Toward a theory of spiritual leadership PART 1

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Toward a theory of spiritual leadership
Louis W. Fry*
Tarleton State University-Central Texas, 1901 South Clear Creek Road, Killeen, TX 76549, USA

Abstract
A causal theory of spiritual leadership is developed within an intrinsic motivation model that incorporates vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love, theories of workplace spirituality, and spiritual survival. The purpose of spiritual leadership is to create vision and value congruence across the strategic, empowered team, and individual levels and, ultimately, to foster higher levels of organizational commitment and productivity.
I first examine leadership as motivation to change and review motivation-based leadership theories.
Second, I note the accelerating call for spirituality in the workplace, describe the universal human need for spiritual survival through calling and membership, and distinguish between religion and spirituality. Next, I introduce a generic definition of God as a higher power with a continuum upon which humanistic, theistic, and pantheistic definitions of God can be placed. I also review religiousand ethics-and-values-based leadership theories and conclude that, to motivate followers, leaders must get in touch with their core values and communicate them to followers through vision and personal actions to create a sense of spiritual survival through calling and membership.
I then argue that spiritual leadership theory is not only inclusive of other major extant motivationbased theories of leadership, but that it is also more conceptually distinct, parsimonious, and less conceptually confounded. And, by incorporating calling and membership as two key follower needs for spiritual survival, spiritual leadership theory is inclusive of the religious- and ethics and valuesbased approaches to leadership. Finally, the process of organizational development and transformation through spiritual leadership is discussed. Suggestions for future research are offered.

1. Introduction
With the dawn of a new century, there is an emerging and exponentially accelerating force for global societal and organizational change. From this realization has come a call for more holistic leadership that integrates the four fundamental arenas that define the essence ofhuman existence—the body (physical), mind (logical/rational thought), heart (emotions, feelings), and spirit (Moxley, 2000).
One of the major driving forces behind this phenomenon is the Internet, which is bringing about forces for change at seemingly light-year speed. Responding to these forces will require a major organizational transformation to a learning organizational paradigm that is radically different from the traditional centralized, standardized, and formalized bureaucratic organizational form based on fear that has been the dominant organizational paradigm since the beginning of the industrial revolution (Ancona, Kochan, Scully, Van Maanen, & Westney, 1999; Moxley, 2000).
A learning organization is one in which expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured and collective aspiration is set free. People in learning organizations are empowered to achieve a clearly articulated organizational vision. They are continually learning to learn together to expand their capacity to create desired results (Senge, 1990). Quality products and services that exceed expectations characterize learning organizations. This new networked or learning organizational paradigm is radically different from what has gone before: It is love-led, customer/client-obsessed, intrinsically motivated, empowered team-based, flat (in structure), flexible (in capabilities), diverse (in personnel make-up) and networked (working with many other organizations in a symbiotic relationship) in alliances with suppliers, customers/clients, and even competitors, innovative, and global (Ancona et al., 1999).
The employees of learning organizations are characterized as being open and generous, capable of thinking in group teams, and risk-takers with the ability to motivate others (Ancona et al., 1999). Furthermore, they must be able to abandon old alliances and establish new ones, view honest mistakes as necessary to learning, and ‘‘celebrate the noble effort’’ and exhibit a ‘‘do what it takes’’ attitude versus the more traditional ‘‘not my job’’ attitude endemic to bureaucracy. Here, people are empowered with committed leaders at the strategic, empowered team, and personal levels that act as coaches in a ‘‘learning organization’’ constantly striving to listen, experiment, improve, innovate, and create new leaders (Ancona et al., 1999; Bass, 2000; McGill & Slocum, 1992). For the learning organization, developing, leading, motivating, organizing, and retaining people to be committed to the organization’s vision, goals, culture, and values are the major challenge.
A major proposition of this review is that spiritual leadership is necessary for the transformation to and continued success of a learning organization. Spiritual leadership taps into the fundamental needs of both leader and follower for spiritual survival so they become more organizationally committed and productive. I will argue that previous leadership theories have focused in varying degrees on one or more aspects of the physical, mental, or emotional elements of human interaction in organizations and neglected the spiritual
component. I define spiritual leadership as comprising the values, attitudes, and behaviors that are necessary to intrinsically motivate one’s self and others so that they have a sense of spiritual survival through calling and membership
This entails
1. creating a vision wherein organization members experience a sense of calling in that their
life has meaning and makes a difference;
2. establishing a social/organizational culture based on altruistic love whereby leaders and
followers have genuine care, concern, and appreciation for both self and others, thereby
producing a sense of membership and feel understood and appreciated.
I first examine leadership as motivation to change and review motivation-based path–goal, charismatic, transactional, and transformational leadership theories. I then note the accelerating call for spirituality in the workplace, describe the universal human need for spiritual survival through calling and membership, make a clear distinction between religion and spirituality, and, drawing from the works of Horton (1950) and Smith
(1992), introduce a generic definition of God as a higher power and a continuum upon which atheistic, humanistic, theistic, and pantheistic definitions of God can be placed. I
also review religious- and ethics and values-based leadership theories that emphasize that leaders must get in touch with their core values and communicate them to followers
through vision, values, and personal actions. In doing so, leaders must be attuned to
satisfying followers’ needs for spiritual survival through the universal spiritual values of
humility, charity, and veracity.
Next, a causal theory of spiritual leadership is offered within an intrinsic motivation model that incorporates vision, hope/faith, and altruistic love, theories of workplace spirituality and spiritual survival, and the organizational outcomes of commitment and productivity. I then demonstrate that spiritual leadership theory is not only inclusive of other major extant theories of motivation, but that it is also more conceptually distinct and less conceptually confounded. In addition, spiritual leadership theory explicitly incorporates
specific and theoretically relevant leader and follower higher order needs and cultural and organizational effectiveness dimensions into a causal model framework—something no other leadership theory has done to date. At the same time, by incorporating calling and membership as two key dimensions of spiritual survival, spiritual leadership theory also is inclusive of the religious- and ethics and values-based approaches to leadership. The process of organizational transformation and development through spiritual leadership and
the learning organizational paradigm is discussed. Suggestions for future research are offered.
2. Leadership and motivation
Although leadership has been a topic of interest for thousands of years, scientific research in this area was only begun in the 20th century. Early research, building upon the great man theory of leadership (Judge, Bono, Ilies, & Gerhardt, 2002), found that the situation also plays a vital role in determining leader effectiveness and that; to be effective, leaders must behave differently in different situations (Stogdill, 1974). The focus then shifted to discovering which behaviors and circumstances must be joined to produce effective group and organizational outcomes. Early research at Michigan and Ohio State universities discovered that leaders must attend to both task-oriented and social/emotional issues through directive and supportive behaviors.
By the late 1960s, full-blown ‘‘contingency theories’’ were developed. Contingency leadership theory posits that for a leader to be effective there must be an appropriate fit between the leader’s behavior and the conditions of the situation. One of the more advanced contingency theories is the path–goal theory of leadership that formally links leadership and motivation theory (effort!performance!reward). Path–goal theory adds participative and achievement-oriented leader behaviors to directive and supportive behaviors to address the effort–reward linkage, performance–reward linkage, establish stretch performance goals, and
clarifies of followers’ need for rewards (House & Mitchell, 1974). Finally, substitutes for leadership theory (Kerr & Jermier, 1977) identifies aspects of the situation that act to neutralize or substitute for leader behavior. ‘‘The idea that leaders could analyze their situation and tailor their behavior to it was compelling and is the foundation for much leadership training today’’ (Daft, 2001).
Beginning in the 1980s, there began to be a shift in focus from behavioral contingency leadership theories of individuals in groups (House, 1996) to strategic leadership that emphasized vision, motivation, and control through values in clan or adaptability cultures. The uncertainty inherent in rapidly changing external conditions and environments caused researchers to begin to question the effectiveness of the traditional centralized, standardized, and formalized bureaucratic organizational paradigm. In addition, the decimation of traditionally U.S.-dominated industries, such as automobile and steel, by the Japanese led to intense scrutiny of Japanese ideas, such as team leadership and total quality management, as alternatives to bureaucracy (Ouchi, 1981; Peters & Waterman, 1982; Vroman & Luschinger, 1994).
Particularly effective for flexibility in rapidly changing organizational environments are the clan and adaptive cultures. The clan culture substitute’s control through values and beliefs for traditional bureaucratic control mechanisms like standardization, formalization, and centralization. Clan control primarily has an internal focus on the involvement and participation of employees to meet the expectations of a rapidly changing environment (Ouchi, 1981). It emphasizes the values of cooperation, consideration, agreement, fairness, and social equality. The adaptability culture has strategic leaders that support values promoting autonomy, individual initiative and responsibility, creativity, risk-taking, learning, and entrepreneurship that allow the organization to interpret and translate signals from the environment into new goals and strategies. Both the clan and adaptability cultures place an emphasis on flexibility in meeting the demands of an uncertain and ever-changingenvironment.
These developments led to an emerging awareness that, up until that time, theories of leadership generally had not incorporated, and addressed the conceptual distinction between management as control and leadership as motivation (Conger & Kanungo, 1988; Kotter, 1988; Maddock & Fulton, 1998). Both leadership and management are concerned with providing direction for the organization. However, management is about planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. Leadership is about motivating people to change. Management is primarily focused on short-term results, creating organizational stability and control, and ensuring predictable performance—much like the operation of a home thermostat (Kotter, 1988). Although not explicitly focused at the strategic level, path–goal, charismatic (House & Howell, 1992) and transformational (Bass, 1999) theories of leadership focus on motivating followers.
For the present purpose, I will use the definition and generic process of leadership as motivation to change developed by Kouzes and Pozner (1987, p. 30)—‘‘Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.’’ From their perspective leadership entails motivating followers by creating a vision of a long-term challenging, desirable, compelling, and different future. This vision, when combined with a sense of mission of who we are and what we do, establishes the organization’s culture with its fundamental ethical system and core values. The ethical system then establishes a moral imperative for right and wrong behavior, which, when combined with organizational goals and strategies, acts as a substitute (Kerr & Jermier, 1977) for traditional fear-led bureaucratic structure (centralization, standardization, and formalization) and, when L.W. Fry / The Leadership Quarterly 14 (2003) 693–727 697
coupled with a powerful vision, provides the roadmap for the changes to the learning organizational paradigm needed for organizational effectiveness in the 21st century. Thus, it is the act of establishing a culture with values that influences others to strongly desire, mobilize, and struggle for a shared vision that defines the essence of motivating through leadership.
2.1. Extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation
Motivation includes the forces, either external or internal to a person, that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action. Motivation is primarily concerned with what energizes human behavior, what directs or channels such behavior, and how this behavior is maintained or sustained. The basic building blocks of a generalized model of the motivation process are needs or expectations, behavior, goals or performance, rewards, and some form of feedback (Galbraith, 1977; Steers & Porter, 1983). Most contemporary theorists assume that people initiate and persist at behaviors to the extent that they believe the behaviors will lead to desired outcomes or goals (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
Motivation in the workplace results when leaders create an environment that brings out the best in people as they achieve and receive individual, group, and system-wide rewards. It refers to those desires that, coupled with expectation of reward contingent on performance, cause the individual to exert effort above minimum levels, be spontaneous, and exhibit exploratory/cooperative behaviors (Galbraith, 1977).
There are two basic types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Fig. 2 illustrates the distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation consists of behaviors that are motivated by factors external to the individual. Extrinsic rewards are given by others and may be individual, group-based, or system-wide (Galbraith, 1977).
Examples include promotions, pay increases, bonus checks, pressure to perform, supervisory
behavior, insurance benefits, and vacation time. Extrinsic rewards originate externally and require meeting or exceeding the expectations of others. Under extrinsic motivation
individuals feel compelled to engage in task behavior for an outside source to satisfy lower
order needs to provide what they need (e.g., money) to survive. Our modern concepts of bureaucracy and extrinsic motivation are rooted in the experience of early efforts to create large military, religious, and feudal organizations, such as the Roman Army, Catholic Church, and Kingdom of England. The primary basis for motivation in these traditional centralized, standardized, and formalized bureaucratic organizations has been fear (Daft, 2001). The main benefit of bureaucracy and leading by fear is to create a control system that ensures minimum levels of effort, organizational commitment, and performance.
However, fear led bureaucracies also can prevent people from feeling good about their work and lead to avoidance behavior, including feelings of powerlessness and low confidence, low commitment, enthusiasm, and imagination (Ryan & Oestreich, 1991). Most importantly is the effect of reduced trust and communication so that important problems and issues are hidden or suppressed (Nyhan, 2000).
Intrinsic motivation is most basically defined as interest and enjoyment of an activity for its own sake and is associated with active engagement in tasks that people find interesting and fun and that, in turn, promote growth and satisfy higher order needs. Intrinsic motivation has been shown to be associated with better learning, performance, and well-being (Benware & Deci, 1984; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Valas & Slovik, 1993). It is believed to result from an individual’s basic need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
Competence is a feeling or sense of craftsmanship or artistry in task accomplishment, that one is responding well to task situations, has mastery of the task or its activities, and is confident about handling similar tasks in the future. Autonomy tends to increase intrinsic motivation to the extent that there is an internally perceived locus of causality, task accomplishment is under one’s control, and he or she feels free to exert extra effort in following their inner interests. Intrinsic motivation will also be more likely to flourish in contexts characterized by a sense of secure relatedness, especially when significant others in the task environment are experienced as warm and caring (Ryan & Grolnick, 1986; Ryan & La Guardia, 2000; Ryan, Stiller, & Lynch, 1994).
Intrinsic motivation at work is also manifested through autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Intrinsic motivation in the workplace requires some degree of autonomy or self-management. Intrinsically motivated workers feel competence and relatedness through working in empowered teams that are directing team activities toward a meaningful purpose and doing something the members regard as significant and meaningful. Individuals in empowered teams have a sense of ownership of the work and are completely engaged in its tasks, which require their best thinking and creativity. They take pride in their work and are excited in having a sense of progress and seeing the results of their efforts (Conger & Kanungo, 1988; Spreitzer, 1996; Thomas, 2000).
Intrinsic rewards involving task involvement are internal and under control of the individual and satisfy higher order needs for competency, self-determination, and selffulfillment. These rewards result from the internal experience one has in performing a task that one feels gives satisfaction through its performance. Solving a problem at work that benefits others that may fulfill a personal mission or purpose, being part of a ‘‘winning’’ team, L.W. Fry / The Leadership Quarterly 14 (2003) 693–727 699 or completion of a complex task that gives a pleasant feeling of accomplishment are examples. For individuals experiencing intrinsic motivation, the performance of the task becomes the reward. In this sense, performance and rewards are fused, indistinguishable, or become one and the same (see Fig. 2).
Intrinsic motivation at work can also occur through goal identification. Goal identification occurs to the extent that individuals have internalized into their own value systems the vision and values of the organization and the goals or subgoals the organization is pursuing (Galbraith, 1977). The goals have value to the individual because they are acquired through a long process of socialization in the organization or because they participated in developing the organization’s vision, values, and goals and have therefore have high acceptance of and are highly committed to them. The achievement of these goals then is instrumental in satisfying one’s higher order (spiritual) needs for self-esteem, relatedness, and growth. It is through this process that behaviors perceived to be instrumental to goal attainment acquire value and become intrinsically rewarding.

Business Leadership - What it Takes to Differentiate Yourself in the 21st Century

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Business Leadership - What it Takes to Differentiate Yourself in the 21st Century

Business leadership is not about any single quality so much as it is about a number of qualities that come together to create something much stronger than any of those qualities alone. Business leadership is not so much about managing others and "taking charge" as it is about motivating by example.

So if business leadership is something that is difficult to pin down, what steps can you take so that you will find yourself recognized as a leader in this, the 21st century? What can you do to incorporate the principles of leadership into your life so that you will be able to achieve your goals and rise to the top in your organization or your career field?

One step is to look at those leaders who you admire. Whether you're inspiration comes from political leaders - those who have been able to unite the people of their country during difficult times - or from leaders within your own field, when you are looking for information that will help you to take on a business leadership role, it's important to understand what makes someone a leader.

In other words, when you are thinking about business leadership, it's important to take the time to understand courage, determination, and to learn more about the ways in which leaders speak to those who follow them. Ultimately, what you will find is that by embracing those qualities within yourself, you will be able to persevere and to reach the goals that you have set for yourself and for those who you are working with.

Ultimately, what you are likely to discover is that, in order to differentiate yourself in the 21st century and to take on a business leadership role, you will need to:

* Learn to set aside excuses. The majority of people who are in business find a way to come up with a number of excuses when something that they have been asked to do isn't done. Leaders, on the other hand, focus on getting the job done.

* Learn the value of making mistakes. When we make mistakes, it's important to take advantage of the lessons that come out of them so that we can use that knowledge to move forward.

* Learn to lead from within. When you are looking at business leadership characteristics, you'll see that those who are in a supervisory role are not just watching others and telling them what they do wrong; instead, when they see a problem they jump into the trenches and work with their staff, helping them to solve problems and to find creative solutions.

Business leadership is about working with others and motivating them to do more – to be more. When you're looking for a way to differentiate yourself from others, one of the best things that you can do is to work well with others, put forth your best effort at all times and to make sure that – at all times – you're making an effort to bring a team of people together.

Finally, remember this: business leadership is about having a willingness to try something new. To set yourself apart from the crowd, you need to look at the big picture – and then to get everyone else to see it too.

Copyright 2008, Cecile Peterkin.

Business Leadership - What it Takes to Differentiate Yourself in the 21st Century - To learn more about this author, visit Cecile Peterkin's Website.

Developing Your Leadership Skills

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Developing Your Leadership Skills

Leadership is not always dependent upon being at the head of the crowd. It is more than a position. The next time you are in a meeting or a social function, see how quickly you can tell who the real leader is. It is not necessarily the person at the head of the table or the one with the title. It is the person other watch and listens to and naturally follows.

We all have areas in which we excel and from time to time we are all thrust into different leadership roles. Take advantage of those situations and use them to develop your leadership skills. Leadership takes time and experience to develop.

Qualities of a Leader

1. Perceived as positive and trustworthy
2. Must have clear values and live those values
3. Communicates directly
4. Forms intensive one-on-one relationships
5. See themselves as constantly evolving human being, focusing more inwardly than outwardly
6. Intuitive, understanding of what needs to be done
7. Finds self-esteem through self-reliance and personal expression
8. Courageous – must not balk at obstacles or become bewildered in the presence of adversity
9. Empathetic – appreciation and understanding of others values
10. Decisive – knowing when to act and when not to act
11. Accountable for personal actions
12. Dependable
13. Responsible
14. Stewardship
15. Self-confidence

Leadership, like swimming, cannot be learned by reading about it.
--- Henry Mintzberg



Developing Your Leadership Skills - To learn more about this author, visit Cecile Peterkin's Website.

YOUR ROLE AS SUPERVISOR AND MANAGER

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YOUR ROLE AS SUPERVISOR AND MANAGER

Your life changes, the first time that you become responsible for the performance of a group. When you were an individual contributor, you had pretty much complete control over what to do in order to achieve better results. As a manager, you’re now responsible for other people’s performance! Once you become responsible for a group of people and their performance, that control disappears and is replaced with persuasion and influence.

No matter what you may have read in management literature, leadership, management, and supervision are not about what you are or the title you hold. They’re about your behavior and the “roles” you play while working with others to accomplish something of importance to the organization!
How do we become “Managers?”

For decades, if not centuries, scholars, leaders, and the people they lead, have been attempting to define the nature of effective management. Countless books and articles have been written containing definitive checklists of what it takes to be a manager.

One of the ironies of management is that most individuals become supervisors or managers because they are very good at performing within a particular job skill. People are rewarded with a promotion to a management position because they are good accountants, engineers, salespeople, marketers, etc. Typically, because these individuals have been so focused on what they are very good at “doing,” most have seldom thought about all the aspects of effective management. Nor is it likely that these individuals have asked themselves “soft” questions like: Why do people work?, What do they want from their jobs?, What is the nature of the relationship that “others” have with work?, How can human relationships be transformed to have a greater impact on the organization?, How will I, their manager, provide the kind of environment that encourages people to bring all of themselves to work, so that they are productive, personally satisfied, and have a significant impact on organizational strategy?

Instead of quickly learning about what’s expected of them as managers and assuming the role of managing others, many newly promoted people tend to stay in their “comfort zones” and begin to “micromanage” the people they are supposed to empower and lead. Another problem is that many managers in a new assignment have spent much of their time in other groups or disciplines and do not fully understand the mind-set of the people they are charged with managing or where their area of responsibility fits into the bigger picture.

Additionally, if the individual has had any training most likely they were formally or informally schooled in “traditional management.” The management skills they learned primarily dealt with planning, controlling, directing, and organizing. At the heart of most management training lays the drive for systemic, sophisticated, definitive rules, which are all aimed at consistency. This approach produces people who are experts within their own domain and who do everything in their power to do things right in accordance to a specific plan. Managers are typically compliance driven. This is both good and bad.

In contrast leadership focuses primarily on people, performance, and possibilities. In its most obvious form, leadership manifests itself in the future focus orientation of individuals and their behavior toward the importance of people. There is an inherent assumption by leaders that the capability of people is the most critical point of leverage in producing not only excellent, consistent results, but also in driving significant change for future success while meeting the urgent and immediate creative needs of the organization. Quoting Warren Bennis from his book, “On Becoming a Leader,” “Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right things.” This is not to say that management is bad and leadership is good, what it does say is that both are needed and both are different. While the ideal is a blend of both in one individual, the reality is that individuals are far more likely to lean in one direction or the other.

Research on the theory of leadership has found that there are three basic ways people become leaders.

1. Small numbers of people become leaders because a crisis or important event causes a person to rise to the occasion. The event brings out some extraordinary leadership qualities in an otherwise ordinary person.
2. A few people have some strong personality traits that lead them naturally into a leadership role.
3. The most widely accepted theory today holds that people can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills and modify their behavior to the extent that others will follow their lead. People with a passion to lead others can transform themselves into successful leaders.

A study conducted by the Gallup Organization came to the following conclusions. The core activities of a manager and a leader are simply different. It is entirely possible for a person to be a brilliant manager and a terrible leader. Conversely, great leaders can effectively delegate the details that need to be managed. The most important difference between a great manager and a great leader is one of focus. Great managers look inward; they look inside the organization, into each individual, at specific goals, tasks, and needs. In short, they look at the details. Great leaders by contrast, look outward. They look at the competition, out toward the future, and out toward alternative routes forward. They focus on broad patterns and finding connections, and then they press home their advantage where the greatest impact can be made. Leaders must be visionaries, strategic thinkers, and activators. They effectively delegate the details and take risks to move the organization forward. Note: The organization needs both brilliant managers and great leaders! Why do you think this is true?

The basic core competencies of organizational management:

The following list describes the roles, strengths and core competencies of the typically “good supervisor/manager” and the typically “good leader.”

MANAGERS LEADERS
Manage the present Focus on the future
Are compliance driven Are performance driven
Are efficient Are effective
Do things right Do the right things
Enforce the policies and regulations Promote values
Monitor people Inspire people
Train specific skills Educate, mentor, and coach
Perpetuate consistency Are change agents
Follow a vision Create the vision
React to customer problems Anticipate customer needs

As you can see, managers and leaders have complimentary roles, strengths and competencies that can both facilitate disciplined consistency and inspire innovative growth. Both roles appear to be very specific and, in a typical hierarchical organization, they are. However, consider the potential when all of the strengths described are blended within a team of people rather than focused on one or two people. This concept begins to bring the management role up and at the same time push the leadership role down into the organization. This “distributed management/leadership model” allows almost everyone to share in being a manager/leader depending on the situation and his or her talents and capabilities.

This blending of individuality and individual excellence is the key element of a fantastic delivery system, or what can be called a “management dream team.” This is a team where each individual’s strengths leverage every other team members’ strengths, creating a situation where the whole truly is greater than the sum of its parts!

Note: This approach does not change titles, but rather changes the roles and mind-set of all stakeholders and helps all stakeholders to be more engaged in the total process of running the business.
Roles and responsibilities of front-line managers: Front-line managers are defined as managers who have first-line responsibility for a work group of approximately 10 to 25 people. They are accountable to a higher level of management and are placed in the lower layers of the management hierarchy, normally at the first level.

The role typically includes a combination of:
• people management
• managing operational costs
• providing technical expertise
• organizing, such as planning work allocation
• monitoring work processes
• checking quality
• dealing with customers/clients
• measuring operational performance.

Why are front-line managers important? Front-line managers are often crucial in making the difference between low-performing and high-performing firms. Occupying a key position in the organization, they are the deliverers of success by implementing strategies that focus the efforts of individuals on business goals and translating them into positive outcomes.
Front-line managers typically have to implement policies such as appraisal or team briefing and have a major role to play in bringing these organizational policies “to life.” They are important in influencing employees’ attitudes towards the organization and their job, and “their behavior” is the most important factor in explaining the variation in both job satisfaction and job discretion, ie. the choice people have over how they do their jobs. Front-line managers are also one of the more critical factors in developing organizational commitment.
Botom line: Front line managers are important as they are the management eyes and ears of the company; they are the ones who have to deliver results through their people directly to the internal or external customer. They make sure commitments are kept!
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Roger M. Ingbretsen, Author, Speaker, Leadership Coach, Organizational and Career Developer. For more information, visit www.ingbretsen.com or call 509 999 7008.


YOUR ROLE AS SUPERVISOR AND MANAGER - To learn more about this author, visit Roger Ingbretsen's Website.

Succession Leadership is the Success Lynch Pin for Individuals, Businesses and Organizations

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Succession Leadership is the Success Lynch Pin for Individuals, Businesses and Organizations

What makes some individuals to organizations more successful and sustainable than others? The answer simply is great and effective leadership. Much is written about leadership, as well it should, because bad leadership spells disaster!

In today’s business world, we see and hear of examples of failed, ineffective or just bad leadership. General Electric is one of the best examples were bad leadership has spelled disaster.

Under the leadership of Jack Welch who retired in 2001, General Electric grew to an international, multi-billion dollar. Since the new leadership of Jeff Immelt, the stock has dropped over 50% in the last 8 years. Now the firm is in survival mode instead of thriving mode. The decline in stock value began before the recent financial meltdown. Excuses can be made, but bottom line the reason for this decline is the bad succession leadership under the current Chief Executive Officer.

Closer to home, bad leadership can be viewed from regional business networking organizations to local governments. No matter the structure of any organization, be it for profit or not for profit, bad leadership will result in everything from a decline in customer loyalty to poor business results.

How to develop leadership that is effective has turned into an entire new industry that being succession leadership. With many baby boomers retiring, organizations are scrambling to develop great leaders from within and from outside of their ranks. Many of these firms are establishing their own Leadership Institutes to ensure succession leadership for the future viability.

Since succession leadership planning is gaining momentum, human capital talent management is now beginning to take a stronger hold within the global economy. Leadership Institutes within medium to larger firms are becoming far more commonplace than just a few year ago. This change in belief may also help to explain the increase in leadership coaching that small businesses to C Suite executives now embrace as a necessary business strategy.

Now, not later, is the time to start developing ethical and results driven leadership in your business by recognizing that succession leadership is the lynch pin to success. Implement a succession leadership program in your organization. Develop those hidden leaders and work with them to become leaders who will take your business to that next level of success.


Succession Leadership is the Success Lynch Pin for Individuals, Businesses and Organizations - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.

Good Leaders Must Be Good Followers

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Good Leaders Must Be Good Followers

Are you ready to lead?

Good Leaders, those that exhibit good leadership, true leadership, effective leadership, know they have to learn to be great followers first.

Joe and Lester, two directors in this organization, left the meeting with the Senior Vice President. The looked quickly to make sure no one was listening.

Joe, “Man, I can’t believe that idiot wants us to go back to using our old vendor. If our top priority is price, why in the heck are we going back to them?”

Lester, “What is rocks-in-his-head thinking? Their deadlines on delivery are a week longer than our current vendor. I don’t even get it. Hey, it’s almost lunch time. Why don’t we beat the crowd and head over to Papa Don Giovanni’s now?”

Joe, “Great idea. I am starving. Oh, hold on. I had a staff meeting scheduled. Let me call my admin and have her move the meeting to after lunch.”

Before we can become leaders we must learn how to follow

How would you feel if two important members of your team supported you in your meeting and then griped and moaned about you in the hall on the way back to their work-stations?

How would you feel if you had planned on attending a meeting and at the last minute the boss called to move the time?

How can you expect people to follow you if you are leading them astray?

As a leader you are always leading.
Your people watch as you walk into the room. Are you walking confidently? Are your shoulders hunched? Is your expression open or closed? Is there a frown on your face? Or a smile? If you are usually smiling, what does it mean when you are frowning? If you normally don’t greet your coworkers and today you do, what does it mean? Each and everything that you do, or don’t do, has meaning. You have to always think in terms of leadership.

AND IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT THEM!

As a leader you must be constantly aware of what you say and do and what you are not saying and not doing.
That one time where you don’t think anybody is listening is the one time when they will be.
That one time when you don’t think you are being watched is the one time that you will be.
Does this mean you have to be perfect? No. You do have to be constantly aware. You do have to always think in terms of leadership. Everything you do and don’t do leads.

Action Items.

Practice thinking in terms of leadership.

What is my expression saying?

Am I modeling behavior that I would find abhorrent in a follower?

What is my walk telling people?

What is my tone of voice saying or not saying?

I am walking the talk and talking the walk?

Ask your team if you model behaviors you expect from them.



Good Leaders Must Be Good Followers - To learn more about this author, visit John Cameron's Website.

Sun Tzu on Leadership

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Sun Tzu on Leadership

introduction
While there has been a great deal of emphasis on the personality of the leader in modern leadership literature it is neither a new nor a novel idea. In fact, Master Sun or Sun Tzu described the five traits of an effective leader over 2500 years ago (Gagliardi, 1999). The Gagliardi translation of Sun Tzu’s “bing fa”, often translated as “Art of War”, outlines the traits of the effective leader as well as informing the reader of the “dark side” traits of leadership that one must avoid. When one adds the dimensions of the follower and the situation to the leadership equation, the Art of War becomes a handbook for leadership. It is believed that this was his intention in creating this document that has turned up in numerous tombs in consistently copied versions (Gagliardi, 2001).

Focus on the leader’s personality

The traits of a leader have been the source of investigation for generations. As these investigations parallel the study of personality in psychology it is useful to understand the direction of research in this field. Personality has been investigated from the view of a many trait approach, a single trait approach, an essential trait approach and a typological approach (Funder, 2004). Most modern models resort to some version of the “big-five” essential trait approach (p. 167).
Western “Big-Five” models of personality

The Big Five essential personality traits are: “extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness.” (Funder, 2004, p. 167) and have been used in numerous recent leadership investigations. Topics of investigation include: the leader’s traits effects on project management (Ghering, 2007), the big-five and transformational leadership (Judge & Bono, 2000), typical and maximal performance rating and five-factor model influences (Ployhart, Lim, & Chan, 2001) and have even focused on cross-cultural influence of five-factor trait models and transformational leadership (Lian, 2002). The big five are firmly established in the literature as the dominant means of assessing dimensions of a leader’s personality.
Sun Tzu in the East:

The general Sun Wu lived in the “Spring and Autumn” era, around 500 BC, in what would eventually become China. During this period of strife, China was a system of warring city-states that was not united (Gagliardi, 2004). He was a military general and one of the first consultants in recorded history hired by the king of Wu, an unsuccessful province, with the expressed goal of enhancing the economic situation of the kingdom. Sun Wu helped advance the city-state and unified the Yang Tze river valley under the leadership of the king of Wu. For his efforts he was granted the title of Master translated as Tzu becoming Sun Tzu (Master Sun). His book the Art of War has become the definitive tome for advancing in competitive environments (Gagliardi, 2001). It was a descendant of Sun Tzu’s, Sun Ping, that is credited with uniting China into an empire that lasted for over 2000 years by using the principles outlined in the Art of War (Gagliardi, 1999).
Sun Tzu in the west:

A French Missionary named Amiot is credited with translating The Art of War into French in 1722 where it eventually fell into the hands of a young Corporal named Napoleon Bonaparte. He followed the principles explicitly, other than his defeat at Waterloo, to build a tremendous empire (Gagliardi, 1999). It was not translated into English until around 1910, but has only been a mainstay of business strategy since the 1972 Taipei version with many adaptations being made specifically for the business community (Gagliardi, 1999). The use of it explicitly as a leadership development manual has not been investigated, which is curious as this was clearly the intent of the document in Sun Tzu’s time. The book does offer an essential trait theory of leadership personality with clear guidelines for leadership behavior adapted to the situation and follower.
Five element model

Sun Tzu in chapter 1 paragraph 1 of the Art of War defines five elements that are crucial to the success of an organization in competitive situations. These five elements include an understanding of: the climate (Tian), ground (Di), methods (Fa), philosophy/ culture (Tao), and the leader (Jiang) (Gagliardi, 2001). The first four deal with the situation and the follower, but the fifth element deals specifically with the commander or leader. Sun Tzu further identifies the five characteristics of a leader as one who “must be smart, trustworthy, caring, brave, and strict” (p. 22). These traits form what could be called Sun Tzu’s five factor model.

Sun Tzu’s Five Trait Model

Smart / Intelligence

Sun Tzu felt this was important as the intelligence and analytical abilities of the leader were essential to developing certain skills. The key skill indicated by this ability is the ability to read the terrain (Gagliardi, 1999). An intelligent leader understands where the terrain provides the best opportunities( Gagliardi, 2001). The intelligent commander is able to rightly understand the competitor’s leader, and to use the appropriate technique in gaining advantage. The most often quoted phrase of Sun Tzu: “ Know yourself and know your enemy. You will be safe in every battle.” (p. 48). Intelligence is often stressed in modern leadership research as well.
Trustworthiness

While it is often translated that all of “warfare is one thing. It is the art of deception.” (Gagliardi, p. 23) Sun Tzu holds trustworthiness as a necessary trait for the effective leader. The word deception is better translated as secrecy. Within a unit, he feels that you “must inspire your men’s devotion” (p. 131). Sun Tzu also thought that a follower “must never fear danger or dishonesty” (p. 17). This trustworthiness could be the opposite of neuroticism or synonymous with the modern trait of agreeableness. This trait is indicative of effective transformational leadership (Hartman, 1999). These personality traits surrounding values such as trustworthiness remain important. As one researcher notes: “the combination of a vibrant personality and good values is almost unbeatable; people will follow you anywhere.” (Friedman, 2001, p. 7). Sun Tzu said that one could lead people to their death only if the leader first earned their trust and got the follower to share the leader’s vision (Gagliardi, 2004).

Caring

Sun Tzu also recommended the leader care for his soldiers. He even suggested that the leader should “Preserve your troops…treat them as your beloved children” (Gagliardi, 1999, p. 113). The modern analogue would be extraversion. Modern research bears this out (Hartman, 1999).
“Personality traits found to be especially relevant for leadership effectiveness include high energy and stress tolerance, self-confidence, internal locus of control, emotional maturity, personal integrity, socialized power motivation and high achievement orientation…. One personality characteristic alone – lack of sufficient warmth- determines whether any of the other characteristics will be a liability rather than an asset for leader effectiveness.” (pp 31-33).
Sun Tzu offers his agreement from 2500 years ago. He urges a leader to “Take care of your men and do not overtax them. Your esprit de corps increases your momentum.” (Gagliardi, 1999, p. 123). This sounds suspiciously like a transformational leadership quality of creating a vision.
Courage / Braveness

Sun Tzu suggests that the leader should be courageous for obvious reasons. He suggests the leader behavior “The government may order you to fight. Despite that, you must avoid battle when you will lose.” (Gagliardi, 1999, p. 111). This requires great courage. He also says “military officers that are committed lose their fear.” (p. 123). The modern equivalent could be “openness to experience”. This personality trait is key to using feedback from subordinates to improve one’s performance (Smither, London, & Richmond; 2005).
Strictness / Discipline

Sun Tzu, as a military leader, extols this trait as essential.
“ We must be willing to do the unpleasant parts of the job as well as the fun parts. We must honor our agreements scrupulously. People must be able to depend on us. If we are not reliable, no one will support us for long” (Gagliardi, 2004, p. 45). This is similar to the Big Five trait of conscientiousness. This trait was discovered to be positively correlated with the use of feedback provided to leaders (Smither, et Al., 2005).
Complimentary Opposites:

To understand the appraisal of a leader within the context of Sun Tzu’s five-trait-model of leadership, one must understand the Taoist concept of complimentary opposites. There are two aspects of a combined force at work: the Yin and Yang. Neither is inherently right or wrong, but they exist in unison to varying degrees. These two forces are aspects of a shared force the Tao, or way (Ball, 2004). The concept of leadership and the traits can be understood through a similar manner. Emptiness gives rise to fullness, and vice-versa. (Galgliardi, 2001). Each of the aforementioned strengths of a leader, are described later in the Art of War as weaknesses when they exist in over abundance. Chinese Medicine views these “concentrations” as a source of pathology. (Ball, 2004). The same could be described as dark-side characteristics, or weaknesses, of leaders.
Dark-side Traits of Leadership:

The dark-side traits of leaders are described by Sun Tzu in the prescription for “killing the opposing general”. He sees intelligence becoming paralysis or scattering one’s resources which leads to capture. The leader who is very caring can be influenced by his troops. This was also seen in modern research when the influence tactics of followers were investigated (Cable and Judge, 2003). Sun Tzu cautions that “Some leaders are generous but cannot use their men. They love their men but cannot command them… These leaders create spoiled children. Their soldiers are useless.” (Gagliardi, 2001, p. 134). The third dark-side trait arises from trustworthiness. If a leader has “a delicate sense of honor” (p.102) he can be disgraced easily and goaded into unwise competition. Courage out of control becomes fearlessness and recklessness. Strictness to excess becomes debilitating inflexibility. Sun Tzu urges the leader to be adaptive. He says that the opportunity for victory comes from seeing opportunity within the environment; overly rigid leaders do not see novel opportunities.
The Followers:

Sun Tzu may have influenced the Situational Leadership Theory. The two share prescriptions for each type of follower. Master Sun wrote: “With new, undedicated soldiers, you can depend on them if you discipline them well.” (Gagliardi, 1999, p. 101). He recommended a different approach for seasoned, motivated soldiers. He said they could be depended upon but a leader must “avoid disciplining them without reason.” (p. 101). He suggested that a leader should control his people through training and enhancing esprit de corps. He also indicated a leader must “make it easy for people to know what to do” (p. 101). He advised leaders that it was not sufficient to demand performance from one’s followers. Instead, he urged, a leader must “pick good people and give them momentum” (p. 57).
The Situation:
The Situation plays heavily into Sun Tzu’s model of Leadership. The situation or the position is where the strength of the leader’s organization is derived. He suggests that knowing oneself as a leader and our opponents is a necessary but insufficient condition for victory. He says: “ Know the enemy and know yourself. Your victory will be painless. Know the weather and know the field [two elements of the situation]. Your victory will be complete.” (Gagliardi, 1999, p. 115). Sun Tzu goes forward to describe nine types of situations and prescribes the solutions for leading through these situations which are the topic for another day.

Modern implications:

Trait theories of leadership alone have largely been supplanted, by behavioral models but have seen a re-emergence in the context of the traits of a transformational leader (Hautala, 2005; Judge & Bono, 2005; Lian, 2002; Havaleschka, 1999). The personality also seems to come to rise for concerns of multi-rater performance evaluations (Ployhart, Lim, & 2001; Smither et Al. 2005; The Harvard Business Review, 1996). The implications of better understanding the leadership patterns found in Chinese culture are also obvious given the economic and military strength possessed by this country.

Conclusion:

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War forms the basis for the first recorded Trait-theory of leadership. The traits of intelligence, courage, trustworthiness, caring and discipline closely mirror those offered by the modern Big Five trait theory of personality analysis. The case could also be argued that this 2500-year-old text could form the basis for a primitive system of situational leadership. The specific treatment of different followers in different situations also validates this hypothesis. There are also surprising nuances of transformational leadership found in this model that remain the subject of research in the modern leadership literature. Sun Tzu proposed that everything moved in cycles and the findings of this investigation support this position.

References

Ball, P. (2004) The essence of Tao. Arturus Publishing Limited. London: England.


Cable, D.M., Judge, T. A., (2003). Managers' upward influence tactic strategies: The role of manager personality and supervisor leadership style. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(2), 197-214. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Choi, Y., Mai-Dalton, R. R. (1999). The model of followers' responses to self-sacrificial leadership: An empirical test. Leadership Quarterly, 10(3), 397-421. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Depree, M., (1997, April). Attributes of leaders. Executive excellence, 14(4), 8. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Friedman, E. (2001, March). Personality. Health Forum Journal, 44(2), 6-7+. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.
Funder, D.C. (2004). The personality puzzle. Third ed. Norton & Company. New York: NY.
Gagliardi, G., (1999) Sun Tzu’s art of war plus the ancient Chinese secret revealed. Clearbridge publishing. Seattle, WA.

Gagliardi, G., (2001) Sun Tzu’s art of war plus its amazing secrets: The keys to strategy. Clearbridge publishing. Seattle, WA.

Gagliardi, G., (2004) Sun Tzu’s art of war plus the warrior class: 306 lessons in strategy. Clearbridge publishing. Seattle, WA.

Gehring, D.R. (2007). Applying traits theory of leadership to project management. Project Management Journal, 38(1), 44-54. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Hartman, L., (1999). A psychological analysis of leadership effectiveness. Strategy & Leadership, 27(6), 30-32. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database

Hautala, T. (2005). The effects of subordinates' personality on appraisals of transformational leadership. Journal of leadership & organizational studies, 11(4), 84-92. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Havaleschka, F., (1999). Personality and leadership: a benchmark study of success and failure. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 20(3), 114-132. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Judge, T.A., Bono, J. E. (2000). Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership. Journal of applied psychology, 85(5), 751-765. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Lian, S. (2002) A cross-cultural test of the "Five-Factor Model of Personality and Transformational Leadership". M.Sc. dissertation, Concordia University (Canada), Canada. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ProQuest Digital Dissertations database.

Ployhart, R.E., Lim B.E, Chan K. Y., (2001). Exploring relations between typical and maximum performance ratings and the five factor model of personality. Personnel Psychology, 54(4), 809-843. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM

Smither, J.W., London, M., Richmond. , K.,(2005). The Relationship between leaders' personality and their reactions to and use of multisource feedback: A longitudinal study. Group & Organization Management, 30(2), 181-210. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

What's personality got to do with it? (1996). Harvard Business Review, 74(3), 114. Retrieved August 1, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Values The Key to Effective Ethical Leadership

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Values The Key to Effective Ethical Leadership

The lack of ethical leadership is a pervading factor in today’s society. Although interest in ethical leadership has increased dramatically, ethics in the global context of leadership has not been a subject of great discourse. Examining the essential role of values and ethics in the quest for effective leadership is the subject of this article.

Public concern about the ethical performance of leaders in developed and developing countries has grown over the last decade. This concern stems from the apparent proliferation of unethical leadership behavior that permeates all levels of society. Examples of unethical behavior transcend location, continents, nations, and people. One needs to only look at the number of news reports and what appears to be an accompanying flow of continuous unethical acts by renowned leaders to be convinced that there is a dire need for effective intervention.

In “Leading From Within,” educational writer and consultant Parker Palmer introduces a powerful metaphor to dramatize the distinction between ethical and unethical leadership. According to Palmer, the difference between moral and immoral leaders is as sharp as the contrast between light and darkness.

He further notes that a leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to create the conditions under which other people must live and move, conditions that can either be as illuminating as heaven or as shadowy as hell. A leader must take special responsibility for what is going on inside his or her own self, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good. (Palmer, 1996)

The role of values as a key to effective ethical leadership cannot be overemphasized. The relationship between ethical leadership and values is so intricately intertwined that one can hardly be discussed without referring to the other. Values are the driving force of a leader’s lifestyle and determine priorities in decision making. Values are what leaders stand for and what they are willing to die for. Values therefore form those intangible things that are most important and are foundational. However, it is worth noting that every value has a system, normally referred to as a value system. Every system, in turn, has a source. According to Webster’s dictionary a “system” is a complex of methods or rules governing behavior. It can also be viewed as a procedure or process for obtaining an objective. A “source” on the other hand denotes the point at which something springs into being or from which it derives or is obtained.

The key to effective leadership is to understand the set of methods or rules governing behavior that stem from the source and to thereafter apply the procedures required to attain our objectives. As global leaders, values are given to us by a higher being beyond ourselves (our value source) and are based on unique belief system. Values should therefore become foundational to who we are and what we do as leaders.

The need to hold global leaders to a standard of values that stem from an unchanging system is critical. In this age of globalization where competent leaders will strategically become part of important global decision making, there is a need for a firm basis of a higher system of value-driven decision making in leadership.

Values are relevant in two ways. Firstly, values, such as integrity, honesty and truthfulness apply as a general guide for behavior externally in the market place. Secondly, and more importantly, values should serve as an internal compass for the basis of rational thinking and decision-making. When values conflict, it is useful first to identify the specific source and system the value in question emanates from. It is also necessary to question the assumptions that under gird this value. The next step involves a decisive decision by the leader as to whether engagement in specific activities or decision-making that promote or endorse the value in question is a course of action to pursue. The challenge for leaders is to develop a capacity for sensitivity, alertness and comprehensive insight that will result in sound judgment.

We are living in a period of global history that is characterized with violent processes of change. As global leaders we have been given the most significant responsibility of influencing the direction that the world will take. This responsibility calls for every leader to keep in mind the magnitude of our present moment when setting priorities. When leaders cease to evaluate their own ethics in the light of the true source of our value system - the written laws of God, the stagnation and decay of effective leadership is inevitable. Just as with any piece of integral machinery, our ethical foundations must be examined regularly, in order for us to be effective global leaders. It is imperative for leaders to realize that as individuals become ethically stagnant, society can become gridlocked in hopeless and a destructive mire of outdated and erroneous values.

Ethical leadership must be effective, efficient, and excellent in order to maximize human potential. To be effective, efficient, and excellent, the four components of ethical leadership must be fully understood and developed: purpose, knowledge, authority, and trust. When we make decisions with this perspective and framework we are guaranteed results that will stand the test of time and produce lasting fruit.

© 2006
All rights reserved
Develop Africa Inc. Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development Program

Your Leadership Style

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Your Leadership Style
Move Around Leader Styles With Ease
Eric Garner

If you want to succeed as a leader, you need to be comfortable with moving around the spectrum of leadership styles. Sticking with just one style means that you become predictable and hence, as a leader, dispensable. It also means that your style of leading may not fit the needs of the team or task. So, learn what the 4 leadership styles are and develop yourself to become skilled in each of them.

1. The Directive Style. The directive leadership style is the style most people equate with “strong” leadership. When people say they want more leadership, they usually mean they want more direction. In military terms, this is leading from the front or by example. Although the directive, -- or command-and-tell -- style, is out of favour today, it is still the style you must use in new, unfamiliar, or critical situations when the team face a threat.

So, if the directive style is not your natural style, how do you become more effective at it? Here are 7 quick clues: 1. put more effort into planning so that you look ready 2. look the part: dress confidently; make every move count; avoid hesitation 3. rehearse your performance so that you look authoritative in front of others 4. master assertive language: talk clearly and a little louder than normal 5. keep your communication short and to the point; cut out the use of descriptive adjectives. 6. get active; look busy; be a good time manager 7. be decisive; make up your mind and go with it.

One other useful pointer: it is easier to start with a hard impression and soften it later than to start with a soft impression and harden it later.

2. The Consultative Style. If the directive style puts task before team, the consultative style puts team before task. This is the style you’ll use when you need to talk to the team, hear what they have to say, understand them, and take them with you. If the directive style calls for a typically masculine approach, the consultative style calls for a typically feminine approach: hard versus soft.

To master the consultative style, you need to master team meetings. Use the following approaches: 1. get the team together, if necessary, off site 2. avoid too many meetings with individual team members or you will create mistrust and suspicion 3. involve the team in the planning of meetings 4. be prepared to hear things you don't like 5. decide where on the scale you want to be: at one end, the purely consultative in which you listen and then decide; or at the other end, the consensual where you and the team decide together 6. practise concentrated listening 7. give everyone a chance to talk. Notice who doesn't speak readily. Find a balance. Seek contrary views to the loudest.

3. The Problem-Solving Style. The problem-solving style of leadership goes under various names. Ken Blanchard calls it the “selling” style (in contrast to “telling”). Other writers call it the participative style or negotiating style or the win-win style. If the directive style is top-down (ie from you downwards) and the consultative style is bottom-up (ie from them upwards), then the problem-solving style is sideways: us together as equals working things out. The problem-solving style is the right style to use when there is conflict in the team. Here are some techniques to use to make you a better problem-solving leader:

1. believe that in every conflict with the team, there is a solution in which both sides (you and the team) can get what you want 2. state your own position clearly and consistently. Listen carefully to theirs. 3. focus on issues not personalities 4. find the emotional blocks such as their fears and anxieties. These often result in people playing games. Knock these down by building trust. 5. seek common ground 6. battle on to find a creative solution based on principles 7. summarise frequently.

4. The Delegated Style. For those who are not used to the delegated style of leadership, it first looks like an abdication of leadership. It’s the style where you take a back seat and appear to do nothing. In reality it is one of the hardest of styles to use. It means letting go of control so that the team can make their own decisions. You trust them and first time round that can be hard. Here are some ways to develop your delegating style:

1. Make it safe for the team to try things out. 2. focus on them: "What would you do?" "What do you think?" "What do you feel we should do?" 3. resist the temptation to jump in and rescue them when things go wrong; they can learn so much more by sorting it out themselves. 4. move gradually. If people aren't used to this style, they may suspect your intentions. 5. praise every success 6. find the right distance: not too close that you are seen to be checking them, not too far away that they feel abandoned. 7. check back regularly that things are OK.

Your ability to move around these four styles, and the shades in-between, will tell others just how good a leader you really are. You won’t always get it right. Sometimes, you’ll call the team for a chat when they want decisiveness. Sometimes, you’ll try to sell your ideas when what they want is for you to leave them alone. But as you develop your reading of situations, you’ll come to know instinctively just what your best action should be.

© Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com For instant solutions to all your management training needs, visit [ManageTrainLearn] (link: ”http://www.managetrainlearn.com) and download amazing FREE training software. And while you’re there, make sure you try out our prize quiz, get your surprise bonus gift, and subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter. Go and get the ManageTrainLearn experience now!

Leadership Skills Inspires Team Building

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Leadership Skills Inspires Team Building
by shijina shijina

Leading a team comprises of responsibilities and the leader is required come up with some of efficient qualities to manage the team. The responsibility of the manager varies accordingly to the kind of organization and the objective of business. To lead a team definitely, leader requires leadership skill with him. Learning the skills which are considered to be essential to play the role in an enriched manner should be relatively known by the leader. When the person takes the in charge of certain set of people or group of people, he should have to understand the capacity of the person who are under the set and also plan to achieve the objective of the organization using the people.

Working with a group of employees and acting as a boss does not matter, but leading a team in right way always matters. Effective inspiration and proper influence over people helps the manager to achieve the objective without any conflicts or disappointments. Nowadays, more numbers of managers plays an effective role in leading the people. Leadership development skills trainings are provided to the managers to lead their groups using reliable theories and practical applications. The purpose of leader in a group is to achieve the desire of the organization in a fruitful or competent manner. Some of the desirable skills a leader should possess to lead team are

Firstly, the manager is required to know the consistency or capacity of employees initiated to achieve the specified goal of the company. This is so; because individual capacity always differs and based on individuality allocation of work can be made effectively. Secondly, the executive should know when to lead and when to manage the group. This helps the manager to avoid gap between employees and management and also to attain the objective without any conflicts. Communication plays an effective in team building and leading a team. Good communication enables the head to convey information and the objective of the organization required to be passed on to the employees. So, the leader is required to develop business communication skill with them. Identification of business competition, creating self awareness and generate adaptability with the changing and innovative environment. Leader is person who acts as a role model for different set of people who comprised in his team.

In a professional corporate team building, how to lead a team effectively will be provided to the leader. So, the manager can learn to lead the team effectively.

Shijina is a SEO copywriter for [Leadership Training] (link: http://www.professionalteambuilding.com/), Successful Team Building, Team Building Course and more. For more information visit our site our site. Contact her through mail at shijinaseo@gmail.com.

What is a Leader

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What is a Leader
by
Kevin Dwyer

Leaders are not people who have authority over others. Leaders are not people who subscribe to the tens or hundreds of leadership models as their modus operandi of working. Leaders are not a select group of people with traits handed down through heredity.

Leaders are not even those people who do the right things versus the manager who does things right.

Simply, a leader has followers.

Beyond that definitions of a leader are too broad, too obtuse and the attributes sound too much like a cross between a religious icon and a comic book hero or a cross between a militaristic person and a romanticised version of an elite sportsman to be of use to people aspiring to be leaders.

The types of people I have seen in the community and in business who have been successful leaders, as determined by their followers, have had a wide variety of traits.

Some have been women who regard themselves as a "housewife", who have taken and excelled at leading a choir, a committee or a club.

Some have been business people with a mastery of a rather technical topic.

Some have been charismatic and of high moral character and some have been charismatic and of a moral character that many have judged to be low.

Some have been strong and lead "from the front". Some have been quiet yet questioning and preferred to enable their followers to achieve.

What defined them as having been a successful leader are the actions of their followers.

The leaders I have observed have been able to influence groups of people to do things to achieve a result in a more cohesive manner than they would have without the leader present.

Three elements are common to the disparate array of leaders I have observed.

- Trust - Self-awareness - Accountability

They have had the trust of the followers. Trust has come in many guises. Through a respect for the leader's humanity, a sense of discipline through a command and control structure, a respect for their knowledge of a subject matter and at times, something approaching the notion of celebrity status. Trust, in all cases, has been built through an understanding of the needs of the followers. The common thread of the followers has been that they are the people required to get the job done.

It is not the case that the needs of all of the people in the organisation or community have been understood, just enough of those with the skills, knowledge and behaviours required.

Leaders do not have universal following. Far from it, in many cases the level in intensity of loyalty of followers is matched by an equally intense dislike by others. Leaders do not need to lead for "all of the people" in all circumstances.

Self-awareness contributed greatly to those leaders who succeeded over the longest period of time. The leaders who maintained a consistent following even after changing roles in a community or jobs in an organisation or even to a different organisation always understood themselves.

They have understood their limitations and character flaws. This did not stop them being leaders. They did not need to be a comic book hero with every positive virtue man has espoused.

What they did do was to surround themselves with good people that they trusted and to whom they were willing to delegate responsibility, especially in their areas of weakness.

Taking responsibility for their own actions and accountability for their subordinate's actions was common to only the best. These leaders were the ones that lasted the longest through the worst times and the best times in many different roles and many different organisations.

To summarise, for me, three things determine how many people will follow an individual, for how long, to what level of loyalty:

- The level of mutual trust developed through understanding the necessary follower's needs - The level of honest own appraisal of the leader's strengths and weaknesses and the willingness to allow others to help overcome the weaknesses through delegation - The ability and desire of the leader to accept responsibility for their actions and accountability for their follower's actions

Learning to be a leader is a lesson in trial and error. A journey of trying, succeeding and failing that enables the individual to see: - The patterns of actions that build trust - The weaknesses they thought were strengths and the strengths they thought were weaknesses - The patterns of circumstance that will determine when strengths are truly strengths and weaknesses are truly weaknesses - The powerful message of character behind accepting responsibility and accountability

Leaders are only ordinary people doing things that ordinary people will follow.

Lead Yourself First

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Lead Yourself First
by
Rich Vosler

So, you want to be a leader? It's not as easy as it sounds but it is simple if you take the suggestions outlined here that I'm going to give you.

Many people believe that tenure at a job or in a position automatically qualifies them to be a leader. There are even some companies who practice that. I think that could be disastrous. On the other hand, if the candidate does an excellent job in the position and they have demonstrated leadership qualities, by all means they may be a good leader. But time in a position is not the only qualification.

What I've seen proven again and again in terms of sales and management is that the best salesperson does not necessarily make the best leader. I know some phenomenal sales people who would make terrible managers, and they've told me so! Sure they are skilled in the technical aspects of sales and are excellent at what they do, but that doesn't mean that they have what it takes to be a leader. Leadership is much more than knowing what to do on a job or how it works. I don't want to focus on that for this specific article because there's a very important step that comes before leading others that many experts don't talk about and that's leading yourself.

I'm going to tackle 3 areas of this subject that I think are crucial to your development and success. They are:

--Accepting responsibility for where you are in your life --Taking responsibility for where you are going --Gathering the help you need

--Accepting responsibility for where you are in your life This may be the toughest step for you in leading yourself but if you do it, I promise you that the rest of the journey will be easy. Here's where you look at your life and acknowledge where you are and why you are where you are. It's where you stand in front of the mirror and say hello to your biggest problem and the cause of all your life's anxiety and strife: You. Accepting responsibility for where you are brings you to the realization that you are in charge of your life and everything that has happened to you up to this point. It's where you realize it's either all your fault or an Act of God. By Act of God I mean a natural disaster or the death of a loved one. Those are about the only 2 things that you have no control over. And if I had more time with you I might be able to develop a good argument that we can control those as well.

You might be saying, "C'mon Rich. You know I lost my job because my boss didn't like me or because I wasn't able to reach my quotas. He gave all the good accounts away! Then the market tanked! That had nothing to do with me. He fired me because he hated me." Well, you'd better sit down before you read my response to that. Here it is: You can look at every "bad" situation in your life and run it over and over in your mind and, if you really try, you can find at least one thing (probably many things) that you could have done better. And it may have been that one thing that would have changed the outcome of that situation.

Going forward, I want you to pay close attention to every interaction you have with people. When you're through with your interaction I want you to make a mental note of what you would have liked to do better, say better or how you would have responded better. The key here is your response to the things that happen to you. You can "B and moan" or you can look at it constructively to gain some insight. The best leaders see how they can get value out of every situation they are faced with. As this becomes a habit, you'll find that your interactions will go much better.

--Taking responsibility for where you are going This second step is very easy once you accept responsibility for where you are. But you can't skip the first step. Taking the steps in order will give you clarity and will naturally progress you to the next step. Here's where you now know that everything that's happened to you up to this point is your fault and you commit to fixing or changing it. This is where you need to start dreaming. Dream about where you want to go and what you want to do. Spend time making a list of everything you want to be, do, have or change. Take the limits off and write down whatever you can think of - short term and long term. Then turn them into actual goals. A good goal setting program comes into play here too. You'll need to learn how to set, track and achieve your goals. Goals are like a compass on a map. They help you get from point A to point B. You already figured out point A in the first step we talked about, now it's time to discover point B by making your dream list and then turning that list into goals.

--Gathering the help you need Now that you've accepted the responsibility for where you are and have begun taking responsibility for where you're going, you'll need to gather some help to assist you in getting there. There are a couple of things you should begin to implement. First, you need a good personal development program that consists of positive, motivational material including books, CDs and seminars. Next, you should consider getting yourself a coach to help you. There are hundreds of types coaches that can help you in any area. You can get one that specifies in a particular area or you can get a life coach who is generally trained in all areas. You can also find a mentor - someone who's done what you are trying to do. There's no better way to get somewhere than following someone who's already done it.

These are not the only steps for you to take on your quest to lead yourself. But I think that they are the first 3 steps you should take. Remember, change takes time. Don't get frustrated if you're not seeing results quickly. One book, one CD or one seminar is not going to undo 30 or 40 years of programming. Learn to give yourself a break and be proud that you are on the road to change. I know you can do this and I definitely believe in you!

Rich Vosler is a Sales Success Coach who was a mortgage professional for 18 years in New York, New Jersey and Georgia. He is also a speaker and author. Rich can be reached at 609-790-8757 or by email at rvosler@verizon.net. His website, Sales Training & Motivation, is at www.RichVosler.com and is full of sales success tips as well as his brand new blog. He is also running a special on his brand new DVD, Secrets of Sales Power sold there. Call today for an initial session!