Jamiah Hj Manap: Leadership

Showing posts with label Leadership. Show all posts

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Management Vs Leadership

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

~Peter F. Drucker~

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Personal Characteristics of the Effective Group Leader

Leader is one of the most significant variables influencing the group’s success or failure. Following are some personal characteristics of successful group leader:

Courage.

Courage is demonstrate through willingness to :

be vulnerable at times, admitting mistakes and imperfections and taking the same risk you expect groups members to take;
confront others but to stay ‘with’ them as you work out conflict;
act on your belief and hunches;
be emotionally touch by others and to draw on your experiences to identify with them;
examine your life;
be direct and honest with members in a caring and respectful way; and
express the members your fears and expectations about the group process.

By the behavior you model, you can teach the members that courage does not mean being without fears; rather, it means acknowledging fears and dealing with them.
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Willingness to Model.
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One of the best ways to teach desired behaviors is by modeling them in the group. Through your behavior and the attitudes conveyed by it, you can create such groups norms as openness, seriousness of purpose, acceptance of others, and the desirability of taking risks. Engaging in honest, appropriate, and timely self-disclosure can be a way to fulfill the leadership function of modeling.

Presence.

Presence involves being touch by others pain, struggles, and joys. However, it also involves not becoming overwhelmed by a member’s pain. Presence implies not being distracted, but fully attentive to what is going on in the moment. Some members may elicit anger in a group leader, and others may evoke pain, sadness, guilt, or happiness. You become more emotionally involved with others by paying close attention to your own reactions. This does not mean that you will necessarily talk about situations in your own life that caused you to pain or evoked the anger. It means you will allow yourself to experience these feelings, even for just a few moments. Fully experiencing emotions gives you the ability to compassionate and emphatic with your clients. At the same time, as you’re moved by others’ experiences, it is important to remain a separate person and to avoid the trap of over identifying with your client’s situations.

To increase your ability to be present, spend some time alone before leading a group and block out distractions as much as possible. It is good to prepare yourself by thinking about the people in the group and about how you might increase your involvement with them.

Goodwill and Caring.

A sincere interest in the welfare of others is essential in a group leader. You must not exploit members or use them primarily to enhance your own ego. Your main job in the group is to help members get what they are coming for, not to get in their way. Caring involves respecting, trusting, and valuing people. It is vital that you become aware of what kind of people you care for and what kind you find it difficult to care for.

There are various ways of exhibiting a caring attitude. One way is by inviting a client to participate but allowing that person to decide how far to go. Or you can observe discrepancies between a client’s words and behavior but confront that person in a way that doesn’t intensify fear and resistance. Another way to express caring is by giving warmth, concern, and support when, and only when, you feel it toward person.

Belief in Group Process.

Deep confidence in the value of group process is positively related to constructive outcomes. Belief in what you are doing and trust the therapeutic forces in a group. Enthusiasm and convictions are powerful both in attracting to clientele and in providing an incentive to work. Group leader who do not genuinely believe in the value of therapeutic work and who do it only for money or power are behaving unethically.

Openness.

Openness means reveal enough of yourself to give the participants a sense of who you are as a person. It does not mean that you reveal every aspect of your personal life. Your being open can also enhance group process if you appropriately reveal your reactions to the members and to how you are being affected by being with the group.

Your openness will foster a corresponding spirit of openness within the group. It will enables members to become more open about their feelings and beliefs, and it lends a certain fluidity to the group process. Self-revelations should not be manipulated as a technique; it is best done spontaneously, when it seems appropriate.

Non-defensiveness in Coping with Criticism

Dealing frankly with criticism is related with openness. If you endure as a group leader, you simply cannot afford to have a fragile ego. Group leader who are easily threatened, who are insecure in their work of leading, who are overly sensitive to negative feedback, who depend highly on group approval will encounter major problems when carrying out a leadership function. Some of the criticism may be fair- and some of it may be unfair expression of jealousy, testing authority, power seeking, or projection onto your feelings for other people. It is crucial for you to nondefensively explore with the group the feelings behind the criticism.

If members take a risk and confront the leader and are chastised for doing this, they are likely to feel scolded for taking a chance and may withdraw. Furthermore, others in the group may receive the massage that openness and honesty are not really valued.

Even if someone verbally abuses you as a leader, it is not therapeutic for you to respond in kind. Instead, you can give the person your reactions and let him know how you are affected by the confrontation. You can model for members an effective and non-aggressive way of expressing your thoughts and feelings.

Becoming Aware of Your Own Culture.

Knowing how your own culture influences your decisions and daily behavior provides a frame of reference for understanding the world view of those who differ from you. Openness to diversity is the opposite of being entrapped by a narrow existence. Cultural encapsulation, or provincialism, affects not only you but your group members as well. If you have a sense of your own culture and how your values are influenced by your social environment, you have a basis for understanding the world of those who are different from you in a number of respects. Your willingness to welcome diversity will, to a large extent, determine your effectiveness in bringing energy to a group.

Personal Power.

Personal power does not entail domination of members or manipulation of them toward the leader’s end. Rather, it is dynamic and vital characteristics of leaders who know who they are and what they want. This power involves a self confidence in self. Instead of merely talking about the importance of being alive, powerful leaders express and radiate an aliveness through their actions.

Power and honesty are closely related. People with personal power are the ones who can show themselves. Although they might be frightened by certain qualities within themselves, the fear doesn’t keep them from examining these qualities. Powerful people recognize and accept their weaknesses and don’t expand energy concealing them for themselves and others. In contrast, powerless people need very much to defend themselves against self-knowledge. They often react as if they were afraid that their vulnerabilities will be discovered.

Clients sometimes view leaders as perfect. They tend to undercut their own power by giving their leader all of the credits for their insights and changes. There is a danger that leaders will become infatuated with clients’ perceptions of them as finished products and come to belief this myth.

Stamina.

Group leading can be taxing and draining as well as exciting and energizing. Therefore, you need physical and psychological stamina and the ability to withstand pressure to remain vitalized throughout the course of group. Aware your own energy level. It is good to have sources other than your groups for psychological nourishment. If you depend primarily o the success level of your groups for this sustenance, you run a high risk of being undernourished and thus of losing the stamina so vital to your success as a leader. Unrealistically high expectations can also affects your stamina. Those leaders who cling to such expectations of dramatic change are often disappointed in themselves and in what they perceive as ‘poor performance’ on the part of their group. Faced with the discrepancy between their vision of what the group should be and what actually occurs, these leaders often lose their enthusiasm and begin to needlessly blame both themselves and the group members for what they see as failure.
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Willingness to Seek New Experience.

Variety of life experiences enlarge the capacity to understand client’s psychological world. Respect for the complexity of the human struggles that grow out of various cultural background. Learn about human struggles by recognizing and wrestling with your own life issues. It is unrealistic to expect yourself to have the same problems as your clients, but the emotions that all of us experience are much the same. We all experience psychological pain, even though the course of this pain may be different. One basis for empathizing with clients is being open to the sources of pain in your own life without becoming swept up by this pain.

Self Awareness.

A central characteristics for any therapeutic person is an awareness of self, including one’s identity, cultural perspective, goals, motivations, needs, limitations, strengths, values, feelings and problems. Be open to new life experiences and divergent lifestyles, aware why you choose to lead the group, encourage yourself and others to self-discovery and reflect on interactions you have had with members of your groups.

Sense of Humor.

People sometimes take themselves so seriously that they miss an opportunity to put the importance of their problems in perspective. The ability to a laugh and to see the humor in your human frailties can be extremely useful in helping members keep a balanced perspectives and avoid becoming ‘psychologically heavy’. Groups occasionally exhibit a real need for laughter and joking simply to release built –up tension. This release should not be viewed as an escape, for genuine humor can heal.

Inventiveness.

The capacity to be spontaneously creative, approaching each group with fresh ideas, is a most important characteristics. Discover new ways of approaching a group by inventing experiments that emerge from here-and –now interactions. Working with interesting co-leaders and sometimes, getting some distance from groups (such as conducting fewer of them, doing other thing, or taking vacation) may also help you gain fresh perspective.
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Personal Dedication and Commitment.

Being a professional who makes a difference involves having ideals that provide meaning and direction in your life. This kind of dedication has direct application for leading groups. Belief the value of group process in empowering individuals, having guiding vision will make you able to ride out difficult times in a group, stay focused and on track with group members when the waters get rough.

Being a dedicated professional also involves humility, which means being open to feedback and ideas and being willing to explore one’s self. Humility does not mean self-effacing. It is the opposite of the arrogance that is implied in convincing ourselves that we have ‘truly arrived’ and that there is nothing more for us to learn. In addition, professional commitment entails staying abreast of changes in the field, reading journals and books, and attending periodic seminars to remain fresh and innovative.

~Marianne Schneider Corey/ Gerald Corey, Groups: Process & Practices~

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Leadership

Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, The Prime Minister of Malaysia

Blessed is the leader who seeks the best for those he serves.

~Unknown~

Leadership is not magnetic personality—that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people"—that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.

~Peter F. Drucker~

Leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him....But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, "We did it ourselves.

~Lao Tzu~

An army of a thousand is easy to find, but, ah, how difficult to find a general.

~Lao Tzu~

Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.

~Chinese proverb

Leadership is action, not position

~Donald H. McGannon~

The main characteristics of effective leadership are intelligence, integrity, mystique, humor, discipline, courage, self sufficieny and confidence.

~James L. Fisher~

A good leader inspires others with confidence in him; a great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves

~Unkown~

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Leadership: 4E

4E's in Full

To View the Animated 4E's Framework Please Click Here

Here’s the big idea. Leadership in the networked world is the same as it was in the time of Genghis Khan. The process - which we call the 4 E’s of Envision, Enable, Empower and Energize - is the same. The principles are the same.

Leaders

Leadership depends on having a unique vision, making strategic choices, finding the right tools & people to do the job, and designing and enabling an organization to get it done.
Leadership is about understanding people, and about getting people pointing and acting in the same direction. The unique role of a leader is then to provide the energy and commitment to see this job through, and ensuring execution is perfect. Leadership is about listening, and making a real "connect" with others. It is a process.

We call this process the 4 E’s of Envision, Enable, Empower & Energize. The framework has been developed by studying historical Leaders (live ones are notoriously difficult to summarize in a complete fashion, as things change so quickly), the current literature, and from personal experience of leading multinational & multicultural organizations across the world.
The sidebar on “Historical Examples” summarizes how the first 4 E’s apply to two very different Leaders – Mohandas Gandhi and Genghis Khan.

MOHANDAS GANDHI
ENVISION

India’s political and religious independence, based on spiritual renewal of her people, and on the equality of Hindu and Muslim. Abolish castes.

ENABLE

South African ambulance corps. Indian "Constructive Program". The Ashrams. The Congress charter. "Swadeshi" = home industry.

EMPOWER

Discipline & freedom, for self and followers. "Satyagraha" = peaceful protest. "Swaraj" = Indian Independence. Love. Respect.

ENERGIZE

He walked the talk – Gandhi was the program. The "Salt March". He fasted. His charisma. His disregard for self - no fear - prison. His words.

GENGHIS KHAN
ENVISION

To stop the Mongol tribes fighting, and to preserve their nomadic lifestyle. To live off the land. Realize their longstanding dream of “conquering the World".

ENABLE

The compound bow & short stirrup. The "Yasa" legal code. Merit based army units of 10, 1000, 10000. Peacetime “Pony express” links.

EMPOWER

Genghis trusted Locals running conquered cities. He promoted on merit. He was generous, very loyal, and very frank.

ENERGIZE

He personified strong & clear Mongol values. Genghis always led from the front. He was charismatic. Either surrender and maintain your way of life, or be slaughtered….
... are always looking for specific things to do “next Monday”, to make things happen.

The 4 E’s framework applies equally to Leadership in different cultural backgrounds – important to Leader’s of today’s’ multicultural Enterprises. But before examining the 4 E’s in detail, there is a simple set of fundamental truths about all Leaders to review.

Leaders always create (and need) change

Leaders always create (and need) followers

Leaders have a rock-solid value system, which is congruent with their followers.

Leaders and Change

Without a need for change, the concept of Leadership is meaningless. Leadership is not an abstract, Platonic concept - it is a practical activity, with a specific goal in mind. The situation in India pre-independence almost demanded that someone (like Gandhi) arose to lead and organize the cause. In the 4 E’s framework, Change is central to the strategic choices made at the Envisioning stage.

Leaders and Followers

Leaders are quintessential change agents, but they can’t do it alone – they still need the help of others to get things going. They find ways to create groups of followers, so they can together change things. We are not talking of manipulation or of mischief when we write "Leaders create followers". We mean that the job of a Leader is to encourage people to get things done. There is symmetry and symbiosis between Leaders and followers. Both need each other.

Without followers, there are no Leaders. In this sense, Leadership varies by situation, as a good Leader in one circumstance may not be successful in another. A classic example of Leadership varying by situation is Winston Churchill, who succeeded in wartime and then failed in peacetime by loosing a General Election. He was unable to reflect people’s post-war needs.
By contrast, Charles De Gaulle was a strong wartime Leader, who also managed to reflect the needs of the populace in peacetime. He still held his own views on the future of France – so succeeding as a Leader in both situations. Followers must follow willingly. Coercion should certainly not be in the Leader’s tool kit. Trust between Leader and Follower is essential to this willingness. Even Genghis enjoyed fierce loyalty from his troops – a loyalty he returned in full.
Our definition is built on the notion that Leaders can only really get other people to do things that are latent within them. To note Genghis again, the Mongol tribes wanted to stop their internecine, tribal genocide – but needed him to show the way.

Finally, with this process orientation to Leadership, we believe everyone can train, develop and enhance their Leadership skills. This is true regardless of the size or complexity of the Enterprise. And, because everyone can train, the results can be measured. You can’t have Leader’s without followers, and you can’t have followers without Leaders. Paradoxically, therefore, the Leader is also a follower, in the sense of reflecting the wishes of others. Leaders and followers are thus fully interdependent.

Leaders & Values congruence

The Leadership job starts with a thorough understanding of the follower’s needs, aspirations and concerns, which needs excellent listening and facilitation skills. Most importantly, it starts with a thorough understanding of the value systems of all constituents. The Leader’s value system must be congruent with that of the followers if the relationship is to prosper.
Leaders must first understand and then communicate their own value systems if they are to be trusted and followed. Leadership comes from within us, in the sense that deeply held values and principles provide the road map for the way we lead, and the way other people respond. It is always the Leader’s personal value system that sustains them in their quest, whether they are a person of impeccable moral fiber, or quite disreputable. On the negative side, without a clear sense of his or her own personal values, the Leader-to-be can get hopelessly lost, falling foul of inconsistency and insincerity as he struggles to handle the constituents.

From the perspective of the total organization, the creation and Leadership of a value system for the Enterprise, which is in total synchronization with the values of its constituents, will be very powerful indeed. This needs a sense of balance in dealing with multiple constituencies and interest groups, whilst also achieving the Enterprise goals. Constituencies include employees, shareholders, customers and members of local communities. Often the very best (and longest lived) business Enterprises takes specific note of all their constituencies in their mission and strategies. It is with this in mind that we include values and culture in the Envisioning step of the 4 E’s.

Ideas and Values

Let us now connect these thoughts on Leadership into the world of ideas. First, what is an “idea”, and what is a “value”, and what is the connection?
Idea: a thought to be presented as a suggestion, a thought about or mental picture of something such as a future or possible event, a realization of a possible way of doing something or of something to be done.

In today’s parlance, an idea tends to be thought of as an innovation, That is, an idea that can be practically executed and which creates value. So, we can all have ideas, and they result in changes, to a greater or lesser extent. They can be incremental, substantial or transformational innovations – all are needed in any Enterprise to keep it moving forward. Clayton Christensen (in the “Innovator’s Dilemma”) calls the latter innovations “disruptive” – technologies like the printed press, and the internal combustion engine, which changed everything [iii]. He also made the point that large Enterprises tend not to “disrupt”.

Values: the accepted principles or standards of an individual or a group.

What is interesting is that ideas lead eventually to values, if they are big enough. As we moved from hunting to agriculture, one assumes someone had the basic idea that not killing people was “good”. Later, the idea of the rule of law came along, and then liberal democracy. Both eventually became values in “civil society”. The idea of “markets” surfaced, and the values of “capitalism” took hold. On the other hand, Marx thought of the idea of “communism”, which lasted a while but never became an endearing value.

Values emerge over time, and get consensus over time. Ideas can be born at “Internet speed”, but values take time and energy to create and to take hold in an Enterprise [iv]. Put another way, ideas are fast, and values are slow. Ideas sometimes lead to powerful values, but not always. So what is the relevance to Leadership, and to change?

It is ideas that motivate people, but values that bind them together. When a Leader communicates, he or she must be clear whether the subject is ideas or values. Now this may sound simplistic, but how many times do we hear politicians claiming an idea as some kind of deep, culturally significant value?

On the other hand, how often do business people refuse to discuss values, as something too intangible and emotional in a commercial context? If more business Leaders would discuss values, and their development, one wonders how many more enduring Companies there would be – a point especially true for the “New Economy” high speed Enterprises. Values are also deeply related to strong brand equities – a point to which we will return in another article. One aspect of a change Leader’s job is thus to understand this difference in meaning and impact between ideas and values, and the difference in their speed.

So, let us summarize to this point by offering our definition of Leadership.

"Leadership is the energetic process of getting other people fully and willingly committed to a new and sustainable course of action, to meet commonly agreed objectives whilst having commonly held values".

Now we will set out this process of Leadership in actionable steps.
The 4 E’s
In each of the E's (Envision, Enable. Empower and Energize) we are working with two axes. At one side, we are working with Operational parameters – the strategies, the tools, the measurements. At the other side, we are dealing with Organizational and people issues. We will symbolize this as a growing grid.

Step 1: Envision
Leadership starts with having a vision, then developing a plan to achieve it. It is based both on data assessment and intuition, hope and fear. It is a noble challenge. A vision of the future is the key to getting started as a Leader. Without one, go back to square one.

Envisioning starts with having a clear view of the external world. It drives the formation of the mission of the Enterprise, and builds clear, mutual goals. In day-to-day work, it is helpful to distinguish between verbal objectives (the mission), and numerical objectives (the goals).
A vision that is likely to come true has to take account of the culture of the Enterprise. For example, a slow moving bureaucracy is not likely to succeed as a “New Economy” Enterprise without significant cultural change. The Leader then has a choice – mold the vision and strategy to the capabilities and values of the culture – or change the culture to achieve a different future for the Enterprise. A decision either direction will have enormous consequences for the change program undertaken.

A vision could be a grand view of a Country’s future, or a major Corporation’s – or it could be a picture of what one wants to achieve in the family, or amongst a group of friends. In all cases Leaders are seeking a vision of change that is needed.

It often seems that the word “vision” has fallen into disrepute – we all have drawers full of unexecuted visions. In our view, a vision is an operational strategy, reflecting choices of what to do and what not to do, with hard goals. It is not “fuzzy and warm”. It is essential.

Step 2: Enable
The Envisioning step forces decisions on choices – strategies, in other words. Leaders must then decide what methods or tools will be used to Enable the objectives, and to encourage the right kind of action.

There are essentially two kinds of enabling mechanisms – both built on innovation. The first mechanisms (along what we defined as the “Operational” axis) include tools, technologies, and business methodologies. “A better mouse trap” is always a good enabling mechanism to bring about change. In every case, the tools and tactics used must meet the needs of the strategic choices defined earlier. On methodologies, in today’s “New Economy” terms, this also would be time to review one’s business model, to check its competitive advantage or pitfalls.

The second set of enabling mechanisms (on the “Organizational” axis) includes processes and structure. It also means ensuring the Enterprise has the right people and the right skill sets to get the job done. These all require building on the Enterprise’s culture and values. This could mean the deliberate elimination of counterproductive values or structure - but there will always be a structure and a set of processes in place.

David Hanna, an ex-colleague who now works with the Covey Leadership Center, once wrote, "Every organization is perfectly designed to get the results that it gets" [v]. I prefer "Every Enterprise is perfectly led to get the results that it gets". Leadership is the key. Serendipity or chaos is not usually an enabler, except for the briefest moment.

Step 3: Empower
Given a clear vision, strategy and enabling tool kit, the third step of the Leadership process is empowering people to achieve the goals. There is a ”deal” between the Leader and his or her followers. The followers and the Leader have a contract, for success and failure, reward and sanction, on both sides. Both are given mutual freedom, yet held mutually accountable. Both are thus empowered [vi].

We do not subscribe to a “free for all” empowerment. It is a deal:
“You deliver this, and I deliver that. You will get more space, the better you do. The more I meet your needs, the stronger Leadership position I will be in. Together we will therefore be better able to accelerate the changes we have agreed to make”.

Said another way, effective empowerment provides the space to get the task completed, the space to innovate, and the feedback mechanism to both improve results and to motivate the organization.

Again, there are two sides to empowerment. On the “Organizational” axis, the team needs to be given the training to get the job done. This is self-evident. The empowerment must also bring rewards to all parties, and sanctions or challenges for improvement.
On the “Operational” axis, both Leaders and Followers need to be able to measure progress against the goals, in a transparent way, which also encourages dialog and continuous improvement.

Combining these thoughts, one of the fundamental, empowering (and energizing) roles of a Leader is to teach. This includes both practical work topics, and Leadership skills. On-going 360º feedback and measurement studies by Marshall Goldsmith [vii] and others show that Leadership skill can improve over time. The data also suggests that training in Leadership development can positively impact other aspects of on the job performance.

We view this as another expression of the point made earlier that the mission of the Enterprise must take into account its values and its culture. A Leader must therefore work hard to understand how national culture affects the way people react – all constituencies, but especially employees and customers. That being said, bending to the local culture without thought to the Enterprise’s “culture in the making” will lead to inconsistency and chaos. As ever, the Leader’s job is one of thoughtful balance. From personal experience, the most practical Leadership approach across a multi-cultural group is one of facilitation. After much personal trial and error, it seems the best facilitation includes thoughts and approaches from both Western and Asian cultures.

For example, “Westerners” tend to be very open with exposing their innermost ideas, and even their value systems – the cult of the individual, one supposes. On the other hand, “Asians” tend to be reticent in so doing – not wanting to disturb the group. In fact, depending on the situation, both actions can be helpful for a Leader facilitating a group.

Empowerment via facilitation-Asia & The West

Start with (and stick to) the Vision -Asia

Let go of your own power -Asia
Have patience -Asia

Listen for what is not said -Asia
Build Interdependence via process-Asia

Set out clear ground rules up front -The West
Expose your own value system, first -The West
Build an empowerment “contract” -The West
Get all the issues out -The West
Stick to the process over time-Asia & The West

Another example is that of listening. A “Westerner” tends to assume that what is being said is all that needs to be heard. On the other hand, “Asian” culture puts emphasis on the context with which things are being said – or, put another way, what is not being said. A good meeting facilitator will sense when things need to be drawn out of the group which are not immediately obvious, in order to move ahead. Leaders must do the same. The notion of facilitation is thus a classic one of blending the best of “East and West”. Facilitation skill provides a wonderful Leadership tool kit to address cultural sensitivity.

Trust via empowerment
The overall impact of empowerment is to build trust. There are many ways to do this, all of which are as applicable to networks as in any other context. A word of warning – trust is not something a group can just agree to have. It is built over time [viii].

Step 4: Energize
So, the goal is clear, the plan is in place, and the troops are both motivated and armed. Still, there is an essential ingredient missing. The Leadership role demands the skills of energizing the organization to act.

In fact , whilst we hope every member of a team "Energizes" others, one could argue that this Energizing step is a very personal one. By contrast the previous 3 steps usually involve shared actions by the entire team.

Looking at the 4 E’s grid, on the “Organizational” axis we summarize the issue as “individual success”. For the members of the team, probably the maximum energy will result from the combination of winning (in the marketplace) and achieving a sense of personal success and satisfaction. The more energy the team generates, the more energy the Leader has – in a virtuous circle of reinforcement.

On the other, “Operational” axis, we see that continuous communication and course corrections are the key activities of the Leader. This includes “walking the talk”, consistency, continuous communication with the team, personal persuasiveness and clarity. The Leader is a kind of motor for the change – the moment he or she flags or shows a lack of resolve, the team will loose energy, and results will suffer.

One classic energizer involves expressing the vision and goals in a "story", which builds understanding and the desire for action in the followers. A great example of a "story" is John Kennedy’s "put a man on the moon and return him home safely by the end of the decade". This energized an entire nation, its military and its industries. He stuck to the script, and even after his death, the mission was accomplished.

Phil Harkins does an excellent job of reviewing the impact of “Powerful Conversations” in his latest book. We see his insights as very helpful to the energizing phase of Leadership [ix]. The Leader’s "story" takes careful note of the audience's perceptions, so he or she will be an excellent listener and judge of others. The story is expressed simply but powerfully, and it is repeated often. The Leader energizes the vision, the enablers, and the empowerment.
A critical activity of the Leader is also to provide feedback on progress, and to “course correct” as needed. There will be many mid-course corrections, to reach the goals whilst taking account of new information, roadblocks, issues and plain mistakes along the way. The vision remains constant – somebody once said “Just when you are fed up with saying it that is when he or she gets it”! A Leader cannot afford to stop saying it.

... and step 5: Execute
Strictly speaking, this is not a step, but a “surrounding” concept for the other 4 E’s. Outstanding execution and follow through applies at every stage of the Leadership process.
We have sometimes been challenged that we should add yet another “E” to the framework – Emotion. There has been much written about Emotional Intelligence (developed by Daniel Goleman [x]), and it is an important concept. The concept includes self-awareness and impulse control, persistence, zeal and self-motivation, empathy, and social deftness. All are fundamental to excellent, personal Leadership skills.

In the 4 E’s framework, however, we believe that emotional intelligence fits inside the energizing role of a Leader, rather than as a separate focus. We are helped to this conclusion by the many studies that demonstrate that successful Leaders have had a varied and challenging career. This puts them through their “Leadership training paces” at each stage, en route to becoming a world class Leader. By contrast, individuals who have not had the opportunity to build long-term programs, or who have spent all of their time in focus area, tend not to make the best Leaders. This breadth of experience, and the challenges associated with such a career, not only serve to broaden the Leader’s skill base, but also help his or her emotional development. We believe there are thus three sequential stages in any Leader’s personal development, which allows them all to be better energizers:

Learning the basic strategic and communication skills and how to use them

Exhibiting Leadership behaviors in a day to day context – “walk the talk”

Getting comfortable with the Leadership role

The last point is where “emotional maturity” and “emotional intelligence” come most into play. That is where Goleman’s work fits. It is no use just having all of the Leadership theory in your head – you must have the maturity to be able to use it and energize others.

References:
iThere are so many books on Gandhi, it is difficult to choose. Other than Gandhi’s own writings (which should not be missed) my favourites are:Nair, Keshavan 1994. “A Higher Standard of Leadership”, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco.Dalton, Dennis 1993. “Nonviolent Power in Action”, Columbia University Press, New York.
iiFor a thorough biography, see Ratchnevsky, Paul 1991. “Genghis Khan – His Life and Legacy”, Blackwell, Oxford.
iiiAn up to date exposition on the power of ideas is Godin, Seth 2000. “Unleashing the Ideavirus”, Do You Zoom Inc., New York. To explore the implications of disruptive technology on business, see Christensen, Clayton 1997. “The Inventor’s Dilemma”, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
ivTo study the impact of time on the creation of value systems, read Brand, Stewart 1999. “The Clock of the Long Now”, Basic Books, New York.Related is Fukuyama’s work on social disruption in the 20th century. Fukuyama, Francis 1999. “The Great Disruption”, The Free Press.
vHanna, David 1990. “Designing Organizations for High Performance”, Addison Wesley.
viA very practical approach to Empowerment is in McLagan, Patricia & Nel, Christo 1995. “The Age of Participation”, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco.
viiWhilst Goldsmith has written many books and articles, an excellent all round edition is the Drucker series of which he is editor. This includes his comments on measuring Leadership development. Goldsmith, Marshall , Hesselbein, Frances & Beckhard, Richard, 1996. “The Leader of the Future”, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.Goldsmith, Marshall , Hesselbein, Frances & Beckhard, Richard, 1996. “The Organization of the Future”, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
viiiA clear and practical handbook on the subject of building trust is Shaw, Robert Bruce 1997. “Trust in the Balance”, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
ixHarkins, Phil 1999. “Powerful Conversations – How High Impact Leaders Communicate”. McGraw.

Source: Leader Values

Monday, September 10, 2007

Leadership

"To be a leader means to be able to move masses."

-- Adolf Hitler

"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand."

-- Colin Powell

"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."

-- Bill Gates

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it." -- Andrew Carnegie

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Ten Leadership Qualities

#535 Innovative Leader Volume 10, Number 8 August 2001

Ten Leadership Characteristics

by Danny CoxMr. Cox, a professional speaker in Tustin, California (phone 800-366-3101; email Mach175@aol.com). He is author of Leadership When The Heat's On (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1992).

No organization can rise above the quality of its leadership. Because leadership is a position that must be earned day in and day out, there are important personal choices that both new and experienced leaders must make on a regular basis.

Effective leaders are, first and foremost, effective people.Personal ethics can't be separated from professional ethics. Therefore, the character of the leader is essential. The following list of ten characteristics is a valuable guide for leadership. In addition, it results in a quality life.

1. A high standard of personal ethics leads the list. Honest Abe Lincoln, who walked miles to return a customer's change, is a classic example of how personal ethics are reflected in professional conduct. Decisions made under pressure and/or temptation separate the great ones from the impostors.

2. High energy. Great leaders are not exhausted by dealing with petty issues. These people know right from wrong as well as the difference between what's truly important and what's merely interesting.

3. The ability to work priorities shares equal importance with setting priorities. Many brilliant priority lists end up in the landfill of life. The difference between setting priorities and working them through is the difference between a dreamer and a doer.

4. Courage. The willingness to take risks and accept responsibility for the outcome is a consistent quality among effective leaders. Either you or your fears will control everything you do. An organization will be no bolder than the leader.

5. Committed and dedicated hard working leaders will eventually develop dedicated and hard working organizations regardless of who they start with or the experience they bring to the job.

6. Unorthodox leaders have an urge to create and don't have the patience to wait for a phone to ring before acting. Effective leaders are innovators who bore easily and prefer shaping tomorrow to repeating yesterday.

7. Great leaders have the goal orientation to make tough decisions. Goal orientation produces a drive and energy that shield us from the pain of the task. Keeping an organization focused increases efficiency.

8. Inspired enthusiasm is like the pilot light on the oven. Genuine enthusiasm is contagious. People look to their leaders for enthusiasm. The inspiration level of the organization is directly proportionate to the enthusiasm of the leader--be it high or low.

9. Level-headed people make realistic leaders who respond to problems rather than simply react. A leader who can stay cool under pressure inspires confidence among those in the organization and empowers them to do the same.

10. The desire to help others succeed is the mark of a truly great leader. Synergy is created when a leader truly invests his or her efforts in the success of others. Zig Ziglar says it like this,

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care about them."

Whether you're trying to increase your own effectiveness as a leader or are trying to develop leadership talent within your organization, keep studying the characteristics of those you consider to be great leaders.Remember that leadership is an art, not a science, and the difference between a genuinely effective leader and a short-term motivator can be found in the personal decisions an individual makes when choosing how to live his or her life. Long-term commitment to the principles described above will produce an effective leader and, over time, an inspired organization.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Ten Rules of Good Followership

Masjid Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz, Selangor, Malaysia

1. Don’t blame your boss for an unpopular decision or
policy; your job is to support, not undermine.

2. Fight with your boss if necessary; but do it in private,
avoid embarrassing situations, and never reveal to others
what was discussed.

3. Make the decision, then run it past the boss; use your
initiative.

4. Accept responsibility whenever it is offered.

5. Tell the truth and don’t quibble; your boss will be giving
advice up the chain of command based on what you said.

6. Do your homework; give your boss all the information
needed to make a decision; anticipate possible questions.

7. When making a recommendation, remember who will
probably have to implement it. This means you must know
your own limitations and weaknesses as well as your
strengths.

8. Keep your boss informed of what’s going on in the
unit; people will be reluctant to tell him or her their problems
and successes. You should do it for them, and assume
someone else will tell the boss about yours.

9. If you see a problem, fix it. Don’t worry about who
would have gotten the blame or who now gets the praise.

10. Put in more than an honest day’s work, but don’t ever
forget the needs of your family. If they are unhappy, you will
be too, and your job performance will suffer accordingly.

By Col Phillip S. Meilinger in The Ten Rules of Good Followership

Friday, July 06, 2007

Leadership

Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar

Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing.

~Warren Bennis

All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.

~John Kenneth Galbraith.

It's amazing how many cares disappear when you decide not to be something, but to be someone.

~Coco Chanel

Source: Big Dog's Leadership Quote

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Leadership

Leadership is all about a leader who handle the ship. Some people said that, we cannot have more than one leader in one ship. But, why not? Everybody is a leader- at least for their own self. Everybody is a follower - no matter how 'big' we are, we are the follower of god. However, only the best follower can be the best leader.

As a leader, we must know our destiny. As a leader, we must always be prepared and knowledgeable. As a leader, we must aware with our strength, and weakness. As a leader, we must be creative, inovative, open minded, energetic, and ready to transform ourselves for the betterment during our journey to success.

The ship might have a million of brilliant leader, but only one would become their captain. As a leader, we must know how to choose the best leader and become the best follower to achieve our goals.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Leader & Manager: Differences in Perspectives

Red Squirrel

Managers think incrementally, whilst leaders think radically. "Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing." [2]. This means that managers do things by the book and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company. A leader is more emotional than a manager . "Men are governed by their emotions rather than their intelligence" [3]. This quotation illustrates why teams choose to follow leaders.

"Leaders stand out by being different. They question assumption and are suspicious of tradition. They seek out the truth and make decisions based on fact, not prejudice. They have a preference for innovation." [4]

Sources: ME96 Leadership Pages

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Definition of Leadership

Scottish Deer Centre

House defines "leadership" organizationally and narrowly as "the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members".[1]

~Wikipedia

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The Crux of Leadership Development

Abandoned baby polar bear is 'better off dead' than raised in zoo?

“The crux of leadership development that works is self-directed learning: intentionally developing or strengthening an aspect of who you are or who you want to be, or both.”

~Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee

Primal Leadership (Harvard Business School Press)

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Tailor Feedback to the Person

Panda City

Be sensitive. If the person's life orientation is to prevent disaster, stick with suggestions for improvemnt to help them achieve that goal. If individuals will be devastated by negative feedback, accentuate the positive aspects of their performance.

~ John H. Zenger & Joseph Folkman

Zenger, J.H. & Folman, J. 2004. The Handbook for Learders: 24 Lessons for Extraordinary Leadership,United States: Mc Graw Hill. (p. 42).