Successful Leadership in Business

These are observations I made, while reflecting back on failed projects, successful projects, and the differences between them. I witnessed plenty of examples of both failed and successful projects during my professional career. The end result in both cases commonly reflects on those in a position of leadership.

As a person cast in a leadership position, if you have no vision for the future, then you cannot realistically create attainable goals. Without goals, you cannot define a road map for achieving success. Without a road map for a successful journey, then you have no direction. Without direction, you are doomed to wander aimlessly hoping to arrive at an acceptable end-state out of mere happenstance. If you desire assistance from others in obtaining your goals for a successful end-state, then you need to be a good communicator. Without good communication, others will be unable to adequately share or participate in your vision.

Success as a leader in business often begins with the following basic principles:

• Have a vision for a successful end-state of being
• Define goals to make that vision for the future happen
• Have a plan or road map for attaining those defined goals
• Communicate and share your vision with everyone involved in those plans
• Empower the people involved in carrying out the plans to ensure maximum participation along the journey towards reaching for that successful end-state

The question for anyone in a leadership position is do they want to be a leader or do they simply want to be a boss? The world is full of bosses, but finding or working with true leaders is incredibly inspiring.