Want to be a High Impact Leader? - here's what it takes.

What 25 Years of working with the best—and less than best—has taught me about the leaders that actually make a difference.
A High Impact Leader is able to inspire and provide direction to a group of individuals such that they collectively achieve outstanding performance. High Impact Leaders set bold visions, confound skeptics, attract prodigious talent, build up others and the organisations they lead overcome ‘impossible’ challenges and have a positive impact on society. They ‘make a ding in the universe’ as Steve Jobs famously commented. Industrial Revolution 4.0 will place a spotlight on the achievements of these leaders and the weakness of others as the speed and magnitude of value creation and destruction increases and transparency and interconnectivity abound.
Over the past 25 years of working with leaders, the ‘good’ and ‘not-so-good’, from corporations, NGO and religious organisations I have often reflected on what I think separates High Impact Leaders from others; over this and the next few postings I will share with you these musings, looking through the lens to see what skills, characteristics and practices will be increasingly important in the unfolding future. Do please let me know your thoughts and builds!
High Impact Leaders strive for prowess in four areas, they are:

1. Have keen sense of their authentic core from which they derive the energy to guide & motivate themselves & others. They adjust the 'message to match the moment' yet are true to their core identity. They have the resilience to withstand set-backs, and they have a presence that prompts and holds attention. Essential to their effectiveness as leaders is their high level of personal integrity which they insist is mirrored by their representatives and the wider organization.
2. Accomplished strategists; peering into the ambiguous future and being able to determine the path forward. They define and embrace the purpose for the organization; ensuring that it permeates the doctrine that guides the decision making and aligns the actions of everyone in the organization. They make clear decisions on where to allocate time and resources - and where not to.
3. Are recognised for their excellence in execution. They empower others, by relaxing controls on behaviour applied through the policies and procedures of administration and bureaucracy. Instead they establish simple direct KPI based on performance and results. They hold themselves equally accountable; inspiring trust, having a reputation for fairness and to get the job done. They demand of others and of themselves commitment, loyalty and to have a bias for action.
4. Catalysts that accelerate the momentum of the organization. They 'connect the dots' of idea-fragments found both across the organization and externally, having a fascination for what's new and evolving integrated point-of-view, they see possibilities before others. They also spot and attract prodigious and sometimes unconventional talent, fostering collaboration across boundaries within and outside the organization. They challenge the status quo, existing processes, structures and mindsets and are not afraid to dismantle and rebuild teams.

High Impact Leaders constantly refine and strengthen their prowess in all four areas. However, all individuals can improve their ability to lead by developing their skills in these same four areas.
Some leaders focus on developing from Inside-Out, first anchoring their leadership model on their Authentic Core, being able to answer the question posed by Goffee & Jones "Why should anyone be led by you?" They inspire trust and consistently display and adhere to a high level of personal integrity which they insist is mirrored by the organization. Other leaders develop more from the Outside-In, firstly mastering skills such as Execution Prowess, being a Catalyst able to extend the performance of the organization or being expert as a Strategist, setting the direction and establishing meaning and purpose for the organization. It is the combination of both ‘Inside – Out’ and ‘Outside – In’ that distinguishes High Impact Leaders; prowess in all four areas that are relevant and applied to the context in which the leader is active. An example of a globally recognised personality that I consider to be a High Impact Leader I would highlight Sir Richard Branson.
Most individuals I have worked with are not yet High Impact Leaders, they do not yet have mastery in all the four areas. For them and for those of us who are dedicated to supporting the development of leaders, the High Impact Leaders model provides a framework and guidance for accelerating development. Through the four ‘lenses’ we identify areas requiring strengthening and opportunities to put the skills into practice. The goal being to accelerate the development of leaders whilst accelerating the performance of the teams and organisations that they lead. High Impact Leaders – have impact! Leadership skills are only of value if they are applied; the best measure of the prowess of an individual leader is the difference in performance that the leader creates for the organization.
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