Leadership- Not the Property of the CEO alone

Leadership - Not the Property of the CEO alone

As organizations gain increasingly equal access to information, knowledge and skills the leadership will become critical to competitive advantage. History and for that matter the history of business is replete with examples of leadership making the difference between a truly great company and those that flounder and fail. The same can be said of countries. Consider the case of Singapore under Lee Quan Yew and ask whether that country could have achieved its success without his vision and leadership.

Too many times however one gets the impression that employees view leadership as the property and domain of the CEO, Chairman and senior management. In like manner citizens in a country often believe that leadership is the property of the Government and the Prime Minister. That represents a narrow view of leadership and one that is fundamentally flawed.

All employees are leaders and as such should demonstrate leadership. Bringing out these leadership traits in all employees should be considered strategic to achieving the company’s objectives.