Build a Leadership Culture

Pay attention to the little things.

Leadership isn't about what leaders do; it's about what they are. It's about what their underlying belief system is. What separates the best leaders from others is the nuances, the subtleties. It is these little things that companies need to pay attention to in order to build a leadership culture.

Genuine leadership is based on values like honesty, integrity and trust. These strong personal values bring life to initiatives and transform seemingly routine activities into programs that make a meaningful contribution to the individual and the organization. Great leaders transmit these values to the rest of the organization and thus institutionalize leadership itself. This creates a leadership 'culture' which continues indefinitely.

An enduring and universal quality that great leaders possess is innovative and passionate communication. They have an impeccable sense of timing and seem to know exactly how to communicate to get the appropriate level of attention. Communication is more than what is said, it's about how it is said; and this begins at the top of the organization.

Great leaders are almost fanatical about growing talent and building great teams. They connect with potential leaders on a personal level and spend time teaching, educating and developing talent. At the same time, great leaders also believe in moving their best people, not hoarding them. They truly believe that if they choose the right people, set the right strategy, provide opportunities, coach, mentor, communicate and set appropriate short-term and long-term stretch goals, the cycle of great leadership can be maintained.

By moving their best people into areas and geographies in which they have little experience, leaders are taking a huge organizational risk. However, almost always, taking risks is less risky than not taking any. Leaders have a very clear sense of the competencies and capabilities that emerging talent needs, and have more clarity around the experiences that are required for success.

By giving these opportunities to emerging talent, taking risks with them and having the faith and the confidence to take these risks, leaders foster reciprocity and solidify a relationship that no incentive or reward scheme can replicate. There is a key difference between an incentive or a reward scheme and the kind of emotional, obligatory responsibility that reciprocal relationships bring. Both are effective and both are necessary in the business environment today. But the latter is more enduring and, in the end, more powerful. Reciprocity instills a strong sense of pride and desire to give something back to the organization. This is how leadership 'culture' is built.

There is an essential by-product of these reciprocal relationships: the 'social network' that is formed by the consistent movement of people across geographies and functions and by the efforts of leaders to spend time nurturing and growing new talent. The organizational power of these networks should not be underestimated. These networks pave the way for the belief systems, the communications, the risk taking and the reciprocity and help the organization stay 'connected'.

Ultimately, these little things are the really big things. They form patterns in organizations and become institutionalized. Leaders experience what was done for them, they observe and then perpetuate a system that is powerful and enduring. They ingrain their belief systems into the next generation, enabling leadership culture to continue indefinitely. The combination of little things amounts to a very big difference in organizational life.