According to a recent Harris Interactive Survey, only 45 percent of American workers are either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their jobs, 33 percent believe they have reached a dead end in their careers, and a mere 20 percent feel very passionate about their jobs. Knowing your interests and the things you value is essential to choosing where you plan on spending the bulk of your professional life.

In order to examine which career path is appropriate for you, consider taking the Strong Interest Inventory (SII). Developed in 1927 by psychologist E.K. Strong, this inventory has 317 items with three-choice answers that score results by your interest level in the following six general occupational themes:

• Realistic–practical, physical, hands-on, and tool-oriented careers

• Investigative–analytical, intellectual, scientific, and explorative careers

• Artistic–creative, original, independent, and chaotic careers

• Social–cooperative, supporting, helping, and healing/nurturing careers

• Enterprising–competitive, leadership, and persuasive careers

• Conventional–detail-oriented, organizing, and clerical careers

The SII will help you plan for the many different stages of your career, and helps match your interests with satisfying career opportunities. With over 75 years of research to support its methodology, the SII provides you with basic interest scales, the similarity between your answers and those currently working for 211 career classifications, as well as your personal style.

Getting to Know Yourself

Have you ever worked on a team project and had a lackluster experience? How about an experience where everyone seemed to click and things fell into place? The common thread in any project is, of course, the most important one–the people! You personality helps to set the team dynamics. Possessing a keen understanding of your personality type is a good indicator of what makes you tick, and, more importantly, how to predict how those with whom you work operate and view the world. Know your personality traits, your flaws, and your fortes. This will help you identify areas where you excel naturally, and others where you may need to compromise or shift responsibility to meet the objectives of an on-the-job assignment.

The ABCs of MBTI

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is also a commonly used personality indicator. The MBTI uses psychologist Carl Jung’s theory of personality types, which assumes that variation in your behavior is orderly and consistent, due to basic individualistic differences in how we use perception and judgment. The system classifies respondents in one of following 16 four-letter personality types:

• Extraversion (E) versus Introversion (I)–extroverts focus on the outer world, while introverts focus on their inner world.

• Sensing (S) versus Intuition (N)–sensors place value in information gathered directly, while those who favor intuition place more value on possibilities and patterns with the information they receive.

• Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F)–thinkers make decisions based on logic while feelers first examine the people behind the decision and any special circumstances.

• Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P)–those who judge prefer to make decisions, while those who perceive are open to new information and options.

When you understand your personality type and natural preferences, you can approach your own tasks in a manner that suits your needs. This self-knowledge can be of value to you in the workplace by giving you the expertise to thrive within the organizational culture and the understand the wide variety of personalities you will most likely interact with on a regular basis.

Talk the Talk

No matter which career path you choose, all jobs rely on clear communication at some level. Just as there are many personality types, so are there many communication styles. Knowing your communication style can be a powerful tool in communicating your ideas effectively. According to Southern Illinois University’s Mental Health Web, your communication style falls into one of the following three categories:

• Passive Style–you communicate by putting the rights of others before your own, thereby minimizing your own self-worth, you are a passive communicator. Passive communicators imply that their feelings are not important, and are often apologetic and timid in tone. Non-verbal clues include lack of direct eye contact and poor posture.

• Assertive Style–you communicate by ensuring your rights and maintaining the respect of others’ rights, you are an assertive communicator. Assertive communicators typically exude confidence, maintain eye contact, and have relaxed posture. This type of communicator generally places value in both the communicator’s and the target audience’s message.

• Aggressive Style–you communicate by ensuring your own rights, but neglect others’ rights, you are an aggressive communicator. Aggressive communicators imply that the listener’s opinions are inconsequential and exude a sense of superiority. Typically, these communicators use ‘you’ statements and have rigid posture.

It is important to note that you can adopt different communication styles depending on the audience. By being aware of which communication style you most often favor, you can adjust your style to communicate effectively with your target audience–both in the workplace and in your personal life.

The Impossible Dream?

Regardless of which tools you choose to use to further your self-knowledge, it is important to have a solid sense of self-awareness. This sense of self enables you to establish and maintain meaningful working relationships in your career. Being cognizant of your interests, personality traits, and communication style is a valuable part of this process. In the famous words of Cervantes’ Don Quixote, “make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world.” If you can tackle this lesson, any hurdle you face in your career path will surmountable. With adequate self-knowledge, almost any career goals are possible.
Edu411.org is a career education directory for finding colleges and universities, training schools, and technical institutes. For more information about careers, online education and campus based career programs, please visit us at www.Edu411.org.
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Even if companies and corporations are in hard economic times, leadership training should be their top priority and should never be taken for granted.  When this leadership training is neglected it will surely influence the bottom line of any organization.  Leadership qualities are not only important for business entity; however it is also important in various areas.

Basically, leadership training develops leadership qualities.  This is needed by the company to be able to expand and achieve company goals.  Thus the tool that makes anyone a good leader can be acquired from a corporate leadership training program.  Employers see the importance of such training and they are in favor to it as they know that it is not just and expense but an investment made that will turn into profit on the days to come.

Attending a leadership training seminar is as valuable as understanding what leadership training is and what is involve in the training.  Different topics are covered within this seminar or training.  Knowing what your leadership team needs determines the perfect leadership training seminar that you should have.  Certainly it would also require training budget and the targeted time allocated for the training.  Universities, local colleges and other training institutions are a good place to find leadership training seminars.

These seminars contain a presentation on leadership skills as it focus on innovative ideas and that leaders can use.  Sharing of ideas and methodologies as well as meeting other highly effective people happened in this training.  Sending the entire team for the seminar maybe impossible, however some of them would bring back feedback into your team.  It is important that team leaders and managers start thinking a little differently for a company to get right resources in the current challenging job scenario. Smart thinking and efficient leadership abilities are the call of the day which will help a company to gain an edge over its competitors. Performance of the team placed under leaders and managers determine the success of any business.

Any organization would surely needs leadership training to stay updated with the current methods that ensure that the organization or the team is successfully and properly led.  In this training, they will learn a lot of things that will enhance their leadership skills.

A professional leadership training program is important for the present day team leaders and managers.  If you want to know more about this just refer tohttp://www.resultsdrivengroup.co.uk/Courses.aspx?GroupID=4&CourseName=Leadership Development & Management . 
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I believe that the actual process of leadership has not changed over the years but that the context in which that process takes place is continually evolving and therefore the actual behaviour of leaders also must be continually evolving.

Research has shown that people are most willing to follow the lead of a person who:

1. Provides direction:

The leader knows what they want to achieve and recognises that they cannot do it alone. They make it easy for people to see the connection between corporate or team goals and their own personal goals and they can help others to prioritise and plan. They show commitment and enthusiasm.

2. Walks the talk:

The leader is a living example of their own messages. They know what is important and they consistently demonstrate this in their behaviour.

3. Values people:

The leader recognises that they are only a leader if others follow them. They value the people who follow them and take time to listen, to understand and to answer questions. They are interested in people as individuals and not just in the context of work.

4. Keeps overview:

The leader keeps track of what is going on relating to their purpose and outcomes. They know who is doing what and can offer their support where it is most needed.

5. Encourages future leaders:

The leader recognises that they will not always be the best leader in all contexts. Coaching and encouraging the leadership skills of others is today’s leader’s ultimate demonstration of their own leadership skill.

These demonstrations of leadership all involve communications. They are all features of the relationship between the leader and those they lead. So the art of leadership is an art of communication and relationship and the evolution of leadership behaviour is driven by the evolution of communication styles, culture, conventions and technologies.

By examining the context in which we wish to lead, we can predict the style of leadership that is most likely to succeed. Each organisation may be different in detail, but there are some obvious trends in organisational life that can act as guides to leadership in the 21st Century workplace.

The context

Over the last 10-15 years many organisations have changed their structure to become ‘flatter’. They have removed some layers of middle management and brought Senior Managers closer to the front line. The benefits of this are offset to some extent by the increased number of direct reports that most managers now have to handle. In some organisations, rather than a flatter structure, there is now a ‘matrix managed’ structure where individuals may report to different managers in respect of different aspects of their job or for different purposes. In a matrix-managed organisation, the number of people you might have to deal with also will be greater than in traditional structures.

Another change has been that many industry sectors have seen a proliferation of mergers and acquisitions, resulting in large organisations with multiple sites and locations. It is now commonplace to work in a team that is spread out over more than site even if it comprises a small number of people. The result of this is that the amount of face-to-face contact between members of a team or with their manager can be vastly reduced and people have become dependent on the telephone, audio-conferencing and email for day-to-day communications.

While we’re on the subject of technology, another effect of email is that with minimum effort, we can now include a lot of people in an electronic message. This has engendered a tendency, in some organisations, to copy in lots of people on lots of messages. Many managers receive around 100 emails a day – not all of them relevant or useful, but still demanding attention. Members of their teams may also be struggling to keep up with a similar immense flow of information. Email can be an invaluable tool for those on split sites; it can also be a source of unnecessary ‘noise’ and stress.

Although separated from their own team many people find themselves working in large, open-plan offices with ‘break-out’ areas for meetings and very few private rooms. This means that if a manager wishes to have a significant conversation with a team member about his or her performance it may be obvious to those around them that something important is going on simply because they have removed to a meeting room. The content of the conversation may remain private, but the fact that it has happened will not!

The other reason that this kind of event can stand out is that, in general, there is a trend towards less formal culture in most organisations. ‘Dress-down Friday’ has given way to casual dress every day in many organisations and that relaxation of how we look has come hand-in-hand with informality in communications too. Few people now expect to have to address their boss formally as Mr or Ms – most of us expect to be on first name terms with everyone except perhaps the most senior of executives. This means that managers and leaders have to distinguish themselves in a team by their behaviour. It is no longer apparent to the casual observer who is charge simply by looking at who wears the most expensive suit or is addressed formally by the others.

This informality can also be observed in meetings, where a comprehensive agenda or formal tabling of a motion is rare indeed. Conduct of meetings tends to be casual and informal, making it more difficult to keep focus and a sense of purpose. Often this means that meetings are lengthy and deliver insufficient value to the participants.

Informality means different things to different people and depending on a person’s background, age and personal culture some behaviours are more acceptable than others in the workplace. Twenty years ago the corporate clone was commonplace and many of us worked with lots of people who were just like ourselves. We believed the same things, wore the same clothes, acted in the same ways and, by and large, agreed with each other. This could be very comfortable but in general it is a recipe for stagnation and many organisations are now aware of the benefits of diversity and actively promote it.

Of course, the benefits of diversity can only be realised if the people in an organisation have the skills to deal with others who are very different from themselves. At its worst, a diversity initiative will see the recruitment of people who are different from the ‘norm’ for that company and then the failure of those unfortunates to deliver anything. This happens when everyone else makes life difficult for them because they don’t fit in!

One particular aspect of diversity that bears specific mention is age-related. In the last 20-30 years educational practices have changed and the experience of young people has been very different from the previous generation. In the 1960′s and 70′s most of us, if not actually scared of our teachers, at least showed them a lot of respect and did what they told us to do. When we joined the world of work, we afforded our bosses the same respect and did as we were told to do. Young people joining the workforce in recent years often have a much greater confidence in their own judgement, are not afraid of authority and are much more willing to challenge what seems to them to be illogical, inappropriate or a waste of time. For managers who don’t share this attitude it can be a culture shock to discover that ‘because I said so and I’m the boss’ is no longer a good enough reason for anyone to do anything.

So the business of leadership in the 21st Century is very different to that of preceding times. The question now is how to build leadership relationships in flat, informal cultures where many of the people are very different from yourself, are overloaded with information and will only follow your lead if you can sustain their attention for long enough to demonstrate its value.

The effects of the changes discussed above mean that for most managers and leaders in large organisations there are lots of people you need to influence and not much time face-to-face with those people. Therefore you have to be able to get a message across quickly, but you can’t rely on the formal structure of a meeting to do it. It means having to deal with cross-cultural issues and manage relationships both within and outside your team. Above all, it means that you can’t rely on your position to give you influence or authority; you have to create it by the way you behave.

Leadership in the 21st Century workplace is the art of influencing others by giving significant, motivating, messages in infrequent, informal but focused conversations. Hence the development of ‘Leadership through Everyday Conversation’ – a programme that combines a series of 1-day workshops with self-study material to hone your communication skills and make every conversation count.

Dianne Lowther – Master Trainer of NLP

Dianne Lowther is an award-winning Master Trainer of NLP and Principal of Brilliant Minds. She specialises in applications of NLP for leadership and business results and has 18 years of experience of working at senior level in organisations. She also runs public courses in NLP including her ground-breaking ‘Business Class NLP’ intensive programme for business leaders. To find out more about NLP, visit http://www.executivenlp.co.uk and get ‘The Introduction to NLP for Business Leaders’ free. To find out more about Dianne Lowther and Brilliant Minds visit http://www.brilliantminds.co.uk or find her on LinkedIn

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But not all leaders are born that way. Many of them have had to work at themselves before they became shining examples of leadership.

If you want to know what makes a good team leader, read on!

<b>Leadership Trait # 1: Being a Good Follower</b>

A good team leader is a good follower. After all, how can your team look up to you if you yourself don’t have any respect for the authority? You’re supposed to be the prime example of how a person should behave.

Besides, there are certain disciplines that come with being a good follower. For example, a manager who has gone through the hardships of serving coffee at a popular coffee ship will be able to immediately pinpoint his team’s weakness (if any) and how the overall operation can be improved, as opposed to someone who has never even made coffee.

Knowing what your followers are going through makes you all the more effective as a team leader.

<b>Leadership Trait # 2: Being Self-Motivated</b>

What makes a good team leader is self-motivation. Nobody’s going to mollycoddle when your team starts operation. Nobody’s going to be there to hold your hand and uplift your spirits.

That’s your job! You’re the one who always needs to be motivated so that you, in turn, can motivate your team.

<b>Leadership Trait # 3: Being a Good Communicator</b>

Good communication makes a good team leader. It’s a two-way street. You have to know how to give out orders clearly and efficiently. Should you fail to do this, your operation will most likely end up half-baked. And who do you think will be responsible for that?

On the other hand, you also have to know how to listen well. Your team might have ideas that are worth listening to. Or they might have something important to say. Being a good listener enables you to understand where each member of your team is coming from and how they think.

Knowing what makes a good team leader is just the first step. Applying these principles into your everyday life is another. There are times when being a good leader can be trying. But that’s all part of the process.

Leaders don’t live like kings because they’re too busy making sure that their team is operating like a well-oiled machine. However, effective leaders are also greatly rewarded for all their hard work.
Want to easily change and control people’s behavior? Use secret conversational hypnosis techniques to get them to eagerly do anything you want (without them knowing it)! Get a FREE course that reveals some of the most groundbreaking mind control techniques and persuasion secrets at http://www.20daypersuasion.com/secrets.htm
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If the project achieved its goal, management questions typically focus on what went right.  What did we do well?  How can we sustain this success?  What could we improve to make the outcome even better?”

If the project failed to meet expectations, the postmortem tends to focus on what went wrong.  Where did we get off track?  How and when should we have adjusted?  What can we learn from this experience?”

Postmortems play an important role in improving our businesses.  But in today’s world, they may not be enough.  I believe the time has come for leaders and managers to start engaging in “premortems.”  In other words, to conduct the review process before embarking on major projects or initiatives.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I confess to borrowing the term “premortem” from a McKinsey Quarterly Report article entitled “Strategic Decisions: When Can You Trust Your Gut?”   In the article, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and psychologist Gary Klein debate the risks and rewards of senior executives using their intuition to make key strategic decisions.

Not only is the article a fascinating read, it also supports one of my core beliefs that today’s leaders and managers need to slow down in order to go fast.  One good way to do that is by asking postmortem-type questions before, rather than only after, the fact.

Klein recommends gathering the project team and saying, “We’re looking into a crystal ball, and this project has failed miserably. Everyone take two minutes and write down all the reasons why you think the project failed.”  This gets people to voluntarily engage in devil’s advocate thinking before the project gets started.

What’s the value in conducting a premortem?

For starters, it can identify potential problems that otherwise would not have surfaced until they caused major damage to the project.  It can also change the dynamics of the decision-making process for the better.  Rather than trying to avoid conflict and reach consensus as quickly as possible (a common cause of ill-fated decisions), people actively look for contrarian ideas to bring to the table.

In most cases, problems identified during the premortem won’t cause the demise of the project.  More likely, they will cause the project to get tweaked in ways that will improve its chances of success.  For the amount of time invested, a premortem is a low-cost, high-payoff activity.  It is a simple way to slow down (just enough) to get it right versus go fast and do it over.

The article also suggests going through a checklist before approving any major strategic decisions.  This may seem like focusing on the details rather than the big picture.  But in this case, the checklist focuses on process rather than content, thereby keeping it at a high-impact level.

According to Kahneman, the checklist should include:

• Quality of the information.  Is the data coming from multiple independent sources or just one source saying the same thing in different ways?
• Decision-making process.  Did the team engage in honest, open debate, or did it engage in “groupthink” in order to avoid conflict?
• Leadership deference.  Did the leader’s opinion unduly influence others in a certain direction?
• Group mindset.  Did the group accept the data without challenging it?  Was there a rush to achieve consensus that might have caused key elements to be overlooked?

To this I would add:

• Assumption testing.  What assumptions about our customers, our market and our industry did we bring to this project? Are they still valid? Do we need to update any of them?
• Environmental scan.  What has changed in our industry/the world/with our competitors in the past three to six months?  What has changed outside our industry that might impact how we serve our customers?
• Making stuff up (MSU) test.  What are we making up about this project?  What voids of information are we filling in?  What decisions are based on our MSU’s (making stuff up) rather than on hard data?

In today’s business environment, customers, markets, and entire industries can change overnight.  If you get it wrong the first time, you may not get another chance.

Obviously, you can’t have all the information every time you make a strategic decision.  But by taking the time to identify what could go wrong before launching a project, you can have contingency plans in place before you need them.  You can practice the thinking that might be required quickly if challenges arise.

“Slow down to go fast” may sound counterintuitive, but it works.  You can (and should) still conduct postmortems after the fact.  But you will get a lot more bang for your buck by adding a premortem into the mix.

Holly G. Green is author of “More Than A Minute,” and the CEO and Managing Director of The Human Factor, Inc. She has more than 20 years of executive level and operations experience in FORTUNE 100, entrepreneurial, and management consulting organizations. She was previously President of The Ken Blanchard Companies, a global consulting and training organization as well as LumMed, Inc. a biotech start up. For more information, visit her at http://www.thehumanfactor.biz and http://www.morethanaminute.com
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How does a Team Leader persuade the Team to do this – to see the goals and to want to get there? How does a Leader inspire the Team? The ability to be inspirational is a key Leadership competency that can be practiced and learnt. There two critical keys to work on to provide inspirational leadership – selling the vision and persuading the Team that this is worth doing.

People want to know where they are going and why they should bother going there – what is in it for them. A poor Leader will state the targets and the objectives – figures this week, figures this month. An effective Leader can get higher figures and more committed followers by selling a positive outcome in a way that inspires.

Step 1 – Explain the Goal

Step 1 is to paint a positive picture of what exactly the end goal is. The goal must be positive, rather than negative. It should be what we will do rather than what we should avoid doing. The art of always using positive language rather than negative is essential to leadership. For example, we do not tell a Team Member what NOT to do. We tell a Team Member what to do, or ask them to suggest a good way of doing something.  The reason is simple, the negative way does not work! If the waiter puts a very hot plate down in front of you and says “Do not touch that plate, it is very hot”, what will we do? Yes, we touch it!

When we are selling the goal, we paint the picture of the positive outcome – where we are going rather than not going. ‘I want us to be the highest performing Team in the business’ – rather than ‘We can’t be in the middle of the league this year’.

Paint a very clear picture of the end goal – the follower can see it and clearly visualize it. Make it really attractive and relevant for your particular group. ‘We are going to achieve so much that every new hire will want to come on this Team’.

Step 2 – Have a Plan

Step 2 is to have a plan. How are we going to get there? You don’t have to have the whole plan – but you need step 1 and step 2 – and both of these must make sense to the Team. Identify quick wins – preferably generated from the Team itself, and present those as the first steps.

Step 3 – Sell the Goal

Step 3 is to sell it, to persuade them that it is worth doing and gain their buy-in. The language we use in effective leadership is real ‘selling’ language – all positive language and very relevant to your Team members. We state the ‘benefits’ of the end goal and the ‘benefits’ of the effort. First prepare a list of the benefits, then choose 2-3 under each heading, and then work out how to word these in a way that will come across well to your Team.

When identifying benefits,  cover 5 areas –

1. The Company – what are the benefits to the Company of us achieving this goal? What is in it for them?

2. The Customer – what are the benefits for the Customer?

3. The Team – if we achieve this goal, in what way will the Team benefit?

4. The Team Leader / Manager – how will I benefit if the Team achieves achieve this goal?

5. The Team Member – what is in it for this Team Member / each Team Member?

Paint the picture of the goal first – what it is. Next comes the benefits, in the order listed above. Then bottom line the success vision and the ‘can do’ element.

Practice this and sell it well – you will definitely be on a path to providing effective leadership and to inspiring your Team.

Kate Tammemagi specializes in designing and running fully customized Training Courses. She has extensive experience designing and delivering customized Leadership Development Training and Supervisor Training Courses.
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Our communication skills courses demonstrate the range of departments within a business that need to ensure effective communication, yet this is a skill never covered within university courses, and rarely offered support within the work sector unless specific soft skills training is outsourced. Soft skills can be said to cover interpersonal skills such as confidence, assertiveness, discipline, empathy, teamwork, leadership, motivation and such like. We offer courses in all these areas, and many businesses have found that the art of negotiation has proved to be highly effective in encouraging employees to engage, rather than take a passive approach to business communications. Have a look at our business skills and negotiation courses.

These skills can easily be overlooked or ignored, with the assumption that if one or two people lack in certain departments, they’ll be supported by those who do have strong interpersonal skills, and that everyone is likely to have at least one area of interpersonal skill in which they shine. However, this is where the issues lie – with the assessment of any ROI from soft skills training and the assumption that any team can be made to work even if the interpersonal skills are unbalanced and uncoordinated. Think of a boat crossing a large lake. At least a couple of people will need to row, someone will need to navigate and someone will need to steer and coordinate the rowers. This is a simple team, and unless the crews are happy remaining in the middle of the lake, they’ll need to work together.

If they don’t work together, they won’t get very far, or at least, they won’t get there as quickly. In such a situation the effectiveness of soft skills training is likely to be directed at how quickly and how efficiently they get to the shoreline. This is the crucial factor in assessing soft skills training ROI: set needs criteria before any training is booked, and then use those needs criteria as the basis for on-going assessment. At Speak-First.com we offer a range of support opportunities for managers to get to grips with this idea of identifying needs criteria and assessment criteria.

As far as the concept of group diversity compensating for a low level of soft skills amongst some members is concerned, no team will ever work if a rower has to support the navigator, or the navigator has to sit with the rower instead of looking at the map and compass. Soft skills training must be suited to the needs of the business every bit as much as being suited to the needs of those individuals within the business.

As far as the concept of group diversity compensating for a low level of soft skills amongst some members is concerned, no team will ever work if a rower has to support the navigator, or the navigator has to sit with the rower instead of looking at the map and compass. Soft skills training must be suited to the needs of the business every bit as much as being suited to the needs of those individuals within the business. For more information please visit http://www.speak-first.com/.
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Whilst there is much emphasis on the management facet of modification, abundant of the underlying cause of the catastrophic 70% failure rate in ALL amendment initiatives is directly due to an absence of leadership….

To see whether or not you’re a Leader or a Manager, answer True or False to the subsequent statements:

1. I suppose additional regarding immediate results than I do regarding mentoring others

2. It’s nice to know about folks’s long-term goals, however not necessary to try and do the work

3. The best pleasure in my job comes from creating the work process more effective

4. I pay additional of my time and a spotlight on the weaker performers than I do on my high performers, who primarily take care of themselves

5. It’s my job to understand everything that goes on in my area

If you answered mainly “True” to the questions above, then you’ve got given a Manager’s response. If you’ve got answered mainly “False”, then you have given a Leader’s response.

“Those that have modified the universe have not done it by changing officials, however continuously by inspiring the people.” [Napoleon Boneparte]

I define leadership as somebody whom others can follow.

In my expertise:

- Leaders drive amendment where as managers deliver it

- Leaders define culture whereas managers are defined by it

- Leaders innovate whereas managers administrate

Whilst the very definitions change management and programme management emphasise the management side [and of course this is important] abundant of the cause of the seventy% failure rate in modification initiatives is directly due to a scarcity of leadership…

A leadership that sees the bigger image – that ensures that people can follow – and therefore the discipline of a programme management approach provides the tools and processes to facilitate that.

Any amendment initiative that is a lot of than incremental change [i.e. it's a step change] needs to led – and it needs to be seen to be led.

Identifying and enlisting the support of leaders [as well as the managers] at intervals your organisation is vital to successful culture change and amendment management.

A balanced perspective

Here is an attention-grabbing and balanced perspective on the differing but complementary roles and skills of leaders and managers: characteristics of leadership and management:

“Leadership and Management are two distinct but complementary systems… While managers promote stability, leaders press for change. Solely organisations that can embrace both sides of that contradiction can thrive in turbulent times.” [John Kotter]

My own personal view and expertise of leadership is that:

- Leaders are born not created

- You recognize if you are a pacesetter

- Others recognize if you’re a pacesetter

And my own personal leadership credo is that “it is higher to be decisively wrong that indecisively right”!

Thus within the context of amendment the management side is important – but in my experience an underlying reason for the catastrophic failure rate in change initiatives is directly as a result of a scarcity of leadership.

And we tend to are talking regarding a leadership that knows how to apply

(a) the inspirational motivation and leadership insights – that are appropriate to your company, AND

(b) the supporting programme management based processes – to ensure that you just avoid that catastrophic failure rate that affects ALL business change initiatives.

Writers Room has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Change Management, you can also check out his latest website about:Black Diamond Wedding Rings Which reviews and lists the bestBlack Wedding Rings
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• Time management for leaders

“The coach has nowhere to hide. He cannot just let the job go for a while or do a bad job and assume no one will notice, as most of us can. He cannot satisfy everyone. Seldom can he even satisfy very many. Rarely can he even satisfy himself. If he wins once, he must win the next time too.”

“They plot victories, suffer defeats, endure criticism from within and without. They neglect their families, travel endlessly, and live alone in the spotlight surrounded by others. Theirs may be the worst profession – unreasonably demanding and insecure and full of unrelenting pressures. Why do they put up with it? Why do they do it? Having seen them hired and hailed as geniuses at gaudy party-like press conferences and having seen them fired with pat phrases such as ‘fool’ or ‘incompetent,’ I have wondered about them. Having seen them exult in victory and depressed by defeat, I have sympathized with them. Having seen some broken by the job and other die from it, one is moved to admire and hope that someday the world will learn to understand them.”

In the National Football League and the rest of the sports world, great coaches watch their teams play. They study their team’s strengths and weaknesses and try to determine how each player can improve their individual performance and ultimately, the performance of the team as a whole.

The same is true in the business world. To help your team be successful, watch them in action; get to know what each person on your team does best and where they could improve. Support their positive actions and efforts, guide their direction, and when appropriate, instruct or demonstrate more effective techniques through coaching.

In the modern business world, managers are usually promoted into their positions because they were top individual performers. They performed consistently in their work and they showed an interest in advancing their careers by earning their promotion into management.

One of the most important jobs for a good leader is to help his or her people become successful. Starting right now you have to help your people become the best they can be. You will be most successful when you help your people grow to their full capabilities. Hopefully, they will become even better than you were in a particular job. How can you do that? By coaching your people to improve their productivity and achieve the specific results required.

Good coaches in business usually make excellent leaders. The two roles overlap and in many ways, and have much in common. The best leaders and the best coaches have a vision for their people. They influence their people to do things that are important and necessary.

Managers may get the same results, but usually with much lower levels of enthusiasm. Managers watch over assets, implement policy, follow prescribed procedures and enforce company policy.

Coaches will intentionally create the “right motivational environment” for their people. Coaches are interested in their people as human beings. Good coaches are interested in helping each of their people to develop to their full potential. Good leaders will coach and counsel their people and when necessary, confront their people in a caring and constructive way. It’s the leadership qualities of the top business coaches that inspire people to work to achieve spectacular heights and overcome extraordinary problems. Real coaches and real leaders are like eagles, they don’t flock you must find them one at a time!

Len D’Innocenzo and Jack Cullen are co-founders of Corporate Sales Coaches. Each has over twenty years experience as sales and customer service management executives. They are featured speakers, course developers and facilitators, and authors of two books; The Agile Manager’s Guide to Customer Focused Selling and The Agile Manager’s Guide to Coaching to Maximize Performance – Velocity Business Publishing – 1999 and 2001. For more information, contact 215-493-2465 or 678-341-9051 or visit our website at www.corporatesalescoaches.com.
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Recommended Reading

• Free Leadership Course
• Success in the Workplace: Your Interests, Personality, and Communication Style Do Matter
• 21st Century Leadership
• Time For a Project Premortem?
• Time management for leaders

The key concept behind leadership is the ability to influence other people so that they are willing to strive towards a common achievement for the group.  The interesting thing about this ability is that it is not limited to the managers of an organization.  Every person in any given situation can exhibit the ability to influence other people.  Think of a child having a fit in a public place to get his way.

There have been countless studies on the effectiveness of organizational leadership done over the last half century.  One general conclusion that has emerged is that about 60 percent of workers will work well without any leadership from a manager.  This has many variables that motivate the worker, such as: maturity, self-motivation, social pressure, need for a job, or presence of authority.  These same studies also conclude that an additional 40 percent of worker potential can be added with effective leadership.

It is important to keep in mind, leadership is dealing with individuals; individual needs, individual motivations.  What works with one may not work for anyone else, or what works for many may not work for the few.  It is the ability to influence people to work towards a common goal.

Framework

There are two dimensions for management leadership.  One is concern for production; the other is concern for the people.  These dimensions were identified in the mid-twentieth century.  Studies done during this time also show the two primary functions of leadership are “Concern for Production” and “Concern for People”.    These two functions could not be further apart.  They are independent of each other, but not opposites.

Concern for Production

This leader is concerned with productivity; with getting the job done.  They work with a plan, communicate expectations, emphasize deadlines, maintain standards, workers work at capacity and criticize poor work.

Concern for People

This leader is concerned about people.  They desire to be supportive of their staff, do little things to make it pleasant to be a team member, listen to staff, look out for the general welfare of staff, and are friendly and approachable.

An evaluation of these two dimensions shows that the organization and upper management value leaders who can initiate structure and get the job done, while workers value leaders with consideration for workers.  The ideal leader has to balance both dimensions carefully and fall into the upper right quadrant.  Research has shown that the leader who can manage to stay within that upper right quadrant, known as the Team Manager, is the most effective leader.  With this grid, we can also identify three other distinct leaders: the Theory L (Lackadaisical) Leader, the Theory X (Autocratic) Leader, the Theory Y (Benevolent) Leader, and the Theory Z (Team) Leader. 

The Theory L (Lackadaisical) Leader

The management philosophy is essentially one of noninterference.  This leader is stuck between uncooperative workers and unsupportive upper management.  They are information transmitters.  They convey information from upper management to the workers.  Top managers are the planners, and little input is given about the actual department operations.

The top managers are the meat and potatoes of the operation, and little of “L” leader is lost in middle management.  They have very little control over who is hired or fired or in training.  Their basic function is to make sure that the workers are informed of top management decisions.

They do very little to motivate the workers.  They see workers as motivated or not.  They believe workers should be able to motivate themselves to do what is expected of them.  There is very little they can do, because that is someone else’s department.

There is very little room for this leader to lead and show an unmotivated worker, better ways to improve production.

The Theory X (Autocratic) Leader

The management philosophy of this leader is to force people to work to achieve organization objectives.  And will do whatever is required to do it.  Their primary focus is on production, period.

Developing a plan for their department this leader works with the guidelines and objectives issued by corporate superiors and systematically creates a written plan of measurable objectives and allocated budget items.  The plan is reviewed with the bosses and then the workers are told what is expected from the group and what expected each individual to do within the group.  The idea is to make people fit the plan or get rid of the people.

Staffing and staff development is not an issue.  Poor performers are weeded out.  Good performers are told how they can be better.  Staff is there to carry out the mission of the organization.

Staff is motivated by the carrot and stick method of dangling a reward or getting a kick in the back side to keep them in line.  If staff can’t handle it, they are let go.

Controlling is essential to running a tight ship.  Performance has to be measured and analyzed to create improvement.  Weak links have to be improved upon or gotten rid of.

The Theory Y (Benevolent) Leader

The management philosophy of this leader is that people are the most important resource.  The primary job is to help other achieve their goals.  We are here to provide employment opportunities and help staff achieve self-fulfillment.

Developing a plan for their department, this leader looks at what resources are available, and works with staff so they develop their own personal plans.  They foster initiative and motivation with staff even if it is not part of a larger organization objective.

Staffing and staff development are created to mold the organization to the abilities of the people.  Everyone is unique and they to find people who will find great satisfaction working in the department.  Jobs are assigned to people based on how well they fit and how much they will like it.

Staff members are motivated with encouragement.  People will do their best if they think you like what they do.  A pat on the back is better than a kick.

Staff members are able to control their own performances.  This leader feels it better to provide staff with tools to improve themselves and encourage and support them along the way.  They believe people will excel in the right environment.

The Theory Z (Team) Leader

The management philosophy of this leader is to be committed to both production and people.  There is no conflict between the two.  Productivity is increased when the goals of the organization and the goals of the employees mesh.  They use a team approach to achieving organizational goals.

Good planning is the cornerstone of the organization.  Upper management and staff meet as a team to discuss the resources and plans and goals for the up coming year.  Individuals are met with to discuss their performance objectives for the year.

Staffing and staff development are the most important function for this leader.  Staff members help other staff members to achieve their goals.  People working together work better towards a common organizational goal.

Staff all work together for the common good.  Everyone has a say, everyone is heard from and everyone fully understands the organization’s goals and the individual’s goals.

Everyone is responsible for their on production.  There are set goals for measuring, but everyone is responsible to achieving the goals on their own.  Staff meets regularly to compare performance with the plan and decide how to correct deviations.  They believe everyone achieve more as a team.

A Case Study

To better appreciate the differences between these four leadership styles let’s consider this example.  The Widget Factory is on a tight schedule to complete a project.  Larry, Xavier, Yolanda and Zach are the project Task Leaders.  Each phase of the project is closely linked and each impacts the next.

During the third month of this 6-moth project it is discovered that they are three weeks behind schedule.

How then would each task leader deal with this situation?

Larry, the Lackadaisical Leader will do nothing.  He feels powerless and simply will not get involved.  He hopes this problem will simply go away and someone else will get them back on track.  He will only make the problem worse.

Xavier, the Autocratic Leader will jump in and demand that corrective action be taken.  He would demand that Larry be replaced immediately.  He will force everyone to work harder to make up for lost time until they are back on schedule.

Yolanda, the Benevolent Leader will play an active role in trying to get the project back on track.  She believes everyone is doing their best and they can get things back on track with some encouragement and hand holding.

Zach, the Team Leader will be to get all four task Leaders involved in a problem-solving effort.  Under his guidance they would discover the cause of the problem, what can be done to correct the problem and create a concrete plan of action to solve the problem.  A plan developed by the group for the group.

Which of the four approaches will be the most effective?  The answer should be obvious.  Zach, the Team Leader’s approach edges out the others because it provides quality of solution and commitment from the whole team to implement the solution.

The Outcomes of Different Leadership Styles

The Lackadaisical Leadership style leads to several undesirable outcomes:

A synergistic collaboration between employees will probably never happen because no one is actively promoting such efforts
High Achievers will leave and the work force will be those who can’t or don’t want to find employment elsewhere.
Anyone wanting to achieve more will see that their efforts don’t make a difference.
Productivity will be low.

The Autocratic Leadership style is likely to produce the following results:

Decisions will not include other input and may be faulty.
Staff commitment will be low because they are not involved in the decisions.
Job satisfaction will be low.
Absenteeism and employee turnover will be high.
Employees may suffer from extreme job stress.
Workers will join together to form unions.

The Benevolent Leadership style is like to have the following impact:

Under achievers have high job satisfaction because they are not criticized.
High achievers will become disillusioned with the lack of production.
Creativity will suffer as a result of the need to smooth things over.
Competition will crush them.

The Team Leadership style will have these outcomes:

Absenteeism and employee turnover will be low.
Quality decisions are made because of employee input.
Creativity and innovation will grow.
Cooperation will prevail.
Short-term financial measures may be low, due to the need for investing in facilities and staff development.
Long-Term productivity will be at an all-time high.

If the benefits of being a Theory Z (Team) leader are superior to any of the

other management styles then why do so few managers actually practice this amazing leadership style?

Summary

Leadership is the art (or process) of influencing people so that they are willing to strive towards a common goal.  This process has two basic dimensions:  concern for production and concern for people.  These two dimensions produce four leadership styles, the Lackadaisical, the Autocrat, the Benevolent and the Team Leader.

In terms of affect on long-term productivity the Team Leader is superior in most situations.  It then becomes critical that enlightened organizations promote Team Leaders from within because they are healthy personalities, they are effective human beings and new managers needing role models can emulate them.

Mr. Young is a nationally certified activity director working at his local nursing home. He is currently working towards improving his state’s education requirements for becoming a certified activity director and building his consulting service based on the simple truths of Taoism.  He has completed his master’s level advanced coursework for his ACC certification.He received his minister’s ordaination from the ULC Monastery in 2007 and he holds a MetD degree in Metaphysics.He consults with other nursing homes and activity directors about how to meet spiritual needs of their geriatric residents and improve their activity programing.
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Recommended Reading

• Free Leadership Course
• Success in the Workplace: Your Interests, Personality, and Communication Style Do Matter
• 21st Century Leadership
• What Makes A Good Team Leader: Leadership Traits All Leaders Must Possess
• Time management for leaders