Developing Personal Leadership Looking Inward Developing Personal Leadership

Victor Frankl "...everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."  (1963, p. 104)

Lesson Objectives To understand one’s personal preference (strengths) for leading others To identify ways to build on personal leadership strengths To determine techniques and strategies for developing weak areas

Value-of-Work Values Assessment

The Leadership Quest How do you define leadership?

There are nearly the same number of leadership definitions as there are people who have attempted to define it. ~Stogdill, 1974

Definitions from the “Pros” “Planning, organizing, staffing and human resource management, leading and influencing, and controlling.” (Buford, Bedeian, Lindner, 1995)

“the process of working with and through individuals and groups and other resources to accomplish organizational objectives.” (Hersey, Blanchard and Johnson, 2001) “…not only embraces the principles of fairness and kindness, but also leads to quantum leaps in personal and organizational effectiveness.” (Covey, 1991)

“… the focus of group processes, as a matter of personality, as a matter of inducing compliance, as the exercise of influence, as particular behaviors, as a form of persuasion, as a power of relation, as an instrument to achieve goals, as an effect of interaction, as a differentiated role, as an initiation of structure and as many combinations of these.” (Bass, 1990)

“The art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.” (Kouzes and Posner, 1995)

Defining a Leader… Think of a leader that you worked for or observed… What does this person do and what qualities does this person have that make you admire him or her as a leader?

Other Leadership Styles Autocratic Bureaucratic Democratic Authoritarian Coercive Transactional Transformational Laissez-Faire

Ten Commitments of Leadership Challenging the Process Search out challenging opportunities to change, grow, and innovate and improve Experiment, take risks, and learn from the accompanying mistakes Leaders know that greatness doesn’t come from maintaining the status quo, so they search for opportunities to improve the organization. Leaders exemplify the pioneer spirit. They’re willing to take risks, to venture into the unknown, to innovate and experiment in order to find new and better ways of doing things. And when they make mistakes or fail, they use their mistakes as learning opportunities. Leaders push others as well as themselves to exceed accepted limits. They champion good ideas, challenge they system to get those ideas adopted, and keep their organizations growing and moving forward.

Commitments Cont. Inspiring a Shared Vision Envision an uplifting and ennobling future Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to their values, interests, hopes, and dreams Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They have a desire to make something happen, to change the way things are, to create something that’s never existed before. They have a sense of what the results will look like even before they’ve started working on a project. They are driven by this clear image of what the organization can become. But just having a vision of the future isn’t enough. Others must share that vision. To enlist constituents in a vision, leaders must know and care about the hopes and dreams that drive their constituents. They must breathe life into those hopes and dreams so that the constituents can see the exciting possibilities that the future holds. They must forge a unity of purpose by showing constituents how the vision can meet their needs and serve the common good. Leaders often find that their enthusiasm is catching. It’s the spark that ignites the flame of inspiration.

Commitments Cont. Enabling Others to Act Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust Strengthen people by giving power away, providing choice, developing competence, assigning critical tasks and offering visible support Leaders foster collaboration and build spirited teams. They know that their relationships with constituents foster enthusiasm for achievement and that mutual respect sustains extraordinary efforts. So they involve their constituents in every aspect of the work, including planning and decision making. They strive to created an atmosphere of trust and human dignity, and they nurture self-esteem in others. In an environment like this, people feel strong and capable-like co-owners instead of hired hands.

Commitments Cont. Modeling the Way Set the example by behaving in ways that are consistent with shared values Achieve small wins that promote consistent progress and build commitment Leaders set standards for the way people-constituents, colleagues, and customers-should be treated and the way goals should be pursued. They live by those standards, setting an example for others to follow. They know their own values and motives and live their lves in accordance with those values and motives. Leaders know that complex change can be overwhelming to people, so they model ways to keep projects on course. They break down large tasks into achievable steps so that people can accomplish small wins along the way. The unravel bureaucracy when it thwarts action. They establish direction when others are unsure about where to go how to get there. They create opportunities for victory when others feel frustrated or discouraged. It’s the position that gives leaders their authority but it’s their behavior that earns respect. And it’s consistency between words and actions that builds a leader’s credibility.

Commitments Cont. Encouraging the Heart Recognize individual contributions to the success of every project Celebrate team accomplishments regularly Accomplishing extraordinary things in organizations is hard work. To keep home and determination alive, leaders recognize the contributions that individuals make. With thank-you notes, smiles, awards, and public praise, they demonstrate their appreciation. Leaders know that in a winning team, the members need to share in the rewards of their efforts, so they celebrate accomplishments. They make people feel like heros.

Perceptions of Exemplary Leaders People who frequently demonstrate these leadership behaviors are seen as: Being more effective in meeting job-related demands Being more successful in representing their units to upper management Creating higher-performing teams

Perceptions Continued Fostering loyalty and commitment Increasing motivational levels and willingness to work hard Reducing absenteeism, turnover and dropout rates Possessing high degrees of personal credibility

Putting it to Work Activity – List 2 behaviors, practices, “things” that you could do this coming year to enhance your transformational leadership style

Who Knows the Story?

Review of Objectives What are ways that we can help identify our strengths? What are some fundamental characteristics of leaders? What are a few steps we can take to build our capacity for leadership?

For More Information Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (1995). The leadership challenge. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. To Take the Leadership Challenge, the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) go online to: www.josseybass.com and search for the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Self Starter Package, 3rd Edition