Are You Valued as a Leader?

A recent survey in UK asked employees what qualities they looked for and valued most in a leader. The responses were interesting and worth examining.

Trustworthiness.

Top of list came trustworthiness. A clear majority of those asked put this as quality they valued most. Could this be, I wonder, because they find that this quality is so rare? Recent examples of behaviour of some of top men in industry and commerce suggest that this quality is rare indeed.

A Good Communicator.

A close second was ability to Communicate. Employees like someone who can tell them what is going on. They like to be told what plans for company are and how it is performing. They like to have aims of company and their own part in it spelled out clearly and unambiguously.

Decisiveness.

Then came decisiveness. Employees look to their leaders to be decisive. They don’t want to be subject to frequent changes of direction or imprecise goals. They don’t want to see any form of shilly-shallying in their leaders. They want clarity and action.

Motivation and Inspiration.

The abilities to motivate and inspire followed next. Maybe these came lower down list because they follow from qualities listed previously. They are results of those other qualities rather than primary qualities themselves. After all, you are not likely to inspire anyone unless you are first a good communicator. You are not likely to inspire if you don’t know where you are going.

People Focused.

Being people focused as a desirable quality was next on list. This amounts to valuing and caring about your staff and looking after their well being at all times. This also is a quality that sometimes seems in short supply when going gets tough. But you won’t motivate or inspire without it.

Visionary and Strategic Planner

What PR Does Best

As a manager working for a business, non-profit or association, you have a right to expect your public relations expenditure to help produce behaviors like these: attract confidence of your key target audiences; encourage them to take actions that lead to your success; help achieve your department, division or subsidiary objectives; increase repeat purchases; boost capital giving and membership applications, and build new community support.

Don’t see results like that? You may need to restructure your unit’s public relations effort beginning with a new foundation premise along these lines” People act on their own perception of facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action very people whose behaviors affect organization most, public relations mission is accomplished.

If you and PR team assigned to your unit buy that fundamental premise of public relations, action phase is next. Sit down together and list those important outside audiences whose behaviors affect your unit most. Then put them in priority order so that we can address your #1 audience in this article.

You need to know more about this key target audience. In particular, way its members perceive you, and that means you and/or your public relations staff must interact with folks who make up that audience. In turn, that requires you to ask a lot of questions. “What do you know about us? Have you ever had contact with our people? Was it a positive experience? Do you have any problems with our services or products?”

The alternative here is use of professional survey specialists, but this can be quite expensive. Which is why I suggest that you use public relations folks assigned to your unit, hopefully including yourself for this sensitive assignment.

At any rate, you and your people must stay alert to hesitant or evasive answers. Be on-guard as well for any negativities such as exaggerations, untruths, misconceptions, rumors or inaccuracies.