Informed in Five: “What Makes an Effective Executive?”

What
Makes an Effective Executive? By Peter F. Drucker, Harvard Business
Review, June 2004

History
shows that effective leaders are not necessarily charismatic and stereotypes
are misleading in predicting whether an executive will be successful. They vary
hugely in their personalities, attitudes, values, strengths and weaknesses.

Although
some individuals are born effective, there are not enough extraordinarily
talented individuals to fill all the positions available.

Fortunately
effectiveness is a discipline which can be learned and there are eight
essential practices common to all successful leaders. These are:

●
They ask ‘What needs to be done?’
● They ask ‘What is right for the enterprise?’
● They develop action plans.
● They take responsibility for decisions.
● They take responsibility for communicating.
● They are focused on opportunities rather than problems.
● They run productive meetings.
● They think and say ‘we’ rather than ‘I’.

Good
role models are former US president Harry Truman and former General Electric
CEO Jack Welch.

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