High Performance Leadership

What makes one a high performing leader.

It is a question that we all need to ask ourselves from time to time.

Just measuring ourselves and our success around the numbers of the business is an important metric, but in my view is only part of the story, as the revenue, profit and success of the business is predicated on a number of skills and character attributes of leadership that helps to secure the success (and numbers ie revenue and sustained profits) we all look for.

So I want to be a bit controversial in highlighting some of the characteristic of what I have seen in my clients (and used in my own career as an entrepreneur), which I believe are key skills and personal attributes to develop in attaining the summit of not only performing at a high level of leadership, but more importantly performing at a leadership level consistently.

High-performing leaders possess a combination of skills and character attributes that enable them to effectively guide their teams and organisations towards success. Here are some essential skills and character attributes for high-performing leaders:

High-performing leaders possess a combination of skills and character attributes that enable their teams....towards success

So see whether you measure up to any of these:

ESSENTIAL SKILLS ATTRIBUTES

1. Communication Skills:

- Clarity and Conciseness: Ability to convey information clearly and succinctly.

- Active Listening: Paying attention to and understanding others' viewpoints. Listens twice as much as they speak

- Persuasion and Influence: Ability to inspire and motivate others to take action, even though they may think otherwise.

2. Emotional Intelligence:

- Self-Awareness: Understanding one's own emotions, strengths, and weaknesses.

- Self-Regulation: Managing emotions and impulses effectively.

- Empathy: Recognising (super important) and understanding the emotions of others.

- Social Skills: Building and maintaining healthy relationships.

3. Strategic Thinking:

- Vision Setting: Defining and communicating a compelling vision for the future.

- Problem-Solving: Identifying problems and developing effective solutions.

- Decision-Making: Making informed and timely decisions.

- Data Driven Decision Making: Understanding the power and importance of using data and numbers to drive customer, business and people performance

4. Adaptability and Flexibility:

- Change Management: Leading and managing change within the organisation.

- Resilience: Ability to recover from setbacks and remain focused on goals.

5. Delegation and Empowerment:

- Trusting Team Members: Assigning tasks and responsibilities appropriately.

- Developing Others: Investing in the growth and development of team members.

6. Time Management:

- Prioritization: Identifying and focusing on the most important tasks.

- Efficiency: Making the best use of available time and resources.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES

1. Integrity:

- Honesty: Being truthful and transparent in dealings.

- Ethical Behaviour: Adhering to strong moral principles and values.

2. Courage:

- Taking Risks: Willingness to take calculated risks and make bold decisions.

- Facing Challenges: Confronting difficult situations head-on.

3. Humility:

- Acknowledging Mistakes: Admitting and learning from errors. Owning up to issues fast and communicating the changes to behaviour

- Valuing Others: Recognising and appreciating the contributions of team members.

4. Visionary:

- Forward-Thinking: Anticipating future trends and challenges.

- Innovative: Encouraging and fostering creativity and new ideas.

5. Passion and Commitment:

- Dedication: Showing a strong commitment to the organisation’s goals.

- Enthusiasm: Displaying energy and enthusiasm that inspires others.

6. Accountability:

- Ownership: Taking responsibility for one’s actions and decisions.

- Reliability: Being dependable and trustworthy.

7. Empathy:

- Culture: Understands the power of creating a culture drives collaboration and performance in the organisation

- Understanding: Being sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.

- Supportive: Providing support and encouragement to team members.

- Wellbeing: Understands that rest, exercise and recreation are essential for personal high performance personally as well as for staff wellbeing

You see folks, effective leaders not only possess these skills and attributes but also know how to integrate them to achieve optimal outcomes. For example those leaders combine strategic thinking with effective communication to align their team with the organisation’s vision.

Effective leaders use emotional intelligence and empathy to build strong relationships and create a positive work environment.

And for me this is the key attribute that you should note. High-performing leaders are continuous learners who constantly seek to improve their skills and enhance their character. It is important that we are the best we can be me mentally as well as physically.

Our leadership 360 survey seeks to help leaders become the best version of themselves. Please reach out on the link here if you want to embark on this journey of high performance.