Lead employees toward tangible objectives. Identify clear objectives and those actions that will bring a company closer to them. Cultivate in your employees the desire to move a company forward along these lines. This takes charisma, credibility, trust, and a standard of leadership where you practice what you preach.
Cultivate peer relationships. Surround yourself with people more capable than yourself, or at least those who compensate for your weaknesses. Instill loyalty in those around you, ask their opinions, and work as a unified team toward corporate objectives. Strong executives build a core team of the best they can find for a particular endeavor.
Prosper in any industry. Sound business practices transcend industry boundaries enabling superior executives to have repeat successes. This doesn't mean they don't need expertise in the particular industry they operate. To create profits an executive must invest in learning about industry trends, changes, and influencing factors.
With employees opinions of bosses honesty and ethical standards are lower than ever before (see figure 1), don't let your value to the organization go to your head. Regaining trust will require clear action and relationships are built by example-- while you have a hard road to travel, you can regain the respect you deserve for the hard efforts you've invested in the company.
Subscribe in a reader