Good leadership is something that is so often talked about but scarcely executed. As a result, several teams fail to deliver to the best of their abilities. Today, we’re going to be finding answers to some vital questions on this topic. And we’re going to be doing that with the help of our guest Koen Vanpraet.
Koen Vanpraet is a management consulting pro, renowned business leader, and client advocate who loves inspiring teams.
What makes a good leader?
I’d say that the defining feature of a good leader is the ability to be passionate about his followers’ development. A good leader is one who cares deeply about his team and the cause they’re serving. For me, this is the most important feature of a leader because all other qualities of a good leader are rooted in it.
A leader who is passionate about his team will communicate with them, be empathetic and respectful to them, motivate them, and so on.
All great leaders embody this trait, from Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos down to even Jesus of the Bible.
How important would you say good leadership is to a business?
Right from high school, we learned that the production factors include entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship, because regardless of how large the quantity of other resources we have, there needs to be someone at the center that ties all these factors together.
The same dynamic exists between good leadership and businesses. Without good leadership in place, other factors in business combined would not succeed.
What are the frequent leadership mistakes that leaders make?
There are a ton of them but some of the most frequent include:
- failure to delegate
- choosing to be nice over being honest
- preoccupation with job title rather than tasks and
- putting yourself ahead of others.
- not educating themselves by reading business books
What important leadership techniques will you advise leaders to adapt?
Firstly, one completely underrated leadership technique is regular self-assessment. While leadership is generally an outward-focused activity, there is still a lot of room for introspection. This means that leaders should be open to feedback from their teams and the market.
Regular self-assessment allows leaders to evaluate their strategies and practices, identify room for improvement, and take responsibility when they are in the wrong. This practice ensures that you are in the best position to lead others, so the chances of a team’s success are increased.
Beyond that, leaders should understand the individual strengths, weaknesses, as well as motivations of each of their team members. Good leaders know that everyone has their own unique strengths, weaknesses, and motivations.
And a difference between a mere figurehead leader and a great leader is knowing how to use these traits to drive team performance properly.
Any last advice for business leaders and teams?
I’ll close with some advice from the renowned author and speaker Simon Sinek who said that “we can only truly be in charge when we let others take charge.” Gary Vaynerchuk said, “remember you’re a parent, not a babysitter.” The point is clear if you want to build a strong team, know how to delegate tasks to team members properly.
