As baby boomers begin to retire at the beginning of the 21st century, the baton of business leadership moves on to the next generation. Are you ready to elevate your career path and grab the opportunity to rise to the top?
Both success and failure of a company relies on its leader’s capability to manage all elements of the organisation. Being a logistics leader is not merely a big name that is carried solely for prestige. More than the title, a leader bears great responsibility and accountability on his shoulders.
They must be able to show dignity, boost confidence, win over everyone’s heart, and perform their best. Whether it’s in the executive wing or warehouse floor, leaders must master communication skills and interpersonal relationships with both boardroom level executives and warehouse workers.
Becoming a logistics leader requires unique personality traits that distinguishes you from other leaders in the industry. As part of an important investment in the organisation, logistics leader must have a keen eye to develop ground-breaking solutions to resolve bottlenecks in supply chain operations, as well as optimise logistics strategy in a competitive business environment.
Additionally, leaders should have qualified knowledge about logistics and supply chain management as they will be required to work within various elements across the organisation. If you are an aspiring employee seeking for leadership roles, then this piece will provide you with insights on what makes for a great logistics leader:
Create and nurture a vision
Every great leader should have a vision and live in it to bring positive changes to the whole logistics and supply chain management. Rather than going with the flow, logistics leader should have a vision and measurable objectives supported by a clear and purposeful business plan.
While everyone can come up with a great idea, only a leader has the ability to transform a brilliant idea into a vision and inspire people to work together to achieve the same goals. Leaders are excited and enthusiastic to turn this vision into a concrete action plan by empowering employees to work together. A logistics leader should be able to place company’s mission ahead of his own.
Inspire and motivate others
It is the leader’s task to inspire and motivate subordinates. A logistics leader should know what he is doing, loving the work, and executing it with passion. With genuine passion, a leader can convey his vision to the employees and spread the same spirit across all employees to accomplish business objectives.
Own a degree of authenticity
Authenticity is the most crucial attribute of a well-organised leader. Without trust and respect from employees, a leader will have no authority to lead the team. Conversely, if a logistics leader displays high degree of authenticity, employees will be willing to dedicate themselves to serve the company happily at work. Thus, a genuine logistics leader should own a strong sense of integrity and respect for others.
Be a good communicator
Working with many other divisions, logistics leader should cultivate strong relationships along the entire logistics and supply chain. They should be able to translate data into useful insights for sustainability in business operations. For example, taking the relationship between suppliers and vendors, leaders must be able to initiate a healthy and honest relationship, such as to facilitate a smooth two-way communication channel. Through this approach, any supply chain operation can run seamlessly.
This article was first published here.