Tag Archives: Leadership Coaching

Leadership

Bad Leadership – What it is, How it Happens, Why it Matters – A Review

There are shelves full of books available that chronicle the lives and histories of the world’s bad leaders. For the most part though, these bad leaders are discussed as tyrants, dictators, and despots. Seldom is serious writing dedicated to them as leaders. To fill the gap, Barbara Kellerman gave us Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters. Her approach addresses what she calls the “elephant in the room; bad leadership.” Most discussions tend to cast leadership as good, either ignoring bad leadership or presenting it as something other than leadership. In fact, leadership is leadership and there are good and bad examples everywhere. Bad leadership shouldn’t imply a bad person, but rather leadership which is ineffective. Hitler was an evil person and his goals and methods were despicable, but, at least during the early years of his reign, he was actually a good leader. It’s important to be able to clearly recognize bad leadership, and the sooner the better.

There’s an element of leadership, often overlooked, but essential: followers. By definition, a leader must have followers, and those followers often are the catalyst that enables the bad leadership. Throughout the book, Kellerman includes bad followers as a part of bad leadership, making the point that immoral leaders usually have immoral followers. This is probably one of the most important components of her work; find a bad leader and, most likely, you’ll find close followers who are just as bad for the same reasons. This is something too often overlooked by those who study leadership.

Kellerman divides bad leadership into seven types and provides examples of each. Discussion is not reserved just for the leader. Again, emphasizing the importance of followers, she clearly identifies where followers enabled bad leaders. For instance, discussing Marion Barry as an “intemperate” leader she points out several of his family and close associates who not only enabled, but could have prevented, Barry’s descent which eventually led to arrest and incarceration for illegal drug use.

Unfortunately, Kellerman selects some questionable examples. For instance, to illustrate “callous” leadership, she cites Rudolph Guiliani, specifically referring to the case of the shooting of Amadou Diallo by New York City Police officers. To be sure, the shooting was wrong, as even the involved police officers freely admitted in court; however, in her analysis, she claims that Giuliani was callous in his relationship with the minority community and that the Diallo case brought the issue to a head and illustrated that callousness. While Guiliani may appear callous, he willingly took on an extremely difficult crime problem in New York and made a significant difference. Sometimes a leader may appear callous by not swaying to the wind of individual groups. It is a true leader, a good leader, who keeps his or her eyes on the ultimate goal when others around him are following other agendas. I think it’s safe to say that his success in significantly reducing crime in the city was of great benefit to the minority community, since that was where a lot of crime was happening. The fact that he didn’t kowtow to minority leaders such as the Rev Al Sharpton (not exactly a paragon of virtue himself) doesn’t make him callous. Could he have responded better to the Diallo case? Yes. Does that make him an example of a callous leader by Kellerman’s definition? No.

In another example, Kellerman sites May Meeker as an example of a “rigid” leader. Meeker was a financial analyst for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co and in that position was an enthusiastic advocate the dot com stocks of the mid 90s. When the dot com market began to turn, Meeker didn’t, instead remaining bullish on her tech stock picks. The dot com market collapsed and many of those who invested based on her advice lost large sums of money. Was Meeker a leader? Kellerman calls her an “opinion leader” rather than a leader in the conventional sense. There’s a big difference though between someone in a position of authority and someone who merely issues opinions which others are free to follow or not.

Kellerman concludes her study by proposing what she calls corrections for leaders to prevent their descent into bad leadership. Like so much in the study of leadership, these corrections are simple, yet so often overlooked or ignored. True to her mode throughout the book, she also includes corrections for followers. These suggestions are exactly on target, though they do sometimes seem to overlook the extreme difficulty and even hazard some followers would face when implementing these corrections.

Notwithstanding my disagreements with her examples, Bad Leadership is a good book with a great focus on two things often overlooked in today’s study of the subject: leadership that is not good, and followership that enables it.

Bob Mason is a speaker, trainer, and author with a passion for good leadership. He uses his 30+ years of leadership experience to help organizations eliminate bad leadership. See what he can do for you at http://www.planleadexcel.com.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Bob_Mason/5533

 

Leadership

Leadership Lessons From President Obama

In our examinations of various leadership styles and leadership qualities, none could possibly be more apt than Barack Obama as a case study. His refreshing ideology and brilliant execution certainly bestows us with many leadership lessons to draw from.

Who is He?

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th President of the United States. As an African American born in Hawaii, Obama took interest in being a community organiser in a low income neighbourhood, and served as a church based community organiser before studying Law at Harvard Law School. He was eventually sworn in as senator of Illinois in 2004 and inaugurated as the President of the United States in 2009. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”.

Leadership Style

Among the most apparent style of leadership that can be seen from President Obama is its transformational nature. Being highly charismatic and exceedingly eloquent, President Obama is easily able to influence the people he lead to work towards a common goal and achieve something larger than themselves. His persuasive and diplomatic style contrasts starkly with the more aggressive and confrontational measure of his predecessor President Bush, and it would definitely play an important role in forging international cooperation and inspiring action at home.

As much as it is ideological, President Obama’s leadership is also highly pragmatic, focusing on concrete issues such as non-insurance of healthcare and relationship with the Muslim world. This leadership trait is integral in his success in translating his noble ideas into reality.

President Obama’s leadership is also characterised by strong communication with the citizens of America and the people of the world. In this new world of information and knowledge, President Obama is able to capitalise on the media to communicate his views and messages to the American citizens. This fact is evident from his presence in talk shows. Being at the top of the any large organisation, it is crucial that messages and ideas get translated clearly right down to the last man so as to ensure congruency in intent. In this aspect, Obama has excelled in his keeping the people he governs in the know.

Leadership Qualities

Being one of a kind, President Obama epitomises several leadership qualities and these can be valuable leadership lessons to take away.

Foremost, he listens. One would think that for such an outstanding orator, speaking well would be his key tool to influence and gain consensus. However, we must realise that communication starts with listening, and President Obama proves to be as good at listening as he is at speaking. As he proves to the world that he, along with the United States is finally willing to listen, the flame is reignited for further relationships to be forged and diplomacy to take place. When asked by a German reporter about his designs for the NATO in 2009, he humbly replied, “I don’t come bearing grand designs, I’m here to listen, to share ideas and to jointly, as one of many NATO allies, help shape our vision for the future.”

This leads to the second quality of empathy. The ability to put himself in the shoes of others so naturally allows President Obama to be able to feel for his people, and this helped shape many of his policies, such as his healthcare reform. The president once said, “The world doesn’t just revolve around you.” This highlights his strong belief that one need to learn to see things through the eyes of others. As leaders, it is pertinent to be able to see issues via the eyes of those we work with in order to understand their concerns. The ability to do so would certainly allow us to become a more understanding and empathetic leader.

President Obama also scores well in terms of being able to delegate tasks to more capable hands, and concerns himself more wit the direction setting and visioning of the nation. In higher management, delegation is a crucial skill to master in order to be effective. It allows us to focus on what we are paid to do, that is to LEAD and MANAGE our team, rather than to micromanage and be take on the jobs of our whole team.

President Obama’s frankness is also another key that sets him apart from countless other politicians. By communicating his goal honestly and clearly, listeners are able to sense his sincerity and will tend to trust him more. This is opposed to many others who choose not to come clean regarding certain ulterior motives, apparent as they may be, and this only mean that listeners are less willing to trust them wholeheartedly.

The last and certainly not the least of his qualities is his willingness to make tough decisions. Despite preaching cooperation and mutual agreement, President Obama is aware that gaining a majority of consensus is not possible and economic, and tough calls may have to be made at times. Right or wrong, it is more important to make a decision and take action, rather than to delay and shriek the responsibility to successors.

President Obama’s leadership style is certainly a fresh beginning for further realignment of the United States in terms of political, economic and social aspects. For aspiring leaders, his leadership qualities can be likened to valuable gems that we can model from, adapt, and use as our own, allowing us to take ourselves to greater heights.

Lucas Lin is a renowned expert in the field of leadership and management. Having held leadership positions ranging from management executive to operations manager, Lucas is in the prime position to offer advice on leadership and consulting services to leaders across the hierarchy. His years of experience in leadership render his advice highly sought after. Having served in leadership positions in various organisations, including a country club, a school and the military among others, Lucas developed an intimate knowledge of value-based leadership, which can be applied to all vocations.

Visit Lucas Lin for Timeless Leadership Lessons at [http://leadership-lessons.com]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Lucas_Lin/517142

 

Leadership

Leadership and Management – Do We Need One More Than the Other?

Is there a difference between management and leadership? Differing opinions abound, though most experts do indeed distinguish between the two. This brief article examines the key characteristics associated with effective management and leadership behavior in the workplace and makes a case for the necessity of both skill sets, though in varying degrees at times, for organizational excellence.

Synonymous?

As mentioned above, some experts think of leadership and management as synonymous terms, using them interchangeably when discussing the subject. Others view these terms as very different indeed – almost as extreme opposites, with very little overlap. A third position is one that seems most sensible to us – that while differences between leadership and management exist, perhaps there are times when the two can and do overlap and that we often need both to achieve excellence.

Doing the right thing vs. doing things right

An old and well-known proverb states that leadership is, “doing the right thing,” while management is “doing things right.” While an obvious overgeneralization, this distinction presents a useful starting place for thoughtful consideration of the similarities and differences between effective management and leadership behavior. Review of the literature lead to development of the comparisons below which outline some of the major attempts to describe the two fields in the simplest of terms:

– The Leader focuses on Alignment; the Manager on Organization.
– The Leader focuses on Vision/Direction; the Manager on Process Control.
– The Leader focuses on the Big Picture; the Manager on the Details The Leader has a Strategic focus; the Manager a Tactical one.
– The Leader has his/her eye on the Horizon; the Manager has an eye on the Bottom Line The Leader is all about Change; the Manager is all about Stability
– The Leader Challenges the Status Quo; the Manager accepts the Status Quo
– The Leader is comfortable with Informality; the Manager operates with Formality
– The Leader is focused on Effectiveness; the Manager on Efficiency
– The Leader focuses on Styles and Approach; the Manager focuses on Skills
– The Leader Releases Potential; the Manager Uses Existing Abilities
– The Leader mainly uses the Power of Influence; the Manager mainly uses the Power of Authority
– The Leader Facilitate Decisions; the Manager Makes Decisions
– The Leader Investigates Reality; the Manager Accepts Reality
– The Leader asks “why” and “what”; the Manager asks “how” and “when”

Which is best?

By laying out the two functions side-by-side like this some clarity about the terms starts to emerge. Exclusion of any skill or ability can negatively impact success, and so the game becomes more about drawing on both skill sets over time, in differing proportion. Hence, we can see that both leadership and management are important. But can we now determine in what proportion, in most circumstances?

Moving up the organizational ladder

Another factor to consider is that of positional responsibility within the organization. Classic theory tells us that management (tactical skills) is more critical to success at lower and mid-levels of management while leadership (strategic abilities) is used more often at senior or upper management levels. While this simple differentiation presents another gross generalization, it can start us thinking about how individual roles might take on a given emphasis in one direction or another.

Mixing and matching

Another way to look at split and degree of emphasis is to put leadership and management into a classic, four-quadrant relationship grid, and looking at the resulting combinations of high and low skills. In this way one can examine the resulting interaction, or even “style” that occurs as a result of the expression of high and low levels of each variable as we shown below.

* Strong Leadership but Weak Management Visions detached from reality Alignment without organisation Multiple projects culture slowly emerges Strategies lack support and formal planning

* Strong Leadership and Strong Management Inspirational visions and strategies Widespread organisational alignment Integrated planning and control of resources Full employee empowerment and commitment

* Weak Leadership and Weak Management No vision or strategies Poor planning and resource allocation Out of control processes Employee disaffection and frustration

* Weak Leadership and Strong Management Processes grow more unwieldy and/or bureaucratic Over-specialisation/standardization More policies and procedures evolve Controls stifle creativity/innovation

Strong/ Strong is Optimal

It is now quite clear that, in most cases, both strong leadership and strong management are desirable, and that one is not necessarily more important than the other. Given this conclusion, the focus shifts to evaluation of the question of whether we have enough good management behavior, and enough good leadership behavior in order to thrive and move ahead.

How much is good enough?

Assuming that the organization is not occupying the bottom left corner of the previous relationship grid, if we need to add more leadership then the emphasis will be on greater use of the communication process (in both directions), pulling people together and creating more widespread team commitment (among other things). If, on the other hand, we need to add more management, then the emphasis will be on greater standardization or specialization, the establishment of more formal structures and greater control of systems (among other things.

Summing up Ultimately, organizational success rests on a healthy balance of leadership and management and we need to learn how to make sure we have enough of each and in the right proportion for the circumstances. To learn more about this topic, visit our Leadership and Management Forum [out] at the ReadytoManage Webstore. Individuals interested in learning more about their own Management and Leadership Skills may be interested in checking out the Leadership Effectiveness profile and the Management Effectiveness Profile, both of which can be found in the Leadership and Management Forum or in the webstore.

This article was written by Dr Jon Warner of WCOD and Ready To Manage Inc. Jon is an experienced management consultant and executive coach with over 20 years experience in assisting individuals of all types and at all levels of management. He is also an experienced author having published several books in the leadership, management and coaching areas, as well developing several assessment instruments including the Leadership Effective Profile and the Management Effectiveness Profile. Jon has an MBA and PhD in Organizational Psychology. He can be reached at Jon@OD-center.org.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jon_Warner/251706

 

Leadership

Leadership Development – A Simple Guide

Leadership development is an industry. A big industry! And yet I don’t know of a country in which it is regulated (if I am wrong, contact me and I will correct that statement). So, you pay your money and you take your chances.

Having said all of that, leadership development is big because it is important and at least some of it works. I know!

Here I will unravel some of the alternatives and the issues relating to the development of leaders, and help you find your way through. I will present you with a number of choices, in the hope that you might be able to decide which approach is good for you.

First, a health warning. Leadership development covers a range of learning methods, the best of which are designed to help you to build on the leadership skills qualities that you already possess.

If you hear of “Leadership Training” it might just be a very basic, taught programme that doesn’t take account of your existing strengths. Find out whether they include any form of self or peer assessment.

Group or individual development

A whole range of leadership development activities use group learning techniques. These include training courses, degree programmes, virtual classrooms, seminars, workshops, etc.

These are great if you enjoy learning in a group – if you feel comfortable contributing and learning from others’ experiences. As leadership involves other people, it is difficult to develop your leadership confidence if you don’t involve others at some point in your learning. The best group based programmes use group exercises and give you opportunities to practice leadership skills. They also have plenty of chance to give and receive feedback.

Individual development covers one-to-one coaching and self-development activities (eg, reading, workbooks, e-learning).

E-learning has come a long way in the last few years and there are some great materials around. Similarly, there are some very good e-books on the market.

These techniques are very focused on you and your needs and they progress at your own pace. But self-study alone can not provide you with the practice and feedback that you might need to build your leadership confidence.

My recommendation? Find a leadership development programme that offers elements of both group and individual learning. Perhaps some workshops or course modules with self-study and one-to-one coaching built in or with coaching as an add-on. But choose elements that are focused on your needs rather than a sheep dip, or one size fits all, approach.

Academic or vocational

Academic programmes are those that are based upon the learning of theory, or upon new research that extends the body of knowledge. They are mainly cognitive or cerebral (to do with the head) and lead to academic qualifications, such as university degrees.

Vocational programmes are more practical in their nature and are concerned with the application of learning to real situations. They tend to focus on skills and less on theory, although they can also lead to vocational qualifications.

Actually, the “or” in the title is not clear cut. Some university degrees are vocational in nature. In the world of management and leadership, the Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) is an obvious example. However, there will still be a large amount of academic / intellectual / theory in any degree programme.

Many organisations run vocational leadership programmes, or corporate leadership training scheme, for their leaders. Some also offer routes to academic programmes for those who do well on vocational ones.

My recommendation? Think carefully about what you want and how you learn best. If you want to develop practical skills – opt for a vocational programme. If you want to understand the theoretical basis of leadership first, look for a suitable academic course of study.

Bespoke or open programmes

A bespoke leadership development programme is one that is designed and developed around the identified learning needs of the employing organisation and the participants. They tend to be run “in-company”.

An open programme sells places to participants from different employers. You can find yourself alongside people from many different contexts. Open programmes are sometimes run “in-company” – but sometimes with little or no modification beforehand.

If it is just you wanting to learn on a group based programme, you will probably have to find an open programme. Unless of course your powers of persuasion as such that you can get your employer to commission a bespoke programme.

Open programmes can have two key advantages. They offer the chance to learn from people from other organisations, to benchmark yourself and to look beyond the familiar. They are also relatively anonymous! You can make your mistakes away from your friends and colleagues.

But some open programmes are not always very sharply focussed. And unless they are chosen around your own needs, they can be frustrating. This is were “bespoke is best” – providing of course that the trainer is any good. A good bespoke programme can offer direct, relevant and directly transferable learning that you can take straight back to work.

My recommendation? Go for bespoke if it is available. If not, ask the providers of the open programme about the programme objectives and compare these with what you wish to learn. Then ask them what steps they will take to identify and address your individual learning needs. If you are happy with the answers, then ask if they will refer you to a past participant who can tell you about their experiences.

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Sales Coaching

What Do Basketball Stars Have in Common With Your Sales Force?

Okay, you ask, what do basketball stars have in common with my sales force? The answer is simple. Both need coaching. Yes, an important element in the performance of a basketball superstar is good coaching. Guess what, likewise an all-important element in the performance of a sales superstar is good coaching.

The reason for needing a coach is fundamental. When one is caught up in the heat of the game it is impossible to see all that is going on around. The coach has a different stake in winning and sees a larger picture. The coach can see things that are hidden from the view of the player as he moves up and down the court. The coach can tell when it is beneficial to pass the ball so that a score can be made. So, you get it, you see the analogy.

What are the obstacles that prevent a coach and a basketball superstar from benefiting from the relationship they have with each other? Well, one of the biggest obstacles is ego. Who’s you ask? The answer is both. The ego of the coach and the ego of the superstar stand in the way of making the relationship beneficial. In fact, there are many instances where a perfectly good superstar is traded and the team suffers loss because of the conflict of egos between the player and the coach. How many thousands of companies have traded sales superstars for the same reason?

Five practical activities for building good relationships between coaches and salespeople are as follows:

 

  1. Affirm and acknowledge the need for coaching often
  2. Reassure the salesperson that coaching is not a criticism of skills but rather is a method for making the very skilful even better
  3. Affirm and acknolwedge the skill level that is already developed in the sales person.
  4. Carry on continual dialogue concerning the reason for coaching
  5. Save teasing and joking for other areas of the work place. Never belittle or embarrass the salesperson. Be sensitive to the ego of the salesperson.

 

It is a natural human tendency to get complacent. Familiarity with the job and the repetition of tasks and approaches over and over, tend to bring a person to a place of being mediocre or run of the mill. This is where affirming the need for coaching is critical. When a sales staff is accustomed to the coaching aspect of ongoing training and preparation, there is room made for real growth and the sales person can remain vital. The sales person must have internalized the idea, that no one gets to the point of knowing, past which, there is no additional learning. It has been said, “the enemy of learning is knowing.”

Being sensitive to the salespersons ego is paramount to a successful coaching relationship. This is why sales managers are not necessarily good candidates for sales coaches. The sales manager is in the position of authority and ultimately is responsible for discipline action all the way through termination of the salesperson. This is seen as a conflict of interest by the salesperson and stands in the way of allowing the sales manager to truly fulfill the role of coach. The coach must reassure the salesperson often that he/she believes in his/her worth as a sales professional. This opens the door to conversation that can focus on improving the selling skills, delivery and methods of the salesperson. The salesperson is much more open to accept coaching input if he/she realizes that they are valued by the coach. The best way to build this rapport is to concentrate on catching the salesperson doing something that is praiseworthy. Everyone likes to know that they are appreciated and recognized for their efforts. This step is an important part of coaching. This affirms their value as a salesperson and equips them with the ability to take correction from the coach.

Speak often about the need for ongoing coaching; Dialogue about the ways that coaching is improving production. Once the sales superstar can identify the benefit of coaching in his/her commission checks and added recognition, coaching will be an accepted part of their selling regimen. Coaching is especially profitable when the sales cycle is extended. The coach can help with strategizing in all aspects of communication with the prospective client. Remind the sales people that focus is an important factor and a good coach helps focus efforts with a closing sale in mind.

There is an age-old cliché that states, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” This is never truer than in the case of working with sales superstars. Embarrassment and teasing is a poor motivator. Sometimes it is easier to use this method than the tried and true method of having difficult discussions in a forthright manner. This is the job of the sales manager and the coach. The coach’s honest communication should be given in a non-threatening way with the purpose of changing unproductive behavior. It should be given in private so that the sales person is not put on the spot. The sales manager can save the tough dialogue for the disciplinary encounters that can be handled no other way. This is always after the individual has refused to be coached.

Winning teams are teams that have great superstars and great coaches. When they work together for a common goal they become unstoppable.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Joe_Machuta/436659

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