The Effective Mike McGahan CLV Group works to build and maintain a number of Leadership Competencies. These competencies are essential for their job. The term ‘competencies” does not refer to personality styles, natural attributes or skills. Competency refers to something learned or natural that can be used effectively to reach their goals. Someone may be charismatic but it is only a “competency” if they are conscious of their ability and use it intentionally to influence others. Competency encompasses the knowledge, skills and practices of an Effective Leader.
The True Key Leadership Competencies
These are the top seven key work competencies. These are the REAL competencies that a leader can actually use, and they’re the most successful.
- Influences others. A leader must have the ability and the will to inspire others to follow their lead. They have the ability and skill to earn respect from the people they influence, as well as mutual respect. They can communicate expectations and give guidance in a manner that is appropriate to influence others to do the right thing. They live up to their expectations, modeling good behaviours and encouraging others to do the same. They communicate with the team in a way that inspires them to behave in the right way.
- A leader encourages accountability. A leader inspires accountability in their team by demonstrating a commitment to success and building a culture where everyone is accountable. The Leader models this behavior by demonstrating accountability for themselves, their team and for their own areas. They have fair processes, and they create action plans for sharing work and workload. They have an open Team process for identifying stress points, and to access support from other team members. They encourage accountability, and each Team member is held responsible for their work area. They give corrective or positive feedback when there is a deadline.
- Establishes positive working relationships. A leader builds positive working relationships internally with colleagues and clients, as well as externally. They assume responsibility for ensuring that relationships are positive and productive, and that they work well for both the parties. A leader actively strives to respect others and himself. They look into the goals, targets and stressors in other departments and of clients and ensure that they work well together to achieve their common goals. They can use many communication techniques and styles to reach their goals and maintain good relationships.
- Coaches for improvement/Results Leaders develop potential in each Team Member and ensure they achieve the desired results. They are there to support each other and ensure they contribute positively to the team dynamic. They can read other people to understand their strengths, areas of development, personality, learning style, and motivators. They devise a development plan for each and hold motivating coaching sessions.
- Communicates effectively. Leaders are able to plan the communication process, including identifying the goals, the method, and the structure. They examine the outcome of each communication and make learning decisions. They employ different methods of communication to achieve the desired task. They manage meetings effectively. They can plan, organize, and facilitate the meeting to reach the desired outcome. They make use of their Leadership presence to effectively interact with people, to listen, respond positively, influence and persuade.
- Effective. The leader that succeeds plans their work, prioritises the key tasks and allocates the time and effort necessary to achieve the goals. They structure and organise, building efficient working processes, systems, and habits so they can achieve their goals and targets. They plan work and anticipate problems, translating project requirements into achievable goals. Prioritizing tasks helps them establish a clear focus for others and creates a path for them to follow. They look ahead and can anticipate new business requirements that may affect plans and priorities. The most effective leader continuously improves. They plan how, when, and what improvements they will make.
- Building a high performing team. The Leader makes sure their Team achieves its Team Goals and targets. They know how group dynamics work and how to influence them. They organize and manage the Team. They communicate well with the Team about their business, the Team Purpose, and the progress made towards achieving goals. They provide feedback, encourage goal achievement and motivate to improve. They provide feedback and encouragement to their team to improve and find new ways of doing business.