Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Diary On leadership
Leadership
What Leadership means to me
· Empowering people to lead
· Integrating life by staying grounded
· Building his support team
· Building extrinsic and intrinsic motivations
· Practising his values and principles
· Knowing his authentic self
· Learning from his own life story
· Reconnecting to the past
· Self-awareness
· Insight to take ownership
· Ability to wait to reap results
· Ability to think and act at macro level
Leader according to me is transformer, facilitator, driver and implementer of whatever he perceives vital for taking his organisation and stakeholders forward.
Following are a set of qualities I think which comprises a leader:-
Leadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people toward a common goal.
Leaders always stick to their roots. They know where they have come from and they understand the importance and relevance of system around them. This is actually from where they have emerged so system has important part in developing the personality traits of an individual.
Leaders always set clear goals and targets in front of them and define frequency to achieve them. They work relentlessly and motivate the environment and system around them to align them in a single direction to achieve quicker and efficient results.
Leaders understand that they are on a path of continuous learning process and they connect to their past experience to leverage on the experience they have got from the events and make best use of them
Develop a Learning Process
The role of doctor is a new one for many leaders. They need help in developing a learning process for them and their organisations.
Source: http://www.emeraldinsight.com
· Begin with your direct reports, the leadership team. Clarify the pressures to change: customer demands, competition, costs. Create an open dialogue. Questioning and conflicting views have to be encouraged. Other organizations can be benchmarked.
· Invite the team to express their ideas and theories about what needs to be done to turn the table around. These theories should definitely be questioned in the light of results.
· Once the leadership team agrees on a new theory, It needs to be translated into strategy and practice. Redesign of organization might be required to support the new strategy, by aligning the structure, systems, processes, skills, measurements, rewards, management style and shared values.
· Establish an interactive process to implement change and facilitate organizational learning. All parts of the organization - divisions, departments and business units - need to determine what the ideal design means to them. What are the gaps and how do they propose to close these gaps?
· As people and the organization begins to change, make use a good stories. We learn how to behave by combining various principles and stories. They give us a much needed ignition.
· The resolution of the leadership paradox requires leadership not by force, but by intellectual power and conviction, persuasion, interactive dialogue, and continual learning. It involves engagement. In the process of leading change, leaders discover the human side, the different ways people process information, their values and attitudes.
Few ideas were taken from http://www.maccoby.com/Articles
How to be a good
Ascend
Instil
Teamwork
Engage
Integrity
Values
Leader leader in an organisation
· Integrity - Leaders follow unique policy and strategy across irrespective of demography. They stay by their ethics and integration and imbibe the same into their employees also
· Instil - Leaders make innovation everyone’s job and a way of life. They aim to identify and remove innovation barriers, actively manage innovation, to train people how to think outside of the box, creatively solve problems, and identify the best opportunities.
Ascend - Harness external innovation. The goal is to identify developments done by start up companies that may give strategic edge in real business deals where “1+1=3”.
Teamwork - Success of a leader is often linked to his team and the associates who work in close connection with him to turn the things around. Leaders make the very first decision to appoint an efficient team. He makes sure that all team members are on same page and effort of each of his core team member is attributed to the success achieved.
Engage - Establish a framework which will generate and develop relationships between customers and enhance the organization’s image as a “trusted advisor” and create new business opportunities by identifying and introducing them to emerging technologies and solutions. Create a funnel for acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
Values –
Commitment to the customer
§ Total commitment to customer success
§ Sensitivity and responsiveness to customer's needs
§ Respect and honour for the customer’s culture
Commitment to the employee
§ Focus on employee career development
§ The ultimate responsibility lies with the manager
§ Embracing Diversity
Commitment to Success
§ Excellence is a driving force
§ Commitment and Dedication
§ Consultation leads to synergy
§ Teamwork and collaboration
Leadership styles
Charismatic Leadership
Style
The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through dint of personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority.
The searchlight of attention - It is worthwhile to watch a Charismatic Leader 'working the room' as they deal with people. They pay much attention to the person they are talking to at any moment, making that person feel like he is the most important person in the world.
Pulling all of the strings - Charismatic Leaders use a wide range of methods to manage their image and, if they are not naturally charismatic, may practice assiduously at developing their skills.
Leading the team- Charismatic leaders who are building a group will often focus strongly on making the group very distinct, separating it from other groups.
Participative Leadership
Style
A Participative Leader, rather than taking autocratic decisions, tries to involve other people in the process, which includes subordinates, peers, superiors and other stakeholders.
< Not participative
Highly participative >
Autocratic decision by leader
Leader proposes decision, listens to feedback, then decides
Team proposes decision, leader has final decision
Joint decision with team as equals
Full delegation of decision to team
The level of participation may also depend on the type of decision being made. Decisions on how to implement goals may be highly participative.
Transactional Leadership
Style
The transactional leader creates clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they will get for following the orders.
When the Transactional Leader allocates work to a subordinate, the responsibility is transferred to them irrespective of the fact whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is punished for their failure.
Transformational Leadership
Style
Working for a Transformational Leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience. They put passion and zeal into everything they do. They care about you and want you to succeed.
Developing the vision - Transformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers.
Selling the vision - The next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision.
Finding the way forwards -In parallel with the selling activity is seeking the way forward. Some Transformational leaders know the way, and simply want others to follow them.
Leading the charge - The final stage is to remain central and up-front during the action. Transformational leaders will always stand up to be counted than hide behind their troops.
The Quiet ‘Level 5’ Leader
Personal Humility & Will
Compelling modesty
Inspired standards to motivate
Channels ambition to company
Give credit to others
An Unwavering resolve
Harnessing the energy of opposites
Style
The approach of quiet leaders is the antithesis of the classic charismatic (and often transformational) leaders in that they base their success not on ego and force of character but on their thoughts and actions.
Level 5 is the Executive who "builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will." Every one of the good- to-great companies has level 5 leaders in the critical transition phase. The qualities exhibited by level 5 leaders are listed in the table.
Situational Leadership
The Right Style
While the Transformation Leadership approach is often highly effective, there is no one “right” way to lead or manage that suits all situations. To choose the most effective approach for you, you must consider:
· The skill levels and experience of your team
· The work involved (routine or new and creative)
· The organisational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous)
· You own preferred or natural style.
A good leader will find him- or herself switching instinctively between styles according to the people and work they are dealing with. This is often referred to as “situational leadership”. For example, the manager of a small factory trains new machine operatives using a bureaucratic style to ensure operatives know the procedures that achieve the right standards of product quality and workplace safety. The same manager may adopt a more participative style of leadership when working on production line improvement with his or her team of supervisors.
Few styles were picked from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles
My Leader - Neither Mahatma Gandhi nor Osama bin Laden but a simple lady
A leader in my life whom I will always cherish and admire is Ruchama Elstein. She was my manager in the organization I worked with. She is an Israeli national and I got chance to work very closely with her. Whenever I listen about the term ‘leadership’ my mind only relates to this lady whom I will always remember as a real time leader.
Though the list of qualities in her which I admire and I want to emulate is endless but here are few:
v Motivator
v Ethics
v Never dying attitude
v Calmness and composure
v No Shortcuts
v Ability to handle stress
v Going out her way to help others
v Attached to her culture
v Respect for others
v We rather than ‘I’ attitude
v Compelling modesty
v Humility
v Engaging with her team
v Clarity in her vision
v Zeal of taking up the challenges
v Dedication to timelines and milestones
v Her command on her team and other teams
v The pitch and appropriateness of her speech
v Ability to deal with the situations
v Rewarding and appreciate her team for single job well done
and the list goes on ..
She was a cheerful personality yet so serious for her work. She was so approachable yet so focussed towards her goals and challenges. She was so much demanding yet so helpful. There was something about her persona that everyone in the organisation from housekeeper to vice president used to admire her.
He was much grounded person and yet the amount of respect she used to go was unparalleled. I got chance to work closely with her for quite some time and she never made me realize that she is my manager and she made sure that there is no communication gap between the team.
Though in my professional career of 4 years, I have seen various managers, directors but the amount of respect and recognition she commanded was unparallel. Her technical and functional expertise was well known and appreciated by everyone who was working for AT&T. The management was well aware of her contributions and she underwent double promotions in 4 years. With 6.5-7 years of experience, she is acting as senior integration manager for AT&T.
Her unwavering skills to handle difficult situations and taking the ownership on the behalf of the team gave very strong message of association in the team. She did everything to take out the real potential of her team. Her foresightedness has saved several working hours of the client and the company.
The undying spirit to help the team mates and other teams by going out of her way distinguished her clearly from other leaders. Her expertise to juggle between various tasks and the time management always inspired me and it still serves as a source of motivation for me.
I don’t know Jack Welsh or Jim Collins, however I can bet that person I know possess all the qualities which a truly successful level 5 leader should have.It is my desire and wish to see her top of the organisational ladder and I am sure she will be there with all the wisdom she possesses. I salute her and I wish her all the very best.
What's Next? - Final words
Be more. Be all those things you always believed about yourself - and bring them to the rest of your life. Leaders aren't made or born. Leadership is a choice - a belief in and commitment to everything that is good and noble within you. It is about self awareness and learning from your past life and system around you. It is about meeting with your true self and harnessing every bit of it to come out as a leader in your eyes first and then to the rest of the world.
What Leadership means to me
· Empowering people to lead
· Integrating life by staying grounded
· Building his support team
· Building extrinsic and intrinsic motivations
· Practising his values and principles
· Knowing his authentic self
· Learning from his own life story
· Reconnecting to the past
· Self-awareness
· Insight to take ownership
· Ability to wait to reap results
· Ability to think and act at macro level
Leader according to me is transformer, facilitator, driver and implementer of whatever he perceives vital for taking his organisation and stakeholders forward.
Following are a set of qualities I think which comprises a leader:-
Leadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people toward a common goal.
Leaders always stick to their roots. They know where they have come from and they understand the importance and relevance of system around them. This is actually from where they have emerged so system has important part in developing the personality traits of an individual.
Leaders always set clear goals and targets in front of them and define frequency to achieve them. They work relentlessly and motivate the environment and system around them to align them in a single direction to achieve quicker and efficient results.
Leaders understand that they are on a path of continuous learning process and they connect to their past experience to leverage on the experience they have got from the events and make best use of them
Develop a Learning Process
The role of doctor is a new one for many leaders. They need help in developing a learning process for them and their organisations.
Source: http://www.emeraldinsight.com
· Begin with your direct reports, the leadership team. Clarify the pressures to change: customer demands, competition, costs. Create an open dialogue. Questioning and conflicting views have to be encouraged. Other organizations can be benchmarked.
· Invite the team to express their ideas and theories about what needs to be done to turn the table around. These theories should definitely be questioned in the light of results.
· Once the leadership team agrees on a new theory, It needs to be translated into strategy and practice. Redesign of organization might be required to support the new strategy, by aligning the structure, systems, processes, skills, measurements, rewards, management style and shared values.
· Establish an interactive process to implement change and facilitate organizational learning. All parts of the organization - divisions, departments and business units - need to determine what the ideal design means to them. What are the gaps and how do they propose to close these gaps?
· As people and the organization begins to change, make use a good stories. We learn how to behave by combining various principles and stories. They give us a much needed ignition.
· The resolution of the leadership paradox requires leadership not by force, but by intellectual power and conviction, persuasion, interactive dialogue, and continual learning. It involves engagement. In the process of leading change, leaders discover the human side, the different ways people process information, their values and attitudes.
Few ideas were taken from http://www.maccoby.com/Articles
How to be a good
Ascend
Instil
Teamwork
Engage
Integrity
Values
Leader leader in an organisation
· Integrity - Leaders follow unique policy and strategy across irrespective of demography. They stay by their ethics and integration and imbibe the same into their employees also
· Instil - Leaders make innovation everyone’s job and a way of life. They aim to identify and remove innovation barriers, actively manage innovation, to train people how to think outside of the box, creatively solve problems, and identify the best opportunities.
Ascend - Harness external innovation. The goal is to identify developments done by start up companies that may give strategic edge in real business deals where “1+1=3”.
Teamwork - Success of a leader is often linked to his team and the associates who work in close connection with him to turn the things around. Leaders make the very first decision to appoint an efficient team. He makes sure that all team members are on same page and effort of each of his core team member is attributed to the success achieved.
Engage - Establish a framework which will generate and develop relationships between customers and enhance the organization’s image as a “trusted advisor” and create new business opportunities by identifying and introducing them to emerging technologies and solutions. Create a funnel for acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
Values –
Commitment to the customer
§ Total commitment to customer success
§ Sensitivity and responsiveness to customer's needs
§ Respect and honour for the customer’s culture
Commitment to the employee
§ Focus on employee career development
§ The ultimate responsibility lies with the manager
§ Embracing Diversity
Commitment to Success
§ Excellence is a driving force
§ Commitment and Dedication
§ Consultation leads to synergy
§ Teamwork and collaboration
Leadership styles
Charismatic Leadership
Style
The Charismatic Leader gathers followers through dint of personality and charm, rather than any form of external power or authority.
The searchlight of attention - It is worthwhile to watch a Charismatic Leader 'working the room' as they deal with people. They pay much attention to the person they are talking to at any moment, making that person feel like he is the most important person in the world.
Pulling all of the strings - Charismatic Leaders use a wide range of methods to manage their image and, if they are not naturally charismatic, may practice assiduously at developing their skills.
Leading the team- Charismatic leaders who are building a group will often focus strongly on making the group very distinct, separating it from other groups.
Participative Leadership
Style
A Participative Leader, rather than taking autocratic decisions, tries to involve other people in the process, which includes subordinates, peers, superiors and other stakeholders.
< Not participative
Highly participative >
Autocratic decision by leader
Leader proposes decision, listens to feedback, then decides
Team proposes decision, leader has final decision
Joint decision with team as equals
Full delegation of decision to team
The level of participation may also depend on the type of decision being made. Decisions on how to implement goals may be highly participative.
Transactional Leadership
Style
The transactional leader creates clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they will get for following the orders.
When the Transactional Leader allocates work to a subordinate, the responsibility is transferred to them irrespective of the fact whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is punished for their failure.
Transformational Leadership
Style
Working for a Transformational Leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience. They put passion and zeal into everything they do. They care about you and want you to succeed.
Developing the vision - Transformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers.
Selling the vision - The next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision.
Finding the way forwards -In parallel with the selling activity is seeking the way forward. Some Transformational leaders know the way, and simply want others to follow them.
Leading the charge - The final stage is to remain central and up-front during the action. Transformational leaders will always stand up to be counted than hide behind their troops.
The Quiet ‘Level 5’ Leader
Personal Humility & Will
Compelling modesty
Inspired standards to motivate
Channels ambition to company
Give credit to others
An Unwavering resolve
Harnessing the energy of opposites
Style
The approach of quiet leaders is the antithesis of the classic charismatic (and often transformational) leaders in that they base their success not on ego and force of character but on their thoughts and actions.
Level 5 is the Executive who "builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will." Every one of the good- to-great companies has level 5 leaders in the critical transition phase. The qualities exhibited by level 5 leaders are listed in the table.
Situational Leadership
The Right Style
While the Transformation Leadership approach is often highly effective, there is no one “right” way to lead or manage that suits all situations. To choose the most effective approach for you, you must consider:
· The skill levels and experience of your team
· The work involved (routine or new and creative)
· The organisational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous)
· You own preferred or natural style.
A good leader will find him- or herself switching instinctively between styles according to the people and work they are dealing with. This is often referred to as “situational leadership”. For example, the manager of a small factory trains new machine operatives using a bureaucratic style to ensure operatives know the procedures that achieve the right standards of product quality and workplace safety. The same manager may adopt a more participative style of leadership when working on production line improvement with his or her team of supervisors.
Few styles were picked from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles
My Leader - Neither Mahatma Gandhi nor Osama bin Laden but a simple lady
A leader in my life whom I will always cherish and admire is Ruchama Elstein. She was my manager in the organization I worked with. She is an Israeli national and I got chance to work very closely with her. Whenever I listen about the term ‘leadership’ my mind only relates to this lady whom I will always remember as a real time leader.
Though the list of qualities in her which I admire and I want to emulate is endless but here are few:
v Motivator
v Ethics
v Never dying attitude
v Calmness and composure
v No Shortcuts
v Ability to handle stress
v Going out her way to help others
v Attached to her culture
v Respect for others
v We rather than ‘I’ attitude
v Compelling modesty
v Humility
v Engaging with her team
v Clarity in her vision
v Zeal of taking up the challenges
v Dedication to timelines and milestones
v Her command on her team and other teams
v The pitch and appropriateness of her speech
v Ability to deal with the situations
v Rewarding and appreciate her team for single job well done
and the list goes on ..
She was a cheerful personality yet so serious for her work. She was so approachable yet so focussed towards her goals and challenges. She was so much demanding yet so helpful. There was something about her persona that everyone in the organisation from housekeeper to vice president used to admire her.
He was much grounded person and yet the amount of respect she used to go was unparalleled. I got chance to work closely with her for quite some time and she never made me realize that she is my manager and she made sure that there is no communication gap between the team.
Though in my professional career of 4 years, I have seen various managers, directors but the amount of respect and recognition she commanded was unparallel. Her technical and functional expertise was well known and appreciated by everyone who was working for AT&T. The management was well aware of her contributions and she underwent double promotions in 4 years. With 6.5-7 years of experience, she is acting as senior integration manager for AT&T.
Her unwavering skills to handle difficult situations and taking the ownership on the behalf of the team gave very strong message of association in the team. She did everything to take out the real potential of her team. Her foresightedness has saved several working hours of the client and the company.
The undying spirit to help the team mates and other teams by going out of her way distinguished her clearly from other leaders. Her expertise to juggle between various tasks and the time management always inspired me and it still serves as a source of motivation for me.
I don’t know Jack Welsh or Jim Collins, however I can bet that person I know possess all the qualities which a truly successful level 5 leader should have.It is my desire and wish to see her top of the organisational ladder and I am sure she will be there with all the wisdom she possesses. I salute her and I wish her all the very best.
What's Next? - Final words
Be more. Be all those things you always believed about yourself - and bring them to the rest of your life. Leaders aren't made or born. Leadership is a choice - a belief in and commitment to everything that is good and noble within you. It is about self awareness and learning from your past life and system around you. It is about meeting with your true self and harnessing every bit of it to come out as a leader in your eyes first and then to the rest of the world.
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