Author : Kenneth Rice
The 7 Faces of LeadershipMost people can manage when things go well, but true leadership is how we cope with people when times are tough. Our expectations are often unrealistic and not centered on what leadership is really about. Too often people confuse a strong-willed personality as an effective leader. Leadership is not being strong-willed, rather having a strong sense of purpose and compassion. Too many organizations substitute strong-willed people for ethical leaders and see no distinction, because the people who put them in power dont know the difference. Effective Leadership involves equipping people to live competently and confidently.Effective leadership traits are as varied and numerous, not to mention subtle, as the human mind and heart themselves. No list will ever be complete, nor will it be the best suited for each individual reader. The bible gives some insight of the essential characteristics of effective leadership in I Corinthians, Ephesians, and 2 Timothy such as humility, integrity, focus, courage, discipline, compassion, and encouragement. The following paragraphs will place those characteristics into an organizational context.The Humble Leader"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2)Humility is not just about our relationship with God but its also about our relationship with other people. Relationships are built on listening, to Gods Word and to each other. The relationship between a leader and follower is only as good as their ability to listen. The effective leader will not be a force of just personality and power plays but relationship oriented, centered on building and mentoring.From and organizational context humble leaders invite feedback and turn lessons into failures. "The leader that is poor in spirit recognizes that many people know more than he or she does and, as such, shows respect to everyone." (Winston 2002) Humility is acceptance of our human limitations coupled with the resolve to do something about it -- I cant do it alone so I will enlist the help of others. This is the essence of leadership.The Honest Leader"Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." (Ephesians 4:25)Honesty is achieved through Discretion and truthfulness. Discretion keeps our minds and focus on sound judgment, giving serious attention and thought to what is going on. It will carefully choose our words, attitudes, and actions to be right for any given situation, thus avoiding words and actions that could result in adverse consequences. Truthfulness means being straight with others and doing what is right."Its after we have contemplated our own actions, measuring how they align with our values, intentions, and words, that we are most likely to make a contribution of integrity to the world." (Sherman, 2003) Discretion and truthfulness allow leaders to earn trust by being accurate with facts and situations. This doesnt simply mean honesty, or acting in accordance with a consistent set of values. This also means integrity in the sense of soundness, completeness, and unity. Aligning our personality with our values and not compromising ourselves is the spirit of leadership.The Focused LeaderLeaders must be willing to carefully explore their values and how they can move their organization in the direction of a vision that is unwavering. Effective Leaders lead with a purpose rather than "run like a man running aimlessly" (1 Corinthians 9:26-27). From the biblical sense this means that we live for His purpose, not ours. As Christians, we recognize that our need for Christ will bring us beyond our failures so we can grow increasingly effective for our Lord. As we grow in Christ, we will become aware of our futility and inadequacy as human beings.From an organizational perspective, "leaders need to continually put the vision and mission (related to the purpose) in front of followers." (Winston, 2002) Followers must understand the organizations vision and know their role in support of the mission. They must know their purpose and how it contributes to organizational success, this is the soul of leadership.The Courageous & Disciplined Leader"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7)The goal of the servant leader must be to do Gods will. Otherwise we will be too afraid to go beyond our comfort zones to do anything of significance. When we are dependent on the Holy Spirit; then our self-confidence becomes rooted and dependent in Christ working through us. So we are not self-driven but Christ driven; resulting in our will to be in total surrender to Gods will as the driving force for our existence. When were aware that we are not responsible for the results of our leadership, but only the obedience to His call, only then can we persevere to press on to serve Him without the fear of failure.Malphurs (2003) refers to courage as "the strength to lead in these difficult circumstances, meaning that courageous leaders are strong and unlikely to quit." This kind of courage displays itself in an organization when a leader is willing to admit his mistake, when she is willing to stand up for her beliefs, or when he must challenge others.Courageous leaders routinely get extraordinary results from their followers because they arent afraid to do whats right. This is evident in Pauls letter regarding discipline in 1 Corinthians 8:13, "if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." Conveying who you are, your goals and what you stand for can have a significant impact on follower performance and attitudes. Controlled discipline, according to Winston (2002), "draws people closer to you, whereas uncontrolled discipline drives them away." Leaders and followers are two sides of a single coin and the actions of one impact the other. Courage and discipline are the armor of leadership.The Compassionate LeaderThe compassionate leader is rooted and grounded in the spiritual disciplines of faith. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes". (Ephesians 6:11). With the power of the Holy Spirit and the conviction of faith in Christ, when we are modeling His image with love, we become a strong building with the foundation of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit who gives the realization to be our best for Gods glory."Loyalty and devotion to task and grow out of trust and the knowledge of protection that comes from the employment relationship." (Winston, 2002) Compassionate leadership is acting in the interest of your followers, your peers, and your organization. This is the boss for whom the employees are willing to work their hardest. The employees can feel her support for them and are compelled to give their full support in return. This manager brings out the best in her subordinates by her own example. There is often a line of people waiting to join this department. This is the heart of leadership.The Encouraging Leader"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called". (Ephesians 4:3-4)The effective leader will not be a force of just personality and power plays. Servant Leaders cannot be power seeking controllers of others lives, when it is the Lord who is in control. Effective leaders must be relationship oriented, centered on building and mentoring others.In an organizational framework, an encouraging leader is a motivator. "Leadership is being able to both motivate and administrate." (Miller, 1995) A leaders ability to motivate revolves around his or her ability to leverage power and influence within the organization, among peers, and over followers. Influence involves moving people to change their thinking and ultimately their behavior. Power is the ability to exert control over another person, thing, or event. "Power and influence are intertwined in the leadership process. Most often leaders use both depending on the situation and the people involved." (Malphurs, 2003) Leaders will sometimes use power to influence followers. Power itself is amoral. However, the use power (abuse or neglect) determines how leaders influence others. The proper use of that power is encouragement, which is the igniter of leadership.The Call to Servant LeadershipIn Matthew 5 Jesus makes us aware of what God expects from not just Christian leaders, but from all Christians. Effective leaders are expected to lead by example. If our actions cause our followers to fail because they followed our example as in 1 Corinthians 8:13 then we should avoid such things because "those who indulge will become more and more ungodly". (2 Timothy 2:15) Everything that we do as leaders is under scrutiny by our followers. In the Beatitudes, Jesus gives very specific characteristics: humility, compassion, gentleness, righteousness, mercy, honesty, and perseverance.In organizations, just as in the Christian community, there are times when leaders fall away from these characteristics through personal loss or personal sin. Building and developing these characteristics is not something we just learn from a book or hear from a sermon. It does not sneak up on us in the middle of the night. It does not come automatically, accidentally, or suddenly. It is a process that comes from living in it. It is a slow process. Many fail to realize they have it until others point it out. Effective leadership is not permanent once it is formed. It requires our continual appreciation and practice.ReferencesFields, Bea (2005). The Ten Pillars of Leadership and Business Development. Retrieved electronically.
http://www.art-of-leadership.com/index.htmlHoly Bible (1985). King James Version Study Bible. Zondervan, Grand Rapids MichiganMalphurs, Aubrey (2003) Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership. Baker Books. Grand Rapids, Michigan.Miller, Calvin (1995). The Empowered Leader: 10 Keys to Servant Leadership. Broadman & Holman Publishers. Nashville, Tennessee.Sherman, Stratford (2003). Rethinking Integrity. Leader to Leader, No. 28Winston, Bruce (2002). Be a Leader for Gods Sake. Regent University, School of Leadership Studies. Virginia Beach, Virginia.ABOUT THE AUTHORLieutenant Kenneth Rice is an Active Duty Naval Officer stationed in Norfolk VA. Lieutenant Rice is a graduate of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia where he received a Masters of Science in Educational Leadership and an Education & Training Management Subspecialty. He is currently enrolled in the Naval War College completing the Joint Professional Military Education Phase I and at Regent University working towards a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership.
Keyword : Servan Leadership and Managment
Head start, what is it and what is the difference together with being a finer and being a leader?. Definitions of leadership, exhibit is not a single definition that somebody agrees on. Manfred Kets de Vries, a educator at INSEAD, says that leadership is a set of temperament, behaviour patterns, personality attributes that makes explicit individuals better effective in achieving a set goal or plan.
New-fangled way of describing leadership is to say that, to get the best out of people, individuals, teams, organisations, they need to be led, guided, strong, motivated, inspired, to be faithful, to do their best, to work together to make happen a be more or less plan. This, if at all possible than the gullible executive approach of being told, directed, recurrent, and treated as subordinates.
Fitting leaders are recognised as being the leader, and their followers comprise that they need to be guided by that leader, but they do not feel that they are sea subordinates. A good example is the chief of a sports semblance - hockey, baseball, netball, cricket, soccer, football, training - these are individuals who reckon an feature role to play, yet find time and ways to gush and sustain others to do their best, to use their own feature skills, experience and experience (scoring goals, shifty, convincing races, hitting home runs) little at the actual time involved together as a opinionated of the semblance to make happen semblance objectives.
Impart are last ways of defining leadership, managers perform communication, and leaders lead to about transformations.
The transactional finer influences others by worthy of note to egotism, essentially guzzle the release of rewards and armed forces. The relationship together with this type of finer and the hunter is seen as a direct of light telephone lines that warrant each to meet their own goals. Transactional managers provide all the ideas and use rewards as their initial source of power. Partners concede with the leader previously it's in their own awake - the relationship continues as long as the remuneration is proper to the hunter, and each the finer and the hunter see the release as a way of achieving their own ends.
The transformational leader inspires followers to not only perform as repeated, but to short vacation yet to come - transformational leaders gush followers to work for goals that go beyond quick egotism, where what is right and good becomes explanation - these leaders trend the needs, attitude, preferences and aspirations of followers. They do this so that the interests of the wider group replaces the egotism of individuals happening that group.
It's habitual that research has away from home that the way women leaders photo how they ham it up, lead, is in line with the transformational style, time greatest male leaders previously describing themselves use words and phrases that photo the transactional style. Impart are exceptions of gush, and in some situations the leader can by viewed differently by deviating groups. Diverse people in the UK would not photo Margaret Thatcher as transformational in style, but better likely they would use words such as authoritarian, depressing, riding roughshod over opponents, yet others, in her close semblance for example, photo her as gorgeous, motivational, moving, pattern, well-disposed.
We can see from this look at Head start that exhibit are deviating ways of describing what a leader does, and how, at lowest possible in some ways, this is deviating to how a finer behaves. Relations recognised as leaders makes it discernible that exhibit are great differences in the way in which explicit leaders ham it up. On the show exhibit are great differences together with the leadership style of Prevalent Minister Thatcher, and that of the Indian mogul Rajiv Bajaj. Yet each are far away traditional as source successful leaders. The be more or less thoughtfulness, it seems, is that all are able to exhort others to mark out them, in order to make happen success in their shut field. They all reckon no matter which that brings countless people together, to work as a semblance, to aim for and work hard to make happen a be more or less plan. It is, by chance, a mysterious knack, or feature, or personality trait, or set of exceed that they find themselves in, or by chance a fusion of all of these. In all probability leaders are instinctive with this ability, by chance it is no matter which that can be, or has to be, widely read.
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Leadership Development
Life has its many ironies. The more the world moved towards democracy and equality the more the need for good leaders increased, more so than they ever needed during autocratic rule of the yore. DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS has therefore become even more imperative with teams looking for guidance and working with open-ended equilibrium at the same time. It takes courage to step out of the ordinary and guide fellow team members towards a goal which speaks of success and benefit of all.
And it takes a great leader to ensure that this journey towards the goal is enriched with creative freedom and flair, with intellectual and cognitive predominance and with equal and optimum motivation for success. Let's take a look at some ways of DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS and enhancing the way one can strive towards success.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Tip #1 - Vision - The first step towards becoming a great leader is to envision the goal and share this vision with the team. It is the sign of a true leader when the entire team not only shares the same goal and vision, but works in unison towards achieving it.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Tip #2 - Listen - To guide and lead you need to speak. But before great speech should come deep understanding. And to understand what goes in the minds of fellow team members you have to be a good listener. It is this trait that will make you privy to their potential as well as their aspirations.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Tip #3 - Motivate - Once you know which path you want to proceed on and how to bring out the best in your team, you need to motivate and make them perform to their optimum potential. Motivation leads to respect while fear leads to submission. The latter will show performance without creativity and loyalty while the former will show the best results possible.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Tip #4 - Connect - It is your ability to connect - with the team, with the shareholders, with the clients and with the masses that makes a 360 degree leadership. The right communication, understanding and empathy are not only assets but also imperative for true success.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Tip #5 - Delegate - Only a leader who has complete confidence in the self can trust his team to perform without undue interference. Delegation is by far the most difficult trait to develop because it is not easy to let go when you know you can do the task better yourself. But once you can, you will realize that responsibility leads to better performance and potential leaders on whom you can rely for strategic actions.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Tip #6 - Mentor - Being a leader does not mean you only show the path and dictate the way to achieved goals. It means being a teacher, guide and mentor who encourages one to experiment, think and give full freedom to creativity.
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS - Tip #7 - Commit - One can identify a leader by the level of commitment that is displayed in every action, thought and performance of the individual. Unless you are completely committed, hold yourself accountable and show responsibility you cannot expect people to follow you. True leadership is not dictated but developed naturally through positive reinforcement of the self.
GARY TAKACS IS THE FOUNDER OF THE CEO UNIVERSITY is a US-based, CEO and Executive Peer Group Organization that creates opportunities for accelerated business growth and personal development through CEO Peer Group Meetings that are CEO-led, one-to-one mentoring focused on unique business and personal challenges, and purposeful learning events.
Reference: loveknowsnoage.blogspot.com
Self-leadership is, at its simplest, the ability to influence yourself to achieve your objectives. However, since writing the book Self Leadership with Dr. Ana Kazan (McGraw-Hill 2012), I have come to realise that there are multiple self-leadership actions and applications.
SELF-LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
1. AUTHENTICITY Authenticity is a leadership requirement and a powerful factor when it comes to building trust. Self-leadership explains how you can develop your authenticity. When you are authentic, you are the author of your own life; this means you know what's important to you (values) and what you want to achieve (intentions) and you make choices in alignment with your values and intentions. Because the self-leader is aware of what's important to them, and has healthy self-esteem and confidence, they can speak up.
2. SPEAKING UP Having a voice and visibility makes a huge difference to your effectiveness and career prospects. Self-leadership allows you to speak up because it clearly defines your personal responsibility in regards to your own thinking, feeling, speech and actions. The self-leader takes responsibility over what they say and how they say it, and what they do and how they do it.
3. PERSONAL MASTERY With self-awareness of values and intention, and responsibility over speech and actions, the self-leader is motivated to achieve the goals they set. This personal mastery and accountability is achieved through focusing on activities that matter, and saying "NO!" to distractions. Self-leadership helps you identify the cues that put you into a focused and productive state and those that rob your of your states of motivation and flow. Self-leadership is about knowing your strengths and playing to these so that you build competency in your chosen endeavors.
4. EXECUTIVE PRESENCE With personal mastery and being consistent about doing what you say and do (authenticity + speaking up), you will radiate what is today called 'executive presence'. In the time of Aristotle, this would be called 'ethos' or 'character'. The quantity and quality of your presence allows you to influence with and without authority.
5. INFLUENCE Getting a willing "Yes" from your requests is the substance of influence. Research has shown that we are most likely to say yes to people who have credibility (executive presence) and are competent at what they do (personal mastery). In addition to credibility, we are also more likely to say "Yes" to people we like and trust. Because the self-leader is authentic, they are likely to score high on likeability and trust.
6. HUMILITY Self-leadership is not selfish or arrogant. The self-leader has an accurate, not over- or under-estimated view of their own abilities. As such they recognise the need to collaborate with others who compliment their strengths. With this high level of self-awareness, the self-leader is open to multiple perspectives because of the realisation of their own bias and singular viewpoints. Self-leaders, therefore, work well in teams.
So in summary, self-leadership is having a developed sense of who you are, what you can do, and where you are going, coupled with the ability to influence your communication, emotions and behaviours on the way to getting there.
Self-leadership is a process. It's something we do every day. Over time, it become a natural habit. But everybody has a 'moment' when they lose it. The self-leader accepts that this is normal and, without self-criticism, resets their commitment and continues with the practice.
If you would like to know more about self-leadership, check out our self-leadership workshops at www.selfleadership.com
The post Self-leadership in Action appeared first on Self Leadership blog.
In our time I was executive coaching a CEO on Charge and was struck just how unmanageable leadership is and how indigestible the mantle of leadership is for senior people.
CEO Background
This is a CEO who has been in role for 4 living. He has risen up the defenses of his company and knows the business and its people inside out. He mentions he grew up with a lot of the people in the business but he can no longer be friends with a lot of these people as the decisions that relate to these people are squarely on his shoulders.
He feels the constraint. In scrupulous, he feels that constraint when performance is unmanageable for his business. He wants to unfold boss leadership in his business and wants to get up with himself.
Doesn't matter what IS LEADERSHIP?
We discussed sundry aspects of leadership together with how he would define leadership, the sundry styles of leadership and when sundry styles are boss important than others and what makes relations boss important. We discussed how his leadership style had unusual over time, and how he used sundry styles. Following 4 living of being the CEO, only now does he get up to see his leadership role and how he can authority the organisaiton rule his leadership.
DOES Charge MATTER?
We discussed whether leadership physically mattered for his business. Does his business all in all need leadership or does it need better followers? The proceedings is "Yes" to moreover, but sundry situations be thinking about moreover leadership & followers. The company has a amazing culture about the quality of the work they do, which is embraced by all - no need for better leaders or followers put forward. Other than the leaders are the ones who are owing to be the restricted guardians of performance with the quality of work and performance not forever being good bedfellows. So in this situation they need wider leadership on opposite the two elements of business performance and quality of work. They need better followers as they do lavish a great promise of time discussing areas that seat no real influence on the performance of the business.
He spoken that he needs not only boss leaders in his teams but to boot people to feel empowered, and absolutely empowered, to stop the role of being a leader in their faction on, somewhat than rely on him to make the decisions about no matter which from which toilet incline to use in the obstruction toilets rule to the imagination for grave the business. He accepted that he had to give boss crush for people to unfold their own leadership and for the wider business to increase boss leadership from its obstruction. In scrupulous, he enviable the obstruction to build their watchfulness of the performance of the business and the influence of their behaviour on that performance, and stop it upon themself to persistently change the footstep of the business.
Pressure OF Charge Propaganda
Doesn't matter what was overall stylish our session, was put forward was adequate of load vibrant in another place underneath the end of this conversation on leadership. that touched on a choice of sundry areas, together with motivation for himself and his faction, the strategy of the business and the day to day performance of his business. It felt that this conversation of leadership had set ornamental hares racing, and he was desparate to deceive these hares as shortly as realizable. Acquaint with were adequate of silences and longing line, which in coaching I see as a positive sensitivity as the unusual is booty the time to conscious the implications of the inform.
Our inform on leadership I'm final will not end today, and I look toss to see wherever the inform on leadership goes as soon as with him.
