To be an effective leader, is to be able to direct the attention towards where it is needed most. Good leaders have the innate intuition to identify what matters most, lead confidently and with clarity to shift the attention of their teams to where it is needed most.
We live in a service driven economy, with increasing pressures on us to deliver more effectively at increasing speed and have all fallen into the trap of saying ‘yes’ to everything, which totally throws us into a painful chaotic personal situation. However in that testing moment your ability to declutter yourself helps you focus on what is right in a given situation. Saying no always works wonders if you master it and deliver it in the right way, yes, it is a difficult art but will separate you from others to keep you and your team moving forward.
People who can focus their minds, direct their attention and remain cool are attuned to spot the right moment and right opportunity whenever it presents itself. What makes them effective is their ability to focus inwards, lead others, handle the external situation by focusing outwards and bounce back from setbacks. This requires emotional intelligence and self-awareness by addressing inner feelings which often signal what is right or wrong in a complex situation. This also extends to the effective trait to understand what is going on with their team, they sense feelings and tweak leadership style to make sure that they are able to cater for those needs. This desire to emphasize and develop social relationships with people helps them to focus on a person’s particular skill sets regardless of rank to inspire and attain the desired goal.
Leaders with the ability to focus their attention on the outer world with a clear cut strategy are visionaries. They have the ability to sense the possible outcome for their actions which helps dissipate the possible chaos and allows them to make choices. They are astute, with the ability to filter out the irrelevant and focus on the important data on which to base their decisions. They are open to new things and love information which can help them learn and be future ready. Good leaders know the fact that to create anything new or innovate they need to sustain the outward focus so they work on cutting out what is irrelevant and distracting and spend quality time reflecting on possibilities, this in time leads to innovation.
To be a truly focused leader one needs to be in full control of one’s own emotions and remain cool whatever the situation. They are introspect, address their inner calling, control their impulses, are fully conscious of what’s happening around and aware how other perceive them. Focussed leaders put filters on to weed out irrelevant things, empathise with others, allow their minds to wander and come up with new ways of innovating, are able to control both inward situations and the external situations to focus on the things of prime importance and most importantly they utilize their time effectively to full advantage.
Hospitality Assured, the Standard for Service and Business Excellence is used by a wide range of organisations worldwide to make sure they follow best industry practice, providing them with a powerful tool to stimulate and measure improvements in service delivery and business excellence.
To find out more about the benefits of being Hospitality Assured accredited and the 9 Quality Steps (#3 Leadership) visit the website here
About the Author: Max Lawrence
Max, Director of Hospitality Assured, has extensive experience in business and hospitality management in both the United Kingdom and Europe, and has a passion for promoting quality and professional customer service in business operations, advising large and small businesses to never mistake silence for satisfaction.
