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In the 1990s the DTI and CBI surveyed over 100 of the best UK companies and found that they shared a number of characteristics (Competitiveness: How the best UK companies are Winning). One of these was that vision and change began at the top and was cascaded through out the whole organisation.
'Leaders make a difference to the business, rather than just making the business work.'
(Directors Briefing on Leadership)
Leadership is key to the internal culture of any organisation. Without effective leadership it is unlikely that you will be truly successful at motivating staff, focusing on clients' needs or maintaining business improvement.
Why is it particularly important to the construction industryIn its 'Rethinking Construction' report published in 1998, the Construction Task Force identified committed leadership as one of the key drivers for change. They defined this as:
'Management believing in and being totally committed to driving forward an agenda for improvement and communicating the required cultural and operational changes throughout the whole of the organisation. In construction, there is no part of the industry which can escape this requirement: it affects constructors, suppliers and designers alike.'
However, they also reported that
'The Task Force has met many managers of companies in the construction industry over the last few months and, while many wish to improve company performance, we have yet to see widespread evidence of the burning commitment to raise quality and efficiency which we believe is necessary.'
The DTI competitiveness survey identified several common traits of leaders in top companies. These included:
Particularly in small companies, it can be difficult to differentiate between management and leadership because you may be involved in all aspects of the business. It may be difficult to 'let go' once a company grows and you start to rely on people who can do some parts of the job better than yourself. In 'How to be a better leader', it is observed that:
'you manage tasks, and lead people.'