The leadership challenge

By  Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

John Maxwell, a leadership guru himself, thinks this book is one of the best leadership books he has ever read.  “The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations” authored by James Kouzes and Barry Posner is a best-selling classic that sold over two million copies.  The book is a hit because among the many leadership books available in the market, it is one of the few that is backed up by empirical research of over three decades.

Among the many brilliant ideas from the book, below are my favorite ones.

What are the Ideal Qualities of a Leader?

In a survey from more than a hundred thousand employees, the workers were asked, “What are the most important leadership qualities that will make you follow a leader?”  The top four qualities that came out were honesty, forward-looking, competent and inspiring.

Honesty

I was not surprised that this leadership virtue came out on top. That’s why I wrote an article about it entitled, “Leading by Integrity” because this is what employees always look for in a boss or leader, first and foremost.  Workers want that their leader is not corrupt or will not cheat on them or is sincere with the welfare of his or her employees.  Honesty is all about trust.  If the employees can’t trust their leader, the morale in the company will hit rock bottom and it would not be surprising if workers themselves will cheat and become corrupt too.

Forward-Looking

“People commit to causes not plans” says the two authors of this book.  You would want to follow a leader that has a vision for the company because we all want growth and meaning.  When you know that the company is growing or expanding, employees would feel that their work is making an impact.  When a leader lays out a vision for the company telling his or her workers that this is what we plan to be five years from now, employees would want to work in that company that is growing.  Besides a vision is a hope that the future will be better than the present.

Competent

Competence means having the necessary skills to do something successfully.  If a leader can get things done as he or she has promised, then followers are willing to follow because they know that their leader is someone who is capable and reliable.  Leadership is all about rallying the troops to accomplish a goal.  If a leader can’t accomplish what he or she has promised, followers would have doubts obeying that leader.  A leader should have personality skills to make others work their assigned tasks and contribute to the overall attainment of the company goals.

Inspiring

When someone is inspiring you think you can accomplish a difficult task because that person was able to do it himself.  Inspiring people somehow gives you the energy to conquer obstacles.   Inspiration would come from words of encouragement and wisdom.  Outstanding leaders should be articulate and are good at expressing their encouragement and wisdom to their followers.