Leadership is not about being popular

As I watch the counties clamouring for more resources, I am belatedly realising that we were actually picking Chief Executive Officers when we elected governors.

Our leaders are responsible for the development and well-being of their counties and they are asking for more resources to do this.

As I have previously written, leaders should be visionary. With the resources being allocated to the counties, the leaders should manage to raise all the standards and to do that, they need a vision and a plan.

One of the governors has a plan of building a Formula 1 track and introducing rail transport.

Another one wants to bring the world’s best cancer facility to his county.

And there is one who wants to transform hi county from a food relief receiver to a food exporter.

I have a lot of respect for the leaders who have lofty ideas than for those who have maintained deafening silence or those whose ideas do not sound revolutionary. Having a great idea and assembling a team to bring that concept to life is the first step to being successful. While finding an innovative way of doing things is a good thing, the ability to successfully execute the idea is what separate dreamers from great leaders.

Here are more qualities that every good leader should possess:
Ability to Delegate: Some of the great ideas need the incorporation of experts at the highest level.

It is important for a leader to remember that trusting the team with an idea is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Delegating tasks to appropriate departments is one of the most important skills of a leader. The key to delegation is identifying the strengths of the team, and capitalising on them.

This will also let the leader be free to focus on bigger tasks.

Do the right thing, not the popular thing: This may not be the right advice for a politician but it is for a CEO.

The right decisions are sometimes the hard ones but one should not compromise by pandering to popular demands.

With any decision, there will be complaints and displeasure, but as a manager, a leader needs to understand the path they are on and what the outcome needs to be. If, they waver because they may offend others, or to defend their popularity, then they may face problems.

Work from Realism to Aspiration, not the other way around: Great ideas are good but they have to be realistic. A result-oriented leader conceptualises ideas that are based on a realistic evaluation of where they are and the resources they have.

They start building on those till they reach their ultimate goal. This will help them deliver beyond the promises.

Transparency: Whatever ethical plane a leader holds him/herself to, it is important he/ she passes those standards and propagate that culture.

It is always very disappointing when you are not surprised by the humility and graciousness of the top leadership after you have been mistreated by their rank and file.

The management and its employees are a reflection of the leader, and if honesty and ethical behaviour are their key values, their team should follow suit.

Always seek improvements: No matter how successful, a leader should never be complacent. Leaders should always look at what they are doing, how they are doing it and seek ways to enhance and improve it constantly so that they can always stay ahead.

Be willing to adapt to differing perspectives: We all have a view of what works and what does not; how we want to manage and how we want to achieve our goals.

Leaders need to look at those they lead broadly. Their style and modus operandi may differ and solutions may have cultural or religious implications which do not augur well with some team members.

When faced with differing points of view and actions, a leader should adapt.

Ability to Inspire: A leader must show the team what is it in the success for them. He/ she should have the ability to inspire  his/ her team to focus on future goals.