Continuing on the previous post of What leaders do? - this post will cover the mindset of effective leaders. To re-emphasize the point that Charisma or Personality is an individual trait and not to be confused with leadership traits. It is a different discussion point that people in leadership roles who might not have had an aura about them often begin to exude charisma that gets enhanced when they take on an executive position of authority.
I recently came across a fantastic book The President as a Leader by Michael Siegel who highlights four specific qualities that define the mindset of a great leader.
1. A compelling vision: Great Leaders and Effective Executives have a compelling vision of what they want to accomplish in office.
2. A wherewithal to execute on the vision: The leader needs to create a team of professionals - Team of Rivals by Dorris Kearn Goodwin is a great read in going about building teams who can help develop and influence policy and strategy to execute on the vision.
3. Focus on a few goals at a time: Knowing the critical few objectives, the North Star goals is absolutely vital. (As Michael Siegel points out in his book ~ When asked by his domestic policy adviser what his goals were, Jimmy Carter delivered an A-to-Z list, from abortion to Zaire. In contrast, Reagan focused on three to four major goals immediately after his election. He hit the ground running and got a large part of his agenda implemented)
4. Effective Decision Making: Create conditions for decision making such that decisions are not made in vacuum. The best treatise on decision making in my view is Peter Drucker's classic The Effective Executive
It is about answering these three questions:
a. What needs to be done?
b. What needs to be done now?
c. What is right for the enterprise?
In my next post, I will cover the five levels of leadership, until then Happy Hanukkah!