The ability to establish a tangible vision and energise subordinates towards achieving it are the two most critical attributes that a good leader must have. Once you determine where the organisation is headed in a specified time frame, you should, along with their team members, move towards achieving that goal in a disciplined and purposeful manner.

While trying to achieve your vision, mistakes are inevitable. The important thing as a leader is to be sure of your direction and move towards it rapidly, cutting down on talk and enhancing action. Delay could put you out of the race forever. Too often, organisations fail because leaders tend to get stuck, analyse endlessly and seek a perfect answer. And it also doesn't pay if you are too rigid. If you are dogmatic about a decision even after circumstances have changed, it is a perfect recipe for disaster. Sometimes you have to go by intuition, and be flexible enough to make a last-minute adjustment if the situation so demands.

When dealing with people, remember that the good of the company is more important than the perceived good of its employees. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. Conversely, trying to please all the people all the time will surely upset the most productive people in the organisation. As a leader, therefore, you must take decisions that may not be popular, but are critical for your organisation to thrive. At the same time, employees must have enough faith in you to approach you with their problems without fear of retribution.

Finally, a leader in a modern corporate environment needs to be a role model for the organisation. In the words of Aristotle, a true leader must "endeavour to be what he desires to appear".