Leading

Rob McEwen – CEO of Goldcorp Inc. “Challenge the NORM! I have pushed all of Goldcorp’s employees to test the validity of entrenched assumptions within our mining industry. My goal is to engage the collective wisdom of Goldcorp’s workforce to identify and implement alternative methods that are faster, more productive, and more profitable. When achieved, this hard-earned success perpetuates growth. When we recognize the unique qualities of others, we become less inclined to believe that we alone know what is best.”

Leadership What does it mean to you? Great leaders bring out the best in people. A well-known leadership consultant, Tom Peters says that leaders are “rarely – possible never? – the best performer.” Great leaders do not have to be the best, they thrive because of the successes of others.

So what is Leadership? Leadership is the process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks. It is one of the four functions of leadership. Planning – sets direction and objectives Organizing - brings the resources together to turn plans into actions. Leading – Creates a positive environment and a commitment by employees to use their talents to help accomplish the job.

Leadership and Vision A great leader is able to do amazing things by motivating other people toward a common purpose. They have vision. Vision is a clear sense of the future. Visionary leadership describes a leader who brings to the situation a clear picture of the future an understanding of what to do to get there. It takes fantastic communication skills to get the vision out to their employees. They should make it so clear to their employees that the leader’s vision becomes their own! Hockey coach.

Visionary Leadership There are 5 principles required for meeting that challenge. 1. Challenge the process: Allow creative thinking. Support ideas from employees. 2. Show enthusiasm: Leaders must be enthusiastic about their vision. 3. Help others to act: Work WITH your team…support others and help where you can. 4. Set the example: Model the way you want your employees to act. 5. Celebrate achievements: When things go well, celebrate them! Let employees know they are appreciated. We want their hearts to be as happy as their minds. They need to “set a course,” “provide a vision,” “motivate people to do the job,” “give them objectives,” “give them tools,” and “give them incentives.”

Power and Influence Power is the ability to get someone to do what you want done or to make things happen the way you want. It does not always have to be authority… …some people have a natural power There are three “position powers.” Reward power is the capacity to offer something of value as a means of influencing people. Coercive power is the capacity to punish or withhold positive outcomes as a means of influencing people. Legitimate power is the capacity to influence other people through their formal authority. “Power of the office.”

Power and Influence There are two “personal powers.” Expert power is the capacity to influence other people because of specialized knowledge. Referent power is the capacity to influence other people because of their desire to identify personally with you.

Turning Power into Influence What are your thoughts on these powers? How should a manager use one? Which is the best to use? The best managers use a mixture of all of them. Using only rewards and legitimacy leads to employees only cooperating as long as those things keep coming.

Turning Power into Influence In today’s business environment, there is a stronger importance placed on teamwork and cooperation. Need to think of the following 4 things: 1. No substitute for expertise. 2. Being likable is very important. 3. You get respect by putting in effort and working hard. 4. Your behaviour has to follow your stated values.

Remember Ethics? Very Important Chester Barnard developed the Acceptance Theory of Authority. He said that for a leader’s orders to be followed, there must be 4 things that happen: 1. The employee must understand the order. 2. They must feel like they can carry out the order. 3. They must believe the order is in the best interest of the organization. 4. They have to believe that the order follows personal values. Ethics therefore play an important part of this.

Leadership and Empowerment Empowerment lets employees gain and use decision-making power. Good leaders empower their employees to be able to make as many decisions for themselves as they can. When people are empowered, they tend to work harder, and provide a higher quality of work.

How do we empower our employees? Get others involved in choosing what jobs they do and how to do them. Create an atmosphere of cooperation, sharing of information, discussion, and goals. Encourage your employees to take risks, make decisions on their own, and to use what they know. When something goes wrong, use your employees. Ask them what they think and allow them to help solve it. DO NOT HOVER. Do not “micro-manage.” Let your employees put their ideas into practice. Recognize success and high-performance. This will increase morale.

Leadership Traits and Behaviours What makes a good leader? Is it physique? Height? NO. It isn’t. Employees constantly say it is personal traits that make good leaders.

What Makes a Good Leader? Drive: Energy, initiative, desire to succeed. Self-confidence: Have to trust themselves, must be confident in their own abilities. Creativity: Be creative, think original. Cognitive ability: Have to be intelligent, be able to interpret information. Business knowledge: Know their industry, know the technical basics. Motivation: Must enjoy influencing others. Flexibility: Adapt to fit needs of others and of different situations. Honesty and integrity: Trustworthy, honest, predictable, dependable.

Leadership Behaviours Patterns of behaviours by the leader. They need to be concerned with: 1. The task that needs to be finished. 2. The people doing the work. Leaders high in concern for the task: Plan the work, assigns responsibilities, sets standards, wants the job done, watches performance. Leaders high in concern for the staff: They are warm, supportive, wants good relationships, respects feelings, knows their needs, shows trust.

Leadership Behaviours Early studies had people saying that working for people-focused leaders would be more productive than team-focused leaders. As more studies were completed, it became obvious that both were needed. The Team Manager : -shares decisions -encourages participation -supports teamwork -This is the manager who empowers.

Classic Leadership Styles Autocratic Style – This is “Command and Control.” This type of manager acts by themselves. Tasks matter, Does not share information, Acts completely alone.

Classic Leadership Styles Laissez-faire Style – The opposite. There is very little concern for the task. The group is allowed to make decisions. “Do the best you can, don’t bother me.”

Classic Leadership Styles Democratic Style – Committed to the task and the people. Information is shared, participation in decision-making is encouraged, skills are developed. They encourage participation with an emphasis on both the completion of a task and the development of people.

Leadership Styles You should ask yourself:

Homework W34-W37 Southwest Airlines. Read and answer the questions for Monday.