Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Three Keys to Being a Successful Leader


A huge part of a man’s attractiveness comes from his ability to lead.
Will Smith is one of the most respected and loved actors in the entertainment business, and a true leader in his field. The reason why he is so successful is because he has the most important traits that that all great leaders have.
In this article, I’ll talk about three of these most important traits. Let’s get to it.

1. Being a Great Decision Maker

The first and most important trait of a great leader is a high level of decision making skill.

Destiny is not a matter of chance. It’s a matter of choice. Or in other words, our reality is simply a result of the decisions we have made.
…Just DECIDE, what it’s going to be, who you’re going to be, and how you’re going to do it, just DECIDE, and then from that point, the universe is going to get out of your way, it’s like water…” – Will Smith
Are you someone that is good at making decisions throughout your day? Or do you keep delaying things that need to be settled, worked out, or acted upon?
I see so many guys who settle for just flowing with the crowd without taking the time to decide what they want, wondering why they are unhappy most of the time. And when it comes down to making decisions, they are busier thinking up excuses why they can’t do something, instead of trying to figure out how they can do it.
The man who isn’t constantly making important decisions in his life has no vision, and with no vision there aren’t strong goals, and without goals, there is no progress — only mediocrity at best.
When it comes to making an important decision, you should have no hesitation to get out a piece of paper and a pen, sit down with a cup of coffee, and spend however long it takes to work it out. It should be second nature.
When a man can lead himself in his personal goals, he can be an attractive leader in social situations and in business. When friends don’t know what to do or where to go, a leading man steps up and is the first to suggest something. At work, when everyone is waiting for orders from the boss, he thinks about the company’s most important objectives and takes the necessary steps to get everyone moving.
He shapes his reality by deciding what, why, and how things are going to happen.

“But what if you make the wrong choice or decision?”
Too many people are on the fence for way too long because they are afraid of making a bad decision. But the biggest mistake is always trying so hard not to make any.
It’s important to do as much of your homework before making an important decision, but it’s even more important to just launch and get things moving. Too many people get stuck trying to make sure everything is perfect before they take the first step. And people who never take the first step, never takes the second; getting no where near what they want.
Recently, I learned that a perfectly straight line does not exist in nature. Even if you put a straight line under a microscope, there are jagged edges that go in different directions. It’s only when you zoom out that it looks straight. Just like in nature, a straight line towards our desired destination does not exist either.
For example, when a pilot is flying a plane towards a destination, they never go in a straight line. They are constantly zigzagging onto and off the best course. The most successful leaders make the best choices they can with the information available to them, they LAUNCH AND GET GOING, and appropriately adjust their course as they go.
Is there any situation in your life right now that needs a decision? What have been holding off?
Today, try making all the necessary decisions you can before the day ends. Don’t leave anything to chance or delay any longer. Not only will you realize how many decisions you may be procrastinating on, but you’ll realize how much power is contained in a moment of choice.

2. Taking Full Responsibility
The second greatest trait a successful leader has is being able to take full responsibility for his choices.
A great leader always thinks about what the situation needs, not just his own selfish needs.
Many times our choices not only affect ourselves, but the people around us. When that’s the case we can’t wait for everyone to agree before we act. The best way to create results in this situation is to take full responsibility for whatever happens – especially if it involves lots of risk.
It’s hard to find great leaders today because nobody ever wants to be the one to blame if something goes wrong. The way we were raised by our parents and in school conditioned us to fear making mistakes and being rejected.
During stormy times, you have to be willing to steer the ship when nobody else wants to, or else you all might die.
So many necessary things that need to get done in our homes, businesses, and the world we live in aren’t getting done because people aren’t willing to step up to the plate.
It’s in our nature to want to feel safe and secure, but the only real security exists our ability to take action. One of the reasons why we’re the greatest species on earth is that we have no limit to what we can achieve. No matter what happens to us, we can do something to improve the situation.
It’s mostly the fear of failure that stops us in our track, but all of the most successful people I know have an unending list of “failures” under their belt. They wouldn’t be where they are, living their dream, if it wasn’t for all the “mistakes” and “failures” that happened along the way.
A great leader isn’t afraid to fail or make mistakes. And they don’t take what other people think of them too seriously either. They never act like a victim like most people do, blaming others or some outside condition when they are met with resistance.
They have confidence in the fact that if anything goes wrong – no matter what it is – they can quickly take action to improve the situation. This belief is what enables them to take full responsibility for what needs to get done. They lead themselves into action, take the load on their shoulders, and people inevitably follow.

3. Relentless Action Following Decisions
A lot of men are good at making decisions, and some even take full responsibility for their choices, but most quit at the first few signs of resistance.
The leading man consistently takes actions towards his goals until he achieves them.  He works and works, changing his approach when it’s not working, and works and works at it some more. He does whatever it takes to win.
… if we get on a treadmill together, either you’re getting off first, or I’m going to DIE trying…” – Will Smith
Countless studies have found that the most successful people are quick to make decisions and slow if ever to change them, where unsuccessful people are always slow to make decisions and quick to change them.
This sounds so simple but just look around and you’ll see so many people making a decision to do something and than quickly change their minds. And not because they found a better route, but because they gave up when it started to get a little uncomfortable or hard.
When successful leaders make choices, they do not RELENT. They’ll do whatever it takes to reach their goals, to live up to their decision.
It’s important to maintain integrity with yourself, and take massive action towards your decisions. For example, if you make a decision to go to the gym three times a week, it’s so important to honor your decision. The more you keep your word to yourself, the more power you will gain. To the point where if you say you’re going to do something, not only do you have complete confidence that you’ll do it, but others will trust you as well. This is monumentally important to becoming a great leader.
The most successful and attractive men out there, are those who can make the hard decisions, take full responsibility for their choices, and take relentless action towards their goals. They are respected in their line of work, are much more desirable by women, and loved by the people around them.
Every man has the choice to be a leading man. If you recognize that you need to work on one of these areas, quickly resolve to begin working on it today.

Characteristics of a good leader

Leaders...

  • have a strong desire to achieve...they think, plan and act with an "I can attitude".
  • are positive and enthusiastic regardless of how others act.
  • want to make things happen! They are active participants in the game of life.
  • are good friends. They have the ability to find something good in every person and every situation.
  • are assertive, persistent and productive. They have determination.
  • believe success depends on what you can get out of you
  • expose themselves to new experiences. For they know that is how growth occurs.
  • delegate responsibilities to members of the group or team in such a manner to create motivation and enthusiasm.
  • Possess high self-esteem.

The ten commandments of leadership

  1. Treat everyone with respect and dignity.
  2. Set the example for others to follow.
  3. Be an active coach.
  4. Maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
  5. Insist on excellence and hold your people accountable.
  6. Build group cohesiveness and pride.
  7. Show confidence in your people.
  8. Maintain a strong sense of urgency.
  9. Be available and visible to your staff.
  10. Develop yourself to your high test potential.

Strategies for putting yourself in a position to win

  • Identify and mobilize your resources
  • Realize from the start that you make your own breaks
  • Disregard the negativism and jealousy of others
  • Success should be noticed, not told! Speak softly when discussing your success. Practice humility
  • The less people know about why6 you are successful, the less competition you will have
  • Have a plan of action with an equally impressive contingency plan
  • Realize that you will learn something new every day. Capitalize on your new found knowledge
  • Remain focused. Avoid the temptation to splinter off to something new until you have mastered your primary task
  • You must leave "The Box". Think creatively. Allow your vision to know no boundaries. Common sense will prevail
  • Compensate people appropriately for what they are worth and what contributions they have made to your success
  • With every set back you’ll take two steps forward
  • You must learn to be comfortable with the concept of success and remain poised as it builds upon itself

Seven power plays for leaders team work

  1. Give credit to others in the group. This means going beyond thanking, etc. Giving credit to someone for making something happen is the power position. Remember—only the powerless feel the need to broadcast that they are indispensable. When you’re given credit for your "work, "quickly and publicly acknowledge assistance from others.
  2. Take the blame. Saying, "I did it; it’s my fault/responsibility; shoot me, I’m to blame," and interesting thing will happen--your stature will increase with others! Most people appreciate having the blame shared almost as much as getting the credit.
  3. Assist those who need help. Help those in your group to do their job right (in order to make the group look good). Your power is increased if you offer help to people who aren’t carrying their weight. You may not be acknowledged for this, but you will be noticed!
  4. Do something new and give credit to "the team" or to someone else. Pretending that someone else is responsible is a "polite fiction." Everyone will know it was your idea.
  5. Provide coaching when you see problems. Coaching is not "telling." It often means ensuring that the person having the problem has the information, resources, and knowledge of possible alternatives. Coaching is an ultimate power position!
  6. Listen! Effective listening skills are recognized even by bores, malcontents and prima donnas--they all strive for attention. If you acknowledge, clarity, and convey acceptance of what they are saying (not necessarily agreeing), you may diffuse their position, and gain unexpected support and involvement by other group members.
  7. Love the unloved. All groups seem to have the marginally competent who make unnecessary work for others. Learn to exhibit tolerance to those who can’t be bored out; a great time to exercise coaching skills.

    Power plays are not always wrong. Remember that positive power play may not give the immediate emotional satisfaction such as received from telling someone off or burying them in their mistakes, but the effect lasts longer--as an organization you get things done!
Note: Thanks and apologies to Marilyn M. Kennedy (Kennedy’s Career Strategist) for the thoughts outlined.

Maximizing your leadership potential

Here are some ways to help members feel good about themselves:
  • Get to know your members as people first, then delegate any tasks.
  • Convey the proper message through your verbal and non-verbal communication style. Be serious or humorous when  appropriate.
  • Show your members that you trust them and earn their trust through your hard work.
  • when people enjoy working with you they’ll flock to assist you. Be consistent!
  • when you delegate responsibilities, let them do it their way. Don’t reclaim tasks at the first sign things aren’t going well.
  • Let members express themselves creatively within the parameters of their job.
  • Cancel meetings when they are necessary.
  • involve as many people as possible. If people feel ownership they are less likely to disappoint.
  • When you talk to members, give them your undivided attention. Listen to and act their suggestions. Help them to see that they’re important to you.
  • Separate the member from his/her acts. When there’s a problem, let the member know that you’re displeased with what they did, but not with them as a person. Keep business and personal matters separate.
  • Praise when appropriate, counsel when necessary. . . but exercise both with caution.
  • Avoid having favorites or comparing one member to another.
  • Be organized and prepared to lead. Set clear guidelines and be consistent in enforcing them.
  • Avoid put-downs or the destruction of an idea.
  • Look for the good in what people are doing, not just the bad. . . catch people dong things right
  • Encourage neatness and accuracy.
  • When there’s a conflict between two members involve them in the resolution.
  • Learn to express your feelings honestly, and let others do the same.
  • Admit publicly when you have made a mistake and how you can plan to correct the error.
  • Share the power of decision-making.
  • Be fair, kind and considerate.
  • Don’t require more of the member than they are able to do.
HOW TO BE A GOOD LEADER



  • Remember: leadership skills and techniques can be learned. You don't have to be a natural leader. Very few people are.
  • Care for your team. That means knowing what matters to each member: their health, their partner, their children, their relatives, their interests, their hopes, their fears.
  • Stay close to your team. At some point, every day, walk around the office and say "Hi" to everyone who works for you. If you're not in the office that day, call and see how people are. This gives you a chance to enquire or encourage and gives them an opportunity to raise issues or make suggestions.
  • Meet your team. Regularly - daily, weekly or monthly, depending on your place and type of work - have meetings of all the members of the team. Keep these meetings short, focused and action-orientated. Make sure every member of the team contributes in some way and acknowledge that.
  • Train your team. Every team member should have at least two days training a year. Newer and more senior colleagues should have more. If they don't ask to go on training sessions, suggest some suitable courses.
  • Grow your team. Through varied experience and regular training, you should be developing each team member to be more and more confident and more skilled.
  • Inspire your team. Consider making available a motivational quote or story every week or month [for lots of good quotes click here].
  • Celebrate with your team. This might be a personal event, such as a member's birthday or anniversary, or a professional occasion, such as completing a project or winning oa contract.
  • Socialise with your team. Have lunch or an after-work drink with them, especially when a member has a birthday or there's another reason to celebrate.
  • Set objectives for each team member. As far as possible, these objective such be SMART - Specific Measurable Achievable Resourced Timed.
  • Review the performance of each team member. At least once a year - at least quarterly for the first year of a new team member - have a review session where you assess performance, give feed-back and agree future objectives and training.
  • Thank constantly. The words "Thank you" take seconds to say, but mean so much.
  • Praise constantly. The words "Well done" take seconds to say, but will be long remembered and appreciated.
  • Communicate constantly. Don't assume that people know what you're doing, still less what you are planning or thinking. Tell them, using all the communication tools to hand: team briefings, electronic newsletters, organisational newspapers.
  • Eliminate. Too often we do things because they've always been done. Life changes. Consider whether you could stop doing certain things altogether.
  • Delegate. You don't have to do everything. Develop your team members by training them to do more and trusting them to take over some of the things you've been doing.
  • Empower. A really effective leader sets clear objectives for his team members, but leaves detailed implementation of these objectives to the discretion and judgement of individual members of the team. As Second World War U.S. General George S. Patton put it: "Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results”.
  • Facilitate. A confident leader does not try to micro-manage his team, but makes it clear that, if team members need advice or assistance, he is always there to facilitate and support.
  • Be on time. Always start meetings on time and finish them on time. Natural breaks keep people fresh. Short meetings concentrate the mind.
  • Be seen. Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk. So visit each unit or department for which you are responsible on a regular basis. Don't do this unannounced - you are not out to undermine other leaders or catch out staff. So arrange with the unit leader or departmental head when you'll visit and ask him or her to walk round with you.
  • Make time. Managers are often very busy and this can deter people from approaching you, so make time for people and be approachable. People will appreciate you taking five minutes out of your busy schedule, especially if you act on/listen to what they say.
  • Really listen. Many of us - especially those who think they are important - don't really listen, but instead think about what they're going to say next. Give the person speaking to you your full attention and really take on board what they are saying. [For more detailed advice on listening click here]
  • Accept honest criticism. Criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger - but it's a powerful tool of learning. Above all, assess criticism on merit, without regard to its originator.
  • Think strategically. The doers cut a path through the jungle; the managers are behind them sharpening the machetes; the leaders find time to think, climb the nearest tree, and shout "Wrong jungle!" Find time to climb the trees.
  • Have a mentor or buddy, someone doing similar work in the same or a similar organisation with whom you can regularly and frankly discuss your progress and your problems as a leader.
  • Have a role model, someone who can inspire you to be a truly great leader. If you can't find one, study Jed Bartlet as the American President in any episode of the television series "The West Wing".
  • Constantly revisit and review these tips. In his seminal work, "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey puts it this way: "Sharpen the saw".
  • Plan your succession. You won't be there forever and you may not be in control of the timing and circumstances of your departure. So start now to mentor and train at least one colleague who could take over from you.

Concepts of Leadership

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it; it's more like jazz. There is more improvisation. — Warren Bennis
Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience (Jago, 1982). This guide will help you through that process.
To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels.

Definition of Leadership

The meaning of a message is the change which it produces in the image. — Kenneth Boulding in The Image: Knowledge in Life and Society

Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. This definition is similar to Northouse's (2007, p3) definition — Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.
Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership (Jago, 1982). However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. This is called Trait Leadership (Jago, 1982), in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made. These two leadership types are shown in the chart below (Northouse, 2007, p5):
Trait and Process Leadership Models
While leadership is learned, the skills and knowledge processed by the leader can be influenced by his or hers attributes or traits, such as beliefs, values, ethics, and character. Knowledge and skills contribute directly to the process of leadership, while the other attributes give the leader certain characteristics that make him or her unique.
Skills, knowledge, and attributes make the Leader, which is one of the:

Four Factors of Leadership

There are four major factors in leadership (U.S. Army, 1983):
Leadership Factors

Leader

You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed.

Followers

Different people require different styles of leadership. For example, a new hire requires more supervision than an experienced employee. A person who lacks motivation requires a different approach than one with a high degree of motivation. You must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You must come to know your employees' be, know, and do attributes.

Communication

You lead through two-way communication. Much of it is nonverbal. For instance, when you “set the example,” that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees.

Situation

All situations are different. What you do in one situation will not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation. For example, you may need to confront an employee for inappropriate behavior, but if the confrontation is too late or too early, too harsh or too weak, then the results may prove ineffective.
Also note that the situation normally has a greater effect on a leader's action than his or her traits. This is because while traits may have an impressive stability over a period of time, they have little consistency across situations (Mischel, 1968). This is why a number of leadership scholars think the Process Theory of Leadership is a more accurate than the Trait Theory of Leadership.
Various forces will affect these four factors. Examples of forces are your relationship with your seniors, the skill of your followers, the informal leaders within your organization, and how your organization is organized.

Boss or Leader?

Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization (called Assigned Leadership), this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss (Rowe, 2007). Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals (called Emergent Leadership), rather than simply bossing people around (Rowe, 2007). Thus you get Assigned Leadership by your position and you display Emergent Leadership by influencing people to do great things.
Emergent Leadership vs. Assigned Leadership

 

Bass' Theory of Leadership

Bass' theory of leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people become leaders (Stogdill, 1989; Bass, 1990). The first two explain the leadership development for a small number of people. These theories are:
  • Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory.
  • A crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Events Theory.
  • People can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This is the Transformational or Process Leadership Theory. It is the most widely accepted theory today and the premise on which this guide is based.

Total Leadership

What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.
When a person is deciding if she respects you as a leader, she does not think about your attributes, rather, she observes what you do so that she can know who you really are. She uses this observation to tell if you are an honorable and trusted leader or a self-serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey them, not follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a good image to their seniors at the expense of their workers.

Be           Know           Do

The basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization. In your employees' eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the organization's objectives and their well-being. Respected leaders concentrate on (U.S. Army, 1983):
  • what they are [be] (such as beliefs and character)
  • what they know (such as job, tasks, and human nature)
  • what they do (such as implementing, motivating, and providing direction).
What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future.

The Two Most Important Keys to Effective Leadership

According to a study by the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75 key components of employee satisfaction (Lamb, McKee, 2004). They found that:
  • Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization.
  • Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning organizational trust and confidence:
    1. Helping employees understand the company's overall business strategy.
    2. Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives.
    3. Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee's own division is doing — relative to strategic business objectives.
So in a nutshell — you must be trustworthy and you have to be able to communicate a vision of where the organization needs to go. The next section, Principles of Leadership, ties in closely with this key concept.

Principles of Leadership

To help you be, know, and do, follow these eleven principles of leadership (U.S. Army, 1983). The later chapters in this Leadership guide expand on these principles and provide tools for implementing them:
  1. Know yourself and seek self-improvement - In order to know yourself, you have to understand your be, know, and do, attributes. Seeking self-improvement means continually strengthening your attributes. This can be accomplished through self-study, formal classes, reflection, and interacting with others.
  2. Be technically proficient - As a leader, you must know your job and have a solid familiarity with your employees' tasks.
  3. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions - Search for ways to guide your organization to new heights. And when things go wrong, they always do sooner or later — do not blame others. Analyze the situation, take corrective action, and move on to the next challenge.
  4. Make sound and timely decisions - Use good problem solving, decision making, and planning tools.
  5. Set the example - Be a good role model for your employees. They must not only hear what they are expected to do, but also see. We must become the change we want to see - Mahatma Gandhi
  6. Know your people and look out for their well-being - Know human nature and the importance of sincerely caring for your workers.
  7. Keep your workers informed - Know how to communicate with not only them, but also seniors and other key people.
  8. Develop a sense of responsibility in your workers - Help to develop good character traits that will help them carry out their professional responsibilities.
  9. Ensure that tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished - Communication is the key to this responsibility.
  10. Train as a team - Although many so called leaders call their organization, department, section, etc. a team; they are not really teams...they are just a group of people doing their jobs.
  11. Use the full capabilities of your organization - By developing a team spirit, you will be able to employ your organization, department, section, etc. to its fullest capabilities.

Attributes of Leadership

If you are a leader who can be trusted, then those around you will grow to respect you. To be such a leader, there is a Leadership Framework to guide you:

BE KNOW DO

BE a professional. Examples: Be loyal to the organization, perform selfless service, take personal responsibility.
BE a professional who possess good character traits. Examples: Honesty, competence, candor, commitment, integrity, courage, straightforwardness, imagination.
KNOW the four factors of leadership — follower, leader, communication, situation.
KNOW yourself. Examples: strengths and weakness of your character, knowledge, and skills.
KNOW human nature. Examples: Human needs, emotions, and how people respond to stress.
KNOW your job. Examples: be proficient and be able to train others in their tasks.
KNOW your organization. Examples: where to go for help, its climate and culture, who the unofficial leaders are.
DO provide direction. Examples: goal setting, problem solving, decision making, planning.
DO implement. Examples: communicating, coordinating, supervising, evaluating.
DO motivate. Examples: develop morale and esprit de corps in the organization, train, coach, counsel.

Environment

Every organization has a particular work environment, which dictates to a considerable degree how its leaders respond to problems and opportunities. This is brought about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders.

Goals, Values, and Concepts

Leaders exert influence on the environment via three types of actions:
  1. The goals and performance standards they establish.
  2. The values they establish for the organization.
  3. The business and people concepts they establish.
Successful organizations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability.
Values reflect the concern the organization has for its employees, customers, investors, vendors, and surrounding community. These values define the manner in how business will be conducted.
Concepts define what products or services the organization will offer and the methods and processes for conducting business.
These goals, values, and concepts make up the organization's personality or how the organization is observed by both outsiders and insiders. This personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites that take place.

Roles and Relationships

Roles are the positions that are defined by a set of expectations about behavior of any job incumbent. Each role has a set of tasks and responsibilities that may or may not be spelled out. Roles have a powerful effect on behavior for several reasons, to include money being paid for the performance of the role, there is prestige attached to a role, and a sense of accomplishment or challenge.
Relationships are determined by a role's tasks. While some tasks are performed alone, most are carried out in relationship with others. The tasks will determine who the role-holder is required to interact with, how often, and towards what end. Also, normally the greater the interaction, the greater the liking. This in turn leads to more frequent interaction. In human behavior, its hard to like someone whom we have no contact with, and we tend to seek out those we like. People tend to do what they are rewarded for, and friendship is a powerful reward. Many tasks and behaviors that are associated with a role are brought about by these relationships. That is, new task and behaviors are expected of the present role-holder because a strong relationship was developed in the past, either by that role-holder or a prior role-holder.

Culture and Climate

There are two distinct forces that dictate how to act within an organization: culture and climate.
Each organization has its own distinctive culture. It is a combination of the founders, past leadership, current leadership, crises, events, history, and size (Newstrom, Davis, 1993). This results in rites: the routines, rituals, and the “way we do things.” These rites impact individual behavior on what it takes to be in good standing (the norm) and directs the appropriate behavior for each circumstance.
The climate is the feel of the organization, the individual and shared perceptions and attitudes of the organization's members (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2007). While the culture is the deeply rooted nature of the organization that is a result of long-held formal and informal systems, rules, traditions, and customs; climate is a short-term phenomenon created by the current leadership. Climate represents the beliefs about the “feel of the organization” by its members. This individual perception of the “feel of the organization” comes from what the people believe about the activities that occur in the organization. These activities influence both individual and team motivation and satisfaction, such as:
  • How well does the leader clarify the priorities and goals of the organization? What is expected of us?
  • What is the system of recognition, rewards, and punishments in the organization?
  • How competent are the leaders?
  • Are leaders free to make decisions?
  • What will happen if I make a mistake?
Organizational climate is directly related to the leadership and management style of the leader, based on the values, attributes, skills, and actions, as well as the priorities of the leader. Compare this to “ethical climate” — the feel of the organization about the activities that have ethical content or those aspects of the work environment that constitute ethical behavior. The ethical climate is the feel about whether we do things right; or the feel of whether we behave the way we ought to behave. The behavior (character) of the leader is the most important factor that impacts the climate.
On the other hand, culture is a long-term, complex phenomenon. Culture represents the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The mature values that create tradition or the “way we do things here.” Things are done differently in every organization. The collective vision and common folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Individual leaders, cannot easily create or change culture because culture is a part of the organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate by its effect on the actions and thought processes of the leader. But, everything you do as a leader will affect the climate of the organization.
For information on culture, see Long-Term Short-Term Orientation

The Process of Great Leadership

The road to great leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 1987) that is common to successful leaders:
  • Challenge the process - First, find a process that you believe needs to be improved the most.
  • Inspire a shared vision - Next, share your vision in words that can be understood by your followers.
  • Enable others to act - Give them the tools and methods to solve the problem.
  • Model the way - When the process gets tough, get your hands dirty. A boss tells others what to do, a leader shows that it can be done.
  • Encourage the heart - Share the glory with your followers' hearts, while keeping the pains within your own.

Next Steps

Go to the next chapter: The Four Pillars: Leadership, Management, Command, and Control The Four Pillars of an Organization

 

 

 


References

Bass, Bernard (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18, (3), Winter, 1990, 19-31.
Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., Matteson, M. (2007). Organizational Behavior and Management. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Jago, A. G. (1982). Leadership: Perspectives in theory and research. Management Science, 28(3), 315-336.
Kouzes, James M. & Posner, Barry Z. (1987). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lamb, L. F., McKee, K. B. (2004). Applied Public Relations: Cases in Stakeholder Management. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Routledge.
Mischel, W. 1968. Personality and Assessment . New York: Wiley.
Newstrom, J. & Davis, K. (1993). Organization Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Northouse, G. (2007). Leadership theory and practice. (3rd ed.) Thousand Oak, London, New Delhe, Sage Publications, Inc.
Rowe, W. G. (2007). Cases in Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Stogdill, R. M.(1989). Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory and Research. Bass, B. (ed.) New York: Free Press.
U.S. Army. (October 1983). Military Leadership (FM 22-100). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

How Successful Leaders Think


We are drawn to the stories of effective leaders in action. Their decisiveness invigorates us. The events that unfold from their bold moves, often culminating in successful outcomes, make for gripping narratives. Perhaps most important, we turn to accounts of their deeds for lessons that we can apply in our own careers. Books like Jack: Straight from the Gut and Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done are compelling in part because they implicitly promise that we can achieve the success of a Jack Welch or a Larry Bossidy—if only we learn to emulate his actions.

But this focus on what a leader does is misplaced. That’s because moves that work in one context often make little sense in another, even at the same company or within the experience of a single leader. Recall that Jack Welch, early in his career at General Electric, insisted that each of GE’s businesses be number one or number two in market share in its industry; years later he insisted that those same businesses define their markets so that their share was no greater than 10%, thereby forcing managers to look for opportunities beyond the confines of a narrowly conceived market. Trying to learn from what Jack Welch did invites confusion and incoherence, because he pursued—wisely, I might add—diametrically opposed courses at different points in his career and in GE’s history.

So where do we look for lessons? A more productive, though more difficult, approach is to focus on how a leader thinks—that is, to examine the antecedent of doing, or the ways in which leaders’ cognitive processes produce their actions.

I have spent the past 15 years, first as a management consultant and now as the dean of a business school, studying leaders with exemplary records. Over the past six years, I have interviewed more than 50 such leaders, some for as long as eight hours, and found that most of them share a somewhat unusual trait: They have the predisposition and the capacity to hold in their heads two opposing ideas at once. And then, without panicking or simply settling for one alternative or the other, they’re able to creatively resolve the tension between those two ideas by generating a new one that contains elements of the others but is superior to both. This process of consideration and synthesis can be termed integrative thinking. It is this discipline—not superior strategy or faultless execution—that is a defining characteristic of most exceptional businesses and the people who run them.

I don’t claim that this is a new idea. More than 60 years ago, F. Scott Fitzgerald saw “the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function” as the sign of a truly intelligent individual. And certainly not every good leader exhibits this capability, nor is it the sole source of success for those who do. But it is clear to me that integrative thinking tremendously improves people’s odds.

This insight is easy to miss, though, since the management conversation in recent years has tilted away from thinking and toward doing (witness the popularity of books like Execution). Also, many great integrative thinkers aren’t even aware of their particular capability and thus don’t consciously exercise it. Take Jack Welch, who is among the executives I have interviewed: He is clearly a consummate integrative thinker—but you’d never know it from reading his books.

Indeed, my aim in this article is to deconstruct and describe a capability that seems to come naturally to many successful leaders. To illustrate the concept, I’ll concentrate on an executive I talked with at length: Bob Young, the colorful cofounder and former CEO of Red Hat, the dominant distributor of Linux open-source software. The assumption underlying my examination of his and others’ integrative thinking is this: It isn’t just an ability you’re born with—it’s something you can hone.
 
Opposable Thumb, Opposable Mind

In the mid-1990s, Red Hat faced what seemed like two alternative paths to growth. At the time, the company sold packaged versions of Linux open-source software, mainly to computer geeks, periodically bundling together new versions that included the latest upgrades from countless independent developers. As Red Hat looked to grow beyond its $1 million in annual sales, it could have chosen one of the two basic business models in the software industry.

Secrets of Leadership Success Leadership Success Series Introduced By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide


Key leadership success secrets set the great leaders apart from the so-so leaders in today's organizations. Leadership style is learned from mentors, learned in seminars and exists as part of a person's innate personal leadership skill set developed over years, and existing possibly, from birth. Nature or nurture is a question often asked about leadership. I answer, "yes," because I believe the combination of natural leadership skills and nurture through leadership development defines your leadership style.
Working from personal experience and research, I will define the characteristics of leadership that make great leaders. I envision a series of interlinked articles, each of which focuses on one aspect of leadership.
Leadership differs from management and supervision although some people and organizations use the terms interchangeably. While the definitions of the terms differ, an individual may have the ability to provide all three.
  • Supervision means that an individual is charged with providing direction and oversight for other employees. The successful supervisor provides recognition, appreciation, training and feedback to reporting employees.


  • Management means to conduct the affairs of business, to have work under control and to provide direction, to guide other employees, to administer and organize work processes and systems, and to handle problems. Managers monitor and control work while helping a group of employees more successfully conduct their work than they would have without her. A manager’s job is often described as providing everything his reporting employees need to successfully accomplish their jobs. One famous quote from Warren Bennis, Ph.D. in On Becoming a Leader distinguishes management from leadership: “Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing.”


  • While a supervisor and a manager may also exhibit leadership skill or potential, true leaders are rare. This is because the combination of skills, personality and ambition essential to leadership are difficult to develop and exhibit. According to Don Clark, on his excellent leadership resource, Big Dog's Leadership Page, Bernard "Bass' theory of leadership states that there are three basic ways to explain how people become leaders. The first two explain the leadership development for a small number of people. These theories are:
    • Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory.
    • A crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Events Theory.
    • People can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This is the Transformational Leadership Theory.”
The Transformational Leadership Theory is the one I believe is correct for most leaders today. This belief forms the basis for my thinking about leadership.

The Key Leadership Trait

The first, and most important characteristic, of a leader is the decision to become a leader. At some point in time, leaders decide that they want to provide others with vision, direct the course of future events and inspire others to success. Leadership requires the individual to practice dominance and take charge. If you choose to become a leader, whether in your workplace, community or during an emergency, the discussion of these characteristics will help you formulate the appropriate mix of traits, skills and ambition. Successful leaders choose to lead. Unlike Keanu Reeves as Neo in 1999’s smash hit, The Matrix, you get to decide whether you are “the one.” The first characteristic of a leader is Choice - leaders choose to lead.

Characteristics of a Successful Leadership Style

Much is written about what makes successful leaders. I will focus on the characteristics, traits and actions that, I believe, are key.

Seven Qualities of a Good Leader


By Barbara White

How often have you heard the comment, “He or she is a born leader?” There are certain characteristics found in some people that seem to naturally put them in a position where they’re looked up to as a leader.
Whether in fact a person is born a leader or develops skills and abilities to become a leader is open for debate. There are some clear characteristics that are found in good leaders. These qualities can be developed or may be naturally part of their personality. Let us explore them further.
Seven Personal Qualities Found In A Good Leader:
  1. A good leader has an exemplary character. It is of utmost importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader “walks the talk” and in doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others. True authority is born from respect for the good character and trustworthiness of the person who leads.
     
  2. A good leader is enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. People will respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication. Leaders need to be able to be a source of inspiration, and be a motivator towards the required action or cause. Although the responsibilities and roles of a leader may be different, the leader needs to be seen to be part of the team working towards the goal. This kind of leader will not be afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty.
     
  3. A good leader is confident. In order to lead and set direction a leader needs to appear confident as a person and in the leadership role. Such a person inspires confidence in others and draws out the trust and best efforts of the team to complete the task well. A leader who conveys confidence towards the proposed objective inspires the best effort from team members.
     
  4. A leader also needs to function in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. People look to the leader during times of uncertainty and unfamiliarity and find reassurance and security when the leader portrays confidence and a positive demeanor.
     
  5. Good leaders are tolerant of ambiguity and remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose. Storms, emotions, and crises come and go and a good leader takes these as part of the journey and keeps a cool head.
     
  6. A good leader as well as keeping the main goal in focus is able to think analytically. Not only does a good leader view a situation as a whole, but is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. Not only is the goal in view but a good leader can break it down into manageable steps and make progress towards it.
     
  7. A good leader is committed to excellence. Second best does not lead to success. The good leader not only maintains high standards, but also is proactive in raising the bar in order to achieve excellence in all areas.
These seven personal characteristics are foundational to good leadership. Some characteristics may be more naturally present in the personality of a leader. However, each of these characteristics can also be developed and strengthened. A good leader whether they naturally possess these qualities or not, will be diligent to consistently develop and strengthen them in their leadership role.
For additional information on how to be a good leader visit www.GROCO.com