Category Archives: Leadership

Leadership

Leadership and Branding – Development Principles For CEOs

Leadership and branding are hot topics. Leadership development programs are quite popular. There are many conferences and seminars on the subject of branding. Leadership development and brand development consume a lot of resources of businesses.

Leadership means different things to different people. It means ability to inspire. Leadership is charisma, courage, and even sacrifice. Leadership requires vision. Leadership is talked about in rarefied atmosphere of CEO conferences, business schools, HR meets, and strategy meets. There seems to be an unstated and unanimous agreement that leadership is too important, too-sweeping-in-its-scope, too-good-to-be-described, and therefore too-complex-to-be-systematically-deployed concept. Everyone is convinced that such indescribable leadership must be good for any organization.

Branding too captures imagination of people. For some CEO s it is a reverential bowing item to be ticked off the agenda. For CFO s it is a black hole of cash. Sales people think it is a watering hole for unsuccessful ex-salesmen. For M & A specialists it is a valuation game. It is a playground of creativity for advertising agencies. It is PR first for PR agencies. For many, branding means eye catching, entertaining, beautiful visual and audio communications or smart copy. Everyone knows branding and everyone has definite opinions about it.

Is there then any connection between leadership and branding? Leaders are responsible for branding. But they are also responsible for many other things. Are there any fundamental linkages?

Connection between leadership and branding

The answer might be found in people, since leadership and brands exist in minds of people. Brands provide neat and crisp symbols denoting product performance levels, shared experiences, dreams, aspiration and expectations of actual and potential users.

Who will deny that leadership too deals with shared dreams, aspirations, and expectations of all stake holders -customers, employees, vendors and others? Like brands, leaders are seen as icons. Similarly, leadership without its own constituency is unthinkable. Leaders build constituencies through shared understanding of goals and ways to achieve them.

How do communities come into existence? A unique feature, a benefit, some newness, or drama sets people talking. When people talk, when they integrate products in their lives, when they constantly share their experiences, problems, or solutions communities are formed. Communities can also be built around new categories of products. People love to talk. They need to share things. It is for a company to create or articulate such uniqueness, to express it evocatively, and to nudge and support its customers into sharing it. Can this be done by marketing department alone? Can this happen by bombarding customers with advertisements, direct mail, or price promotions? Can this happen without a strong leadership? The answer is no. Brands may seem to come into existence through some accidents. But is takes sustained and consistent efforts to bring about branding.

Just as brands raise the bar of customer expectations, leaders broaden horizons of their people. They inspire people to outdo themselves. Leadership means moving way from authority to respect, and from respect to inspiration.

Leaders must have vision, mission, and agenda for their constituencies. They are being constantly observed, emulated, or criticized. They need to make statement all the time. Successful leaders know this intuitively and develop distinctive styles of their own.

Some CEO s become great leaders without any formal training. But that does not reduce importance of training and learning. Almost everyone can improve leadership skills through systematic efforts. Learning Leadership requires sustained efforts. Leadership coaching can help in accelerating leadership development.

Leadership and career planning

Just as branding requires involvement of everyone, great leadership comes about only through developing leaders at all levels. If organizations have to develop and attract talent they must have well designed learning leadership processes in place. Leadership development must be integral to career planning.

In today’s world leadership is branding. Successful branding and great leadership requires vision, values, performance, style and community building. Both require making difficult choices, sticking ones neck out, readiness to face guillotine when the time comes, and grace to accept success. Leadership and branding are possible only with passion, thinking, working, first walking alone, and then rallying others around.

Hemant Karandikar advises companies on business & brand strategy, on business transformation, and for achieving breakthroughs in business processes. He leverages this expertise in product creation projects for companies along with his design associates. He coaches business leaders and executives for developing leadership skills. Hemant founded Exponient Consulting and Learning Leadership.

Previously, Hemant was Managing Director, GWT Global Weighing (now Sartorius Mechatronics) and held position of General Manager at Philips India. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India.

For comprehensive business transformation services, please visit [http://www.exponient.com]

For Onsite and online coaching for leadership development, please visit [http://www.learning-leadership.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Hemant_Karandikar/300806

 

Leadership

Management Vs Leadership – An Assessment of Interdependence

Abstract:  Leadership and management have been the focus of study and attention since the dawn of time. Over time leadership and management have been seen as separate entities, but those times have past. It is this paper’s intent to prove that good management is incumbent upon the success and quality of the leadership that drives it, and by proxy, so too will poor leadership bring poor management that will lead to poor results, and decreased levels of success.

From the great minds in management theory: Fayol, Taylor, and Weber; homage being paid to Barnard and Mayo, as well as Maslow, Mintzberg, Drucker and Porter; to the great minds in leadership development: Jung, McClelland and Burnham, this paper intends to examine them all and bring them together as is required in this economy and these times.

Much time, effort, and money has been placed into the study of both management and leadership successes. Mintzberg and Drucker have done some of the best and most informative work at bringing management and leadership together; now, with the rising costs of overhead and decreasing profit margins, now is the time to connect the dots, once and for all.

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Leadership

Leadership Starts With Tough Decisions – Five Leadership Skills For Outstanding Team Building

Let me share with you my recent leadership challenge and the leadership secrets you can use in any team building situation for great leadership results.

I have the honor and pleasure of volunteering for many groups causes. In many situations, I am called upon to lead as chairperson or co-chairperson. Recently, I had the honor of co-chairing an event that involved leading and motivating a team of volunteers to work together for a successful result. Overall, the team volunteers areand  leaders in health care, education, business, media, the arts, and faith-based organizations, etc. In other words, this team of volunteers consisted of very motivated and accomplished people who wanted to make a difference.

One committee member became increasingly negative in her communication and actions at the expense of the other committee members. She behaved in a manner that was not in line with our overall mission. After a coaching session agreeing on what was expected from her in relationship to our mission, her behavior became increasingly worse. The final straw was a very negative e-mail that stated she was the only committee member who was doing anything and personally attacked the other committee members.

After consulting with the event organizers to gain agreement on a plan of action, I called this person to let her know that this was not acceptable behavior and invited her to meet with me to discuss how we could bring her behavior more in line with the mission of our project. She rejected my invite, and I let her know that by not excepting my invite, she was no longer a participant in our event. I followed up with an e-mail and letter reiterating my verbal statement. She made the choice to “fire herself.”

As leader of the event, I made telephone calls to committee members to explain the committee change, let each committee member know the wonderful job they were doing, and shared with them where we were in relationship to our mission and goals. While making these calls, I soon found out that some committee members were not as involved in the project because of the one negative committee member. Some members had stopped attending meetings, stopped communicating, and weren’t giving 100% for the event. After assuring them that they were valuable team members of the project and that this “negative member” would not be involved in the project’s going forward, we experienced a new level of motivation and participation that took our event to a new level of success and broke a record for attendance.

You may be in a similar leadership position whereby the success of the organization, project, or team depends on how well and how fast you make decisions when faced with challenging situations. The following five leadership skills will keep you on the leadership track during challenging situations, no matter whether your organization is for profit or non-profit, so that you can achieve your goals:

1. Live the Mission When Making Leadership Decisions

Live the mission by constantly communicating the mission so that everyone of the team understands the mission and acts to live the mission. Ask team members the following question, “What did you do today to live the mission and achieve the goals of the mission?” Develop clear and concise team member descriptions so that everyone understands how they make a difference. Motivate and reward team members based on how well they lived the mission.

2. Maintain Standards When Making Leadership Decisions

Once you and your team understand the mission, it is easier to create and live up to the standards of the mission. In the above story, when a team member began to act in negative way, I coached her on what the standard was for acceptable team behavior. I let her know both the consequences for continuing to exhibit negative behavior and rewards for being a positive team member. In this way, the choice becomes that of the team members, and you can make the leadership decision based on their future actions.

Remember, you must, as a leader, maintain a consistent standard level when interacting with all team members.

3. Seek Consensus When Making Leadership Decisions

When in a leadership position, we sometimes feel we are all alone when making tough leadership decisions. You should never feel that way because in most cases you can rely on other leaders in your organization that can share with you the information, experience, and tools to making a successful leadership choice. In the story, I consulted with the event organizers, board members, and my co-chair before communicating with the problem team member. By consulting with the other leaders in your organization, you gain a group understanding of the challenge, discuss a plan of action with the rewards and consequences, and develop a follow-up plan if needed. In other words, you are all in step when it is time for any action to be taken.

4. Quickly Take Action When Making Leadership Decisions

Now that you have gained consensus, quickly take action. The quicker you can take action, the sooner you can eliminate any further potential challenges. The faster you can make your leadership decision, the faster you can set a positive course for the behavior you want to correct. Also, when you make decisions quickly, your employees will see you as a strong, decisive leader they can trust and want to follow.

Note: Once you make the leadership decision, never regret taking action.

5. Communicate to Your Team When Making Leadership Decisions

Communicate to your team why you are making a leadership decision. This will allow your team members to be involved in the decision. Eliminate any concerns they may have while communicating how important your team members are in accomplishing the mission. You will gain valuable insight from your team members on how and why to proceed with your leadership decision.

Remember, as a leader, you will need to make tough decisions. Follow these five leadership secrets for making your leadership decisions much easier and for gaining outstanding team results.

Ed Sykes is a highly sought after leadership, motivation, stress management, customer service, and team building expert, success coach, professional speaker, and author of Jumpstart Your Greatness You can e-mail him at esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at (757) 427-7032. Go to his web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com and sign up for the free success newsletter, OnPoint.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ed_Sykes/4458

 

Leadership

Good Leadership is Essential to the Success of an Organization

Effective Organizations are Created Through Effective Leadership

Accountability for winning and losing in sports always falls to the top leadership – the head coach. That’s why he gets fired when the team isn’t successful. Likewise, accountability for company success falls to the top leadership. Leadership will make or break an organization. Leadership can create a solid future for a company through vision, planning, morale building, and teamwork. Leadership can also destroy a company’s future.

General Hap Arnold, Chief of Staff of the Air Force during WWII, engaged technical experts to look into the future. This was not an over the horizon look but an in-depth estimation of what was needed 10-20 years in the future. Some of the things planned: supersonic flight, long range missiles, air to air homing rockets, long range bombers, air refueling, etc. All these were to arrive on the scene, even though the prognostication took place before the end of the war. He established early a sense of direction that long outlived him. Industrial leaders could learn much from Hap Arnold.

Morale – Those in leadership positions must create an environment for good working relations in business. Good leaders identify good talent, give them direction, and then get out of the way. Employees will perform when the prevailing feeling is that they are trusted and confidently expected to deliver. Morale is encouraged when employees are supported by management in their requirements, and they are treated as members of an important team. Periodic newsletters from leadership give the foundation of good communications. Highlight good performers and timely accomplishments in the newsletter. This is also the place to include pertinent news relating to the business. Good communication is key to good leadership.

Financial Decision Making – It should go without saying that those in leadership positions should be able to make good financial decisions. Managers should be coached to make financial decisions such as periodic budget allotments, future facility improvements and expansions, hiring plans to meet work goals, and testing requirements. Testing can occur on a small scale or a grand scale, depending on the progress of product development. Some testing can engage large facilities, and this requires long range planning. Long range planning requires leadership and vision.

Motivation of Sales Force – Effective leadership means knowing that the sales force is the point of the interface with the customer. Sales should be technically adept to speak the language of the industry and the customer in particular. Sales should be partnered not only with the customer, but also with internal resources. Responsive to the needs of the customer, the company salesman has an important role to play in the progress of the company and he must be supported by those in leadership positions. Salesmen convey needs of samples to the customer, technical performance information, and cost estimates in various quantities. The adept salesman finds ways to help cut costs rather than sell the highest cost product. They will offer configurations A, B, and C, and then let the customer decide. All pertinent information for the various configurations will be made available. Service to the customer is high on the salesperson’s agenda and it should be high on the agenda of those in leadership positions.

Motivation of Operations to be Cost Effective – Operations can be labor intensive or truly automated to achieve economical production. Good business leadership requires knowing the balance. It takes courage on the part of management to decide that resources should be expended to automate the line. The best way to invest in automation is to make it flexible for present and future needs. This takes experience and talent in operations and support from leadership. Stepwise automation of the manufacturing processes will give confidence to operations and cause minimal disruption. Automate the most obvious applications, and then proceed to other processes. If one plant has proven the benefits of automation, then the process can be duplicated for additional efficiencies. Good leadership will enable operations to make a solid plan for the future.

Cohesiveness of the Organization – Sometimes leadership means that the organization has some fun. The organization needs exercises in partnering to gain mutual respect among the various operating functions and gain cohesiveness of the organization. An annual meeting in a resort location will give them a chance to learn about each other in morning meetings, and then they can relax together in the afternoon and evening. A northern operation can benefit from a meeting in a warmer climate especially during a winter meeting. These can be memorable events for all and the company leadership can learn a lot by interacting with people in a fun environment.

Working Together – An expert in interpersonal relations has said that the one thing that unifies a group is adversity. The difference between good leadership and bad leadership is how well a group works together when adverse adversity strikes. When trouble arises, as it may, leaders must get people to work together to plan for recovery. Learning to work together under adverse conditions can be a gratifying experience. How well employees work together is a direct reflection on the organization’s leadership.

Christine Casey-Cooper is a leadership coach and the author of the satirical book The Crass Captain’s Quick Guide to Management Dysfunction. Visit [http://www.CrassCaptain.com] for leadership and management advice and for some bad boss [http://www.CrassCaptain.com] advice from the Crass Captain.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Christine_Casey_Cooper/190526

 

Leadership

Not Everything is Leadership – Part 1 – Power Wielding Vs Referent Power

Imagine for a moment you are standing by the side of your house and doing some work on it. Your Neighbor Bob comes over to see how you are doing. As Bob approaches you say: “Hi Bob, can you do me a favor?” “Sure” Bob replies. “Can you hand me that hammer in the toolbox?” You ask. Bob reaches down and pulls out a small jeweler’s screwdriver, the kind jewelers use to repair a watch and hands it to you. “Bob,” you say, I asked you for a hammer. Bob replies, “This is a hammer!”

Welcome to the world of leadership studies where, by some counts, there are over 300 different definitions of leadership. Sound confusing? It is. Imagine a toolbox filled with 300 different tools all labeled “hammer”. How can this be? Because leadership may be one of the most powerful and consuming words in our dictionary and is used categorize every human interaction, deed, assertive thought or business function when in fact it may very well be something else. Why is that? Leadership scholar John Gardner said it best “Leadership is such a gripping subject that once it is given center stage it draws attention away from everything else.”

The simple fact remains that if we have no clarity about the nature or purpose of leadership, then how can we choose to use the capability leadership provides? How many times do we hear in the news that what this country needs, what this industry needs, what this company needs is strong leadership? But what does strong leadership really mean? Are we speaking about Power as authority; command and control; detailed management; strength of character; take charge persona or a collaborative movement for change? Moreover, which of these ideas are we willing to accept as the kind of solution to our most challenging issues?

If you were to choose power or authority, my advice is, be careful. There are different types of power and as the patriarch of leadership thought in America James MacGregor Burns writes in his 1978 intellectual blockbuster LEADERSHIP “power wielding is never leadership.” Power wielding is when someone acts primarily with self-interest in mind whether or not the purposes of the followers are realized writes Burns. We have witnessed this notion of power as a select few on Wall Street suffered the disdain of the populace having crossed the line between sensible risk taking to narcissistic self-interest, power wielders short and simple.

Yet power is an essential part of leadership. Power is a relationship, writes Burns, and perhaps its more relevant state is better described in the idea of an enhanced or shared referent power. Dorwin Cartwright and Alvin Zander describe referent power as when one person wishes to establish or maintain a satisfying self defining relationship where the reward to the person in these instances is not so much a matter of gaining social recognition or monetary rewards as of establishing his self-identity and confirming the notion of the sort of person he or she sees himself or herself to be. From this author’s perspective an enhanced or shared referent power is when each person in a transformational leadership relationship establish and maintain not only a self defining relationship but a relationship with each member where they themselves become transformed by their united actions.

One of the most notable shifts in the idea and concept of leadership in the 21st century is a significant movement towards leadership as an influence relationship where diverse groups of people exert a collaborative force to make significant change. Consider the words of Harvard Professor and former Medtronic CEO Bill George, “their approach to leadership is entirely different … They don’t care about position, power or status or organizational hierarchy, or even having followers. Instead, they are superb networkers who find collaborators to create opportunities and businesses. They are on line 24/7 always networking, always in touch.” For these emerging super-networkers leadership becomes an interlocking network of relationships where people work together to make significant change. For them–leadership is what people do together!

Dr. John Dentico works with organizations that want to develop leadership capacity at every level. He is the creator of the LeadSimm leadership development simulation method. He writes about leadership, strategic thinking and simulation learning. http://www.leadsimm.com. Your comments are appreciated at [http://www.leadsimm.com/blog].

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/John_Dentico/379790