Leaders who aren't getting results aren't truly leading

Picture the outcome of a typical management meeting: action points, lots of them, whiteboards or flipcharts filled with next steps, responsibilities, timelines...

Many of us would regard this as a good outcome - it feels satisfying to have identified what needs to change, to have made decisions, and above all to be doing something about it. As humans, we like activity; we enjoy having an impact on our world, rolling our sleeves up and "getting on with it".

And yet, it is so easy to confuse activity with results. Do we know whether these are the right activities? What results are we trying to achieve? How will we know when we've succeeded? This describes Results Leadership and is the key to delivering exceptional performance.

Results-based leaders have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and how well they are achieving it. They continually ask and answer the question - "What outcome is needed?" - before they decide what has to be done.

They focus themselves and others on the "few big things" that will have an impact, and discard those time and resource-hungry projects that, whilst on the surface may be attractive, are not going to deliver results.

To track their progress, they measure and evaluate as they go. And they adjust their plans and approaches, on the basis of what they have learned.

Many people we've spoken to tell us that they willingly follow leaders who know both who they are (their own values, strengths and weaknesses) and where they are going (their targeted results). Leaders like this instil confidence and inspire trust in others because they are direct, focused, and consistent.