Costco Connection - November 2006

This story originally appeared in the

March 2004 issue.

What is leadership?

This critical component

of business success

has many dimensions.

CREATAS

A look at

By Anita Thompson

leadership

Ifyou’re running a small business, you are potentially a “leader.” Employees look to you to set the direction of the company. Customers have expectations of you, and often the community does as well. How you respond to these expectations can make a big difference in the success of your company and your relationships. But what does it take to be a leader?

Defining leadership is a little like trying to corral a cloud. Just when you think you’ve got it, it moves on.

And being a leader isn’t much different. There is no set of rules or prescriptions that make one a leader. The many books penned by those with business, political or military experience each espouse a slightly different set of skills.

Certainly the view of what makes a leader is changing. Tom Peters explained the trends as only he can in Fast Company (March 2001): “Think of pre-1990 as the Age of Sucking Up to the Hierarchy. The Age of the Promise ’Em Everything Pitch lasted from 1995 to 2000. The next five years will be the Age of No-Bull Performance.”

So maybe the place to start is to consider what a leader isn’t.

Today’s leader isn’t the person with a high charisma quotient. Thankfully, high-profile, command-and-control-style leaders seem to have had their day. Today’s leaders aren’t as concerned with getting their picture on the cover of Business Week unless it’s for demonstrating top performance.

In his landmark book, Good to Great, Jim Collins examined the companies that broke out of the pack to become standouts in their industries. He found that, unlike the CEOs who create media buzz, the leaders of “great” companies are instead quietly focused on achieving their vision for their firms. He calls them Level 5 leaders and describes them as having “a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.”

They are driven to produce results that benefit the company, but when results are achieved they are quick to credit others. The celebrity CEOs, on the other hand, are quick to blame others—imports, the market, whatever—as the culprit for their lack of success.