Effective leadership is all about clarity.  Being clear about where you want to go, what you want to achieve and how you're going to get there.   

This level of clarity doesn’t come from a "to-do" list of loosely tied together ideas that aren’t truly tied back to WHY you do what you do.

As business leaders, we all want our organizations to grow.  Unfortunately, crushing your tactical "to do" list isn't going to deliver you to the fountain of perpetual growth.   

If you want a fighting chance at achieving long-term, sustainable growth at your company, there are three imperatives that you must bring clarity to: Leadership, Brand and Culture.  Let's explore each imperative in our quest to achieve clarity.  

LEADERSHIP:

In order to differentiate, we need to act differently.  That starts right at the top with leaders being willing to take some risk.  It means letting go of some of the legacy beliefs and artifacts that you, over the years, have held near and dear to you.  Times have changed, and the leaders that embrace the challenge to be different and to inspire themselves and their clients are making waves.  

BRAND:

We are different, really!  We, we, we is in everything you say and do.  It's time to stop talking about ourselves and see the world through the lens of your customer.  You need to recognize that it's not about you.  It’s about your employees and customers.  You need a story to tell, and the hero of that story is the customer [note to self: you are not the hero].  Your story to the world is how you help build “their” story.  The art of a story well told will make you different.   

CULTURE:

We are here to make a difference.  Sure, we all work because we need a job.  But we choose WHERE we work based on what inspires us and where we belong.  Feeling good at work involves being valued by the people you work with and being inspired to ship your best work.  It’s time to clear the clutter and create bold reminders around the office of your purpose and why you come to work everyday.  

 The Manifesto: Complexity Unraveled

Related Content

What Keeps You Up at Night: Identify your Wicked Problems

Whitepaper: Managing People Risk (The Human Side of the Equation)

The Myth of Motivation

4 Ways You're Failing to Develop Future Leaders

Halloween Throwback: Take the Terror Out of Employee Benefits Communication