Leadership: 7 steps to be modern leaders and achieve goals

What does it mean to be a leader “today”? Or rather … How to be a modern leader? How do people get motivated? How do you create a working group, determined, to achieve a goal?

Let’s start by analyzing what are the qualities of leadership in the new market.  Competence, of course, but also the ability to enthuse people, to make them dream and make their dream realizable. The latter, above all, is the essence of modern leadership.

It is the dream that guides the leader to bring out the best qualities of each team member. Not only that, it serves to attract people and motivate them, to bring out talent, often hidden. Leadership is farsightedness, it is nothing more than seeing beyond, looking at the goal, rejecting obstacles.

The evolution of leadership leads it today to be summarized as the ability to create alliances, inside and outside the company. The good modern leader must measure himself with the ability to create relationships, which must manifest itself as a sincere interest towards his collaborators and for his business and market (clients, suppliers, partners …).

Does the leader always coincide with the highest position in the hierarchy of a company? How much does a leader’s charisma affect the final performance of the work team?

It is impossible to answer these questions so, on a keyboard. But now, I give you the seven steps of leadership qualities …

1# Vision

Leaders are hired because they share or bring a new vision of how the company can change over the next few years, in an exclusively proactive, non-reactive way. The leader brings the company to adapt to changing market conditions, enhancing the increasingly diverse workforce. The biggest challenge is to share the vision of the company, gain its consent on a daily basis, and bring it to change, through the work of the team.

2# Talent

Business leaders create a team to achieve the goals and objectives set. The group must be motivated, involved, listened to, supported, passionate and loyal. What do I need to do it? The creation of a strong sense of belonging, rewarding, delegating and empowering. Leaders must be able to drive, but at the same time, to listen and learn from their team. I am able to do all this, managing culturally different resources, dispersed in various business contexts.

3# Flexibility

Global leaders must demonstrate that they are mobile internationally. All the best leaders have lived abroad, for a significant period of time, in two or three different continents. Not only that, they must have an entrepreneurial spirit and have a strong predisposition towards the outside. Only in this way, it is possible to acquire a good command of the different markets and cultures, to effectively manage the business activities in different countries.

4# Empathy

Talent and human resources are the essential key factor for achieving success, in any sector, in some more than in others. People are capable of making a huge difference: this is why they should not feel exploited, but rather listen to, understand and put in the first place, guaranteeing corporate well-being. Recent studies highlight how more participatory and collaborative leadership styles work much better than authoritarian styles. The leader must be perceived as a member of the team and there must be mutual appreciation.

5# Performance

The leaders of success are those able to make decisions, not only based on their area of reference, but also thinking of the good of the entire company. They must have skills in different fields, to progress in their careers and reach a higher level. Inevitably, those who do not possess these skills will be left behind.

6# Digital leader

In the age of Web 2.0, corporate communication passes the baton to technology. An interactive communication, which also moves in the opposite direction: from customers, employees, and all company stakeholders to the company itself. In a world where the positive recognition of the online brand is a fundamental aspect, for notoriety and economic feedback, a leader must know how to manage all this, contributing with transparency and fairness.

7# Interaction

A participatory managerial style involves involving the team in the decision-making process and giving responsibility to all resources. To confirm and strengthen leadership, it is essential for every manager to be proactive, identifying new opportunities, proposing ideas, disseminating him or her within the organization and creating consensus.