Dell made the top ten in the list of LinkedIn's Top Companies 2019. The company has revamped itself lately to embrace the modern workforce and looks poised for positive growth this year.
One of the keys to Dell's success is their belief that a unified company culture starts with exceptional leadership.
Here are the 7 principles that Dell executives feel are key to developing effective leaders in any organization.
1: Optimism
As a tech company, Dell faces enormous pressure to perform and compete in a crowded arena.
Michael Dell believes that it's time everyone started being optimistic about our digital future. When we remain optimistic about any complex issue, our positivity becomes a driver for innovation and growth.
Leaders set the tone for their organization. If leadership isn't optimistic about facing challenges, the workforce won't be either.
2: Humility
This is not a quality that often comes to mind when thinking about leaders, but maybe it should be. Dr. Robert Hogan, founder and president of Hogan Assessments has this to say about humility and leadership:
"Substantial research shows that humility predicts effective leadership. Humility is associated with minimizing status differences, listening to subordinates, soliciting input, admitting mistakes and being willing to change course when a plan seems not to work.”
3: Drive
What is drive, really? Dictionaries define it as "an innate, biologically determined urge to attain a goal or satisfy a need." If we look at the stories of some of the most successful business owners of all time, drive is definetly a component of their leadership style.
4: Vision
The type of vision that great leaders should have often comes in the form of being able to forecast the right direction for their organizations - even when other stakeholders and members of the media disagree.
Michael Dell decided to take his company public again after years of being private because that's the strategy that suited the vision he has for Dell in the future.
Leaders have to be willing to trust their vision enough to take calculated risks that could result in big wins.
5: Selflessness
In his book, Leaders Eat Last, author Simon Sinek explores the qualities it takes to become an admired leader.
One of the conclusions he comes to is that admired leaders often have empathy - they are able to put themselves in someone else's shoes. Having empathy requires the ability to temporarily let go of your sense of self.
This makes sense that a massive company like Dell wants leaders who are capable of being selfless. With so many different verticals scaling at all times, it is crucial to put the company and its workforce before any individual's needs.
6: Good Judgement
Winning leaders make the right call more often than not. Experience helps, but often its something else as well. There is a part of judgement that comes from having the right instincts.
Once a leader has demonstrated good judgement, it's much easier for their employees and customers to trust them.
7: Relationships
When talking about relatioships as they connect to leadership, consider how much a leader values their people. Great leaders are able to bring out the best from very diverse teams.
Leaders must also be able to build relatioships with partners and prospective clients. Today's tech heavy business environment creates almost constant opportunities to either strengthen or hurt relationships.
Even when we aren't physically together, we are always connected to each other through our phones, office chat, and email. Good leaders understand how to use these mediums to build and sustain professional relationships that last.
Interested to learn how PTG can help your business leverage technology to facilitate better leadership across the board? Contact us today.
