What People Want From Their Leaders Barry Z. Posner Dean and Professor of Leadership Santa Clara University

Everything else requires leadership.” “Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and underperformance.      Everything else requires leadership.” Peter Drucker

feels something like this: Scary Exciting Painful Liberating “…today’s revolution feels something like this: Scary Exciting Painful Liberating Disorienting Exhilarating Frustrating Empowering Confusing Fulfilling and Challenging. In other words, it feels very much like chaos.” John Huey

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are the lion or the gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.” Thomas Friedman

How do you know that someone is a leader? What is the simplest definition of a leader? ---- How do you know that someone is a leader?

Leadership is a relationship Idea #1 Leadership is a relationship

The most critical success factor for the top three jobs in organizations? “Relationships with subordinates” Center for Creative Leadership

They quit their managers! People don’t quit their companies. They quit their managers!

Spherion & Lou Harris Associates Supervisor’s Rating Likeliness to Leave Excellent 11% Poor 40% Spherion & Lou Harris Associates

What do you look for and admire in a leader, someone whose direction you would willingly follow?

Person willingly followed must be: __Ambitious __Broad-minded __Caring __Competent __Cooperative __Courageous __Dependable __Determined __Fair-minded __Forward-looking __Honest __Imaginative __Independent __Inspiring __Intelligent __Loyal __Mature __Self-controlled __Straightforward __Supportive

____ Ambitious (aspiring, hard-working, striving) ____ Broad-minded (open-minded, flexible, receptive, tolerant) ____ Caring (appreciative, compassionate, concerned) ____ Competent (capable, proficient, effective) ____ Cooperative (collaborative, team player, responsive) ____ Courageous (bold, daring, gutsy) ____ Dependable (reliable, conscientious, responsible) ____ Determined (dedicated, resolute, persistent) ____ Fair-minded (just, unprejudiced, objective, forgiving) ____ Forward-looking (visionary, foresighted, has direction, future) ____ Honest (truthful, has integrity, trustworthy, has character) ____ Imaginative (creative, innovative) ____ Independent (self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-confident) ____ Inspiring (uplifting, enthusiastic, energetic, positive) ____ Intelligent (bright, smart, logical, thoughtful) ____ Loyal (faithful, dutiful, devoted) ____ Mature (experienced, wise, deep) ____ Self-controlled (restrained, self-disciplined) ____ Straightforward (direct, candid, forthright) ____ Supportive (helpful, offers assistance, comforting)

Person willingly followed must be: 16% Ambitious 35% Broad-minded 22% Caring 68% Competent 25% Cooperative 25% Courageous 25% Dependable 13% Determined 39% Fair-minded 71% Forward-looking 89% Honest 17% Imaginative 4% Independent 69% Inspiring 48% Intelligent 18% Loyal 15% Mature 10% Self-controlled 36% Straightforward 35% Supportive

People Most Expect Their Leaders To Be: Honest Competent Inspiring Forward-Looking

Components of Credibility Trustworthiness Expertise Dynamism

= CREDIBILITY LEADERS Trustworthiness Honest Competent Expertise Inspiring Forward-Looking = CREDIBILITY Trustworthiness Expertise Dynamism

Credibility is the foundation of leadership Idea #2 Credibility is the foundation of leadership

Benefits of High Credibility: People Feel… Loyal and committed Internally motivated Proud of organization Empowered

Costs of Low Credibility: People feel… Uncommitted Financially motivated Inclined to leave Afraid and unsupported

What does leadership look like. Just what is credibility behaviorally What does leadership look like? Just what is credibility behaviorally? We know that someone is credible because they (“fill in the blank”)

Do What You Say You Will Do Idea #3 Leaders DWYSYWD Do What You Say You Will Do

“I couldn’t ask anyone else to make a commitment, until I knew in my heart that I was willing to make that same commitment myself.” Mary Godwin

Air Force Academy cadets who described their officers as “role models” had significantly higher levels of academic, military, and athletic performance. William Clover

Everybody wants to go to heaven…… But nobody wants to die first.

“Hotels where employees strongly believed their managers followed through on promises and demonstrated the values they preached were substantially more profitable than those whose managers scored average or lower.” Tony Simons

Lessons for Leaders 1. Create Relationships 2. Build Credibility 3. DWYSYWD

First Law of Leadership “If we don’t believe in the messenger, we won’t believe the message.” Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner

However….. We can’t believe in the messenger if we don’t know what the messenger believes.

Therefore….. YOU can’t be the messenger until YOU are clear about what YOU believe.

“Zoe”

What People Want From Their Leaders Barry Z. Posner Dean and Professor of Leadership Santa Clara University

What People Want From Their Leaders… or Why Would Anyone Follow You? Prepared for ACCCA Annual Conference © 2008 Barry Z. Posner. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce without express written permission.