Five Leadership Lessons for Today's Executive

The poster of 12 O’clock High, the 1949 Gregory Peck-led vehicle centering on the underperforming 918^th Bomber Group, hangs framed in my Aveksa office. This is not because of its reputation as one of the best WWII films to emerge from the glut of late 1940’s war-centric cinema, but as a constant reminder of the timeless lessons of leadership the film triumphed.  Through juxtaposing the leaderships styles of Colonel Davenport and Brigadier General Frank Savage, 12 O’clock High explored what it meant to be an effective leader of troops.  Its lessons, which I will explore in this week’s column, can be translated from the harrowing skies above WWII Europe to the (significantly less dangerous) modern workplace.
First, however, it is important to understand why leadership is needed and define what leadership is. Leadership is needed to convert challenges into opportunities.  Effective leaders, like Gregory Peck’s General Frank Savage, possess the ability to:

• Direct with a clear sense of responsibility
• Understand people, their emotions, and their motivations
• Acknowledge that leadership is not a popularity contest

Read the rest of the article from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/vickvaishnavi/2013/04/11/5-leadership-lessons-for-todays-executive-3/