What Makes A Good Leader?

A great professor recognizes the importance of adding variety to his or her teaching style. This keeps us engaged since we all know we won't pay attention if we're bored. (It's called "the chunking principle." Keep this in mind the next time you create a presentation! )

So, can you imagine if over 80% of your classes in one semester included C-Level Exec's as guest speakers?  One of my professors made that happen, and these were not CEO's of small companies, but of huge MNC's!

One of these illustrious leaders, Nick Shreiber, former CEO & President of TetraPak, recently remarked on what makes a good global leader, and his tips are both insightful & practical...

• Develop Strong Communication Skills: 
• Be able to express your ideas in a style that is appropriate and suitable to your audience.

• Listen With All Your Senses:
• Only a small percentage of what a person is saying comes from his mouth.
• Listen for the implied messages.

• Channel & Convey a Certain Level of Energy:
• You must be able to infuse energy into an organization, as well as inspire and motivate those around you.

• Understand Strategy and Be An Analytical Thinker
• Some degree of structure and analytics is a good thing.
• Though counterintuitive, we do need discipline to be more creative. 

• Maintain the Ability to Hold Two Conflicting Thoughts In Your Head Without Losing Your Mind
• Consider the information leaders must reconcile in order to be an exceptional decision maker.
• It becomes a matter of "Managing Paradoxes."

• "Trust, but Verify." - Ronald Reagan
• Seek out information from all levels of the organization, not just your direct reports.
• No one wants to give the Boss bad news, but bad news brings change and improvements.
• You must often look several levels below you in the chain of command to gain insight into your organization.

These traits not only describe greatness in business, but also in B-School, and in life.  An MBA entails group projects & teamwork every time you turn around, and life requires leadership no matter which roles you play.

So, you can see it is crucial that we hone & practice our leadership skills to develop into the individuals we want to see leading organizations and making a difference in the world!