Results Based Leadership is Effective Leadership

By Bart Icles

What makes an effective leader? Many people might say character, leadership style, and values define an effective leader. However, it is not enough to measure the effectiveness of a leader based on character, style, and values alone. These attributes should not be the only criteria in evaluating the effectiveness of a leader in any organization. Effective leadership takes more than just analytic thinking, personal integrity, and working with ambiguity. An effective leader should also learn how to connect these attributes with leadership results.

Many of us might have learned from college or from a management book the formula for results based leadership involves attributes, results, and effective leadership. This can be better illustrated as effective leadership = attributes x results. It is not merely the inputs of leadership that organizations and leaders must give importance to - leaders must also think about outcomes or results and organizations should start learning how to put stress or emphasis on the outcomes of leadership.

It has always been a challenge for organizations to make its people have a better understanding of results based leadership. And it has always been a challenge for executives, managers, and human resources personnel to help develop leaders (in different levels of the organizations) who are able to focus on both attributes and results. To help organizations have a deeper understanding and appreciation of leadership that is based on results, it is recommended that executives and managers should continually ask for things that are required for attaining results and recurrently tell stories about how to get results.

There are four ways by which we can evaluate whether or not leaders are observing and exhibiting results based leadership. Results must help balance the employees, organization, customers, and investors - and it must not ignore any one. Results must also be able to strongly connect to the strategy of the organization, as well as its competitive position. It should also meet both short-term and long-term goals, and it must not sacrifice long-term plans. Moreover, results must support the whole organization and should go beyond the personal gain of the manager, executive or any other leader.

There are also four areas by which results based leadership can be delivered - for employees, for the organization, for its customers, and for its investors. There are certain metrics for each of these areas, and they should all be taken into consideration if a leader wants to deliver results. - 31963

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