5 practices that make you a leader people want to follow

Strong leadership transforms culture and drives a company’s success from the top down. Effective leaders prepare their employees to carry their mission forward, engaging with present realities while keeping an eye toward the future. For more than 1,000 C-suite executives, cultivating leaders is top of mind. According to the Global Leadership Forecast 2018 from Development Dimensions International, developing the next generation of leaders is the No. 1 challenge in 2018, ahead of issues such as cyber-security, political instability, or a global recession.

1. Adopt a democratic approach to innovation

True leaders make everyone feel as if they have something to offer, regardless of corporate hierarchy. The best ideas don’t always come from the boardroom — it’s often the individuals in the trenches with years of experience who identify a better way to do something, whether it’s warehousing inventory or optimizing the production line. Leaders know that these ideas benefit the entire organization, so they encourage them whenever possible.

“Toss away hierarchy when it comes to good ideas,” says Todd Yellin, VP of product at Netflix. After Yellin, chief product officer at the time, had flatly stated that downloading shows would never be allowed, a junior member of Yellin’s consumer insights team approached him, explaining that users wanted the feature. After looking into the matter, Yellin agreed, and construction on the feature started within months.

2. Make inclusivity a core value

Successful leaders make inclusivity a central tenet of their company’s mission. Effective leaders know the value of a diverse environment. And that diversity doesn’t just encompass race and gender but should extend to diversity of thought and background.

Terri Cooper, Deloitte’s U.S. chief inclusion officer, believes that “highly inclusive leaders are mindful of personal and organizational blind spots and self-regulate to help ensure fair play.”

3. Chart a course, and hold employees accountable

Progress almost never happens on its own. True progress requires metrics to track the course toward the goals to be met. Without clearly defined goals, an organization is likely to be aimless and unproductive. With them, leaders are able to bring out the best in their employees.

• Soldiers, herdsmen in gun duel in Benue

An effective goal should be put into writing and placed somewhere highly visible, but setting the goal is just the beginning. Leaders know that a goal without a plan is a hopeful fantasy. Achieving goals in a timely manner requires hitting quarterly and yearly touch-points, and teams that are on track are far more likely to reach their intended destination than those that try to sprint straight to the finish line.

4. Seek out feedback, especially when you don’t want to hear it

Most people naturally look for feedback only when they think they’ve done a great job. If their performance has been mediocre — or worse — they tend to avoid it. That’s not surprising, considering difficult feedback triggers the amygdala, a part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight response.

Criticism can be hard to swallow, but effective leaders have learned to take it for what it is and derive great value from it. They view every opportunity as a chance to learn and grow, and they actively search out feedback on their performance whenever possible — especially when it’s likely to be critical.

5. Invite employees to learn from your mistakes

In addition to looking for feedback whenever possible, the best leaders also excel at helping others steer clear of the mistakes they’ve made. Leaders don’t emerge overnight. Instead, they’ve been diligently honing their leadership techniques while simultaneously perfecting their business craft. As a result, they have a wealth of experience to draw upon in times of uncertainty, and they aren’t afraid to share their own mistakes so their team can do better.

Sometimes, a mistake is the only way for someone to truly learn and grow, but when a mistake is avoidable or likely to be consequential, leaders use their experience to step in and alter the situation’s course for the better. Otherwise, they let employees learn in whatever manner is best. Typically, that involves letting a mistake happen but intervening well before it has the chance to affect operations downstream.

People aren’t born with mature leadership abilities — effective leadership is a skill cultivated with time and patience. If you have the drive, you can learn from the best and develop leadership abilities that will inspire the next generation of leaders.