Michael Dadoun is a leader who likes to take risks and accept challenges. According to English dramatist Gorge Bernard Shaw, “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." Dadoun is a leader who is not afraid of failures, knowing well that failure is as important as success for an organization to evolve and grow.
2. A leader possesses the natural ability to inspire people to
work towards a common goal or objective. He is a good
motivator who does not use force or coercion to make
people adhere to his wishes. Michael Dadoun, the CEO of
Montreal-based payment processing company, UpClick, is
a natural born leader who leads by example, motivation,
and his relationship building skills.
Good leaders have the ability and willingness to step up to
challenges and accept responsibility for their actions. They
are good listeners and value the ideas and opinions of their
subordinates.
Some of the other qualities that a leader of any modern
organization must possess to achieve success in a highly
competitive business environment are as follows:
3. Delegation
A true leader is a person who does not suffer from the
feelings of insecurity. Insecure people, on the other hand,
can never make good leaders, as they are busy all the time
in machinations that will guarantee their own survival.
A good leader secured in his or her own knowledge and
experience never hesitates in giving up control in certain
areas.
They know that in order to make the organization more
flexible and responsive, a good leader has to delegate
some of his or her authorities.
The art of delegation has assumed added significance,
owing to the changing market dynamics and consumer
preferences.
4. Leaders must delegate, as lower-level managers are closer
to the real action than the CEO. They have the first-hand
experience of the things happening around them, and
taking their inputs apart from helping the organization will
also keep the lower-level employees motivated.
Michael Dadoun, the CEO of Montreal-based UpClick and
principal of Solaria fund, strongly believes in sharing of
power. This has made his organization flat and faster,
where input from different people enables quick decision
making.
5. Good listening skills
A person who believes that he or she knows
everything can never make a good leader, as
leadership is all about continuous learning
It can be potentially fatal for the organization, if the
hubris sets in its CEO. A feeling of infallibility can
make a CEO treasure his or her own voice over
everybody else’s.
A feeling in a person that he or she knows everything
will compel him or her to discard the opinions and
views of subordinates.
Employees of an organization will feel alienated, as
they will feel frustrated by the fact that they are not
involved in any decision that has direct bearings on
their lives.
A leader with poor listening skills is also unlikely to
6. Inclusiveness and participative decision making
A leader like any other normal being cannot be
expected to know everything. Good listening skills,
coupled with a collaborative decision making process,
can make a lot of difference.
Good leaders are comfortable delegating important
decisions and tasks to their subordinates. They know
that decisions can be taken quickly, if a lot of people
are involved in it.
Michael Dadoun, the CEO of UpClick, is a visionary
planner who uses delegation and inclusiveness as
catalysts for generating enthusiasm among his
subordinates.
7. Responsibility and accountability
Things cannot always go according to ones wishes and
preferences all the time. There are bound to be certain
bottlenecks around the way.
Certain decisions by the top management can go awry and
things may not work according to the original plan.
A good leader is not one who will start pointing fingers at
others, if an unforeseen problem crops up with the
potential of hampering the productivity of the
organization.
Leadership is basically about accountability and
responsibility. A leader is given credit for the success of an
organization, likewise he or she should accept
responsibility for failures as well.
8. A strong ability to motivate
Leaders do not use stick approach to compel employees to
listen to their commands and wishes. Respect is something
which you command and not demand.
Good leaders motivate people to follow their vision. Their
persuasion power makes people to want to help them.
A strong feeling of empathy and equality are some of the strong
motivating factors that can be used effectively by good leaders
to motivate their employees.
A good leader must also understand the things that are valued
most by his or her employees. Some of the employees may be
motivated by financial rewards, while others may prefer praise
from the boss to be highly satisfying.
The trick for good leaders is to know and employ those
motivational tactics that are sure to spur their subordinates into
action.
9. High emotional intelligence along with IQ
A person can be a good manager with a high IQ, but to be
a good leader, that person must possess Emotional
Quotient (EQ) in ample measure.
Leaders with high EQ are more compassionate about the
feelings and needs of others.
Leaders with high EQ know what they are doing and are
passionate about bringing a change in the lives of their
subordinates.
10. Conclusion
Leadership in modern times is more about ‘soft skills’ than
‘hard skills’. Leaders who can get their subordinates to give
their best without any use of threat or force are the ones
who create winning organizations.
Michael Dadoun, as the CEO of UpClick, has high EQ and
sincerity, dedication, and experience to make some
distinctive changes in the lives of his subordinates as well
as his clients.