News You Can Use: Not All Leaders Are Created Equal
/Everyone can rattle off the skills great leaders have. They’re supportive, inspirational, motivating. They can build consensus. They’re visionaries.
Just because we can list these leadership traits on paper doesn’t mean they’re easy to execute. So, we’ve gathered some recent articles with actionable steps you can take to guide your leadership development.
Why Visionary Leadership Fails [Harvard Business Review]
“Visionary leadership is widely seen as key to strategic change. That’s because visionary leadership does not just set the strategic direction — it tells a story about why the change is worth pursuing and inspires people to embrace the change. Not surprisingly, then, science and practice have a very positive view of visionary leadership as a critical leadership competency.
But our research finds that the positive impact of visionary leadership breaks down when middle managers aren’t aligned with top management’s strategic vision. This can cause strategic change efforts to slow down or even fail.”
Can CEOs be un-disruptable? [Deloitte]
“Chief executives have traditionally sat at the intersection of the external environment and the internal organization, observing chaos and translating it into clear and actionable instructions. At this “nerve center” for essential information, our popular perception of the “un-disruptable” CEO is of a rigid, impenetrable figure, successfully staring down external adversity.
Whether this image ever truly matched reality is debatable, but we know one thing for sure: it definitely no longer applies. To be un-disruptable today requires much more than steering companies through singular (if monumental) events—it demands leaders navigate constant turbulence, continuously adjusting their actions accordingly.”
How to Build Trust in the Workplace [Kellogg Insight]
“Organizations run better when people trust one another. Feedback is more honest. People are realistic about what they can do, and do well. And trust motivates employees to succeed.
So how do you build trust in the workplace? Kellogg faculty offer advice for what individuals and companies can do to establish their trustworthiness.”
View from the Top: An Interview with Admiral Mark Ferguson [Gilroy Associates]
“At first glance, there may not seem to be many similarities between leaders in the world of high tech and those in the U.S. Navy. But Admiral Ferguson’s experiences show that tenets of leadership are constant, whether you’re in the military or in the corporate world.“