5 Ways to Achieve Leadership Excellence by Being Proactive in your Decision Making

0
4971
leadership excellence

“I don’t walk into the room with a ‘me, me, me’ attitude. I walk in and say, ‘How do I become your partner?’ ” – Kevin Hart, Actor and Producer.

Kevin Hart is one of the best known comedians in the world. Besides acting, he is involved in many other fields in the entertainment industry, such as writing, doing stand-up comedy acts, producing TV shows and movies, etc. According to the magazine, Fast Company, he is quickly building a comedy empire that can rival the success of Warner Bros. and MGM! Yes, this is how focused he is on making this happen in quick time. On the work front, he was last seen in the movie Jumanji (2017) along with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and was widely appreciated for his impeccable comic-timing as the movie turned out to be a smash hit worldwide.

Just like Kevin Hart, there are many other entrepreneurs who are doing wonders at work, and their business is thriving by leaps and bounds. Of course, hard work is the primary reason behind their success, there are other traits as well that can make a company stand out among others. The role of the owner is critical in this regard and they need to stay abreast of the latest trends and effective decision-making skills, among others, to ensure their continued success in the long run, not just a passionate fire that burns too hot and wanes out soon.

Despite what people believe, companies don’t just achieve success by working round the clock and producing lots and lots of products. The following 5 aspects will give you an idea about how to run your venture by thinking proactively and reacting rationally even in the face of adverse scenarios.

Related: Top 10 Leadership Qualities That Make Good Leaders

1. Customer Satisfaction

Focusing on the aspect of ensuring customer satisfaction should be your holy grail. While you need to keep an eye on your competitor’s strategies, the performance of your product in the market, and your annual sales, it all boils down to satisfying your core clientele and attracting new segments in the target market so that your sales figures soar high. You must be obsessive, downright fanatical, when it comes to customer focus. Let me shed some light on how this aspect can help a business in more ways than you can count.

There are many advantages to a customer-centric approach. If a client has been consistent in their feedback regarding the success of your product, it should nudge you into action and compel you to look into what is giving the customer a bad experience. You should work with a desire to delight the customer with an innovative ad or a ground-breaking feature. Try to think out-of-the-box and deviate from the same conventional approach that you have been sticking to from the word go.

2. Resist Proxies

Management of companies tend to look for shortcuts as their business grows. This leads them to manage proxies, the most common among them being process as a proxy. With a good process, you can serve your customers well. But a slight lack of concentration can lead to an adverse situation. It happens when the process becomes the proxy for the result that you want. You stop looking at the outcomes and simply concentrate on the process, which may lead to your employees blaming the process for their failures and shortcomings.

3. Embrace External Trends

Companies and businesses fail when they stick to what makes them the best, instead of keeping a look out for the latest trends shaping the business and tech world. The example of Windows phone is a prime epitome of lack of foresight. Microsoft spent too much time on its Windows phone without taking into consideration how Android was taking over the market. They stuck to their Operating System and the results portray a sad demise of something that was once glorified. When we generally talk about trends, it can be a computerized manufacturing unit diminishing the occurrence of human error or eradicating it altogether from the process.

You can take many examples from the past decade where many new technologies sought to replace the old ones. The robots are taking over several jobs which were once considered reserved for the human wit only. The use of drones in postal services, for example, is likely to replace the need for a human in a not-so-distant future. So if you lag behind in embracing a new technology, your competitors will take over the market share in a matter of weeks.

4. Exceptional Decision Making

Decision making needs to be precise, exceptional and on the spot. But recognizing a technology or process as the ultimate one and making a wrong prediction about it, instead of keeping an open mind until you see how things will play out with time, can not only ruin your business but also put others in jeopardy. Bill Gates famously predicted in 2005 that Blu-Ray will be the last physical format and DVDs will be obsolete within a short span of time. Well neither happened, as we still use DVDs, and formats like Multi-Layer Discs and 3D discs are catering to a separate niche, promising storage of up to a terabyte of data.

Just imagine the future of a tech firm who had taken the advice of Gates seriously in this regard? You need to solicit the help of logic and deeply analyze different solutions before finalizing one. I am sure most of my readers are aware of the fact that how exceptional decision making is essential in today’s cut-throat business environment where a single mistake can prove fatal for your venture. Everybody can take a decision but the quality of the decision making can go a long way towards cementing a firm’s status and reputation in the market.

Related: Leadership Qualities of Ginni Rometty that has Made IBM a Force to Reckon with

5. Disagree on what is wrong and Stay true to your Commitments

Instead of being a door mat, learn to voice your objection when something seems awry. To become a business leader par-excellence, don’t get carried away by what your right-man is telling you. Don’t ever try to venture a risk in a scenario where your gut instinct is telling you otherwise. Learn to say no politely, especially to your customers who may become angry or hostile towards you. It can certainly affect your business but you will save precious time and efforts by not doing something which is of no value.

On the other hand, when you commit something, abide by it and try to complete the work. For the owner of a firm, it may be a big shipment for a client. They need to complete the order by hook or by crook, or else the reputation of the firm in the market will take a severe blow. So only commit when you are cent percent sure that you’ll be able to hold up.

Final Word

Achieving organizational excellence is not an impossible task for a business owner. He should simply be aware of what needs to be done and how, and act proactively before any calamity strikes. I’m sure this blog will give valuable lessons to anyone looking for some guidance in this regard.

If you have any query in mind or want to give your feedback, do reach us through the comments section below.

LEAVE A REPLY