A file photo of headteachers being taken through a leadership programme at the Agha Khan Professional Development Centre in Mombasa. /PATRICK VIDIJA
The author, Lee Robertson, said that: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.†It explains the gravity of leadership responsibility. Every result, good or bad, depends on the quality of leadership at play. Businesses succeed or fail because of its leaders. Believe it or not, leadership is the foundation for every function.
For many, the subject of leadership is vague at best. Hence, measuring leadership effect is even harder. How do you measure something that you cannot explain? As an entrepreneur, the ability to measure leadership success is an important skill to have. Here are four simple questions to help you do it.
Who is following? Leadership means that someone is following. No followers, no leadership. Every leader shows up with a vision – they are going somewhere. Consequently, they try to persuade other people to go with them. When people believe (buy into) the vision, agree to the terms and participate, then the leader gets following. If no one believes in the leader’s vision, they stand alone and that’s not leadership. People must willingly align with your vision for leadership to occur.
Is there change?Following is not enough. Why should anyone follow you? If I follow you for a year, who would I become? How would I change? Effective leaders create an environment where people are willing to change. Here, people are ready to become the best version of themselves. These leaders understand that if people are willing to change from their current state to become their best, they would produce their best results. An enabling environment for change empowers people’s will to align with the vision.
Is there growth? Leadership is like farming. The leader’s job is to cultivate the seed of potential into a tree of greatness. When people follow your vision, there should be a clear difference from who they used to be to who they become over time – a visible before and after. If this conversion does not occur, then leadership is ineffective. As an entrepreneur and leader, people are supposed to become better people when they enter your space, not just better employees.
Are there results? In leadership: no results, no respect. Your vision is the promise of a definite outcome. If this promise is kept, trust in the leader grows. If not, it dwindles. Promise kept is measured by results. The bottom-line for leadership is results. Where there are no results, normally, people stop following. Every valid vision has progressive, continuous
results or proofs – that’s how vision grows
How to measure leadership success
