1. Copyright © 2008 Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. 1 1 Professor Donald P. Linden LEAD 1200 CRN 25174 Chapter 3 Become a Leader in Your Organization Workforce Development and Critical Thinking

2. 2 Become a Leader in Your Organization Leadership is an intangible concept that can produce tangible results. Vance Packard

3. 3 What is Leadership? Leadership is the ability to inspire others to make a total and willing commitment to accomplishing or exceeding the organization’s goals.

4. 4 What is Leadership? (Continued) Elements:  Inspiring others – it represents a higher level concept than “motivating”. Inspiration is longer lasting. We inspire people by exemplifying personal and professional characteristics they admire and would like to have themselves. People are inspired by us when they observe traits and behaviors that make them want to be like us.

5. 5 What is Leadership? (Continued) Elements: (Continued)  Total, willing, and voluntary commitment – makes it is easier to lead people: When they want to go where you are leading When the organization’s goals become their goals When it is just as important to them as it is to us that the goals are accomplished This, in the end, becomes a WIN, WIN situation

6. 6 Characteristics of Good Leaders Balanced commitment – strike an appropriate balance between what can sometimes be conflicting responsibilities and concerns. Positive role model – exemplify those behaviors that you expect of those you want to lead. People will follow your words only if your actions are consistent with your words.

7. 7 Success Tip Those who are ultimately the most successful are people who learn how to strike an appropriate balance between their career and other responsibilities, interests, and obligations.

8. 8 Characteristics of Good Leaders (Continued) Good communication skills – be willing, patient, assertive listeners. They use their communication skills to establish and nurture rapport with others. Positive influence – influence is the practical application of credibility, competence, personality, authority, and other factors to move people toward a particular destination.

9. 9 Characteristics of Good Leaders (Continued) Persuasiveness – the ability to persuade people to accept a given point of view or course of action is important. Enlightened self-interest is an excellent persuader. Sense of purpose – Leaders know where the organization needs to go and the role they play in moving the organization in that direction.

10. 10 Characteristics of Good Leaders (Continued) Self-discipline – leaders avoid inappropriate displays of emotion such as anger, negative self-indulgence, and counterproductive responses to the daily pressures of work and life. Honesty and integrity – most effective leaders are trusted by others.

11. 11 Characteristics of Good Leaders (Continued) Credibility – is established by:  Being good at what you do(professional knowledge and skills)  Being consistent, fair and impartial in human interactions  By setting positive example  By adhering to the same standards of performance and behavior you expect of others

12. 12 Characteristics of Good Leaders (Continued) Common sense – people with common sense refuse to hide behind the rule book when stepping outside of the book makes more sense in a given situation. Most effective leaders are trusted by others. Stamina – Frequently, they are the first to arrive at work and the last to leave.

13. 13 Characteristics of Good Leaders (Continued) Commitment – those who commit to their personal goals as well as the goals of the organization and are willing to persevere in doing what is necessary, within the bounds of ethics and good professional practices, to achieve both sets of goals.

14. 14 How You Can Become an Effective Leader  Learn Your Organization’s Vision and Commit to Helping Achieve It. The Vision is a word picture of where it wants to go and what it wants to be.

15. 15 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued)  Project Unquestionable Integrity and Selflessness The foundation of effective leadership is character, and integrity is the most important aspect of character for those who want to be leaders  Integrity revisited:  Refuse to pretend  Have of well defined set of values  Be consistent in behavior and decisions  Think of the organization and the people they lead first and themselves second

16. 16 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued)  Establish Credibility Be honest, fair, and consistent when dealing with people Be good at your job and continually improve your knowledge, skills, and involvement Set a consistent positive example of doing well those things that are most important in making your organization a success

17. 17 Success Tip As you advance in your career you will increasingly face responsibilities, obstacles, challenges, and problems that are new to you. A can-do attitude will give you the inner strength needed to face the unknown and conquer it.

18. 18 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued)  Develop and Maintain a Positive “Can-Do” Attitude A can-do attitude is the outward manifestation of an inward conviction that says, “Whatever the challenge, I can and will meet it.”

19. 19 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued) Develop Self-Discipline  Once committed to a goal, people need self-discipline in order to persevere in achieving it. Before you can lead anyone else, you must first learn to lead yourself.

20. 20 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued) Be a Creative Problem Solver and Decision Maker  A problem is any situation in which what exists does not match what is desired. Decision making is simply the process of selecting what we believe to be the most appropriate course of action from among the options available to us.  Creativity is the ability to be imaginative, original, and innovative. One of the best ways to promote creativity in decision making is to conduct brainstorming sessions in which even the most outlandish proposals are welcomed and discussed.

21. 21 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued) Be an Effective Team Builder  The work of organizations is done by teams of people.  A team is a group of people with a common goal.  Team Characteristics:  Relationships must be built  A collective identity must be established  Good communication must be maintained  Ground rules must be established

22. 22 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued) Empower Others to Lead Themselves  The best leaders are those who help others become self-directed, self-motivated, and self- led.  The willingness and ability to empower others will help propel you up the career ladder.

23. 23 How You Can Become an Effective Leader (Continued) Be an Effective Conflict Manager and Consensus Builder  Conflict can be caused by:  Limited resources  Incompatible goals  Role ambiguity  Differences in values  Differences in perspectives  Communication problems  Many other factors

24. 24 Success Tip In order to lead others, you must be able to manage conflict and build consensus. Few things will advance your career more than the ability to manage human conflict and build consensus among people in an organization.