January 2007
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In our daily work with clients, we at Accenture get a unique view of leadership and the critical role it plays in driving high performance at businesses and government agencies around the world. Like many organizations today, they show the will and resolve to change, grow and compete to win. But what often sets the true high performers apart are the strong leaders at the helm.
As the global business environment gets tougher, winning organizations need a richer and broader set of leadership skills than ever before. Why? Because strong leaders have the courage to power through the challenges ... and the vision to spot new opportunities for success. They execute flawlessly to get results today while innovating for tomorrow.
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Leadership means keeping the business moving forward by getting the very best performance from people at all career levels. It is also about upholding core values and a code of business ethics, and building a culture in which exceptional people rise naturally to the top. On a more personal note, leadership is about understanding your own strengths and weaknesses, and surrounding yourself with diverse, multitalented people who will bring balance to the senior management team.
I also believe that the great leaders of our time are authentic. At Accenture, we encourage our people to develop their own unique approach to leadership, rather than conforming to a single model. Although we provide a foundation to build leadership skills, we want our people to succeed as leaders by being themselves and by being passionate about the work they do on behalf of our clients.
Leadership has been a key area of focus in Accenture's ongoing study of high performance, and it's an important theme in this issue of Outlook, which is a special report on what it takes to be a high performer. For example, one article looks at five specific actions leaders can take to create a culture of high performance. Another examines the important relationship between profitable growth and a strong and unified leadership team.
There are many definitions of leadership and many different styles. But the real test of any leader is whether he or she can motivate a team of people to deliver superior results. I hope the articles in this issue are relevant as you consider strategies for leading your organization to high performance.
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