leadership

Having experience of being a leader in a group or in an organziation is a big bonus when applying for an job.My top 3 traits a leadership should has are:
    1, knowledgeable: has strong technical skills and professional skills in his/her firm.
    2,good communication skills: able to delievery clearly task and messages to team members.At the same time motivate them.
    3, open-mind: willing to listen to other team members' opinions and advices. if the advice is useful take it into consideration.
 Below is an interview with Bill Flemming, president of Skanska USA Building Inc, was reported by Adam Bryant on  NY Times Aug11/2012. Bill Flemming shared his approach to leadership.

Q. Tell me about your approach to leadership.

A. First, I work for the people below me. They don’t work for me; I work for them. Because if I don’t do a good job in leading and setting strategy and helping them do their job, they’ll probably fail. Second, teamwork is key in this business. This is not an individual sport. I see many leaders who are somewhat egoistic. To me, it’s more about the team. And in my early years in this job, I focused on organizing the senior leadership so that they’re moving more in the same direction.

 Q. What were the best questions put on the table by the facilitator?

A. Why do you want to be part of this team? Why do you want to be in this company? Why do you show up at work? What’s in your box? And when I say, “What’s in your box?” it means “What drives you?” and I don’t want to hear the party line that you’re doing this for the company.

 Q. Any other specifics worth mentioning about your management approach?

  A. When people ask me a question, I don’t always answer it with, “Yes, this is what I want you to do,” or, “This is what I’d do.” Instead, I’ll ask them, “So what do you want to do?” So that’s another technique I use. It’s captured in a quote I once read about leadership from Russell Ewing, a British journalist, who said: “A boss creates fear; a leader, confidence. A boss fixes blame; a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all; a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery; a leader makes it interesting. A boss is interested in himself or herself; a leader is interested in the group.”     

     


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/business/bill-flemming-of-skanska-usa-building-on-leadership.html?_r=0