This month, General Motors CEO, Mary Barra made a startling promise – the company would double its annual revenue from approximately $140 billion to $280 billion by 2030.
Barra said GM plans to do this with an array of innovative new electric vehicles, profitable gas-powered cars and trucks, and related services such as an electronic driving system that can handle most tasks on the road.
She also pledged to overtake Tesla as the electric vehicle market leader in U.S. To do this GM plans to introduce more than 30 new electric models globally by 2025, and to only sell electric passenger vehicles by 2035.
These commitments display Barra sharing her Vision for GM and exhibit her leadership. Her Vision and her leadership are interconnected.
What can we learn from the Vision that Barra has for GM and her leadership?
During her 41 years at GM Barra, an Electrical Engineer by training, has been a role model for practicing ethical, transformational leadership that looks at the big picture (just like this big commitment).
Using some of the concepts from my 4th book, Work Less, Make More and Have Fun in Your Business (due out in September 2022) I would like to explore the interconnectedness of Vision and leadership.
Step # 1 – Why the Vision For Your Company Is So Important
As you can see from the above Structure of Success™ diagram, Vision and Leadership are the engine that propels your Marketing & Sales, Production, Finance & Administration, and the rest of your organization’s entire Strategy.
Concentrating on Vision and leadership enable you to move from working In to working On your business.
But how to you do actually work On business, instead of In it?
No matter what the size of the business is, I feel working on your business involves focusing on the Vision you have for your company and demonstrating leadership in pursing that Vision. This task involves guiding and directing your business.
Part of this Visioning is to always be a scout considering the future of your company so you can guide it and then, just like Mary Barra, employing innovation to transform it.
Whether you are the leader of a start-up, small, medium, or large organization, a portion of your time should be spent working on the Vision for your business and providing the leadership to drive it into that Vision.
Step # 2 – Demystifying Leadership
Leadership is what you do, not who you are!
That is, if you do the things a leader needs to do then you will be a successful leader!
A leader is a person who guides a business. A leader is the person who provides direction. The central consideration in this discussion of leadership is the concept of “possibility thinking” – what are the goals, hopes and dreams for your company?
Mary Barra met this challenge head on with her handling of the massive safety recall GM had and then she took on changing the culture of the company to greatly improve communication and transparency throughout the organization.
Step # 3 – Becoming An Effective Leader
There are countless seminars, thousands of books, endless discussions around the water cooler on what leadership is, but what does leadership look like in action?
My view on leadership is a little different from most of what you might read in the current business literature. I believe leadership is a skill set that can be acquired and used in virtually any setting.
The collection of leadership skills that are necessary in a business situation include:
- Focusing on the big picture and not getting lost in the details
- Displaying passion, vision, creativity, flexibility, innovation, fearlessness, and thinking outside the box
- Providing guidance, being positive and supportive, and being a role model
- Taking responsibility for both positive and negative outcomes
- Being decisive, results-oriented and effectively producing desirable outcomes
- Valuing all people and earning respect from all employees
- Creating a team environment which is in synch with the business culture where people feel safe, and employees feel appreciated and valued
The main problem with leadership is the almost cult-like focus on “leadership principles,” “becoming a leader,” and “being a leader” when all leadership really is a person practicing their leadership skill set.
People are left with the impression either you are endowed with the mantel of leadership or not. This results in the leadership bar being set so high company owners try to emulate Jack Welsh, Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson in their small businesses.
Step # 4 – Developing Your Leadership Skill Set
I view leadership as the possession of a set of skills and developing your leadership skill set is a three-step process.
First, you want to find something about which you feel passionate and then develop a Vision for the entity that embodies this passion. I assume your business is something you feel passionately about.
Second, use the list of leadership skills presented below as a self-assessment tool and grade yourself on where you stand with regard to these attributes.
Alternatively, you can have others who know you well provide you with feedback regarding how you stack up regarding these characteristics.
Third, employing these skills to take your enterprise where you want it to go.
Step # 5 – Checklist for an Effective Leader
To assist you with your analysis, shown below is a short list of the attributes of an effective leader that my company developed as a result of working with our clients.
This list can be used as a quick checklist on how you are doing in this area.
An effective leader:
- Develops, cultivates, and refines the Vision for his/her business, clearly communicates the values and Vision of the business, and represents the business favorably
- Focuses on the big picture and does not get lost in the details
- Leads the business in a positive and supportive manner and leads by example
- Displays passion, creativity, adaptability, flexibility, innovation, and is not afraid to take chances; also thinks outside the box
- Is decisive and results-oriented
- Shows respect for and values all people and therefore has earned the respect of her/his personnel
- Creates a team environment where people feel safe, and employees feel appreciated and valued
- Is reliable, delivers what is promised and is accountable for the results of the business
- Is approachable, listens to and understands what personnel are saying, identifies with and connects well with employees
- Can motivate and inspire the organization and is a cheerleader
- Communicates well with his/her staff either in writing or verbally, including fully communicating expectations
- Can effectively delegate duties to others
- Has a thorough knowledge of the business and its issues
- Takes initiative, is a self-starter, is proactive and able to implement changes
- Creates a fair environment where realistic goals and expectations are set and rewarded
- Displays honesty and high integrity in all her/his actions, has the best interest of all customers, employees, and suppliers in mind, and therefore earns their trust
- Handles pressure well and demonstrates confidence
- Is a good manager and supportive of his/her direct reports
- Displays humility and is not detrimentally ego-driven
Where to Start
Strong leadership is critical for any business.
Leadership skills can and should be learned. You want to apply your leadership skills to motivate your employees and create a team atmosphere where everyone works toward a common goal.
By developing your leadership skill set and utilizing it to lead your team into the Vision for your company, you will move from working in your business working on it.
The bottom line is that in order to create the business which you have always dreamed, you must use your leadership skills to move your business from where it is today to where you want it to go.
This requires that you do not rest on past successes—yesterday is history and since you have not yet arrived at fully realizing the business of your dreams, you need to make a difference today in moving your company forward.
In the process of doing this, you will be transformed into a world-class leader.
If you could use assistance with Visioning and leadership for your business, please contact us using the information below so we can be a resource to you in this foundational area.
Fountainhead Consulting Group, Inc. is an Innovation and Business Planning firm. During the past 17, years we have shown over 1,200 companies how to achieve their goals by using our unique, comprehensive, and systematic FastTrak Innovation Program™, Innovation Academy™, and Structure of Success™ methodologies. Using the components in these methodologies, each month we examine an aspect of how to transform your business or organization into a true 21st Century enterprise.
Office: (770) 642-4220
www.FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
George.Horrigan@FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
Tags: Business Planning, entrepreneur, front end of innovation, innovation, invention, small business consulting, small business planning, start a business
