Core Competencies of Successful Business Leaders in Today’s Competitive World

The 21st century has very special requirements for its leaders, and they are expected to have a set of core competencies. Not just that, they are also expected to continuously grow these competencies, and to give everything their heart and soul. Take CEO Charles Phillips, who considers Infor his mistress as well as his job.

Good leaders are aware of their core competencies, and they know how these impact the overall success of their organization. As such, they also monitor the organization, so that they can determine what else they need to develop. By doing both, they can really take their business to the next level.

Necessary Core Competencies

1. An understanding of the fact that leadership isn’t a style, it is a process. How a leader is viewed is important, but what matters more is that they can action on positive dynamics. They focus on how they come across, and on what they need to do to encourage certain behaviors in others.
2. They can always see the bigger picture. They embody the vision of the organization and live it as if it is already there. They set goals because they know how to make the vision a reality for everyone.
3. They collaborate with everybody. Good leaders are not hierarchical, but give everyone equal opportunities to participate in every element of the business.
4. They are credible. This means that they show people what they believe in, what they expect, and what consequences there are, and they are consistent in those. But they manage by example as well, which further increases their credibility.
5. They can work across cultures and understand all different personality types. It is common for certain personality types to clash and, while a leader has their own personality type, they should be able to transcend those differences.
6. They believe in positivity and know that people who work in a happy, positive environment, are more likely to be efficient, productive, and committed to the goals of the organization.
7. They can create a balance between people, technology, and tasks. While they understand that new technology can improve performance, they don’t grab on to every new piece that comes across. Rather, they are selective, demonstrating first that their people can handle the technology, and that the technology will benefit the goal.
8. They embrace change. People are naturally resistant to change, but good leaders love it.
9. They know how to make decisions, even very difficult ones. This goes back to being credible and consistent. This is perhaps the hardest task of the leader, but one that they must be good at.
10. They invest in the development of their people. They know that, in order for goals to be achieved, their members of staff have to have relevant skills, and this means investing in training and development.

Leaders should look at the above ten points and rank themselves on how well they believe they embody those competencies. That is because a commitment to self-improvement can be classed as the final competency.