The only thing that guarantees respect for you from your team members and your line manager in an organization is when you have evidence-based results. Result is the only thing that terminates insults. The only language that insults understands is outstanding results.

As a leader of a team, you must prove to your team members that you are worthy of that role by leading them to success. Leaders without results tell stories. Avoid stories and excuses! When a leader has results, he is able to silence doubts and criticisms. A delivery of outstanding outcome in your deliverables creates a shield against naysayers and skeptics. Excuses for the non-achievement of results will always diminish a leader in the sight of his followers. Leadership is authenticated by results.

In leadership, as in science, empirical evidence reigns supreme. The role of a leader is to provide clear direction that consistently leads to success. A leader must see himself as a coach guiding a sports team. A coach who leads their team to championship victories earns unwavering respect from players, regardless of personal differences or past conflicts. When Satya Nadella of Microsoft became CEO in 2014, the company was losing ground in the tech industry.

Nadella didn't waste time with rhetoric; instead, he focused on transforming Microsoft's culture and business model. He pushed for cloud computing, embraced open-source technologies, and fostered a growth mindset within the organization. The results were phenomenal with Microsoft's market value tripling, and it regained its position as a tech industry leader. Nadella's evidence-based approach not only turned the company around but also earned him profound respect from employees and shareholders.


When your team consistently achieves results, it creates a virtuous cycle of motivation and success. Each victory, no matter how small, fuels the desire for more accomplishments. As a leader, your goal should be to cultivate an environment where breaking new ground and achieving milestones becomes the norm. Jeff Bezos' leadership at Amazon exemplifies this principle. By consistently pushing for innovation and customer-centric results, Bezos created a culture of high achievement at Amazon. From the introduction of Amazon Prime to the development of AWS, each success motivated the team to aim higher. This relentless focus on results not only transformed Amazon into a global powerhouse but also earned Bezos immense respect from his team and the business world at large. Leaders must strive to develop skills that will help them achieve results.
These skills include:

1. Strategic Thinking: Develop the ability to see the big picture and plan accordingly. You must endeavor to see through the actions that are about to be taken. Many leaders don’t think through the impact of their decisions and that doesn’t end well many times.

2. Decision-Making: Cultivate the skill to make timely and effective decisions. Leaders who want to achieve results must know the importance of their decisions and must be able to make such decisions timely. To make the best decisions, leaders must gather enough data and information. They must avoid making decisions based on intuition. The more data you have on a matter, the less likely you will make a wrong decision.

3. Problem-Solving: Enhance your capacity to tackle challenges creatively and efficiently. There will always be challenges but you must develop the intellectual capacity that will help minimize the enormity of the challenges, The more you know on a subject matter, the easier it will be for you to solve problems in that particular area.

4. Communication: Refine your ability to articulate goals and expectations clearly. Leaders must be able to explain to their team members in a way that will make it easy for their vision and actions to be understood by them. The ability to communicate is a special skill and it helps team members to buy into the leaders’ vision.

5. Adaptability: Foster the flexibility to adjust strategies in response to changing circumstances. Leaders must be able to adapt to different environments, events and circumstances. Adaptability means avoiding rigidity. Sticking to an identified action plan when events around may have changed could hinder getting results.

A leader’s reputation is written in the language of results. Every successful quarter, every exceeded target, every breakthrough achievement becomes a chapter in his credibility story. Your team will follow you not because of your position on an organizational chart, but because you consistently prove you can lead them to victory. Leaders will do well if they speak less of what they will do but start showing what they can achieve.

In the unforgiving arena of business leadership, results aren’t just important but they’re everything. The scoreboard never lies, and neither should your track record. Remember: respect isn’t given; it’s earned. And the only currency that matters in earning it is consistent, measurable, and undeniable results.

Oluwole Dada is the General Manager at SecureID Limited, Africa’s largest smart card manufacturing plant in Lagos, Nigeria.