Why Being A Good Leader Is Not Good Enough

Leadership Development

Leadership is the difference maker when it comes to moving a good organization toward becoming a great one. Be it a medical aesthetic practice or business, the most successful have strong leadership. In most cases, it is the leadership at the top that is the intangible that accounts for the difference between the good and the great.

The leader at the top is responsible for ensuring the right people are hired, talent is appropriately developed, the cultural tone reflects the values of the organization, drives accountability, and successfully executes on strategic initiatives.

So, who’s the leader at the top? It is anyone who has responsibility for leading others. It can be a location manager, a divisional manager, CEO, CFO, CMO, CTO, director, or anyone who has responsibility and influence upon others. However, there is always a person ultimately responsible for everyone’s performance. The “Buck” must stop somewhere.

Such responsibility would fall to the founder of a small business or CEO of a larger entity. To lead in such a way that an organization can go from good to great, she or he must be in tune with the day-to-day workings of the organization. This requires being actively engaged with those who do the work in the trenches. Something many do well in the beginning but fail to successfully execute as the organization grows. Hence becoming good but not great.

Is It IQ?

Intelligence is certainly a table stake when it comes to leadership performance. If a person doesn’t have a certain level of intelligence, they’re probably not even in the pool of candidates being considered in the first place.

What’s important to remember about intelligence and key leadership roles is that there is a minimum level of intelligence necessary to succeed. However, having more than the minimum standard does not necessarily equate to better leadership performance. It turns out that other factors, such as emotional and social intelligence, account for greater leadership success that IQ once the minimum standard is met.

Know Self (EQ)

Much research has been done on the impact of emotional intelligence on leadership success. The most successful leaders are the ones that have the high levels of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence includes being aware of one’s emotions, possessing the ability to understand one’s emotional drivers, and being able to manage those emotions to maintain self-control in all situations.

By having such abilities, a leader can experience growth in key areas that are necessary for ongoing leadership success, such as achievement orientation, innovation and creativity, stress management, and initiative.

Know Others (SQ)

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to be socially intelligent if you are not already emotionally intelligent. Social intelligence requires us to be able to manage relationships and the emotions of others. It includes the ability to express empathy and being aware of the dynamics that are present in social situations.

As a result of these abilities leaders are better able to communicate their vision for the future to their teams and organizations, build trust, and influence the change that is necessary for ongoing organizational success. Socially intelligent leaders develop teams that have stronger bonds, which result in less conflict and higher individual and group performance.

It is virtually impossible for a leader to develop these traits within their organization if they do not first develop their understanding of self through the development of their own emotional intelligence. After all, how can you understand others if you don’t first understand yourself?

Seek First To Understand

Great leaders do not speak poorly of others. Great leaders do not condemn others. Instead, great leaders try to figure out why people do what they do. They then work to understand the factors that are contributing to the behaviors or actions that may be a cause for concern. they then coach or mentor the individual(s) toward improvement and growth.

Great leaders understand that criticism rarely, if ever, results in a change of behavior. They understand that, if anything, criticism can lead to resentment and poorer performance. Therefore, great leaders are clear in their expectations, work with the individual to set them up for success, place people in situations (positions) where they can be successful and develop systems that are geared toward individual and organizational success.

Great leaders also know to look at the system people work within and seek to understand how it may be impacting behavior and performance.

Arouse Enthusiasm

Great leaders possess the ability to arouse enthusiasm in others. They know that this is done through genuine expressions of appreciation and encouragement. Great leaders praise generously and criticize sparingly. They also understand that they must maintain high expectations and hold people accountable for meeting those expectations.

When people achieve what is expected they are praised accordingly for their outstanding work and contributions to the team. Great leaders do not flatter or make disingenuous comments. They know that insincerity will be seen for what it is. Therefore, they are careful to be sincere in their praise and encouragement.

Everyone Is Important

Great leaders understand that everyone has a desire to feel important and believe that they are contributing to something bigger than themselves. Therefore, great leaders provide those they lead with the opportunity to experience both and authentically acknowledge the contributions being made toward personal, professional, and organizational growth and success.

Great leaders know that if people feel important and believe the work they are engaged in is contributing to the greater good, their loyalty and commitment to their jobs and the organization will increase, resulting in a mutually beneficial situation for everyone.

No Good Leaders

All the attributes described above are that of great leaders. Good leaders do not exist. You are either great or working toward becoming great. Otherwise, you are not leading. Good would be average. Average is not going to lead to making the difference needed to have the impact necessary for everyone to reach their full potential, including the organization.

If you are in a leadership position it is your obligation to be great. Any leader that is not committed to doing so will not be leading for long. Any Founder, Board or CEO that tolerates good is accepting average. Average is not what stakeholders (clients, partners and investors) want either.

Randy Stepp is a principal with Renaissance Leadership Group. RLG is a full-service medical aesthetics practice development company driven by Purpose, Passion, and Strategy and the goal of helping entrepreneurs realize their vision for their business.

Visit Renaissance Leadership Group at www.renaissanceleadershipgroup.com to learn more.