A quick search through cyberspace for a list of the world’s greatest leaders (past and present) will get you some really interesting results – and some names are more expected than others. There’s no surprise that folks like George Washington, Walt Disney, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa and Warren Buffet make the list. But Taylor Swift, Jimmy Fallon and Lebron James? Although they’re highly successful and influential people, we probably wouldn’t have placed them on our top 50 leaders list, like Fortune Magazine did. Anyway.
Let’s shift the conversation to the greatest business leaders of the modern era, like Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX), Richard Branson (Virgin Group) or Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook). Although they represent different industries and have diverse backgrounds, these individuals undoubtedly share similar traits which make them great business leaders.
What Makes a Great Leader?
In 2015, Harvard Business Publishing shared a report called “Leading Now: Critical Capabilities for a Complex World”. The report shares eight critical capabilities that are must-haves for today’s successful leaders:
- They manage complexity.
- They manage global businesses.
- They act strategically.
- They foster innovation.
- They leverage networks.
- They inspire engagement.
- They develop personal adaptability.
- They cultivate learning agility.
So how do organizations – large and small, global and local – find leaders that possess these traits? Here are 3 leadership development tips:
# 1. Find Leaders on the Inside
Great leaders might be right under your nose, within your organization. Perhaps they just haven’t had the opportunity yet to rise to the surface yet and have their voices be heard. It’s important for HR and management to always be on the lookout for employees with that special leadership potential.
#2. Recruit Outside Talent
An organization could be in immediate need of new leadership for a number of reasons. If there’s no opportunity to promote a current employee to a leadership role, then HR can recruit outside talent – either through their own search or with the help of an employment services firm. One key benefit to using outside recruiting support is that these firms time and expertise to conduct a thorough, custom candidate search with a rigorous screening process that ensures you’ll get the best match (and best leader) for your organization.
#3. Cultivate Your Own Leaders
Are leaders born or made? According to more than half of the 361 C-level executives who took part in the Center for Creative Leadership’s World Leadership Survey, leaders are made. This is good news for organizations. By implementing a leadership development strategy, they can improve their leadership ‘bench strength’ and put the organization in a solid position for having successful future leaders that have been cultivated in-house. Leadership development can take on many forms for the organization – coaching and mentoring programs, targeted training in a skilled business area, team workshops, self-assessments, even online leadership courses.
So there’s no question that a strong organization starts with strong leadership. A.R. Mazzotta was founded under the great leadership of Arlene R. Mazzotta more than 40 years ago. Today, her leadership traits and business philosophies are carried on by our CEO/President Laura Dale Pederson and our dedicated team of staffing professionals. It’s no wonder we are LEADERS when it comes to CT staffing!