DEFINING LEADERSHIP

Prof Preston Bottger, who teaches Organisational Behaviour at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, has coined a simple definition that conveys the full dimension of leadership:

"Leaders do or cause to be done all that must be done & is now not being done to achieve what we say is important! They provide a sense of purpose, direction & focus. They build alignment & get commitment."

That's to say, leaders are action-oriented change agents; they don't just think & talk. They 'do or cause to be done...'

Leaders provide:

1) Sense of Purpose:

- why are we doing it?

- what are the benefits of a change in innovation?

- what are the penalties if we don't do it?

2) Sense of Direction:

- which way shall we go?

- what innovation model should we adopt?

3) Sense of Focus:

- what are our priorities?

- what should we concentrate our efforts?

[Source: 'Innovation Leaders: How Senior Executives Stimulate, Steer & Sustain Innovation', by Jean Philippe-Deschamps;]