There are many myths about great leaders in business. Some people think you have to be born with a special gift to lead teams; others confuse the qualities of a leader with those of the mediocre managers found in so many companies. And, worst of all, some businesses think the idea that a single person matters to a company’s success is pure “nonsense”.
History tells us otherwise: teams led by professionals with excellent leadership qualities have been the “winning horse”. Of course, there are some fuzzy ideas about leadership, such as adapting great leaders and ancient business strategists of the stature of Confucius, Sun Tzu or Machiavelli to modern business. What is clear is that leadership is inherited culturally rather than genetically, as Richard D. Lewis explained with his 24 leadership styles by country, which captured reality with astonishing accuracy.
Let’s break a few myths and explain some truths about great leaders. Above all, let’s make it very clear that most people can become great leaders if they are properly prepared for it and recognise the abilities and attitudes they need to adopt, or rather, the person they need to become.
1. Great leaders know what they are, even knowing they aren’t seen that way
A leader thinks long term, so in the short term they may make unpopular decisions that temporarily disturb a team’s comfort. I have seen great leaders arrive at companies and turn them “upside down”, earning the hostility of the whole group at first, until the results finally started coming in and almost everyone understood the need for a process they hadn’t been able to grasp at the beginning.
Many people fell by the wayside, but their leaving the ship was necessary for the company as a whole to succeed.
2. Planning
You can’t reach a goal if you don’t have a plan to get there. Great leaders make a point of drawing up strategies carefully. Once the strategy is defined, they act aggressively to reach the objective. They know not everyone will be able to keep up, so there will be casualties along the way, necessary ones if the journey is to continue, especially bearing in mind that great leaders work with the best, and not everyone can belong to that select group focused on success.
3. The art of persuasion
It is often said that great leaders are charismatic and persuasive. While it isn’t true that a leader has to be charismatic, it is very true that there isn’t a single leader without the power of persuasion. Anyone can learn to be more persuasive. (Read: How to be a more charismatic and persuasive leader.)
Persuasion basically means getting other people to act the way we want, to our benefit. Whether it’s getting a team to trust our plans, getting a shop to exchange an item we bought after losing the receipt, or getting a supplier to accept a late payment, persuasion is needed. In fact, more than 70% of success in seduction comes down to persuasion.
4. Withstanding unpopularity
If you want to succeed, you’ll need friends. If you want to be very successful, you’ll need plenty of enemies. It’s human nature: as you start reaching goals and achievements, many people will start to dislike you, even within the company for which you are building a better future.
Success may make you very popular with the company’s owner, but it will have made you unpopular with many others, including middle managers above you who see their jobs threatened by your professionalism and competence.
A good leader needs a strong will and an even stronger stomach. Deirdre Maloney, author of Tough Truths, noted that, over time, the secret of a great leader’s success lay in remembering that the job of a good leader or business strategist is not to make everyone happy, but to make the company as a whole happy.
5. A universal truth: everyone is afraid
It doesn’t matter how much confidence and self-assurance you have, or how sure of yourself you look. We are all afraid of failing, and we are all afraid of making mistakes. The only way to fight those fears is to face them, starting from the premise that the fear we feel is shared by everyone else too (above and below us). Great leaders are also very clear that if they don’t take risks, they won’t achieve anything.
Great leaders usually have a “plan B” so that, if “plan A” fails, they can at least fix part of the mistake. Remember that success is not linear and there will be plenty of ups and downs along the way. (Read: Three steps to stay calm under pressure.)
6. Never let your guard down: someone is always watching
People see, people talk, and people can be really nasty. Never show your exhausted face to everyone.
There is a false rumour, or myth, about great leaders: that they always keep 100% of their energy and vitality. If you think you’ve managed that for years, there are two possibilities:
- You have never faced big, serious difficulties in the company.
- You have never done a damn thing as a leader.
The vast majority of leaders have gone down on one knee at some point (metaphorically speaking). A leader must be able to delegate to one or two people they trust completely, and let their guard down only with them. Remember that a leader carries a heavy load of responsibility and runs a serious risk of imploding at some point.
7. Using energy wisely
Closely linked to the previous point: all professionals have certain tasks that can drain a large part of our vitality. We need to identify which tasks or circumstances those are and cut them back, replacing them with something that inspires us. As far as possible, eliminate everything in your life that is draining that vitality.
Sometimes these are activities within the company; other times they are personal circumstances, such as having people around us who, instead of adding pleasant moments, take them away. Continued in: Myths and truths about leadership, part 2.
Further reading
- Nine common mistakes when speaking in public
- Lessons we can draw from “The Wolf of Wall Street”
- Sales tips for non-salespeople: simple techniques
Featured image: Dror Feitelson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
