LeadersneedpersonalcapabilityThesecondcriticaltentpoleofleadershipisthepersonalcapabilitytheleaderpossesses.Thesepersonalcapabilitiesarenotskillsthatwouldtypicallybedescribedasleadershipskills,yetourresearchprovestheymustbeinplaceforanyindividualtobeperceivedasastrongleader.Herearesomeoftheseindividualcapabilities:Technicalknowledge.Thebestleadershaveatleastaworkingknowledgeofthetechnologicalsideofthebusiness.Productknowledge.Greatleadersneedathoroughunderstandingofwhattheorganizationproducesandwhyitissuperiortocompetitiveproducts.Problemanalysisandproblem-solvingskills.Theseskillsincludetheabilitytodefineproblems,analyzethem,andcomeupwithsolidrecommendationsforresolvingcomplexissues.Professionalskills.Excellentleadersmustbeabletowriteintelligentlyandconcisely,makecompellingpresentations,organizetheirworkefficiently,monitorprogress,andworkwithoutclosesupervision.Innovation.Thisreferstoaleader'sabilitytohaveafreshoutlookinapproachingaproblem,toshakeloosefromoldmethods,andseenewpossibilities.Initiative.Thebestleadersseeifsomethingisfallingbetweenthecracksandimmediatelystepintomakecertainitishandled.Effectiveuseofinformationtechnology.Greatleaderssetanexampleintheconsistentuseofe-mail,powerfulsoftwareapplications,andanytechnologythatescalatesperformance.Careerexperts,GeneDaltonandPaulThompson,explainthatthemostsuccessfulleadersprogressthroughaseriesoffourcareerstages,whichcannotbeskipped.Stageoneisthetimewhenindividualsmustprovetheycanlearnthebusinessanddevelopasolidfoundationoftechnicalexpertise.Instagetwo,individualscontinuetobuildtechnicalskillsandbecomeindependentcontributors.Bystagethree,theybecomewentors-developingthecareersandexpertiseofothers.Instagefour,theybecomeorganizationalvisionaries—leadingtheorganizationinnewdirections.Toooften,leadersreachapositionthey'vebeenseekingandstarttocoast—believingthelearningphaseoftheircareerisover.Theyassumethatthereisatimeforlearningandatimeforexecution,andtheyaredonelearning.Thebestleadersneverquitlearning.Herearesometechniquestomaximizeyourpersonalcapability:Understandthetechnology:Employeescanseethroughattemptstocoverupyourlackofknowledge.Getuptospeedbyaskingquestions.Bewillingtoadmitwhatyoudon'tknow.PerfectprofessionalSkills:Managerscan'tmanageunlesstheycancommunicate.Trynewthings:Greatmanagersinnovateandtakeinitiative.Theythinkoutsidetheboxanddon'thesitatetoexperiment."Leadershipcannotbedelegatedtoothers."—JohnH.ZengerandJosephFolkmanFocusonresultsLeadershipisultimatelyaboutproducingresults.Thisisthethirdleadershiptentpole.Leaderscanhavetalentandcharacter,butunlesstheyproducesustained,impressiveresultsfortheirorganization,theysimplyarenotgoodleaders.Onestudyof1000managersshowedthatthebestmanagerstranslateideasintoaction.Theypushtotakethenextstepforwardbybringingenergy,enthusiasm,andurgencytotheirrole.Theycontinuallylookforwaystoimprove.Theseleadersareinthedriver'sseat,withafootontheaccelerator—pressedtothefloorboardmostofthetime.Howdoleadersfocusonresults?Extraordinaryleadersdothefollowing:Establishstretchgoalsfortheirpeople.Takepersonalresponsibilityfortheoutcomesofthegroup.Provideongoingfeedbackandcoachingtotheirpeople.Setloftytargetsforthegrouptoachieve.Personallysponsoraninitiativeoraction.Initiatenewprograms,projects,processes,clientrelationships,ortechnology.Focusonorganizationgoalsand...
