5 rules for powerful leadership

Not all business leaders are created equal. Indonesia’s developing market requires adaptability and dynamism for effective management. As a finance professional, good leadership becomes important as you move up the career ladder and start managing a team.

In this instance, finance professionals can value add to the role when they become business partners and not just number crunchers. 

Practise what you preach

It may be a very simple rule, but surprisingly not an easy one to follow. More often than not, there are gaps between what leaders preach and what they actually do. For example, if you stress a promote-from-within culture but continue to recruit from outside to fill senior level positions, your employees will eventually lose faith in your leadership.

Walk the tightrope

There are times when being a leader involves making tough or even unpopular decisions to get things done. Employees often look up to their managers for direction in order to achieve their professional goals. A good business leader walks a tightrope at all times, balancing between winning consent from employees and exerting enough control in order to move the organisation and its staff to the next level.

Be a good follower

The best way to learn is to be a good follower, and constantly benchmark yourself against those whom you aspire to be. By learning from colleagues and mentors, you can effectively shape the leadership of the company. It takes a lot of courage and integrity to be a good follower. Employees who live by these rules will not only perform well but become leaders of character.

Treat your colleagues as assets

A good leader should coach, mentor and influence people to perform at their very best. Exercising leadership also means being able to powerfully articulate your vision and inspire employees to rally around it. It is easy to force or demand someone to do what you want them to do, but it takes a visionary to be able to spot the potential and cultivate the aspirations of employees.

Asses yourself regularly

Regular self-assessment will keep you on track and also provide guiding principles in your leadership duties. At certain points it will be useful to take a step back and reflect on whether you take responsibility when things go wrong, and give credit to the people around you in good times. It is also important that everyone else around you succeeds together. Hence, good leaders encourage people to do their best and incentivise them so that they don't fall behind.