Leadership

Books authored by Shyam Bhatawdekar: 1. Sensitive Stories of Corporate World (Management case Studies) 2. Classic Management Games, Exercises, Energizers and Icebreakers

For owning copy/copies of these books (in printed format), write to: prodcons@prodcons.com

Alternately, you can get the first book (in printed format) directly on the internet through (amazon.com): http://www.amazon.com/Sensitive-Stories-Corporate-Management-Studies/dp/1456585150/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1298627848&sr=1-1

Their eBooks are available respectively at: http://www.amazon.com/Sensitive-Stories-Corporate-Management-ebook/dp/B004KABBMM and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004OEKF0I

(Refer our High Quality Management Encyclopedia “Management Universe” at: http://management-universe.blogspot.com/)

Lead Max

Maximizing manager’s or executive’s leadership competency is critical for the success of any modern organization. Better and more the leadership at the top and at various levels of management, more are the chances of organization taking the right course and heading towards real success. It is also important for a manager or executive to sharpen his leadership abilities or leadership competency for him to go up the hierarchical ladder of an organization and thus, get an opportunity to maximize his professional contribution.

Leadership Defined

Leadership is defined as influence, the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly toward the achievement of group goals. This concept can be enlarged to imply not only willingness to work but also willingness to work with zeal and confidence.

• Normal expectancy of capability utilization induced by social
  pressure, need for a job and authority of superior: 60%
• Contribution induced by leadership ability of the manager: additional 40%

Concept of the leadership is seen as the influential increment over and above mechanical compliance with the routine directives of the organization.

Therefore, leadership is communicating and convincing the people about their strengths, potentials and worth in such a manner that they can clearly see them within themselves and feel motivated to tap them fully.

Leadership Approaches

There are large numbers of leadership theories and approaches that came in existence from time to time. Only some of them are given below:

Great-man Theory

Leaders are born and not made. Some few people are superior than the masses and masses follow those superior few.

Trait Approach

Leaders are bestowed with superiors traits. These traits make them different from the others. Followers follow them due to this superiority.

Traits (as found by Stogdill):

• Five physical traits related to leadership ability (such as energy, appearance and height)
• Four intelligence and ability traits
• Sixteen personality traits (such as adaptability, aggressiveness, enthusiasm and self confidence)
• Six task related characteristics (such as achievement drive, persistence and initiative)
• Nine social characteristics (such as cooperativeness, interpersonal skills and administrative ability)

Situational Approach

Leadership is strongly affected by the situation from which the leader emerges and in which he or she operates. Situational factors like place, circumstances and time determine the emergence of a leader.

Examples:

• Hitler in Germany in 1930s
• Earlier rise of Mussolini in Italy
• Emergence of Roosevelt in the Great Depression of the 1930s in the United States
• Rise of Mao Tse-tung in China in the period after World War II

There exists an interaction between the group and the leader.

Psychoanalysis Approach

It involves patronage by the leader. Leader acts as a father figure- source of both love and fear. Followers are treated more like children.

Contingency Approach

Leadership has to be situational and these situational variables are:

• Leader’s personality
• Nature of leader-member relations (which certainly implies the importance of people being led)
• Task
• Organizational climate of the enterprise

Transformational Leadership Approach

Theory of transformational leadership says “transformational leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality. It is a dynamic leadership wherein followers feel “elevated” and often become more active themselves, they’re creating new cadres of leaders”.

Bernard M Bass (1990) based on his research findings gives following characteristics and approaches of transformational leaders:

• Charisma: Provides vision and sense of mission, instills pride, gains respect and trust.
• Inspiration: Communicates high expectations, uses symbols to focus efforts, expresses
  important purposes in simple way.
• Intellectual Stimulation: Promotes intelligence, rationality and careful problem solving.
• Individual Consideration: Gives personal attention, treats each employee individually,
  coaches, advises.

Leadership Behavior and Styles (Likert’s System of Management)

• Exploitative authoritative
• Benevolent authoritative
• Consultative
• Participative group

Four Basic Leadership Styles

• Coaching
• Directing
• Supporting
• Delegating

Managerial Grid (Blake and Mouton’s)

Through their actions and communications, leaders demonstrate their concern for the task and concern for the people. Suppose we consider a scale of 0 to 9, then the concern for task can vary any where from 0 to 9 and so also the concern for people which can also vary from 0 to 9.

A leader can be gauged for the extent of concern he has for task and extent of concern he has for people on this 0-9 scale and based on this score, we can classify the various types of persons in leadership positions into following five extreme categories. In real life, the persons in leadership positions may not lie exactly on these five classification points but their scores may be closer to anyone of them and as such can be appropriately classified.

• Impoverished manager: 0 concern for task and 0 concern for people (cannot be called a leader at all).
• Country club manager: 0 concern for task and 9 concern for people (people are on picnic generally, under his supervision).
• Autocratic task manager: 9 concern for task and 0 concern for people (theory X proponent to the core).
• Middle of the road manager: 5 concern for task and 5 concern for people (a middle of the road type- a compromiser, plays safe).
• Team manager: 9 concern for task and 9 concern for people (leader in real sense).

Most Essential Leadership Qualities

• Professional knowledge
• Professional competence
• Ability to make up your mind and take a decision; then take full responsibility
• An act of omission is worse than an act of commission
• Absolute justice and impartiality
• Moral courage
• Ability to distinguish right from wrong
• Physical courage
• Loyalty- give it, then expect it
• Discipline- code of conduct to live in society
• Character- knowing what we really are

Add to These Most Important Leadership Qualities, Some More Leadership Qualities Mentioned Below

• Have High integrity- trusted
• Become a visionary- dream a lot, dream things of significance (small or big is immaterial)
• Be aware of realities of the real world- don’t be naive
• Business acumen
• Build customer touch. Refer: (Customer Orientation) http://customer-orientation.blogspot.com/
• Believe in change and lead change- be flexible, create flexibility all around
• Having created vision, develop leaders at different levels who see a sense in your vision and will give it a shape
• Emphasize implementation- emphasize results through effective and ethical processes
• Promote excellence- without any compromises
• Practice boundaryless behavior in every aspect- encourage others to follow the same
• Think global- the entire world is the play field. Refer: (Global Mindset) http://global-mindset.blogspot.com/
• Encourage creativity and innovation- in every aspect of life
• Carry and spread infectious enthusiasm
• Unleash the energy of colleagues- make ordinary people perform extraordinarily
• Become a great team builder and team worker
• Develop self confidence with humility- sense of humor
• Be an open communicator- good listener. Refer: (Listening) http://listen-skills.blogspot.com/
• Believe and practice lean- reduce and eliminate all kinds of fat, non-value adding stuff and waste of all kinds everywhere. Refer: (Lean Enterprise) http://lean-organization.blogspot.com/
• Do use effective technology- don’t shy away from it

Are Leaders Born or Made?

• Leaders are not born- there is no proof available that leadership is an outcome of genetic determinism.
• Also, leaders are not made meaning that they are not made by others, they are not environmentally trained or nurtured.
• Leaders are self made through their own choices. They make their choices in life on a continual basis in such a manner that their actions and achievements position them as leaders.

Some Leadership Myths

• Position Myth: I have to be at the top position or at least at a position that matters for me to be a leader- it is wrong. Formal position is not necessary to become a leader. You have to create a moral authority around yourself by the right kind of choices about your life time objectives and actions.
• Destination Myth: After I reach the top position, I will start leading- wrong. You can increase your sphere of influence at any position or level and then, you are reckoned as a leader by yourself and by others.
• Influence Myth: If I were at the top, then people would follow me: wrong. People will also follow you even at any other position provided you have exhibited your leadership qualities through your actions.
• Experience Myth: I will have to gain experience in leadership and that would come through my hierarchical rise- wrong. You will gain experience as you start taking up leadership roles at any and every level. Leadership experience is not position related, it is leadership choice related.
• Freedom Myth: I should be given freedom to have my say and then alone my leadership qualities will come into play- wrong. Who says that you don’t have freedom? You have freedom at every instant throughout your life. Even if you may not have freedom to implement or execute in a formal setup, you always have freedom to suggest or recommend. Use it. Soon the organizations or your bosses will give you powers or authority to implement since your ideas are so brilliant.
• Potential Myth: I do not have the right kind of potential to be a leader- wrong. Seemingly ordinary people have been seen doing extra-ordinary things when they find out the right choices in life and listen to their inner beliefs.
• Give Me on the Platter Myth: I am never given the challenging assignments. Then how can I use my leadership qualities- wrong. You have to look around for the challenging opportunities and assignments- there are plenty of them around you. Nothing is easily given on the platter.

Differences between Leadership and Management

• Leadership is motivating people to want to do what is needed. Management is getting people to do what is needed.
• Leaders do the right things (direction, effectiveness). Managers do things right (speed, efficiency).
• Leaders focus on people (animate). Managers focus on things (inanimate).
• Leaders are organization free; they are directed by the universal principles (boundaryless, principle driven). Managers are more closely linked to the organization they work for (boundaries, only driven by organizational emphasis and practices).
• Leaders pull. Managers push.
• Top line important for leadership. Bottom line important for management.
• Leaders communicate, motivate and empower the people. Managers command and control.
• Leaders exude their persona and that enthuses people to utilize themselves more. They facilitate an ordinary person to accomplish extraordinary things. Managers stick to mechanical compliance of routine directions of the organization.
• Leaders have lot more genuine followers. People follow managers till the managers have authority over them.
• Leaders always have more long term view. Managers may not have long term term view all the time.
• Leaders mostly facilitate. Managers mostly direct.
• Leaders are investment centered. Managers largely focus on controlling expenses.
• Leaders continuously work on improving the systems and processes. Managers by and large confine themselves in following the laid down systems and processes.

For More Guidance, Assistance, Training and Consultation

Contact: prodcons@prodcons.com

Training in “Leadership” titled “Lead Max” is provided by Prodcons Group’s Mr Shyam Bhatawdekar, eminent business executive, management consultant, management educationist and trainer- par excellence, with distinction of having trained over 150,000 people from around 250 organizations.

Originally posted at http://lead-max.blogspot.com/ Thursday, November 6, 2008