True Leadership

Acquiring and Developing Leadership Skills

Posts Tagged effective leadership

Effective Leadership Management: An Integration of Styles,

Jul 15

Posted by John Roberts in Leadership Styles | No Comments

Effective Leadership Management: An Integration of Styles,

Effective Leadership Management is about theory and practice of integrating styles, skills and character of today’s chief executive officers. It is about what a leader or a manager does to bring about staff efficiency and effectiveness. A leader or a manager is effective when he or she brings about the desired results for the organization by using different approaches to the development of personal and interpersonal effectiveness of the staff by daily decision making, staffing, planning, forecasting, nurturing, coaching, directing, organizing, marketing, encouraging and controlling quality. Effective Leadership Management emphasizes leadership as the intersection of character, knowledge, skill and desire. Management supervises tasks but leadership deals with people who supervise tasks. In other words, management is doing things right, while leadership is doing the right things. Effective Leadership Management styles are achievable by using mixtures of different styles as situation arises. Each leader has to choose style(s) that suits his or her personality and that best represents the values of the organization. In all, a leader has to be transparent with all daily dealings, communicates effectively, be honest with staff members, showing an unbending integrity, at the same time be knowledgeable or skillful about the tasks at hand, and be easy to follow. When an employee is encouraged, motivated and positively appraised, his or her performance will be enhanced. This book strongly emphasizes theory Z by Dr. Ouchi in which a management or leadership style focuses on a strong company philosophy, a distinctive corporate culture, long-range staff development, and consensus decision making. When decisions and policies that relate to customers are being made by an organization, it is important to understand that others such as customers, community, staff, suppliers and stake holders opinions should be considered. This is called a holistic view approach to

Effective Leadership Management: An Integration of Styles, Skills & Character for Today’s CEOs

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Positive Leadership – does it make a difference?

Jul 3

Posted by John Roberts in Qualities | No Comments

POSITIVE LEADERSHIP – DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

 

Have you worked for two or more Managers or supervisors and wondered how one seemed to be a better leader than the other and why?

Effective leadership takes an incredible amount of dedication and self searching, the term “Natural Born Leader” is a term that I personally disagree with. Leadership is a daily source of education that is honed with time, being subjected to problems of all sorts and dealing with a myriad of people.

Let’s use baseball players as an example, every major leaguer has talent, there are the exceptionally talented ones also. They typically work harder than most to bring out the most in their talent, if they relied on talent alone they would be an average player over time. The same is true with leadership, daily you will learn from experiences and other contacts which will make you in the long term a better leader if you embrace it.

Characters, integrity, passion, setting the example are all key ingredients to becoming a successful leader but the main ingredient is you the leader. If you ignore past experiences you have learned from other leaders along with past problem solving experiences then you are limiting yourself and your growth.

I have worked with countless managers/leaders and have learned from each and every one of them. The things that I thought were bad I put in my memory bank and frequently thought to myself, “Whenever I am in a leadership position I will or will not treat people like that”.

 

Let’s use and example:

#1. You are the Inventory manager and a truck full of supplies has arrived on schedule, unfortunately 2 of your associates are going to be later arriving. You only have a 2 hour time frame to have the truck unloaded. The one associate you have is full of energy and ready to tackle the job. You on the other hand are on the cell phone calling the GM to tell him you don’t have enough manpower to finish the unload on time. This discussion goes on for over 30 minutes with no solution.  You are being paid to make decisions and lead, you have failed.

#2. Joe we have two people calling in late so we are going to have to team up and get this truck unloaded on time. I guarantee you we will finish in less than 2 hours, remember I was an inventory specialist prior to becoming a manager and can still hold my own, let’s do it!

This manager took immediate action, not making excuses but came up with an immediate solution and proved he is worthy of being a manager. In addition he gained the utmost respect and admiration from his associate who will in turn let every associate know what happened. You can rest assured example #1 is going to let everyone know also how her manager handled the situation.

If he is smart manager #1 will learn a great deal about being a leader from this situation. If he doesn’t learn from this situation then he has a long road to travel to be a successful leader.

The golden key to being a successful leader is knowing your team and each individuals strengths and weakness. This will allow you put the right person on the right assignment and dramatically increasing the expectation of positive results.

So back to the original question what makes one person a better leader than others? In my opinion it is entirely up to the individual, the tools are there it is how you decide to utilize them. Every person with average intelligence can be an effective and respected leader with hard work. The lazy ones, well they just don’t get it.

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Situational Leadership

Jun 2

Posted by John Roberts in Qualities | No Comments

Situational leadership theory is one of the type of leadership theory, leadership model and leadership style that believes that different leadership style suit different situations. That is as per the situation, you should apply leadership style. Situation leadership theory assumes that the best action to be taken by a leader depends on the situation. The leader should also be able to adapt the style according to the situation. As the situation changes, you (leader) should also quickly change the leadership style. Depending on the situation, you (leader) should adopt leadership style.

Adopting a particular style also depends on the relationship between the followers and the leader. The cooperation of the employees also plays a major role in deciding the type of leadership that should be in that organization. Factors such as mood and stress may affect the leader’s behaviour. When a situational leader is required to take a decision, he or she does not use only one preferred style. Situational leaders are effective and versatile. In our day-to-day life, we do this in dealing with different people. That is our leadership style is different for different people. We avoid getting angry if a new employee makes a mistake. We also remind forgetful employees. This theory is not only applicable to people who are leaders or are holding management positions but is also applicable to those people that lead others at play, at work and at play.

A situational leadership model is also associated with situational leadership theory.

The basic idea of this model is that leadership flexibility is necessary for effective leadership. It also believes that different leadership approaches are required for different situations. This model defines four leadership styles. These styles are based on how much guidance or direction the leader can give to his or her followers.

Leadership Styles are as follows:

Directing Leaders- Tasks and roles of the followers are defined by these leaders. Directing leaders also supervise their followers very closely. All decisions are taken and announced by the leader. Here the leader is more focused on completing the task than keeping a good relationship with the follower. Thus, communication is one way.

Coaching Leaders: Here the leader still defines the tasks of the followers but asks for any suggestions from the follower and tries to keep a good relationship with the follower Final decision is made by the leader and not the author but communication is two way.

Supporting: Here the leader frequently takes the help of followers for day-to-day decision. Decisions include processes and task allocation. The leader facilitates decisions but the final decision is taken by the follower.

Delegating Leaders: Here the leader is too involved in problem solving and taking decisions but the authority to take the final decision is with the follower. Followers also decide how and when the leader should be involved.

Depending on level of development of the employees, a particular style will be most effective. The leadership approach should also match to what is required or needed by the employees or followers

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Leadership Quote

May 23

Posted by John Roberts in Qualities | No Comments

Leadership quotes can be found in various books and Ethics. Leadership is essential to build good society and to run a good organization. A good leader is one who does not simply control his team members. Instead he sets himself as a role model. The task of the leader is to take the people from where they are to where they have not been. A great leader will not dictate his people but will guide them.

A leader need not be a superman. He must be intelligent and must be able to manage people. He should not afraid of any situations. A famous leadership quote says” Great leaders are almost great simplifiers who can cut through arguments, debate and doubt to offer a solution that everybody can understand”. The task of a leader today is vast and complex. But the quote is applicable for today’s leader also.

Leaders are not born but they are made by hard work and sincerity. Leadership can not be taught but it can be learned. Leadership need not require magical personality. He\she need not influence people. A great leader is a person who lifts his people to higher sights beyond the normal limitations.

A good leader will always motivate his people to do right things in a right way. Though he has great powers, he will use only little of them. Any person who hits people over the head can not become a leader. He must have politeness and willingness to listen to the words of his fellow men.

Great spirits always have violent opposition. Hence a leader should possess courage and intelligence to withstand in any unwanted situations. Honesty and courageousness along with intelligence are the crucial characters of a good leader.

Stephen Covey says” Effective leadership is putting first things first”. Hence a leader should be innovative and have the talent to notice changes and to adapt it even before the competitors use them. This will surely benefit the organization.

Warren Bennis quotes “A manager asks how and when a leader asks what and why”. The leader must therefore have the ability to detect the root cause of the problem. He must see the obstacles as opportunities. He must be able to use such opportunities in a right way.

Famous leadership quote describes “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way”. If any person’s actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and learn more, then he is a leader.

A good leader can inspires people to develop confidence in him; but great leader will help people have faith on their own actions. An exemplary leader will always strive hard to generate confidence among the people. He will encourage his people to accomplish the tasks.

John Buchan says” The task of a leader is not to thrust greatness into people’s faces, but to help them understand the existent greatness”. A leader should therefore have the ability to handle great thoughts among people. The leader should speak softly but should know how to control people. This will help him in getting tasks done correctly.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Organizational Leadership Training Guide

Apr 29

Posted by John Roberts in Qualities | No Comments

Organizations are an amalgamation of various people and groups from different cultural and professional backgrounds. Every person has his/her unique characteristics and individual qualities that differentiate him/her from others and complement the organization. Its these individual traits of each employee that when effectively handled and combined together make up the collective strength of the organization. On the other hand, these individual characteristics could derail the organization into chaotic mismanagement, if not properly dealt with. This is where the role of organizational leadership jumps in.

Effective organizational leadership is a requirement of every single organization, whether small or large. Organizations inherently need to be guided towards success by the aid of effective leadership that joins together the individual strengths of each employee into a collective force that acts in accordance with organizational aims and ethos. The crux of successful organizational or corporate leadership is efficient people management. However, this is something that was usually not taught in schools, colleges and universities until recently.

Training companies in the practical world and schools in the academic world have now realised the necessity of organizational leadership training courses that provide necessary guide, knowledge and skills to future leaders and managers from a practical perspective. Corporate leadership training courses are aimed at enhancing the following skills in employees that organizations deem as leadership material.

Effective communication:
We have all heard it many time before that communication is the key. A corporate leader can go nowhere without it. Effective communication essentially means to convey ones point across in a precise and clear way so the other person fully understands it. Effective communication sometimes requires one to adopt more than one interaction approach and communication level because what may work in one case, may not work in another.

Effective listening:
Some people consider effective listening as a prerequisite to effective communication. Without fully understanding the others problem or point of view, a leader will have a hard time being heard and understood. Therefore, understanding others requires listening with focus and attention.

People management:
A good leader is normally a peoples person who is liked by the majority of his/her co-workers. That is why s/he is listened to and followed. Leaders, who are not liked by their colleagues, are generally not able to sustain their leadership position in the long run. Therefore, people management skills are essential for effective corporate leadership.

Project management:
Amongst personality traits, a leaders technical and managerial skills are also highly important. A corporate leader with limited project management and technical skills in the job, he/she is assigned to do, will have a hard time earning the respect of his/her subordinates who may be technically more sound than the boss.

Time management:
Learning to effectively manage time is also an important ingredient of effective organizational leadership training. If a leader doesnt know how to manage his/her time, he/she is most likely to ignore spending time with employees in order to connect with them. Lack of proper time management will always make a leader feel as if s/he is overwhelmed with work and there is not much time to spend on other necessary leadership activities.

Understanding human psychology:
Effective organizational leadership training also emphasizes on the importance of understanding human psychology. If a corporate leader doesn’t understand his/her subordinates psychology at individual levels, s/he may not be able to form a strong bond with them.

Motivational techniques:
People require and expect their leaders to give them a motivational speech from time to time. People lose motivation due to a number of personal as well as professional reasons. A good corporate leader always sees lost employee motivation as another opportunity to gain their confidence by guiding them on the track to regain their motivation.

Self improvement:
Continuous self improvement is necessary to be an effective corporate leader. Therefore, learning self improvement techniques is an important part of corporate leadership training.

courtesy of : Quotebean.co.uk

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Leadership Traits

Apr 28

Posted by John Roberts in Qualities | No Comments

Your leadership traits will tell the manner in which you will lead your followers. Effective leadership traits will make that company successful. Leadership traits will convince voters, wins negotiations and overcomes objection. Leadership should have the potential to lead others to accomplish goals.

Leadership traits build excellence but do not command excellence. To achieve excellence, you should be a leader having good qualities. A leader must be of good character. Your leadership should honestly perform the tasks and set an example for his or her followers. The leader should set a goal for the organization and strive hard to achieve it. An important leadership trait of a good leader is the flexibility to changes without compromising his or her morale principles.

It should be most adaptive to any change in the organization. Leadership should be able to build to motivate and inspire the followers to reach common goals. Your leadership should keep on motivating the followers to accomplish the desired task. It should guide the followers in the right direction. Leadership should be such, that it energizes and activates the followers. It should develop enthusiasm and passion among its followers to achieve the desired goal. It should be aggressive and risk taking to accomplish certain tasks.

It should be practical and be comfortable with criticism low Leadership should demonstrate a determination to achieve the required goal of the organization. Your leadership should instill sense of responsibility among your followers. It should train your employees as a team. Your leadership should ensure that job to be done by the employees is well understood and supervised. His or her leadership should be a source of enthusiasm. Your leadership should not be emotional and should not hesitate to take tough decisions. Your leadership should be tolerant and should handle stress and frustration effectively. Overall, a leader should have the maturity to handle anything in an organization.

It should have the dominance, positive attitude and assert ness to overcome any obstacles. It must be optimistic and should be open to any change. Your leadership should inculcate a soaring standard of excellence among its followers. It should make timely decisions.

Leadership should be compassionate but should also take tough decisions at the right time. It should also listen to its followers patiently if they want to give any suggestion regarding the task allocated to them. Leadership should try to develop a friendly relationship with its followers. That is, it should develop a team spirit. It should have the self-confidence to guide anyone who is going wrong. It should be unaffected by failures or prior mistakes. It should always look out for the welfare of its employees and keep them well informed.

It should employ candidates according to its capabilities. Your leadership should take responsibility for your wrong actions. It should also seek self-improvement. It should also be technically proficient. Your leadership should at times be offensive if your follower is not at all listening to you. At times, it should arouse emotions to captivate and unite them to achieve the desired purpose.

Tags: , , , , ,