Exploring leadership in your organisation
Leadership is about delivering sustainable results through influencing , motivating and empowering other people to deliver – because they want to . And anyone can become an extraordinary leader , says Campbell Macpherson
THE EXPERT
Campbell Macpherson , a speaker and business adviser on leadership and change , is an executive fellow of Henley Business School in the UK . He splits his time between England and Australia and has authored several business books about the power of change .
In more than 25 years of enabling business leaders to pioneer successful and sustainable change , I have concluded that leadership requires three core , critical skills :
w The ability to deliver results w The ability to influence , motivate and empower people i . e ., emotional intelligence w The ability to build extraordinary leadership teams
Poor leaders have none of these skills . Extraordinary leaders possess all three , in abundance . In addition , strong leaders are focused on the delivery of sustainable outcomes ; they have honed their influencing skills and worked on their emotional intelligence ( knowing that when it comes to leadership , EQ trumps IQ hands down ) and they know that 21st century leadership is a team game , not a solo pursuit .
They also realise that every one of these attributes requires continual development . The future of their careers and organisations depends upon it .
Introducing the Chequerboard of Leadership When it comes to the first two attributes of leadership ( delivery and EQ ), each type of leader between the two extremes of woeful and extraordinary can be plotted on a simple matrix that I call the Chequerboard of Leadership .
Why is it a chequerboard ? Because a leader ’ s position on the board isn ’ t set in stone . No matter which square a leader may occupy today , they ’ re not imprisoned in that cell forever . They can move – preferably upwards and to the right – if they ’ re aware of their position on the board and have the desire to change .
Each square exists at all levels of the organisation . After all , leadership today is not about hierarchy , it is about influence . We are all leaders .
56 Executive PA | Autumn Issue 2022