Category Archives: Leadership

Leadership

Leadership For Lawyers, Second Edition

This book answers the important question raised by U.S. Judge James Barr. The question is:

I am delving into whether there is support for the hypothesis that leadership skills developed and implemented by individual lawyers (even when not serving in bar organizations) can significantly impact and influence an entire legal community in such areas as (1) improved ethical and civility standards and performance, (2) more effective assimilation of new lawyers into the legal community, and (3) improved relations between bench and bar. In other words, I am at least curious about whether development of leadership skills by individual lawyers can positively impact the quality of lawyering in a legal community — even when working outside the institutional (i.e., bar organization) context.

This book answers Judge Barr’s question in the affirmative.

The second edition of Leadership for Lawyers was published in December 2007. It convincingly makes the case that leadership (and therefore leadership development training and coaching) offers solutions to many of the problems and challenges facing the profession, including high levels of attorney and client dissatisfaction, growing economic pressures on law firms, increasing lack of civility, and outdated law firm governance practices. Rubenstein, who was a trial lawyer for more than twenty-five years, has a good grasp of the challenges and explains clearly how the profession will benefit from widespread leadership development.

The basis premise of Leadership for Lawyers is that “when lawyers and all those who work in the legal profession begin to understand the basic theories of leadership and are better trained in the field of leadership development, they will become better leaders, will provide better legal services, and will create better law firms and legal organizations. As a consequence, the reputation of lawyers and the legal profession as a whole will improve.” The thesis is exhaustively examined and proved throughout the book.

Rubenstein devotes some space to leadership theory and to the relationship between ethics, natural law, and leadership, as well as to how leadership development for lawyers might be structured. Recognizing that leadership theory is such a broad topic that it would be impossible to cover the field in a single book, lawyers who read through the sections on “Leadership Behavioral Styles” and “Ninety Brand of Leadership” will get a taste of leadership theory but not a firm grounding. The bibliography, however, includes a number of classic books on leadership that will provide a deeper understanding of how leaders may develop.

Notably, Rubenstein makes a significant contribution on theory by proposing the “leader of leaders” theory of leadership: “Leaders of followers are mainly problem solvers. Leaders of leaders establish platforms and seek to create an environment so that followers can act as leaders themselves, solve their own problems, and make excellent decisions consistent with the platform that the leader of leaders sets.” This theory, which Rubenstein traces back to the Book of Exodus, should speak to lawyers particularly. It also illustrates the multiple levels of leadership that are present in the profession and that leadership depends on action and attitude, not merely a title.

I don’t agree with everything in the book, of course. The chapter titled Women, Leadership, and the Legal Profession, written by Laura Rothacker, is a good addition to the discussion of women in law overall, but one sentence in it literally (I’m embarrassed to admit) had me screaming out loud in frustration and anger. That sentence is: “Women should be aware that the focus on billable hours represents an institutional form of discrimination against their achieving success and leadership roles.” I’ll address this elsewhere one of these days. Even that assertion, however, doesn’t dim my enthusiasm for Leadership for Lawyers, though it did prompt me to read rather more critically than I might have otherwise.

Leadership for Lawyers is an important book for lawyers seeking ways to grow themselves and other lawyers because it establishes conclusively why leadership matters for lawyers. It should be mandatory reading for law firm managing partners and partners in charge of professional development and highly encouraged reading for other lawyers and law students who aspire to do well in and for the profession and for their clients. I highly recommend it.

Julie A. Fleming, J.D., A.C.C. provides attorney development coaching for associates and partners, and she is a speaker for law firm retreats and workshops. Topics on which she coaches and speaks include professional development, business development, leadership development, career management, and work/life integration. Julie holds a coaching certificate from the Georgetown Leadership Coaching program and holds the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential from the International Coach Federation. She is certified to administer the DISC(r) assessment, the Leadership Circle Profile 360, and the Leadership Culture Survey. Julie writes extensively on matters of interest to lawyers on the Life at the Bar Blog at http://www.LifeAtTheBar.com/blog

To learn more, to subscribe to Julie’s weekly email newsletter Leadership Matters for Lawyers, or to request a complimentary consultation with Julie, please visit http://www.LifeAtTheBar.com or call her at 800.758.6214.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Julie_A._Fleming/42925

 

Leadership

What Is Your Leadership Style?

Leadership takes many forms, but there are three styles of leadership that are the most prevalent. Good leaders do not take one form and stick to it – they look for the right situations for each style. However, good leaders do know what their dominant style is and capitalize on the benefits of that style. Let’s look at the three leadership styles, and the potential pitfalls of each. Think about which style is yours – and how you can modify it in various situations.

Autocratic leadership is also referred to as authoritarian leadership. In this style, the leader normally outlines what he or she wants and how this is to be achieved. In many ways, autocratic leadership isn’t leadership at all but a form of disciplinarian management. Are there situations where this style is effective? First of all, look at the organization. If the organization is well motivated and mature, an autocratic situation may be effective. Let’s say you have most of the information you need but the time to achieve a certain goal is very short. In a well-motivated organization, you can probably give an autocratic order and not be concerned about how it will be taken – as long as this does not become your dominant style. If you are a consistent autocratic leader, you’re probably not getting a good response from your organization. One of the pitfalls of autocratic leadership is the possibility of falling into an abusive or demeaning pattern – this is why you should only use an autocratic stance in rare situations and certainly not regularly. If you identify with a dominant autocratic style, consider transitioning into a more participative style of leadership.

Participative or democratic leadership is a style in which the leader still outlines a goal but allows some input from the organization as far as how the goal will be achieved. But a democratic leader still makes it necessary to obtain approval for decisions by any member of the team. In situations where information is spread out between the leader and the team members, a democratic style may work. This style can also be an appropriate way for an autocratic leader to transition out of that style – without giving total control to the team. This leadership style is very empowering to teams that have not felt empowered before. It’s also a great way to test the knowledge and ability of a team before transitioning into a much less controlling leadership style. Because this leadership style is basically one step up from autocracy, it may be easy for a leader to fall back into an authoritarian stance. If the team fails or falls short, democratic leadership allows them to re-formulate plans and activities – without telling them exactly what to do.

The third, and most empowering form of leadership is the laissez-faire or delegative style. The delegative leader sets an overall priority, goal, or instruction, but then stands out of the way to let things happen. Using this style, a leader takes responsibility for all decisions that are made – but leaves the decision making to the team. This also means that team members are expected to analyze, evaluate, and change issues and problems as they move along. This style of leadership is definitely appropriate with mature or more senior teams – the ones who have had the time to prove themselves to the leader and have the confidence to handle all issues. One of the biggest pitfalls of this type of leadership involves failure. If something goes wrong, this is not the place for a leader to blame the team – and this is more than likely a natural reaction for a laissez-faire leader.

Now that we’ve seen the three dominant leadership styles, which one are you? Remember that the mark of a good leader is the ability to use various styles depending on the situation – a bad leader sticks with the same style at all times. So what are some of the situations where each style is appropriate? If you have a new team, you may want to use the autocratic style as a means of assessing the group and its members. But what if you are placed in a position where most of the teams know their tasks well and would not react well to an autocratic stance? Use a participative style in this situation – allow the teams to have input in the decision making process. Remember that you can empower yourself as a leader as well as a team using this style. Finally, what if your team members know more about the situation than you do? Take a delegative approach and let the teams make their own decisions, all the while reminding them that you will be responsible for the outcomes.

When you’re deciding what leadership style to take, there are a few things to consider. First of all, how much time do you have? If you’re very limited in time, participative or autocratic may be the best style. Of course, this also depends on the team and its makeup – if you have an experienced team and limited time, there is no need to use an autocratic stance. Simply explain and emphasize that time is limited. You should also take into account who has the information related to the project or task at hand – if information is divided amongst you, the leader, and the team, you may want to take a participative stance. If your team has all of the information, take a delegative stance – let them use their information to come up with the best solutions. Also consider the type of task you’re looking at – how complicated is it? Compare this with the skill of the team and you should be able to choose an appropriate leadership style.

If your dominant style is more autocratic, you may want to examine what’s keeping you from moving into a participative stance. If you are one of the other two types, you’re probably getting a good response from your teams. Just remember to alter your leadership style based on situations – and don’t stick to one style regardless. When you begin to move around the different styles, you’ll find that your teams will respond.

Copyright 2008 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson – Managing Director and National Sales Trainer – assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for sales organizations. Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

Subscribe to his blog – and learn the legendary secrets of top business training programs at:

[http://www.BreathtakingLeadership.com] & [http://www.BryantNielson.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Bryant_Nielson/142446

 

Leadership

Leadership Exists at All Levels of the Organization

When we think of leadership, many times we immediately think about senior and executive level managers. Although this is true, leadership exists at many levels below the senior one. First of all, you should examine your functional levels for emerging and existing leaders. This means that the very lowest levels of your organization will grow leaders – and you must look for them there. A functional leader is someone with a great deal of knowledge in a functional area, such as assembly lines or bank proof operators. The difference is that the functional leader uses that knowledge to empower others, solve problems, and develop his or her career. You may find that these functional leaders even exhibit more of a leadership role than their direct supervisors – and it’s up to you to decide what to do with them.

You can also look for leadership in the middle supervisory or management areas, as well as the functional supervisors. Many times our inclination is to leave this group out – they are productive, happy, and get good feedback from the people who report to them. Therefore we think that they’ve achieved their career goals – but think again. You’ll find that these middle management leaders are solving problems, championing your vision without being asked, and taking the time to motivate and inspire their workers. These leaders can be ready for advancement – and advanced leadership training. Take the time to seek them out. Obviously your senior and executive management teams are full of leaders – but it’s still your responsibility to keep them motivated, inspired, and in a leadership stance. In fact, it may be that this group is your biggest challenge – you’ve got to find a way to keep these leaders motivated even though they may have reached a staying point in their career with the organization.

So if you’ve identified these various levels of leaders, what can you do to develop, motivate, and retain them? At the functional levels, you should always offer additional functional training, whether it’s in the same area of expertise or across functions. Consider adding management and leadership courses within the function. For example, if you’ve got emerging leaders on the assembly line, develop courses that teach these leaders how to coach and motivate within the assembly line environment, using specific examples and scenarios from that area. The middle management and supervisory areas are the best places to begin leadership development in earnest. Offer management and leadership courses and seminars for anyone in these roles or anyone who is aspiring to or recommended for these roles.

These learning interventions include coaching, human resources management, and leadership. Open these courses and interventions up to the functional leaders at various times, as well. In fact, you may want to consider using a leadership assessment tool to prove the leadership aptitude at the functional levels – and open the leadership development program to those individuals. This level of development motivates the functional and middle level leaders to continue working hard and developing their skills. At the executive or senior level, leadership development should take on a much more “intense” tone. For example, leaders could undergo intense team building, such as ropes courses or survival type interventions to solidify the team. Or, leaders at this level can be placed into work groups to solve real organizational problems and lead the project teams. Development at this level should be real-time and use real problems – and you can gauge the leaders’ abilities in numerous competencies. This isn’t necessarily something you or your training department should tackle alone – there are numerous consultants and firms that can help you with leadership development at the senior levels.

Now that we’ve discovered where leadership exists and how to develop it, let’s talk about why you should take the time and money to do it. First of all, you’re creating a culture of leadership. In fact, this could be one of your values – the ones you want to pass into the organization’s culture. By identifying leaders and developing them, you’re showing that the organization is dedicated to maintaining leaders – and finding new ones at all levels. Not only this, you’re extending your culture of development. Your organization may offer training of many kinds, but adding leadership development shows a high commitment to excellence.

Any time you invest in leadership development, it gives you the opportunity to create and maintain a talent pool. You’ll be amazed at how your leaders react to their development – and how you begin to put together the puzzle pieces related to talent management and succession planning. As development grows, you’ll have a constant talent pool – and the ability to rest easy knowing that your leadership needs, planned or unplanned, are already met. Finally, and most importantly, identifying and developing leaders at all levels creates and maintains a level of motivation. You’ve taken the time to outline the competencies you look for in leaders, so aspiring leaders have a way to grow. They will strive for recognition as leaders – and inspire their direct reports to do so, as well. And the fact that you recognize leaders at all levels will inspire a motivation that’s hard to achieve.

Copyright 2008 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson – Managing Director and National Sales Trainer – assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for sales organizations. Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

Subscribe to his blog – and learn the legendary secrets of top business training programs at:

[http://www.BreathtakingLeadership.com] & [http://www.BryantNielson.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Bryant_Nielson/142446

 

Leadership

Executive Leadership Training Builds Leadership Skills 3 Ways

Executive leadership training can yield better returns on your investment than taking a few leadership skills training courses or buying 10 or 12 good business leadership books.

When conducted over long periods of time, a reasonably priced executive leadership program can be more effective than the popular 2-day, 3-day or one week formats used in many less expensive leadership training courses.

Educational experiences which segment, focus on and support the delivery of lessons in a modular format usually yield better results than reading tons of business leadership books.

An effective executive leadership training program contains skills development exercises and courses which are designed to energize your leadership performances. However, there is no secret to becoming a better leader, you simply need to employ your strengths, practice your skills and adjust your path towards progress.

You don’t have to take my word for it but ask anyone in business or government services. The truth is this, long term, personalized, multi-modal executive leadership training programs are the very finest educational investments you can make.

Your leadership training program works best when it includes all of these elements:

 

  1. The intensity, volume and focus of subject matter covered
  2. The level of coaching, mentoring and consulting support provided
  3. The variety of practical applications and relevant exercises specified
  4. The abundance of powerful tools and resources supplied
  5. The energy of interactivity involved between the student and training provider.

 

The more frequently organizational professionals, managers and entrepreneurs engage in and are held accountable for their executive leadership training experiences, the better their leadership skills and their organizations become.

Leaders in many of the world’s prestigious companies, universities and professional firms, encourage their promising employees to:

 

  • Participate in executive leadership training, development and coaching programs;
  • Read and study business leadership books and stories about effective leaders;
  • Update their leadership skills with ad hoc, shorter-term, topical training courses.

 

If your executive leadership education helps you to deal with, work through and guide others in overcoming your real-life challenges, you will evolve into a truly excellent leader. Discovering ways to help you assess, improve and correct your performance, means you must:

  • Boost your awareness or understanding of and confidence in your strengths, natural talents and abilities;
  • Invest time in applying, practicing and mastering the lessons learned in your leadership skills training courses;
  • Ingest a steady, meaty diet of business leadership books describing methods, strategies and processes used by other successful leaders.

 

This article suggests you use these three strategies to quickly, competently and confidently improve your executive leadership training.

Your leadership training. development or coaching provider may suggest you employ a system to help you record, reflect upon and realize:

  1. How much progress you are achieving,
  2. How far you’ve gone towards reaching your full potential
  3. What you need to do to keep your weaknesses from impacting your effectiveness

 

Best-in-class executive training programs include daily readings of classic and newly published business leadership books, articles and news stories to keep important leadership skills, various situations or challenges and enduring principles in front of the student’s mind.

Effective leadership development programs offer modules of skills-based courses and application workshops featuring weekly lessons of not more than one to two hours. Breaking up the vast field of team or organizational leadership practice into sizable chunks gives the student time to absorb, try-out and perfect the fundamentals of leading.

Executive leadership training is a viable option for you if you are a knowledge professional, a manager or supervisor, an executive or director or if you are an entrepreneur or entrepreneurial professional.

When choosing your development program be sure it offers a large collection of skills training and exercise sessions on the crucial tasks and duties you’ll need. Of course, you should be given access to a vast library of business leadership books, articles and similar resources.

Executive leadership training is a journey on the road less traveled. If you are willing to follow the many twists and turns found in your leadership skills training courses and business leadership books, you will succeed and find your bliss!

Copyright © 2008, Mustard Seed Investments Inc., All rights reserved.

Bill Thomas conducts executive leadership training programs for Awesome Leaders and Innovative Leaders – he provides professionals, managers at all levels, entrepreneurs and directors with intense, focused leadership subjects, coaching and consulting support, practical exercise sessions, tons of powerful tools and energetic interactions with clients.

His programs are cost-effective and guaranteed to maximize your success.

Awesome Leadership Programs and Innovative Leadership Training Programs

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Bill_Thomas/462

 

Leadership

How to Run a Leadership Activity

The big buzz in the Learning and Development community is about Leadership development. “If only we could train good leaders,” goes the argument, “we could be beat the world”

This belief is so well ingrained that hardly anyone stops to question it. But when you step back for a second, there are a number of huge questions. For example:

1. If leaders need training, who trained Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin?

2. If leaders can be easily trained, why are there any followers (which begs the question :)

3. What is so great about being a leader anyway?

4. If everyone understands how to lead, doesn’t that cause a problem when followers are led badly?

We all know good leaders. We knew them when we were in the playground; and when they conceived a mischief, we followed. We probably tried our first clandestine cigarette at the behest of a leader and pursued our childhood interests at their bidding too. So it is clear that leadership qualities are not only apparent from a young age but are an important part of our development.

So why do we think that we need to train leaders? Well for several reasons. Firstly, although leadership may be an innate talent, like all natural gifts, if it is not channelled correctly, bad habits develop and blossoming potential can go unrealized. Secondly, there is more need for leadership than there are candidates. Playground leaders may go on to military careers or become high flyers in the world of big business, but they are not likely to end up running a small social services unit in an out of the way provincial town.

Finally, leaders need to be part of a team, and for the team to function efficiently, the led need to know the ground rules so that they can serve effectively. So having concluded that leadership training is both necessary and desirable, how can it be organized?

The jumping off point for any training course is, and has to be, formal instruction in the theory and principles of leadership. There are just three ways of doing this.

1. Books. There are literally hundred of texts on leadership. Most of the business schools also provide free podcasts and webinars. The eager student can soak up any number of treatises on various leadership systems and processes but be cautious.

Some of the best writing is outdated and doesn’t meet with modern management ideas. Many of the academic pieces are useful but based on case studies at the very peak of leadership experience and thus divorced from practical reality. While books are an essential resource, they are only satisfactory as a reference and as part of more focussed study.

2. Courses. There may not be as many courses as there are books but it feels that way. Regardless of your discipline, geography academic background or vocational sector, there will be a leadership course bespoked to your needs and packaged to meet your requirements. Although many of these courses will be tailored to your industry by an experienced practitioner; in the end, the leadership system, process or methodology taught will be as much a matter of personal preference of the trainer as it will be reflective of any best practice. In reality there are hundreds of leadership models.

All will be based on observation and research and will have some applicability, but there is no “right” or “wrong” system. All a course does is highlight one particular approach and provide the basis for consistency amongst those that attend.

3. Practical Experience. The sure fire way of developing leadership skills is to practice. If under the leader’s leadership, the outcome is “success” then he or she needs to capture the behaviours that led to that success. And if it was failure, then behaviours need to be modified and tried again. Which is why coaching and mentoring are so effective.

But of course, while practical experience may be very desirable, it can also be expensive and risky. So how can organizations who want to imbue leadership qualities provide the opportunity to practice in a safe environment which allows emerging leaders to make their mistakes and learn from them?

Although I tire of hearing clients say that their business is “different”, the truth is that no enterprise is identical to any other. Just as every person is an individual, so every organization reflects the individuals in it in terms of history, culture, systems, processes and resources. There may be common characteristics that may mark out a leader in a company but there is no absolute answer.

Organizations have to develop training regimes that suit their own purpose. Regardless of how this is achieved, the starting point will nearly always be a process, model or philosophy that expresses the culture of “how ‘leadership’ gets done around here.”

Whilst there is no doubt that formal courses have an important role to play in defining a common understanding of, and approach to leadership, in the final analysis, the practical element of developing leadership skills must be an internal process. Although not necessarily universally recognized or accepted, many leadership approaches are based on a six stage model:

1. History: How did we get to where we are?

2. Situation: What’s going on right now?

3. Forecast: What will happen if we don’t change?

4. Vision: Where do we want to go?

5. Strategy: How do we use our resources to meet our objectives?

6. Implementation: Timetable, actions & responsibilities

This model suggests that in order to be successful, the leader has to ask six basic questions:

A. Where do we want to be?

B. Where are we coming from?

C. Where are we heading if we keep going as now?

D. Where are we now?

E. By when do we want to be there?

F. How will we get there and what do we need?

By following this approach the leader can structure his team, deploy his resources and provide support, guidance and information that will get the team there.

Continue reading →