Mintzberg – Distinguish Leadership From Management At Your Peril

50% Of Workers Leave Due To Their Boss

You’ve probably heard of the phrase, “An employee doesn’t leave their job, they leave their manager.” Well, research commissioned by the Chartered Management Institute has now confirmed that belief.

The CMI commissioned a survey by OnePoll, and the results are in. Out of 3,000 individuals surveyed, 47% have previously left a job because of bad management.

The survey also concluded that 50% of employees thought they could do a better job than their manager, and 49% would willingly take a pay cut in order to work with a better manager.

Read the full press release here.

I find these findings a disturbing reflection of how poorly managers are currently serving their subordinates. What do you make of these results?

Leave your comment below!

How To Fix Your Control-Freak Boss

I read an interesting article today in Fortune Magazine on how to cope with, and even fix a control freak boss. I’d like to share it with my readers.

The problem posed to the magazine by a reader was one that I’m sure most of you can relate to:

“Dear Annie: We used to have a great team here, until our boss was replaced by a manager brought in from another part of the company who is now trying to control our every move. He insists on telling everyone what to do and how to do it in minute detail (even though we’ve all been excelling at our jobs for years). No detail is too ridiculously tiny to escape his scrutiny, and he’s constantly issuing new rules and guidelines, some of which contradict each other.

As a result, some of us are just taking the passive-aggressive approach and ignoring him, which means he bears down harder on the whole group. I could give you examples that would curl your hair, but the point is, it’s driving us nuts. Is there anything we can do to change his behavior, or do we just grin and bear it until the next boss comes along?”

I want you to have a think about what you would advise this reader. What seems the most sensible approach to fixing a control freak? The answer produced by Albert J. Bernstein may surprise you!

He actually advises frustrated employees to not show their annoyance, to not confront their boss and critisise their controlling nature, because this will cause the manager to worry even more.

He goes on to explain that managers become control freaks because they are extremely frightened of failure, and how it will reflect upon themselves. Because of this, they fail to trust others in using their own methods to complete tasks, and thus they become a frustration-inducing control freak (This is why proper delegation is one of the traits that features in my:  Seven Habits of Incredibly Successful entrepreneurs article).

He specifically offers the following solutions, that offer ways to reduce the fear your boss holds:

• Give plenty of reassurance. This involves grasping a clear picture of what your manager expects from you at the start of a task. Take extensive notes that can leave no doubt in their mind that you fully appreciate his vision.

• Offer progress reports before they ask for them. Control-freaks will be comforted by plenty of infomation regarding your progress, so make no attempt to hold this infomation back. Indeed you should be pro-active in delivering such infomation on a regular basis. This will help prevent your manager from feeling they need to swoop down on your at a busy time to demand an update.

• When your boss tries to change your work, asks if this means the end goal has changed. This is a powerful weapon that can potentially stop control-freaks in their tracks, and indirectly cause them to question their own behaviour. If the goal and method was agreed extensively at the beginning (you can pull out your notes to emphasise this fact), and you have a good track record of accomplishing tasks with that given method. Then surely a change in method is unncecessary.

• Maintain this behaviour over an extended length of time. Our aim is to build the trust that the manager has in your work, so a quick flash in the pan will do little to change their attitude towards you. Only after several weeks or perhaps months of this behaviour, will a control-freak realise that you ‘are one of the few he can trust to get on with it’.

These are certainly an interesting set of points, do you agree with them? Have you stumbled upon a different method of coping with controlling co-workers or bosses in your time at work?

Simon Oates ~ Leadership Expert

The Seven Habits Of Incredibly Successful Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are some of the most powerful individuals in society. Not because they’re wealthy, but because the habits they possess ensure that they are successful in whatever they set out to accomplish. Take a look at the seven habits below and find out which habits you have in common with incredibly successful business leaders, managers, team leaders and entrepreneurs worldwide!

1 – A Hatred for Sleep

You’ll find most entrepreneurs never sleep in late (unless perhaps when on vacation!). Every second you spend lazily snoozing in bed, is a second spent watching your productivity plummet. For most people, this is pleasurable and a welcome break, but for an effective entrepreneur and leader, it’s a restless affair.

Taking a break is worthwhile. But that’s what your 8 hours of sleep is for. If you don’t feel happy unless you’ve had a good measure more than this, then there’s a good chance you won’t cut it as a business leader.

2 – The Willingness to delegate

From low-level positions, delegation is seen as a mouth-watering perk. Who wouldn’t love to be able to give important tasks to people below them, and take the weight off their own shoulders? The real answer is; less people than you’d think.

While most people think delegation is something they could get very used to; in practise it’s a very tough and draining process if done incorrectly.

Imagine yourself as the bride in a wedding. It’s an event you’ve been thinking about for a long time, and there is an awful lot of pressure on the event being a success. Would you happily delegate all the decisions in this case to a relatively inexperienced wedding planner? Of course you wouldn’t. You would likely think along the lines of:  ‘My wedding day is far too important to let someone else potentially mess it up. Surely they won’t give it as much attention and care as I would. It simply isn’t worth the risk. I’ll do it myself’.

This is the scenario that many new managers find themselves in. They have the ability to delegate tasks completely to those below, but are afraid to because so much stands on the success of the activity, and it causes them too much worry to have anyone other than themselves perform the task.

A successful leader simply places confidence in those beneath them, and let experts do what they do best, leaving the entrepreneur do what they do best – Leading!

3 – The Lightening Pursuit of Opportunities

The difference between a successful entrepreneur and a normal individual, is that when they both see a business opportunity, their reactions are different. A normal individual may actually consider a business opportunity that has presented itself, and have a look at their bank account… maybe plan the possibility of leaving their job. However by this point, the entrepreneur will have already organised a team to begin!

4 – Proactivity

Business Leaders do not wait for opportunities to slip onto their lap. They instinctively partake in continuous research (or pay someone else to) to always make sure they have some new directions to be exploring. They’re never happy staying in the same place, and are always looking for the next new idea. Even successful entrepreneurs that are seen to stay firmly within one business, may be actually exploring several products or business models within that single entity.

5 – Optimism

An ineffecive entrepreneur may think – “There are pro’s and con’s here… lets weigh it up”
The successful business leader thinks – “Those pro’s are significant enough to pursue this, we will solve the cons later.”

Being optimistic is a crucial habit for entrepreneurs, because it’s the only way to deal with the amount of risk these people take on! Would you risk your year’s salary in order to make more money next year? Many wouldn’t, and that’s why successful entrepreneurs aren’t common.

6 – Ruthlessness

Its probably their most famous trait – Entrepreneurs are often ruthless individuals. This isn’t to say they’re immoral folk, but don’t expect to receive politeness and ‘niceties’ if it will hinder their success. You have to be this focused too. Maybe you’re thinking ‘It isn’t worth it’. Well, being an incredibly successful entrepreneur isn’t for everyone!

7 – Obsession with attention to detail

Everything has to be perfect. Competition is so fierce in today’s business world that entrepreneurs cannot afford to do a half job. A successful businessperson won’t go home until the job is completed 110%. Delivering above what is expected is a classic signature of entreprenuers. This is how extraordinary profits are made and how a small venture can explode into a multi-million dollar success.

Which habits do you possess? Which habits do you think are the rarest and hardest to possess? Leave your comments below!

Simon Oates ~ Leadership Expert

How To Build A Responsibility-Driven Culture

By Emmett C. Murphy, Written for Leadership Expert.

In 2003 Lego lost $238 million due to overly complex designs, failed forays into new markets, and costly licensing ventures.  In 2004 they took previously untried steps to restore integrity and profits.  Lego engaged a group of devoted fans to help them redesign a lagging product—Mindstorms, the company’s customizable robotics kit.  This move broke with the creative team’s history of privacy and exclusiveness.  The “Mindstorms User Panel” wanted to be paid in Lego blocks.  They purchased their own tickets to Denmark for meetings.  They routinely replied to single-line queries from the company with multi-page emails.  They enabled the creation of wildly new and unconventional robots, such as toilet scrubber robots and bulldog robots.  After experiencing the pitfalls of insularity, Lego’s decision to partner with the customer was an act of humility.  It was also an act of responsibility.  Leaders who admit they have a lot to learn, that they make mistakes, and that they can’t run the company alone earn respect and engender responsible attitudes in others.  Three key practices of good leadership stem from humility—and inspire responsibility.

Partner with the Customer—Achieve a Shared Vision

Before Lego partnered with its customers, it was at risk of alienating them. Users had begun losing interest in products they considered too complex.  Leaders who do not believe in the partnership model often act out a predatory model, subordinating the customer’s interests; Lego was heading in that direction.  Instead Lego executives traveled to the world outside the organization to guide the customer to the center of organizational life.  This act overtly recognized the organization’s dependence on the outside world and helped build a stronger ethical relationship between customer and organization.  By “traveling outside” to gain new knowledge, Lego executives created a dynamic organizational model that embraced the “constant” of change and the need for continual adaptation.  By working in close back-and-forth contact with their customers, the leaders at Lego also found that partnering with customers meant achieving a consensus.  Rather than compromising or seeking to win, the customer-partner model describes a synergy that comes from achieving a shared vision.

Connect with the Frontlines—Learn From Those Who Know

Leaders who act with humility aim to achieve a shared vision with everyone in the organization.  They want to understand the perspectives of those at the frontlines and adapt to accommodate those perspectives.  Recently Brian Dunn, the chief executive of Best Buy, expressed his faith in following the frontlines—he had been a frontliner himself once.  As a teenager working at a grocery store he had interacted with customers on a daily basis.  His manager regularly asked him what he thought of new policies—for example, the store’s policy of having customers load their own groceries.  “I know it seems simple,” Dunn said in a recent interview with The New York Times, “but just that notion of learning from people who are actually doing the work, and the encouragement he gave me to tell him exactly what I thought really stayed with me.”  Leaders motivated by fear or arrogance remain aloof, removed from their employees.  Those motivated by humility remain physically present and personally connected; they fear ignorance more than they fear confronting mistakes or problems.  Humility drives responsibility:  when leaders focus on customer needs, they train others at the frontlines and elsewhere to move beyond self-interest too.

Understand Work Roles—Don’t Place Blame

Strong leaders respect the careers of others as much as they respect their own. Rather than assuming they know what’s going on in the workplace, leaders driven by humility make a practice of asking questions to understand what others do and what they need.  They practice active listening and seek out quiet environments to interact with others without distractions.  They empathize with their associates and ultimately empower them by reinforcing strengths and resources.  When problems arise, worksheets and scripts can help a leader chart an individual’s work life in a pragmatic and open-minded way.  The work-life map then serves as a tool for learning what changes need to be made.  When a leader finds misalignment in an individual’s work-life map, he or she practices humility by avoiding blame.  The goal of assessments is to transform problems into opportunities and to encourage others to take responsibility for their work, not to engage in a blaming game.

The most responsible leaders don’t let pride get in the way of progress.  They seek a purpose for leadership beyond self-interest, which helps them create partnerships—with customers, frontliners, and associates.  You might say that when Lego solicited its staunchest fans to help with product development, it pioneered one of its best designs yet.

Emmett Murphy, Ph.D., is Founder and President of Murphy Leadership (www.murphyleadership.com), a global leadership consultancy.  Murphy is the author of several books including Talent IQ.   He is currently at work on his new book, Entrepreneurial IQ.

The 4 Essentials Of Strategic Thinking

Is your organization spending too much time seemingly rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic? Are the senior decision makers consistently voicing the need to make substantial change in the face of a complex and dynamic environment yet no real change takes place? Is the organization spending a great deal of time planning strategically but the answers to the questions keep coming out the same? Perhaps the problem is not with the answers, but with the questions. Perhaps strategic planning, a management process, is inappropriate for finding the path to change. Instead what is required is a leadership process, such as strategic thinking, that calls into question all the questions being asked.

Looking for the Right Questions

Simply stated, if an organization does not do strategic thinking before it does strategic planning, it is the same as rearranging those deck chairs. Why? Because in the end no one really cares where the deck chairs are positioned on the lounge deck if there is a great big hole in the boat, i.e., the big hole in the boat presents a much more pressing problem.

Strategic planning is about finding the right “answers” to questions. In strategic planning the questions already exist, they have been decided. On the other hand, strategic thinking is an imaginative process designed to assure that key decision makers are asking themselves the right questions. Strategic thinking does not start with a set of questions. It starts with the proverbial clean sheet of paper. Decision makers form no preconceived questions, disregard any ideas of what works and what does not, making no assumptions about the organization. Optimally, the process includes a healthy vertical and horizontal cross section of the organization. Why? Because you never know where the most valuable information might come from.

But more than that, strategic thinking is an effort to develop industry foresight. As Gary Hamel and CK Prahalad write in their book Competing for the Future, industry foresight often starts with what could be, and then works back to what must happen for that future to come about. Questions are the root of all knowledge, and crafting the right questions provides senior decision makers the ability to imagine the future in the context of present and future risks and threats.

An Overview of a Strategic Thinking Process

Threats or Risks-start with that clean sheet of paper. The process begins with assessing the threats or risks, both internal and external, to the organization. Said another way, it is vital for the senior decision makers to know the internal and external forces impacting their future. Emerging trends in technology, new competitors, customer service, and succession planning could all pose different types of risks or threats. The idea is to get everything on the table so that it is in full view of the decision makers.

Strengths-R&D investment, financial structure, timely distribution, active web and Blog presence and developing people may very well be strengths of the organization. Strengths provide leverage that can be used to gain specific industry advantages or buffer weaknesses. For example, the organization may have a robust web and Blog presence on the Internet having cultivated a large loyal fan base. These relationships are a substantial strength that can be used to assess and develop new products and services.

Weaknesses-What is it that the organization is not doing so well, that needs improvement or is having a negative systemic effect on the rest of the organizations operations or administration? Seeking weaknesses is not an exercise in seeking blame. Inappropriate organization structure, human capital retention, lack of leadership development programs may well be some of the issues that emerge as weaknesses.

Gaps-Identifying the gaps between the strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the real and perceived risks require some type of response and become the grist for the strategic planning mill. Now strategic and tactical strategies can be created, resources and assets assigned and prioritized and the day-to-day job of creating the future and closing the gaps is turned from imagination into reality.

Conclusion

In our rapidly changing, complex world filled with more information than one might have imagined just a few years ago, sorting through the facts, the hype and emerging issues and challenges drives the need to continually rework the organization’s collective foresight. To do otherwise, may result in a small leak turning into a big hole leaving the crew and passengers scampering for the lifeboats saying to themselves, “But I thought we were unsinkable!”

Author: www.leadsimm.com

Leadership Exposed: Things You Thought You Knew About Leadership

Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history. But there are certain leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership.

1. Leaders come in different flavors.

There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs. Informal leaders or those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts. Both formal and informal leaders practice a combination of leadership styles.

Lewin’s three basic leadership styles: authoritative, participative, and delegative

Likert’s four leadership styles: exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative

Goleman’s six emotional leadership styles – visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding.

2. Leadership is a process of becoming.

Although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential. So like learning how to ride a bicycle, you can also learn how to become a leader and hone your leadership abilities.

Knowledge on leadership theories and skills may be formally gained by enrolling in leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences. Daily interactions with people provide the opportunity to observe and practice leadership theories. Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, gain leadership insights, and thus furthering the cycle of learning.

You do not become a leader in one day and just stop. Life-long learning is important in becoming a good leader for each day brings new experiences that put your knowledge, skills, and attitude to a test.

3. Leadership starts with you.

The best way to develop leadership qualities is to apply it to your own life. As an adage goes “action speaks louder than words.” Leaders are always in the limelight. Keep in mind that your credibility as a leader depends much on your actions: your interaction with your family, friends, and co-workers; your way of managing your personal and organizational responsibilities; and even the way you talk with the newspaper vendor across the street.

Repeated actions become habits. Habits in turn form a person’s character. Steven Covey’s book entitled “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” provides good insights on how you can achieve personal leadership.

4. Leadership is shared.

Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one person, but rather a shared responsibility among members of an emerging team. A leader belongs to a group. Each member has responsibilities to fulfill.

Formal leadership positions are merely added responsibilities aside from their responsibilities as members of the team. Effective leadership requires members to do their share of work. Starting as a mere group of individuals, members and leaders work towards the formation of an effective team. In this light, social interaction plays a major role in leadership.

To learn how to work together requires a great deal of trust between and among leaders and members of an emerging team. Trust is built upon actions and not merely on words. When mutual respect exists, trust is fostered and confidence is built.

5. Leadership styles depend on the situation.

How come dictatorship works for Singapore but not in the United States of America? Aside from culture, beliefs, value system, and form of government, the current situation of a nation also affects the leadership styles used by its formal leaders. There is no rule that only one style can be used. Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles depending on the situation.

In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death. Thus, a nation’s leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order—different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance.

Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate. But if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required.

Now that you are reminded of these things, keep in mind that there are always ideas that we think we already know; concepts we take for granted, but are actually the most useful insights on leadership.

About the Author: Visit Carl Hoffman

Why Use Golf To Develop Leadership?

There’s a surprising similarity between playing the game of golf and leadership. Once the analogies are made clear to you, you’ll wonder perhaps why you didn’t see it before. By the time you’ve finished reading this, you’ll know the major connections and feel compelled to find out more.

35% of registered golfers in the UK are senior managers, professionals or executives , according to Mintel. This rises to 43.3% of London Golfers. And 12.8% of all golfers in the UK are senior managers, executives or professionals – that’s about 1.8 million golfers are senior managers, executives and professionals in the UK alone! (Source: GB TGI, BMRB Quarter 4 2006/Mintel) 44% of senior managers executives and professionals in the UK have played, do play or would like to play golf. (Source: BMRB/Mintel) Add another 1.4 million managers (Source: GB TGI, BMRB Quarter 4 2006/Mintel) and you realise just how big a sport golf has become – and it id predominantly ABC1 who play the game, and still predominantly male – 83%!

In part, business leaders, particularly those with some marketing or sales role, play golf to network with prospects and clients. There’s certainly some social status about being a golf club member, and for sure, in part there’s the ‘coincidence’ of playing golf and being a business leader.

The characteristics of those who play golf and those who are business leaders shows considerable similarities. For example, the desire to score well (even win) a round of golf. To be concerned about one’s personal performance and strive to improve it relates to a strong personal ‘Achievement Orientation’. I want to do well because I want to do well!

There are differences too, and important ones. On the golf course, the golfer is playing against the course. It is one of very few sports where the play of others has no effect on the golfer’s performance at all… unless he (and it is predominantly still ‘he’) allows it. This is not the case for the majority of business leaders where personal performance can be impacted by the performance of others. So the golf course is the place where a player can assuredly adopt the attitude, it’s MY performance that matters and only their actions change the result. This suggests the desire for control – or Directiveness.

76% of golfers play for social reasons (GMI/Mintel) – this demonstrates a desire, if not ability, in the competencies of influence and communication.

So why use golf to develop leadership?

The game of golf attracts business leaders more than other groups – & perhaps the conclusions above suggest why. So it became increasingly obvious to our team that golf could be both an attractive idea for development within this group, and that the game of golf itself could be deliberately used to develop the competencies and behaviours associated with great leadership. Indeed, many of our clients confirm the attraction of golf for our senior management training programmes by requesting training to take place at golf clubs.

Our research into using simulations has shown that given a truly safe environment to practice the tools and techniques of leadership and management, participants not only learn more (23% greater learning) than using more traditional methods like case studies, they enjoy it more (17% greater) and demonstrate greater transfer of new behaviours to the workplace (26% greater transfer).

Not only this, but studies in societies where females are considered disadvantaged in management showed a greater improvement in demonstrated management and leadership competencies after a simulation based programme than a traditional programme over their male counterparts 16% greater improvement in demonstrated competencies. The key to the success of using simulations is that they provide a realistic, safe environment to practice the tools, techniques and behaviours of great leadership (Kenworthy 2005)

Is golf a safe, realistic environment?

The great thing about golf is that it is one of the very few activities that provides a genuinely level-playing field – through the well-established handicapping system. It may not be perfect, but it’s very close. This means that a scratch golfer competes fairly with a complete beginner. There are also rules within which the game must be played – these represent the constraints of doing business. There are established game rules that encourage pairs or foursomes to work together, and there are rules to foster individual competition -sometimes in business we want our leaders to be entrepreneurial and ‘go-getters’ – leading by example, at other times, we want them to be team leaders, or team players.

Caddies, provide a perfect metaphor for coaches and mentors. The course itself provides a varied environment, shifting according to things beyond the control of the player, but observable by them. The hole provides a target, the course provides for a strategic plan to achieve the real goal. The points scored can directly relate to revenue or profit. The clubs and balls are resources – even the golf pro can be a consultant resource.

The game of golf provides a fantastic platform to learn leadership – its safe and fair, it’s as realistic as you need it to be and it’s fun!

Can you just play golf to develop leadership?

There’s certainly something about the game of golf that shares characteristics of great leadership, but whether it’s the playing golf that develops the person as a leader or that the leadership capability makes for a golfer is an unanswered question. Like any powerful training programme, leadership development needs a supporting, robust model of development. Unfortunately it’s not much use telling someone to BE Jack Welch, or even to tell someone what it is that Jack Welch does – that doesn’t make you a leader. Nor, can we simply seek to develop the 10 principles, 7 habits, 12 big things etc. of the best leaders in the world – leadership is personal – the first step in becoming a leader is to take charge of yourself and align your personal values to achieving what you want to achieve. If it were that simple then there wouldn’t be a leadership issue anywhere in the world today.

Solid Foundations

Effective leadership development (indeed for adults to learn anything effectively) needs the learner to go through three learning processes according to Bloom -cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning. That we need to develop knowledge about leadership, associate a feeling or emotion with the desire to learn the knowledge and physically put that knowledge into practice.

Most business leaders have some knowledge about what constitutes ‘good’ leadership – though few practice it all the time. They may have seen ‘good’ leadership exemplified by others in their past or present. They may have read a book on leadership – such as the 7 Habits. Where these most often fail to become new behaviours is twofold – Firstly, most examples of ‘good’ leadership are often carried out ‘naturally’ by the person demonstrating them -we often refer to them as ‘born leaders’. They are ‘good’ leaders, but they don’t consciously know what it is that they do – and therefore they are unable to share with others what they should or could do. Most books, on the other hand, tend to focus on one of two aspects – how to be a leader – here is Mr Great CEO and this is what he did, you must do the same. or they distil ‘best’ behaviours and provide a checklist for you to do ‘good’ leadership.

In the former situation, the ‘born leader’ is unable (or unwilling) to give you the requisite knowledge to learn. In the latter (books), they often fail to make an emotional connection to implement the knowledge (other than you’ve bought the book therefore you must want to learn), or they provide simplistic implementation checklists, do this, then this then this at work. If the new ‘habit’ doesn’t work first time, the book provides little or no guidance as to what you should do now.

What people need is a synthesis of the tools, techniques, attitudes and attributes of ‘good’ leadership within a structured model supported with templates that enable you to physically learn the behaviours. And one way of ensuring an emotional learning hook is by using the game of golf as a metaphor, and golf provides a means for you to put your behaviours into physical practice for yourself first – i.e. self-leadership, then you can use the templates at work. All practised within a safe and realistic environment that is fun.

Build on this foundation the safe and realistic learning environment of a business simulation on the golf course and you have leadership development that actually does what it says on the box.

Author:  Gainmore Advantage – www.celsim.com

Why Does Leadership Training Fail To Produce Leaders?

Great leadership is one of the keys to long-term organisational success; so how come there seems to be such a shortage? In the corridors of political power, and in the boardrooms of large and small organisations, we regularly hear the questions: “Where is the inspired leadership we crave?”, “Where is our next generation of leaders coming from?”, “Where is the flair and inspiration we need to take us to the next level?”

If asked, you could probably say what ‘leadership’ is. Like everyone else, you’ve read the books and seen the leadership competency frameworks. You could clearly describe how it feels to be well and poorly led – you ‘know it when you see it’. But how many current great world leaders can you name off the top of your head? How many great leaders are there in your organisation now?

Why do so many people, knowing what good leadership is, fail to demonstrate it themselves? The first place to look is in the learning environment where leaders are usually developed.

What They Didn’t Teach You about Leadership

1. There is an imbalance in leadership training. There is not enough emphasis on the skills, central to great leadership, of inspiring others with beliefs, vision, values and attitude; and too much emphasis on the importance of systems, planning, measurement, budgets, controls and procedures – in short, on management! Does any great leader ever manage people into following him? No, he inspires them, motivates them, keeps them in touch with the bigger vision – he leads them.

2. As a business leader, you have probably been well trained in logic and analysis. But a key leadership skill is the application of ‘emotional intelligence’ – the ability to know when things are ‘true’ or when they are ‘off’, when people are truly inspired, or just paying lip service. As a leader you need emotional intelligence to manage your own and others’ emotions, and you need skills appropriate to this task. Trying to do it by analysis and logic is about as effective as trying to drive a car by studying from a manual how the engine works.

3. People, especially in the business world, tend to avoid emotion – expressing it, dealing with it, looking at where it came from and its role in a situation. The rationale for not dealing with emotion, the very essence of leadership, is that all ‘this emotion stuff’ is ‘not professional’! Not so: it’s only ‘unprofessional’ to suppress emotion or express it inappropriately. When all ‘this emotion stuff’ is not explored and resolved in leadership groups, it always produces long-term tensions and political battles. These cause acute stress in individuals and cripple organisational effectiveness and efficiency. At the same time, they also destroy satisfaction, joy, fun, friendship, health, trust and a good night’s sleep!

4. Leadership skills like vision, inspiration and emotional intelligence can be trained on training courses – but it takes a different kind of course. In most leadership training programmes you will see models of leadership discussed, followed by practical exercises that analyse logically what went right and wrong in a ‘leadership game’. It’s all familiar and fun, but what’s being taught are the elements that underpin leadership, not the essence of leadership.

How Can You Learn to ‘Do’ Great Leadership?

There are two effective routes to successful leadership, depending on your budget. If you are a large company, then a leadership coach is certainly your best option. A good coach can help you develop skills appropriate to your working situation, and hence help you build competencies that you know will improve your performance.

Adapted from an article written by – http://www.shineconsulting.co.uk