The Leading Edge - Summer 2008 - (Page 14)

Q&a in a nutshell by Chris de Santis LEAD By ExAMpLE To FoSTER LEADERShIp AMonG EMpLoyEES Q: i want to foster leadership among our employees—not necessarily for them to become managers within the company but so they take better ownership of their own work and exhibit leadership skills to our customers. What should i do? a: First, let me compliment you for your sentiment. It’s not every manager who thinks about fostering leadership within the organization. That alone will go a long way in accomplishing what you wish to achieve. I say this because leadership begins with you as you are a role application, meaning that it all depends on who you are as a person, the temperament of the people who you lead and the context or situation you find yourself in. All of this requires that you are not only aware of these ever-changing variables, but more importantly you need to be adaptive. You as a leader need to be willing to change your style and approach as appropriate if you wish to succeed in a variety of situations. This isn’t as difficult as it may sound as long as you have the hearts and minds of your followers on your side. As a follower, if my boss has my best interests in mind and he or she has shown me evidence of it, I’m going to give him or her benefit of the doubt when he or she isn’t living up to my ideal of a leader. After all, we all have bad days. The other part of your inquiry was about your desire for them to exhibit leadership both in their work and with customers. There is another interesting concept, by Richard Hass, called a “leadership compass.” If you think in terms of leading relative to a compass you will see that each of us leads in some circumstance. Like the four directions of a compass, north would lead those to whom you report. South would lead those who report to you. West would lead customers and east would lead your peers. Each of us is good at certain things that cause others to gravitate to us for advice and/or direction. Your job as their leader is that when you see them “leading” regardless of direction, reinforce and encourage those behaviors by word or written comment. It’s the best way to get a behavior to take root and repeat itself when you are not around. Having said this you can create a virtuous cycle. The more you comment on their positive behaviors, the more likely they will want to engage in behaviors like this thus feeding an upward spiral. I liken this to “My Fair Lady” or the concept, The Pygmalion Effect. “I believe you will become something then I will treat you in a way that will in turn be self-fulfilling.” Now Professor Higgins, go out there and create your own self-fulfilling prophecies. Best of luck. e model to the employees. Granted there are those exceptional individuals who can and will become dynamic leaders in spite of their bosses, but typically, they become that leader elsewhere, not while they are reporting to a person who is not a good or decent leader/manager. Back to your question. Having done some reading on the topic recently, the literature suggests that the popular construct for a leader today is the “neo-charismatic transformational leader.” It’s quite a mouthful. Writer Joseph Nye coined the term to describe a leader that wields what he describes as a blend of both hard and soft power that he terms “smart power.” Hard power is what a leader/manager controls such as rewards and punishment. Soft power is the emotional intelligence skills of dealing well with others in an interpersonal arena. Together, these skills make you, as a leader, a force with which to reckon. The difficulty with the use of smart power is that there is not formulaic approach to its Chris DeSantis uses his 20 years’ experience in training and development as an independent consultant. He specializes in the design and delivery of management and organization development interventions. A presenter at Leading Edge Alliance seminars, DeSantis focuses his work on assisting individuals or groups in identifying obstacles to effectiveness and subsequently works with them to create user friendly solutions aligned with the company’s strategic initiatives. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, an MBA from the University of Denver and an MA in organizational development from Loyola University. 14 VOLUME 8 n ISSUE 4 n SUMMEr 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leading Edge - Summer 2008

The Leading Edge - Summer 2008 Contents Better Negotiations Instant-Response World Leads to New Expectations for Voice Mail Bits & Pieces Top 10 Misconceptions of Doing Business in Cyprus In a Nutshell: Q&A The Leading Edge Alliance

The Leading Edge - Summer 2008

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