3 Easy Steps To Developing An Organisational Leadership Culture

A culture of leadership is essential to the success of any company, or more to the point, the sustained success of a company over the long term in the Australian economy.

It was once the case that a company looked to one leader to inspire them by his or her example, much as a rugby or football coach could take a team of average players and lead them on to a championship victory. Those days, sadly, are nearly gone. Business moves so fast these days with so much data to keep track of and so many new products and services continually emerging that there simply cannot be just one leader in many companies. Instead, a company needs a whole culture of leadership within itself which promotes those who take initiative to make things happen for the company when called upon to do so. Each department within a company, in fact, requires a leader or leaders of its own.

Here in the global and national economic dynamic of New South Wales, a culture of leadership in business will mirror the plans of the State as Australia's economy continues to soar into the 21st century. In its plan, the State of NSW says, "a strong economy allows us to provide the excellent services such as healthcare, education, and policing which the public expects...we are...innovative people who want a society built on fairness, equity, and collaboration...(a) society built on these principles will be more productive, wealthier, and fairer."

In this new century, this is also the model of how a company should be run.

FIRST STEP: BUILDING TRUST AND A SHARED VISION

A company's top management needs to get everyone in the organisation on the same page. Everyone has to want the same things and share extremely similar objectives for the company. In this way, everyone's individual and departmental efforts are going toward the same ends, reducing strife and maximising productivity of the company as a dynamic organisation. When people in a company feel inspired and feel that they are creating value, they are naturally motivated and whatever individual leadership talents they possess naturally begin to emerge for the benefit of all.

In a company where everyone shares a vision for the future of the organisation, trust will flourish, as will innovation and the willingness to take calculated risks which can cause explosive growth,

This may at first be difficult to achieve since people in the corporate world are so used to being in constant competition. However, with an example set by top management, this goal can be reached. A good way to begin is to encourage employees to share their personal insights and experience with others; first on a departmental level, but eventually throughout the company as a whole.

STEP TWO: EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES

People within the company must be brought around to a way of thinking which lets them take new and different possibilities into account. This is the way that top management thinks, but this view must be inculcated company wide. People have to be shown that it is OK to think outside the box and come up with truly new ways of doing things. One way to do this is to get people to sit down and think about some questions which pertain to them personally. These can include: "where do you see yourself in five years? In ten? How about your retirement party, what do you think will be said about you?" Questions about what are the positives - and the negatives of the company could be asked, along with questions dealing with how to handle unforeseen events are good ways to foster this sort of creative thinking.

Management needs to digest the answers and then share them with department or team leaders, eventually distilling them to all of the employees and getting everyone to further reflect on and contemplate what has been learned.

STEP THREE: ESTABLISHING AN ACTION PLAN

Now that employees are all on the same page and they and management know what possibilities to explore to make the company more prosperous, a sharply focused plan of action for the business that includes roles for everyone can be drawn up. Different groups and teams take on different goals that all get directed toward the same shared goals and vision, with top management acting as the guiding force.

Having a culture of leadership firmly in place will lead to greater productivity and profitability through the use of creative, forward looking thinking by everyone in the company.

Article Source: http://www.hostcontent.net

About the author: Rha K. Cardinale is an expert at transforming organisations and developing a culture of innovation. Visit "Great Leadership" website for detailed information on building innovative teams

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