What makes leaders effective?
Leadership is best thought of contextually – that is, the skills, knowledge and personal attributes a leader needs in the context of their organisation. And while there are countless models of leadership, they all tend to coalesce around similar concepts. Our leadership philosophy emphasises the need for leaders to think and act sustainably.
This means considering the impact their decisions and habits have on their own wellbeing and performance, the wellbeing and performance of those around them, their impact on the effectiveness of the organisation, and the impact of their decisions on society more broadly.
Many leaders find themselves stuck in a cycle of ‘getting through’ the week, giving it their all to reach stretch targets, before launching themselves into yet another sprint.
There’s a meaningful difference between establishing a high performance culture and ways of working that actively undermine leaders’ wellbeing and effectiveness. A fundamental question to leaders is: could you continue with this level of pace and intensity for the next five years?
How can leaders improve their impact?
Leaders are at their most effective when they focus on their absolute priorities, invest their time attention with intention, and prioritise relationships, influence and role-modelling.
One of the main obstacles to effective leadership is getting stuck in the trap of being ‘busy’. This is not to underplay the workload many leaders face – we’re in no doubt that it’s a tough job. But without stepping back to look at the bigger picture, beyond today’s to-do list, it’s hard to reconnect with mission, meaning and purpose. And difficult to connect with people – one of the core functions of a leader.
Leaders can improve their impact by:
- Prioritising developing positive working relationships with their direct reports
- Creating an environment built on trust and psychological safety
- Bringing organisational values to life consistently
- Role-modelling effective responses to pressure, difficulties and setbacks
- Cultivating a sustainable approach to work
- Prioritising and delegating with intention and conviction
- Engaging in ongoing reflection and learning from experience
How can leaders support wellbeing and performance?
Leaders have an enormous impact on the wellbeing and performance of their employees. Leaders can prioritise the identification and removal of stressors, ensure jobs are designed with humans in mind, provide a clear sense of purpose and direction and acknowledge the efforts of everyone in the team. All of this can improve wellbeing and therefore, performance.
Whether they admit it or not, they serve as role-models for the values, the culture and the ways of working in an organisation. Employees take their cue from their leaders – whether it’s working hours, behaviour in meetings, discretionary effort or responses to challenges.
Leaders’ role-modelling can have a positive impact on wellbeing and performance when they:
- Demonstrate humility and fallibility
- Actively prioritise relationships, conversation and connection
- Role-model sustainable effort, working hours and boundary management
- Cultivate an environment where feedback is commonplace, actionable and fair
- Consistently bring the organisation's values to life in their everyday behaviour