company, in fact, requires a leader or leaders of its own.
This new business culture is an important one to adopt, given the fast growth and global ties of the New South Wales economy as the state and the country of Australia move on into the 21st century. As the economic plan of NSW itself states: "a strong economy allows us to provide the excellent services such as healthcare, education, and policing which the public expects...we are...innovative people who want a society built on fairness, equity, and collaboration...(a) society built on these principles will be more productive, wealthier, and fairer."
A company in this new century should also be run in this fashion.
STEP ONE: BUILD TRUST AND A SHARED VISION
The top management at every company needs to make sure that each and every person within the organisation is on the same page if they are to proceed. All persons must agree on the same goals and objectives for the company. When everyone is working towards the same ends, then conflict within the organisation is minimised. People who feel that they are building something of value will naturally be motivated to maximise this success. This will bring out their natural talents for leadership, which is good for the company as a whole.
In a company where everyone shares a vision for the future of the organisation, trust will flourish, as will innovation and the willingness to take calculated risks which can cause explosive growth,
This can be a difficult goal to achieve, however, because people are used to always competing in business. Top management needs to guide people into sharing their personal, human side, such as by having people (themselves, too) share their personal histories with their groups and teams and eventually perhaps in large company-wide meetings.
STEP TWO: EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES
Everyone within the organisation must become accustomed to looking at new possibilities and thinking "outside of the box" just as top management does. People should be shown that it is OK, even encouraged to think differently; this will lead to new solutions to old problems and progress for the company. One way to start is to get everyone to sit down and think about and answer questions which are pertinent to them personally. For instance: "What do you think your co-workers will say about you at your retirement party? What are the best things about this company? What are the worst?" These kinds of questions lead people to creative and strategic thinking, which is exactly what your company needs.
Management needs to digest the answers and then share them with department or team leaders, eventually distilling them to all of the employees and getting everyone to further reflect on and contemplate what has been learned.
STEP THREE: ESTABLISHING AN ACTION PLAN
Now that employees are all on the same page and they and management know what possibilities to explore to make the company more prosperous, a sharply focused plan of action for the business that includes roles for everyone can be drawn up. Different groups and teams take on different goals that all get directed toward the same shared goals and vision, with top management acting as the guiding force.
With a culture of leadership now established, a company can be more productive, forward thinking and of course, profitable.
About the Author
About the author: Rha K. Cardinale is an expert at transforming organisations and developing a culture of innovation. Visit "Great Leadership" website for more information on building innovative teams
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