6-08 Achieving Leaders Are Self-Made

8/8/2019 6-08 Achieving Leaders Are Self-Made

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LMI

Journal

Leadership Management Institute Volume II, Number

Provided by Donna Craig, Leadership ResourcesP.O. Box 12425, Overland Park, KS 66282-2425 (913)599-4511, Email: [email protected],www.leadershipresourceskc.c

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Achieving Leaders Are Self-Made

By Michael DiercksWe are an achievement-oriented society. The need to

achieve is all around us. We see books on how to succeedwithout really trying or advertisements aimed at our desireto grow to somehow become better than we are.

Nowhere are the secrets to success more prevalent thanin the field of leadership. Unfortunately, most of thesebooks are anecdotal in na-ture. Youre given the keysto success based on anindividuals success as agreat leader.

Is there a better answerthan just a few case studiesand rags to riches stories?Can an achieving leader bedescribed, measured andsupported by research?Teleometrics Internationalhas provided just that withits Achieving Manager re-

search conducted by JayHall, Ph.D.

Hall studied more than11,000 managers and60,000 co-workers. By ap-plying the Managerial

Achievement Quotient,which measures the value a company places on man-agers using such indicators as promotion rates, Halldefined what the key characteristics of an achievingmanager are and answers the question of whether leaders

are born or made.

In this research, Hall identified three groups of managers high, average and low achievers.

The Achieving ManagerDo most managers aspire to the same goals in a

organization but perceivdifferent pathways to theattainment? Or, do managers differ regarding th

reasons they work anthen employ practicebest suited tattain their different ob

jectives? Differences achievement imply motvational differences noso much in amount ain kind.

Not surprisingly, higachievers studied wer

motivated differentland pursued quite diffeent incentives than thother two groups. Thhad a direct relationshito their subordinates reasons for working.

Low achievers studied were characterized as self-centered maintenance seekers and their subordinates displaye

Differences in achievement imply motiva-tional differences not so much in amount asin kind.


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ATTITUDE LMIJOURN22222

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Hall says managerialachievement doesntdepend upon theexistence of personality

traits and extraordinaryskills unique to certainindividuals. It dependsinstead on the manner in which the

manager behaves in conductingorganizational affairs and on the valueshe or she holds regarding personal andinterpersonal potentials, all of which can

be learned.

Michael Dierck

many of the same qualities. High achieverswere seen as self-directed motivation seekers and sowas their team.

This sobering reality confirms that the characteristics ofa department or organization is a reflection of the managermore than the team itself.

Keys to Being a High Achiever

What is learned from this research that can be appliedto your leadership style today? Can you become a highachiever or is it something innate? Hall identifies the keybehaviors that make up a high achiever as follows:

x Belief in the incoherent competence of people.

x Engaged employee involvement. High achievers areviewed strongly by their employees as ones who allowthem to participate and discuss openly business issues

and concerns.x Candor, openness, sensitivity, and receptivity comprise

the rule in interpersonal relationships rather than itsexception.

x Build and maintainemployee relation-ships. Norms of in-dividuality, inter-personal concernand mutual trust

are engendered bybuilding and main-taining relation-ships with theirteam. This comesby accepting re-sponsibility forideas and feelings;being open tothoughts and sen-timents of others; experimenting with new ideas; and

helping others to be open with their personal conceptsand attitudes.

x Communication. Messages delivered by the high achiev-er differ substantially in content and scope.

x Empowerment .High achievers usetrue empowermentnot to manipulateor delegate undes-ired tasks, but to

The key to becoming anachieving manager is tolearn to behave like one.

transfer ownership anpride of work to thosworking for him or her.

x The high achiever ione who employs an integrative style of manage

ment. People are valuejust as highly as their accomplishments and productivity.

x Participative practiceare favored over unilaterally directive or lamduck prescriptive measures. Moreover, thhigh achiever find

meaning in his or her work and strives to afford sucmeaning to others.

Hall says managerial achievement doesnt depend upothe existence of personality traits and extraordinary skilunique to certain individuals. It depends instead on thmanner in which the manager behaves in conductinorganizational affairs and on the values he or she holdregarding personal and interpersonal potentials, all owhich can be learned. The key to becoming an achievinmanager is to learn to behave like one.


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LMIJOURNAL

Personal Powers Define theQualities of Effective Leadership

With Positive Expectancy,

David ByrdPresident, Leadership Management Institute

David Byrd

President, LMI

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Table of Contents

Page 1-2:Guest Author: Michael DiercksAchieving Leaders Are Self-Made

Page 3: From the President

Personal Powers Define the Qualities ofEffective Leadership

Page 4: Organizational LeadershipDelegating with a Purpose

Page 5: Supervisory ManagementDeveloping Your Leadership Skills

Page 6: Personal LeadershipDealing with Common Demotivators

Page 7: Staff DevelopmentAttitude: Key to Planning and Goal Setting

Page 8: Strategic DevelopmentBridging the Gap Between Potentialand Performance

The TransformingPower of Attitude

The ebb and flow of life may be controlled by seemingrandom circumstances, but the ups and downs, losses angains, and successes and failures of life, in general, ausually directed by certain natural laws. Just like gravitthese consistent principles and truths are at the disposal humankind for its benefit or detriment.

From the very core of humankinds personal existenchumans were created with certain personal powers whicbenefit those who use them and impede those who ignotheir significance. I have learned from personal and profe

sional experience that these certain personal powers usually define the qualities oeffective leadership, and effective leaders are needed in all areas of life.

Why are these personal powers important to me? If we understand the basreason for our creative design, then those personal powers become much more thanseminar topic. If we understand the human flaw for which our personal powers wedesigned to counteract, then those powers become a pathway to an effective andynamic lifestyle.

As the president of an international training and development company thhas over 40 years of experience in helping people develop and use more otheir true potential. I have invested much of my life in working with top businesexecutives and their organizations. Every day I hear the descriptions of peopleproblems that are presumed to be the cause of ineffectiveness. Most clients ashocked when they first realize that their people problems are really symptomof a natural, human instinct.

Effective leadership is a unique quality, and I find that it never just happens. is a skill that must be developed, and this development process does not happenaturally in life. In the absence of this crucial development process, we find aspirinleaders missing significant opportunities to learn and model effective leadershbehaviors. Regardless of your choice of development options, I urge you exercise your power of choice and choose to take effective action. Do something! Reaa book on leadership or find an effective leadership model to follow. you choose to become a more effective leader, you must act on that choice. Yes, will take time; yes, it will cost money; yes, it will take hard work, but if you wanto be something tomorrow that you are not today, it requires the developme

of your untapped potential. Developing your untapped potential is not comfortablbut it is necessary in becoming an effective leader.

When the leaders and allthe other team members refuseto let circumstances discouragethem but commit themselves

to thinking positively and see-ing possibilities, they welcomeany external circumstancesthat cause them to re-think whatthey are doing and how they aredoing it. They welcome theseoutside circumstances as chal-lenges to their creativity and assigns of progress.

Commit yourself to an atti-tude of positive expectancy. Set

an example for those aroundyou; refuse to let external cir-cumstances become an excusefor inertia or decreased produc-tivity. Instead, demonstrate apositive attitude toward exter-nal circumstances and thechanges they produce. This atti-tude helps you to see moreclearly actions you can take tosolve problems external circum-

stances create. A positive atti-tude transforms problems intoopportunities, downturns intoupturns, stumbling blocks intostepping stones.


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LMIJOURN44444 ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Delegating with a PurposeFor most leaders, time is the commodity in shortest

supply. The quickest way to solve the time problem is bydelegation. Delegation saves time and relieves stress. Moreimportantly, delegation is the best technique available forhelping team members develop and utilize more of their

full potential.Many leaders avoid delegating because they fear

that others will think theyre not needed since efficientand productive employees seem to be doing most of thework. Actually, delegation enhances the leaders value tothe organization. A leader who delegates has more timefor planning, tracking productive output, and preventingcrises. Innovative, creative ideas blossom and grow onlywhen routine detail doesnt demand constant attention.When you have, through wise delegation, taught essentialelements of the work toothers, you are availablefor promotion or assign-ment to new, more impor-tant projects.

Although you experiencethe first visible benefit fromdelegation, the most impor-tant, long-term benefit is thegrowth experienced by teammembers. Delegation en-

courages sometimes evenforces individuals tostretch and to develop newskills. Careful planning isrequired to ensure successfor the one who takes on anew responsibility.

vMatch the responsibility,or task, and the person.Choose carefully the particular responsibility task orarea of work for delegation. Also choose the person

who, from your observation, seems most likely toperform acceptably and to benefit from learning.Evaluate the time required to perform the task andadjust the individuals workload if necessary. If yourenot sure how the delegated responsibility will be per-ceived, talk informally with the person you have tar-geted for the work. You might say, I am consideringdelegating a particular portion of the work to someone,perhaps even to you. What do you think about it?The response reveals whether the choice has a goodchance of working.

v Teach the task thoroughly. Proper training at the beginning ensures a successful start. One procedure thaworks well is to begin by working along with the traineon the project or task. When understanding seemadequate, ask the trainee to do it alone. Offer to b

available for help if there is a question. Then you checthe results. Finally, give the team member full responsibility. Of course, youre always available to help isome new situation arises.

When a particular part of the work is delegated, give themployee full credit for a job well done. Offer praiseappreciation, and thanks. If other leaders in the organization compliment the work, give credit to the individuawho did it. The employee gains confidence and is encouraged to attempt other delegated responsibilities. It als

helps the team member develop a reputation for productivity that makes futurpromotion possible.

Remember the otheside of the coin: Yourstill responsible for thsuccess of the work. If themployee fails or makes mistake, you cant avoid responsibility by saying th

work was delegated. Sincthe total output is your responsibility, you must accept blame when somethingoes wrong.

Giving credit for succesto the employee but acceping the blame for mistakemay seem a little unfair. Th

long-range benefits, however, are worth it. Both tactichelp the employee grow. Receiving the credit for succes

enhances team member self-image. Being protected fromthe censure of upper level leaders gives employees whmake mistakes an opportunity to try again.

You can afford to accept the blame for a mistakbecause your past record indicates that failure isnt youusual pattern. Less experienced employees, howeveneed to be shielded from a potentially hostile examinatioof their work. When you accept blame for mistakeyoure assured of the loyalty of employees. They will gto almost unbelievable lengths to correct problems anto prevent reoccurrence.

...delegation is the best technique availablefor helping team members develop and utilizemore of their full potential.


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LMIJOURNAL SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT

Developing Your Leadership SkillsWhen you participate in leadership development train-

ing, youre building an imposing structure of success uponthe firm foundation youve already laid. Your improvedskills will enable you to get more done in less time and withless wasted effort. As you gain confidence to become more

skillful, you will become increasingly valuable to theorganization. Improved skills will also result in lessstress related to your responsibilities, and you will findyourself enjoying your job even more. As you participate infurther leadership development, you find your leadershipincreasingly influencing three areas: the organizationoverall, your most directly involved team members, and thework climate.

x Your influence in the organization.Organizations are much like humanbeings. Each copes with challenges

in its own characteristic way, oper-ates in a manner designed to pre-serve its existence, and resistschange. An organization is simplytwo or more people working towarda common goal. Regardless of thesize of your organization, fillingyour position of leadership calls forwillingness to identify with yourorganizations purpose, to supportit with your attitudes and your ac-

tions, and to facilitate the changesneeded for the organizations ongo-ing success.

Regardless of the type of your orga-nization whether its a provider of services, a distribu-tor of goods, or a manufacturer youre expected first ofall to get results through people in order to operate at aprofit. A not-for-profit organization is not profit driven,of course, but its purpose is to get results through people.Given limited human and financial resources, you mustreach certain productivity goals. The nature of the profittakes different forms according to the nature of theorganization, but the principle is the same:

You are effective as a leader only when you man-age the available resources to make the product orservice worth more to the organization than the costof producing it.

Although your personality characteristics and skills areimportant, your value to the organization can be mea-sured only by how effectively youre fulfilling its mis-sion and achieving cost-effective results.

x Your influence on team members. In addition to undestanding your responsibility to the organization, yomust also understand the needs and wants of the members of your work group. If you concentrate exclusiveon your own needs and goals and neglect those of yo

team members, a deep rift in team relationships widevelop. If youre achievement oriented, you may btempted to boost your own self-esteem by downplayinthe contributions made by other team members. Bwhen other team members feel that their efforts havbeen ignored or that their value has gone unrecognizethey view themselves as relatively unimportant to th

organization. Consequently, thefeel less responsibility for beinpersonally productive. Avoid thdestructive pattern at all costs! Bo

you and your team members wenjoy the positive results of shareresponsibility and recognition.

x Your influence on the work clmate. When you adopt a no-limittions belief in the potential anworth of every individual, you bgin coaching each team membwith an enthusiasm that says, Yocan do it! Your confidence in thegives them maximum opportuni

to grow, to meet their own needand to contribute to the success oyour department or work grouWhen you believe firmly in th

ability of people to perform productively, your expecttions become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

People tend to live up to whats expected of them bothers, especially by those they consider authority fiures. When you demonstrate that you believe your teamembers can succeed, theyre willing to take morgrowth risks. A no-limitations belief in people alsmakes it easier for you to delegate various responsibilties and to trust your team members to get the helresources, and training they may need to successfulcomplete the tasks you assign. When you demonstrayour confidence in their ability to perform and to succeed, they will accept the challenge more willingly anwork harder to meet your expectations.

Increasing efficiency and effectiveness is a basic pupose of leadership development. Commit to building leaership skills through productive relationships with peopl


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LMIJOURNA66666 PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

Dealing with Common DemotivatorsYou were born to lead, but in the process of adjusting to

the complexities of the world, youre sometimes so occu-pied with satisfying basic needs that you can give littlethought, time or attention to self-fulfillment and develop-ment of personal leadership. Habits developed in this con-text become demotivators. Most demotivators can be lumpedtogether as fears, worries and doubts.

FearIf your needs arent being satisfied or if you think they

may not be satisfied fear takes over and blots out creativ-ity. You react to your perception of a situation, rather thanto the actual situation.

Fear is a natural and constructivemechanism that calls for personal lead-ership. Any physical or psychological

threat sets off a system that is calledfear. When the alarm goes off, yourbody undergoes instant change. Fear

jerks both mind and body awake sothat your body is prepared and readyto act! Fear is a natural and construc-tive force in self-preservation. Cour-age is one response to fear. So iscaution, aggression, or retreat. Al-though fear is a positive and construc-tive way of meeting threats to both

physical and psychological dangers,it can become a demotivator.

x Fear is exhausting. The adrenaline,the muscle tension and concen-trated mental energy required toovercome fear and take action are demanding. You maylose your sense of goal direction because your mentaland physical resources must be diverted to deal with fearitself. If it prevents you from being yourself for extendedperiods of time, fear is destructive.

xFear can become a conditioned response. Fear is nega-tive when it becomes a conditioned response unrelated toa real threat. If you experience fear based only on whatother people might say, think or do, your fears areartificially created and destructive. Although they mayhave no basis in fact, such fears cause anxiety, distrust,concern or even panic.

x Fear can become generalized. Fear becomes a deadlydemotivator when it becomes a general method of re-sponding to life regardless of whether a threat exists inthe environment. It saps your strength and your potential

for growth is neglected. Fear, when it becomes habituais overcome in the same manner as other habits. Yolearn to recognize it, find a more satisfying response anreplace the fear by substitution.

WorryWorry is prolonged, exaggerated fear. When you face

new experience and cannot predict its outcome, you mabegin to worry as a response to your inner guidancsystems attempt to alert you to the need for a decision. Buif you know where you stand and where youre going, yoneed not worry. You are motivated by end results, not b

methods or techniques. You havconfidence in your ability to copwith any eventualities; youre actively engaged in the progressive re

alization of your goals and simpldont have time for worry or anxietyOf course, your decisions wont aways be correct, but you can makcorrections as the need becomes obvious. Goal-directed activity anmaintained enthusiasm go hand ihand, and they leave no room foworry.

Doubt

A common form of internalizefear is doubt. Doubt is little morthan lack of knowledge, informatioor insight. Without sufficient facts tmake a decision, you doubt. You fea

making a mistake or a failure. You can take either of twcourses of action:

x You can continue to harbor doubt until doubtinbecomes your habitual response to life.

x You can gather facts, evaluate them, and make decision.

In other words, you can replace doubt with the habituaresponse of personal leadership. The demotivators feaworry and doubt can control only those who lacself-confidence. Build your self-confidence, and thdemotivators disappear. Build a consistent attitude oself-confidence, substitute it for fear, and fear is dissolved. Then you live a rewarding life full of selfrealization, achievement and success. A personal goalprogram is the most positive approach you can makto breaking through demotivators and building a stronsense of personal leadership.


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LMIJOURNAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Attitude: Key to Planning and Goal SettingBecause actions come from attitudes, increasing produc-

tivity may require reshaping some of the attitudes that nowdictate how you use time. Consider these time use practicesthat affect productivity and see how attitudes are involved:v Concentrate on high priority activities.The quickest and

most effective route to increasing pro-ductivity is to spend time on tasks thatadvance important goals. Make cer-tain you spend your time on work thatreally matters; otherwise, you may becompletely consumed by trivial de-tails. Hours may be spent solvingproblems that can be solved by oth-ers. Respond to concerns expressedby various team members throughempowering them to solve their own

problems. This approach saves youvaluable time and gives others theopportunity to develop commitment,a sense of ownership, and skill tosolve significant problems. Help oth-ers spend their time on their highpriority activities, and concentrateyour time and effort on high priority activities that leadto the achievement of your goals.

v Exercise self-discipline. Self-discipline enables peopleto stay focused on a task and work on it until itscomplete. Establish your priorities and then refuse to letdistractions, interruptions or happenings of the momentdestroy your concentration. Discipline yourself to givetasks only the amount of time and effort they trulydeserve from you, or delegate them to other appropriateteam members. Either alternative requires thoughtfulevaluation and consideration and conscientious self-discipline. Perfectionists especially must learn to exertthe self-discipline to delegate selected jobs to someoneelse who may not do the job quite as well as they wouldbut who can still meet essential quality standards. Howelse will another learn to perform this job? In such cases,perfectionists must learn to accept less than perfection inthe interest of increasing the contributions of others,creating new opportunities, and maintaining overall ef-fectiveness and productivity.

vBe persistent. Careful planning and goal setting, deter-mination to achieve, and recognizing the benefits ofreaching a goal are all vital to personal productivity. Thiscombination of factors enables one to be persistent, andpersistence is always characteristic of the successful

individual. Many people eagerly take on new jobs, new

responsibilities and new assignments, starting with great splash and making quick progress, but they soolose momentum, never finishing the job. In contrasproductive people set definite goals, plan carefully, anconcentrate their attention on the action required to me

each goal. Persistent individuals keep thegoal in mind and work tenaciously tward it until they savor the success achieving it.vGet started! The best way to guarantecompletion of a project is to get started oit now! Two reasons account for failuto accomplish important jobs peopeither never start or they never finisBoth of these unproductive time patternfall under the debilitating umbrella o

procrastination. Several patterns of faulthinking account for most procrastintion. Following these guidelines will enable you to avoid these pitfalls: Begin orequired work and continue without reling on feeling like it. Getting started often the most difficult part of a projec

once begun, inspiration often follows. Thomas Edisothe famous American inventor, put it well when he saiGenius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspration. Face the fact that some jobs will never beasy now or later. Break the job down into logicsteps to make it more manageable at each stage. Gstarted on the job, working in a systematic method, anyou will enjoy a sense of mastery that enables you complete the job!

v Strive for results not perfection. Overemphasis operfection nearly always renders negative consequenc immobilizing fear of making mistakes, discouragment, and preoccupation with what others think raththan genuine productivity. Productive people distiguish between what is important and what is not. Theset aside a reasonable amount of time to accomplishspecific task; then they stick to their deadline. Therecognize some tasks simply are not important enougto lavish too much time or effort on them. Even ogenuinely significant projects truly productive individuals simply strive for results not perfection.The goal-setting process offers the most effective metho

for putting into practice time patterns that produce resulGoal setting enables you to identify the accomplishmenmost important to you, to establish priorities, and to put in

action the steps required to reach your goals.


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Since 1966, Leadership Management Institute

has been bridging the gap between potential

and performance by helping organizations

and individuals evaluate their strengthsand opportunities through implemen-

tation of the unique and proven

LMI Process.

The LMI Process...

q Develops leaders who, in turn,

empower their people to use their

untapped talents and abilities.

q Identifies key areas the organiza-

tion should focus on in orderto reach the next level of success.

q Gives direction to an effective solu-

tion and delivers measurable results.

q Practices a 93 percent effective

leadership model.

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q Planning

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q Development

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Bridging the Gap Between Potentialand Performance

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

6-08 Achieving Leaders Are Self-Made

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