"May We Be the Head and Not the Tail…"
This is the blessing we say on the night of the Jewish New Year -"Rosh Hashanah".
There are people with the power of "head" and there are of "tail" and they complete each other. If we take that blessing into the business arena, we can wish ourselves to be the leader who leads from head and not a manager as leaders complement each other. The world needs everyone, but leaders have to lead and serve the people when they move forward towards the head and not forward towards the tail by means of serving their followers. That way leaders can plan, build, develop, inspire and grow other people.
A few months ago, in an international conference about leadership & Culture in Business, I was asked the question: “Which comes first: Leadership or Culture?” I replied that I don't think this is the ultimate chicken or egg question and I believe that culture comes first as a culture designs the style of leadership that composed by web of beliefs, practices, patterns, and behaviors. In an interview with Patrick Whitesell, Co-CEO of WME who said: "You can have all the right strategy in the world; if you don't have the right culture, you're dead." It was so true especially today when our company expands globally, and our business we're in is mostly about people from different cultures and the great relationships built on trust and understanding, and this is about leadership culture.
Company culture comes only from the top, and great leaders know that and reflect Culture of Leadership in their actions as this is a living entity. As Bill Hogg said: "Leaders must understand and communicate a clear vision to create an environment that attracts people who share their same values."
Leaders of the future who run successful multinational companies (MNCs) have to follow their shadow-their culture. A strong, effective leadership culture is a corporate asset that cannot be stolen by anyone, and that also has a great impact on overall business performance, as shown in Kotter and Heskett's research that " The value of constructive cultures is 62% Revenue Growth Per year". A great leader creates culture that describes the behavioral norms of the organization such as: the values of the company, what is the behavior codes in conferences, meetings, messages, emails and many more.
Going back to the conference I asked some colleagues and entrepreneurs from other countries about what they wanted to learn most, and all of them said they want to learn how to implement leadership culture and make a positive change in their organizations.
I've spoken on business leadership myself but also learned some great practical tools and gained leadership tips that gave me eye-opening insights and innovative ideas to help me empowering myself and grow the company's team.
I think that every manager, CEO or on another top position has to practice that issue and will also lead by example imagine what kind of impact it would have on their company.
It’s a great time to start moving your position in a better direction and lead from the "Head".
Have a Happy Leading New year.
Ally G.| CEO AQ Group-Language Solutions