Are You A Leader?

by | Dec 23, 2020 | 0 comments

Leadership: A Requirement Skill For Today’s Managers

Great business leadership thrives during challenge and change. Today leadership skills and adaptability are being tested by coping with the virus, social issues, and ever-changing technology.

Poor leaders tend to retreat, avoid risk, and play dead during difficult times. Poor leaders look for certainty and stability. During crisis they stay-pat, take cues from others, and follow the pack.

Great leaders are proactive and decisive. They look for ways to manage forward and pilot the business through rough waters to emerge stronger and more relevant in the marketplace.

Great Leaders Ignore The Status-Quo and Innovate

Bold, decisive, and ingenious actions are required. It’s not simply to survive the current crises but prosper and grow. To view the crisis as opportunity to enhance and build brand equity and loyalty.

With bold decisiveness comes significant risks. The risk of self-doubt, unforeseen tactical problems, poor execution, and in failure itself.

Social Posturing Is Not Necessary To Be a Great Leader

To me, social posturing by companies during crisis is a long-term negative. Speaking out and attempting to differentiate your company may have short-term market gain but pushing a social agenda is not a position I would recommend.

Nike, is a perfect example. A great Brand with plenty of pricing power, Nike has become a voice for several social causes and so far this has ‘worked’. Nike’s major market is urban youth, one of the most disloyal of consumer groups. Urban youth driven by ‘fads’ and the ‘famous’ not politics and social discourse. Yet, Nike has been very careful in selecting which social issues to ‘market’.

If your business is going to speak out and take a social position you have to be solid – meaning you can’t be vague in your position, follow-the-leader, or be concerned about the political ramifications of alienating current and future customers.

Leadership is a changing management skill. Today, boldness, conviction, and decisiveness are the skills needed to build brand equity and re-enforce customer loyalty.

Categories: Management

By Jim Lavorato

Jim Lavorato is the founder of 4M Performance which is designed to assist businesses to survive and thrive in these uncertain times. Jim launched an entertainment-related company in 1988. He was at the forefront in cinema technology and helped spearhead the movie industry's transition to digital presentation and distribution. He also co-founded the Arboreal Group, an environmental consultancy. He has published articles on the motion picture and media industries and is a contributing editor for ScreenTrade magazine and writes a blog "Cinema Mucho Gusto". He is a certified SCORE Mentor in the SCORE Greater Phoenix Chapter and lives in Scottsdale, AZ. Learn more about Jim in his "About" page.

Check Out These Related Posts

The Need to Redefine Work and Technology

The Need to Redefine Work and Technology

  The way we work, and more importantly, our view of work has changed over time. In the early 2000s’ conversations on work centered on automation and robotics, then came the gig economy and contract employment exemplified by solopreneurship, and crowdfunding....

read more
The Pitch Deck Deconstructed

The Pitch Deck Deconstructed

When pitching for anything, the goal is to convince others to support your project. To accomplish this the pitch deck must 'work' the audience - here's what you need to do. Having been on the receiving end of hundreds of pitches I can attest that there is a good and a...

read more

0 Comments

0 Comments

Submit a Comment