PART FOUR

Thinking as a Leader

This section of the book looks first at decision making, an essential skill for you as a leader. It then examines ways in which you can generate new ideas yourself, stimulate a creative approach in your team, and build a truly innovative organization.

The intellectual side of leadership – effective practical thinking in all its applied forms – is so often neglected in the literature on the subject. But it's no use leading people in the wrong direction because you made the wrong decision.

You don't want to become a misleader. Making the right choices, exercising good judgment and having the skill to solve problems when they arise – people look for these abilities in their leaders. Like all other aspects of leadership, there is a global body of knowledge concerning them which I can share with you in Part Four.

Listening to suggestions and ideas, being open to persuasion before a decision is taken and then being decisive yourself, all these important leadership skills are learnable.

Part Four also includes an introduction to creativity and innovation. As a leader you need to know how to generate new ideas. Ideas are the seeds of change, positive and desirable change in your business.

Your leadership challenge is to release the creativity that is latent in your team or organization, and to turn it into improvement and progress, leading to better services and products today and new ones tomorrow. To lead is always to do new things.