With all the recent events unfolding in American and international business—in both economic and political sectors—perhaps the most concerning isn’t so much the competency of leadership, but rather its values, ethics and its use. The economic and social inequality in America is being blamed by the greed of political/corporate leadership and its lack of social responsibility for the people they are supposed to serve.
What makes for great leadership has always sparked interesting discussion. Are leaders born with innate qualities? Or can effective leadership be taught and learned? This is a very important business issue since recent employee surveys indicate that half of American workers are unhappy and feel they are “not being valued” due to weak and apathetic organizational leadership.
Are you as good a leader as you think you are? Are you perceived as great or just good?
Lets explore some common DNA leadership characteristics to see if you stack up! While the DNA of great leaders is often used metaphorically, it refers to the key components/behaviors that define effective leadership. They include:
- A powerful business and people acumen.
- The ability to inspire (not motivate) people to achieve.
- A seer of the possibilities and the preferred future for the organization.
- The ability to build partnerships and alliances.
- Being servant leaders to their members/customers/community.
- A curiosity about the world and a facilitator of change.
- Leadership who embrace/utilize technology to achieve business results.
- Risk takers who don't fear innovation or failure.
- The ability to convert ideas into practice.
- Taking time to celebrate, recognize, and reward accomplishments/people.
- The ability to develop goals and execute plans.
- A developer of people—a “human horticulturalist”.
- Great leaders who eat last and put their people first!
I offer the following action steps to inspire you to strive for greatness not just goodness in your leadership practices:
- Have a purpose & passion before profit business philosophy in what you do for your organization's staff, board, members, vendors and the community.
- Get the right folks in the right seats on your credit union's bus, give them a license to pursue their passion in serving members, and inspire them to achieve greatness.
- Know that embracing technology/innovation is not an option—great leaders know that if you're not changing, you're dying.
- Get MAD: Make a difference in the personal & professional lives of those you lead and serve. Leaders are always being watched and evaluated more for their actions than their words.
In closing, effective leadership will be one of the key factors of how the success of credit unions will be measured in the future. How leaders set a standard to follow and have the will to follow it may be their most important legacy.
I hope your leadership practices reflect the core values of your credit union, guide your business conduct, and inspire greatness in your people during this uncertain and challenging economic time in America.
The DNA of great leadership is a combination of innate qualities and experiential learned behaviors. Take a reset break periodically and check yourself to see if you’ re doing the right stuff!
