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Are You a True Leader, or Are You Just Pretending to Be One?
Organisations must understand the link between weak leadership and its true cost. Without recognising the hidden costs — in terms of recruiting, hiring, training, lost productivity, poor product or service quality, impact of low motivation on other employees working with that leader, and so on — an outstanding and successful business tends to become simply mediocre. Strong leaders are critical factors in growing the business and outperforming industry peers, especially in today’s hyper competitive market environment. They must act as true role models, providing practical rules and structure. Without such a framework, chaos, confusion, and disarray ensue, leaving employees uncertain, indecisive, and disengaged.
Distinctions Between True and Pretentious Leadership
The definition of leadership continues to evolve today as change — in technology, consumer behavior and needs, employee expectations, and other factors — drives every aspect of business. The need to upgrade certain managerial skills is increasingly becoming more than just wishful thinking. In fact, such expertise in the following skills, which do not fall into the category of traditional capabilities, has now become a necessity to sustain successful outcomes through authentic leadership:
