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There are a number of factors that come into play when determining excellent leadership performance. But in this podcast, I’m going to be revealing to us three of those factors that I believe are germane to measuring any excellent leadership performance at any point in time. Three of those factors, we are going to be examining with ourselves today as leaders, and then we are going to see how they determine excellent leadership performance, and how also we can apply them in our leadership.
Listen to Podcast: How to Measure Excellent Leadership Performance
Now the very first one I want to show us is what I called Team Productivity. Now, I’ve come to discover that highly productive teams are a product of effective and coordinated leadership. When you look at a group of men and women, or a group of people that make up a team and they are very productive, they are highly productive, then at the bottom of that productivity is what I call an effective and a coordinated leadership. Now it is possible, and I believe you are going to agree with me that it is possible to tell how well a leader is doing when the team are ready to go all out in putting all the effort that is required and needed in getting their jobs done.
When you look at a team that is ready to give it all that it takes, they are ready to sacrifice their time, they are ready to sacrifice their comforts towards getting the goals, the objectives of the organization achieved, then you can see or you can tell how well a leader is doing in such a situation or in such a circumstance. Now, also, there is something that I want us to realize as leaders. Every member of the team must have a clear-cut responsibility. If you’re going to have a productive team, it is of necessity that everyone in the team has a clear call responsibility. Now, there was an analogy that I came across sometimes ago and the analogy simply goes thus: when you give 10 men the assignment or the same responsibility of feeding a dog, then that dog is going to die of hunger.
Now you may be wondering, “okay, 10 men having the same responsibilities of feeding a dog, I think that dog should be doing well, that dog should be feeding well.” But the analogy says the dog actually is going to die. Now what is going to kill that dog? It is hunger simply because each of the 10 people that you have given the assignment will always assume that the other person has fed the dog will always assume that the other, other person must have fed the dog. So, at the end of the day, what happens is that the dog is not being fed, and the dog is going to die of hunger. Now what can we take away from this analogy? The simple solution is that everyone in the team, every member of the team must have a clear-cut responsibility if they are going to be productive. And there is no way everyone in the team can have a clear-cut responsibility if there is no coordinated and effective leadership at the helms of affairs.
Now let me show us an example in the leadership of Joshua. When I read this Bible passage, it so much blessed me and I gained a few solutions to leadership from that particular Bible verse. Joshua 6:8-9. Now the Bible says: “So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 9 The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets.” This is a very beautiful Bible passage that I believe every leader can learn from when it comes to team productivity.
Now, in these verses, one of the things we can see vividly is how the team were coordinated, you see at the helm of a coordinated team is a coordinated leader. Now, don’t forget, Joshua, as we saw in that place, was the leader of these group of people. And we saw that every team under his leadership had their responsibility well cut-out and defined for them. Now, the Bible showed us that the armed men understood their roles, the armed men were not going ahead or behind, they were going in the way and manner that they were supposed to go. It says the rear guard also were at their position, they were carrying out their assignment and their responsibility. They also understood their roles. Now the priests that blew the trumpet also understood their roles.
So, I discovered that it is no doubt that a productive team, you see is a team that have a very articulated roles and responsibilities. So, what are we saying in essence? Many times, leadership performance is measured by team productivity. If you want to know how well you are doing as a leader, then simply look at how productive your followers or your teams are. How well are they executing their roles? How well are they carrying out their responsibilities in the cause of the leadership? This is one way you can know whether you are doling out an excellent leadership performance or you still have a lot of work to do as a leader. So, the very first factor that I want us to keep at the back of our minds as leaders, is team productivity. It is one great factor that we can use to measure leadership performance.
Now, the second one I want to show us is Strategic Implementation of Vision. Now, when we talk about strategy, strategy talks about the how of implementing the vision that the leadership is running with per time. Now, I’ve discovered that many leaders have many bogus visions, but they are simply stocked when it comes to implementation. It is actually very easy to sleep and wake up and come up with a vision. But where many leaders usually stock is at the point of implementation. And when you go deep down into investigating what the challenge is, you will simply discover that it is a problem of strategy. It is not enough to have a vision, it is actually encompassing, having a vision, and also understanding how to implement the vision.
You see, the vision talks about the what. And the strategy talks about the how. This is the vision. This is the how. This is what makes a complete leadership performance. So, there must be a vision and there must be the way to go about, you know, achieving the vision. So, don’t just come up with a vision as a leader, no, you must also be able to strategically think about how the vision can be implemented and can be achieved. Now, let me show us another example in the leadership of Joseph. Now if you read Genesis chapter 41, it is a popular story. But we are going to look at it again and be able to extract what it means to strategically implement; you know the vision that a leader or the leadership is running with. Now, if you read Genesis chapter 41, let’s read from verse 25. Now the Bible says from verse 25:
“Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. 28 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.”
Now look at those few verses we just read. Now God showed Pharaoh a vision of what was about to come upon the land, and by extension, the whole earth at the time. Now Pharaoh, as the leader didn’t understand the vision. Now, the reason he didn’t understand the vision was simply because he didn’t have a relationship with God. Pharaohs of those days, they don’t serve God, they have their own lesser gods that they serve. So, when the dream came to him, he didn’t understand the vision, but God actually wanted him to see the vision so that he can know that God is set to do what He said He would do. So, Pharaoh didn’t understand the vision, neither did he understand what he was supposed to do. So, the vision had come, now the strategy is how and what they need to do to be able to, you know, work and run with the vision. And this is where strategic thinking comes into play.
But as a leader, when you don’t even understand the vision, how can you strategically implement it? This is another question that we’re going to look at, at some other time on Leaderview. So, there must be somebody who should be able to interpret the dream and also give a solution on what to do. And this is where Joseph came into the picture. Now, if you jump to verse 29 of that same Genesis 41, let’s see where Joseph came into the picture and examine where strategic implementation of vision comes in. Now from verse 29, the Bible says: “Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt…” So, Joseph is already interpreting the vision of Pharaoh, the vision that God gave to Pharaoh that he did not have an interpretation for. So, Joseph from verse 29 was now interpreting the vision. So, he said:
“Indeed, seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt. 30 but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. 31 So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. 32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.”
So, God showed Pharaoh the dream even though God knew he wouldn’t understand the interpretation and implementation to go about, but God still showed him so that he can know that what I’m about to do is going to come to pass. So, Joseph had interpreted the vision, but it does not end there. It does not end with interpreting the vision, there must be the how of implementing the vision, there must be something that must be done so that the vision can be achieved. And this is where strategy comes in. So, Joseph, again, proceeded by revealing to Pharaoh how the vision can be implemented and what could be done in the following verses that we’re about to read. Now, if you read from verse 33, this is Joseph speaking again:
“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”
So, did we see that? It is not just about having vision. How will the vision be achieved? What are the things that must be on ground for the vision to be fully and effectively implemented? Now, these are questions of strategy. So, excellent leadership performance is measured by strategic implementation of vision. Don’t just have a vision, you must also understand the how. How can this vision be implemented? How can we arrive at the destination of this vision that the organization is running with, or that the leadership is running with? This is the question of strategic implementation of vision. So, excellent leadership performance is measured by how well a leader is able to come up with strategy in order for the vision of the organization and the vision of the leadership to be implemented.
Now let’s look at the last one, Competence. You see competence, I define it as “the ability to get the job done.” When you’re talking about competence, you are talking about the ability, the wherewithal of a leader to be able to get the job done or to get the assignments done. Now, it is true that not everyone in leadership today, and if you look across the globe, you will see that what I’m about to say is a fact that not everyone in leadership across the world today, has the capacity to get the job done. But people actually follow the person who knows the way and can get the job done. Everyone loves an inspiring leader; everyone loves a competent leader. So as a leader, if you demonstrate that you are competent as a leader, what it does is that it inspires confidence in people.
Now, don’t forget leadership is about taking people from point A to point B, through influence. Without influence, you can’t lead. So, influence helps the leader to be able to move the people, the organization, from point A to point B. But how will the people that you are leading be able to, you know, have some level of confidence or inspiration in your leadership, if you don’t even know where point B is. And this is where the matter of competence comes in. So, if you are a leader, one of the ways through which excellence leadership performance is measured is in how competent you are in handling the job, in handling the assignment. And I’ve realized that for leaders to be able to demonstrate competence, we have to give priority to learning. We have to give priority to studying, to acquiring skills.
You can’t be competent if you don’t have the necessary skills, and the needed skills that can help you to get your leadership assignment done. This is very, very important. So, competence is the third one, is the third factor that helps to measure excellent leadership performance.
I believe you have gotten a few points from what we’ve shared with ourselves today. This is where we are going to be stopping. You see next time is another time that we’re going to be looking at other areas of leadership that I believe is going to help us to be excellent in our leadership as leaders. Please don’t forget to share this podcast, to like it, and to also Drop your comments with me in the comment section so that we can get to interact with ourselves on the things that we’ve shared with ourselves today. Till next time on Leaderview, remain effective in your leadership.
God bless you.
