ALLOWING FOR A FEW changes of detail, many executives will no doubt recall a formative experience like this. Late one Friday afternoon an email arrives from someone high up in the organisation. The tone is uncompromising, and the content comes as a complete surprise. The message states that, by Monday morning, a financial analysis and marketing plan is needed for the possible launch of a new product, which another division has been working on.
Branding Your Leadership Style
Contemplate the Battle
IF THERE'S ONE THING most salesmen have, it's a plausible excuse for not getting the business. "We lost out because of their internal politics"; "They stuck with the current supplier for price reasons". Chances are the people giving those reasons have great selling skills. So why do they achieve only limited success and never bag the really big clients?
Stay On Top of the Game
EVERY BUSINESS LEADER knows just how precious time can be. As responsibilities increase and technology advances, it can often seem that there are simply never enough hours in the day. Obligations pile up to chair meetings, join conference calls and attend client functions, and all the while there is that ceaseless inbound flood of emails, texts and phone messages expecting urgent attention. Executives, of course, soon learn that having to deal with all these demands is just a function of the modern business world. As a result, they become used to logging on to inflight wifi, addicted to their smartphones, and are experts in the art of the short-term fix. And that can turn out to be a major problem because, in the midst of all the running around and chasing to hit this month's sales figures or next quarter's financial targets, it is very easy to take one's eye off the ball.
When Feelings Count
THE FAMOUS AMERICAN banker J.P. Morgan once said that people make decisions for two reasons: the good reason and the real reason. The truth of this observation is immediately obvious if you ask any business executive in New York, London, or Hong Kong to explain why they chose one course of action over another.
True Signs of a Leader
THE IDEA OF self-discovery is as important today as it was around 2,500 years ago when Socrates said that each person’s aim should be to “know thyself”. For anyone looking to develop a successful style of leadership, knowing who you are is the first and most important step. Only when you fully understand the way you think, act and communicate, and recognise the impact of your behaviour on other people, you can bring about positive change and increase your overall effectiveness.
Making of a Sales Expert
THE PHILOSOPHER Aristotle in the Art of Rhetoric captured the essence of what makes people great at selling when he highlighted the Greek concepts of logos, pathos and ethos. With logos, we produce rational and logical arguments. Pathos is used to address emotions. But for success, we have to be believable and trustworthy - and that is where ethos comes in.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
AT SOME POINT in every successful business career, a discernible change in personality and behaviour must take place. It is not a question of Jekyll and Hyde or Clark Kent to Superman, just that the time inevitably arrives when the approach and outlook appropriate for taking the first few steps on the corporate ladder will no longer do. A sales director cannot think and act like a sales manager, nor a vice-president of finance like a compliance officer. So, anyone aiming to rise through the ranks must also be ready to undertake the steady self-transformation that will allow them to cross the invisible, but certainly not arbitrary, line that exists in every organisation.
Juggling Emotions
WHEN TRYING TO identify what makes someone a great leader, one can look into everything from their upbringing and education to their work experience and contacts. In most cases, what really makes the difference gets overlooked. There is no mention of it in standard resumes and it's usually skirted over in personal profiles. However, closer investigation often reveals that what sets certain individuals apart is their emotional intelligence, or EI.
Four Steps to Leadership Success
THERE IS NO shortage of books on leadership. It seems that hardly a week goes by without some senior business executive or management guru going into print with their thoughts and insights on how to get to the top and become a great corporate leader. Visit any bookstore and you will find entire sections dedicated to weighty volumes on the secrets of leadership and management. There are television shows, websites, magazines and seminars focusing on the same topics. The reason is clear: businesses have to achieve better results in a highly competitive environment and must keep finding ways to do more with less.