Post on 17-Dec-2014
description
The Leadership Challenge
What Effective Leaders do?
Leaders mobilize others to want to get extraordinary things done in organizations.
Leaders transform values into actions, visions into realities, obstacles into innovations, separateness into solidarity, and risks into rewards.
Leaders create the climate in which people turn challenging opportunities into remarkable successes.
Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p.xi
Leadership
Definition of Leadership
Leadership is a relationship; it is about behavior not personality. Leadership is everyone's business; it is an ongoing process that can happen anywhere and at any time.
Leadership is the skill of influencing people to work enthusiastically for the common good.
Our Leadership Imperative
Great Leadership = Engaged Employees = Positive Business Outcome
Importance of Employee Engagement
The world's top-performing organizations understand that employee engagement is a force that drives business outcomes. In the best organizations, engagement is more than a human resources initiative -- it is a strategic foundation for the way they do business.
World-class organizations unleash their potential for growth by optimizing their employee and customer relationships. Organizations that have optimized engagement have 2.6 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate compared to organizations with lower engagement in their same industry.
Employee Engagement, 2009, p.1
Leadership Research
Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner conducted extensive research on leadership. Kouzes and Posner collected thousands of "Personal Best" stories. People were asked to recalled peak leadership experiences. Despite differences in stories, a pattern emerged. The “best leadership experiences” revealed that when leaders are at their personal best, they display key behaviors. Kouzes and Posner grouped these behaviors into five key practices.
The Leadership Challenge : Approach, 2009
Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership
When getting extraordinary things done in organizations, leaders engage in Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.
Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart
Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 14
Ten Commitments of Leadership
The Commitments of Leadership are behaviors that provide structure and can be used as a guide for learning to lead.
Model the Way1. Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals2. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.
Inspire a Shared Vision3. Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.
Challenge the Process5. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to
improve.6. Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience.
Enable Others to Act7. Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.8. Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence.
Encourage the Heart9. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
Kouzes & Posner, 2007
Foundation of Leadership
Credibility is the foundation of leadership
Leadership is the relationship between the leader and the followers. In order for people to want to follow, there must be trust. Therefore, credibility is the foundation of leadership. Without credibility the leader's message will not be believed.
Over 20 years of research by Kouzes and Posner continues to validate that followers expect leaders to be honest, forward-looking, competent and inspiring.
Kouzes & Posner, 2007
Foundation of Leadership
Credibility Matters
If employees don’t trust and believe in their manager, they will not believe the message.
When employees perceive their manager has high credibility, they are more likely to:
Be promoters of the organization
Have strong sense of team spirit
Be attached and committed to the organization
Have a sense of ownership
See the alignment between their own personal values and the values of the organization
Kouzes & Posner, 2007
Foundation of Leadership
Credibility Matters
When employees perceive their manager as having low credibility, they are more likely to: Produce only when they are being watched
Be motivated primarily by money
Promote the organization publicly but criticize the organization privately
Feel unsupported and unappreciated
Kouzes & Posner, 2007
Foundation of Leadership
Credibility Matters
Employee know credibility when they hear and see it. Around the globe people describe credibility as:
They practice what they preach
They walk the talk
Their actions are consistent with their words
They follow through on their promises
They do what they say they will do
Kouzes & Posner, 2007
Leadership Practice: Model the Way
Titles are labels, they do not give you credibility, it is your
behavior that will win you respect. Model the way by:
Leading by example
DWYSYWD (Do What You Say You Will Do)
Ensuring your actions align with your values
“When people show you who they are, believe them.”— Maya Angelou
Leadership in Action: Model the Way
Commitment Number 1
Essentials of:
Clarifying Values
Find your voice
Affirm shared values
Taking Action
Write a tribute to yourself
Write your credo
Engage in a credo dialogue
Commitment Number 2
Essentials of:
Setting the Example
Personify the shared values
Teach others to model the values
Taking Action
Do a personal audit
Develop a routine for questioning
Put storytelling on your meeting agenda
Leadership Practice: Inspire a Shared Vision
Leaders awaken the passion in others by communicating a compelling vision of their followers. Inspire a shared vision by: Envisioning the future
Finding a common purpose
Listening to others
Identifying what is important to others
“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”
— Ralph Lauren
Leadership in Action: Inspire a Shared Vision
Commitment Number 3
Essentials of:
Envisioning the Future
Imagine the possibilities
Find a common purpose
Taking Action
Determine the something you want to do
Picture what you will do next
Survey your constituents about their aspirations
Commitment Number 4
Essentials of:
Enlisting Others
Appeal to common ideals
Animate the vision
Taking Action
Record you shared vision
Breathe life into your vision
Expand your communication and expressiveness skills
Leadership Practice: Challenge the Process
Leaders are always looking for ways to innovate, grow and improve. They are risk takers that recognize and support good ideas and learn from their mistakes. Challenge the Process by:
Searching for opportunities
Experimenting and taking risks
Learning from your mistakes
Encourage and promote good ideas
"Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard."
— Colin Powell
Leadership in Action: Challenge the Process
Commitment Number 5
Essentials of:
Searching for Opportunities
Seize the initiative
Exercise outsight
Taking Action
Treat every job as an adventure
Question the status quo
Send everyone shopping for ideas
Commitment Number 6
Essentials of:
Experimenting and Taking Risks
Generate small wins
Learn from experience
Taking Action
Conduct postmortems
Conduct pre-mortems
Strengthen resilience
Leadership Practice: Enable Others to Act
Leadership is a team effort. Great leaders can accomplish remarkable things by enabling others. They reinforce and support others, making each person feel talented and a vital part of the team. Enable Others to Act by:
Sharing power with others
Offering support
Knowing when to be a coach and when to be a team member
Building a culture of collaboration
Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.
— Warren Bennis
Leadership in Action: Enable Others to Act
Commitment Number 7
Essentials of:
Fostering Collaboration
Create a climate of trust
Facilitate relationships
Taking Action
Show trust to build trust
Say we, ask questions, listen and take advice
Get people interacting
Commitment Number 8
Essentials of:
Strengthening Others
Enhance self-determination
Develop competence and confidence
Taking Action
Increase individual accountability
Offer visible support
Conduct monthly coaching conversations
Leadership Practice: Encourage the Heart
Great leaders celebrate accomplishment and milestones, show appreciation for excellence and build group esprit de corps. Encourage the Heart by:
Recognize contributions
Link performance with rewards
Celebrate the values and victories
Personalizing recognition
“Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.”
— Lance Secretan
Leadership in Action: Encourage the Heart
Commitment Number 9
Essentials of:
Recognizing Contributions
Expect the best
Personalize recognition
Taking Action
Find out what is encouraging
Stop by for a visit
Develop a winner’s attitude
Commitment Number 10
Essentials of:
Celebrating the Values and Victories
Create a spirit of community
Be personally involved
Taking Action
Plan a celebration today
Reinforce core values in your celebrations
Enjoy yourself
Summary
During these tough times, it is critical to continue to invest in building better leaders. An investment in the development of exemplary leaders will enable the organization to meet of the current and future business environment.
References
George, B. (2008, November 19). Failed leadership caused the financial crisis. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from US News and World Report website: http://www.usnews.com/mobile/articles_mobile/failed-leadership-caused-the-financial-crisis/index.html
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Wiley Imprint. (Original work published 1945)
The leadership challenge: Approach. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2009, from John Wiley & Sons Inc. website: http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-131055.html