Abraham Zaleznik in an article from the Harvard Business Review in the early 90‘s describes the difference between a manager and a leader in many ways. He describes the characteristics of a manager as they:
-Like to maintain existing systems, relationships, and processes -Tend to mediate, negotiate, and balance opposing viewpoints -Like to work with others, but keep a low level of emotional involvement -Like structure and are survival oriented when it comes to taking risk The characteristics of a leader from Zaleznik’s point of view are: -Adopt a personal and active attitude towards goals by evoking images, moods and expectations of the direction a business could take -Are risk takers and idea generators -Relate in more intuitive and empathetic ways - get involved in thinking through how things affect people -Are described with adjectives rich in emotional content -They develop through personal mastery, which impels an individual to struggle for psychological and social change -Are more like artists, scientists, and other creative thinkers than like managers These descriptors are fascinating to me as it relates that managers are great at keeping the status quo - making current systems, processes, and structures as efficient, effective, and productive as possible. Leaders on the other hand have gone through struggles, have come into their own, and are willing to take the risks and push the envelope in a way that is visionary, intuitive, and innovative. They also develop intense relationships with others that can be volatile, which in some ways allows them to be more empathetic. In my view leaders have a lot of personal strength first because they often go through struggle to become a “twice born” as Zaleznik calls it and therefore have the internal fortitude to push the envelope as they become a leader not only in their own lives, but for others. With these descriptions are you more of a manager or a leader? What traits most define you when dealing with others or in your work life? If you aspire to be a leader how can you integrate more of the leadership qualities into your life?
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Building trust is a key skill set for any good leader. It is what leads to strong relationships. It is what allows for creativity and innovation. It inspires others to be better than what they already are.
Trust in an organization is a key factor for growth, innovation, and creativity because when people in an organization trust their leaders they feel like they can take risks and know that their leaders will have their back. They feel like they can make mistakes and still have the encouragement of their leaders to try better next time. And they feel like they want to do better for their leaders because they know that they are going to be held accountable and rewarded for good work. So what does it take for a leader to build trust within their organization? Invest in building relationships - Relationships are the key to any thriving business whether it is building relationships with clients or building a team around you. It takes truly listening to what makes other people tick, what motivates them, and what inspires them. By truly listening, learning about and beginning to understand other people a leader can build trust with the people the people around them. Hold Yourself and Others Accountable - Holding yourself accountable to what you say you are going to do and following through on your promises are two key components to building trust with others. It shows your character and integrity and that you value other people’s time and investment with you at your company. It shows them that they can depend on your word and that you are holding them to their word. Accountability is an integral part of building trust. Look out for your people’s best interest - Encouraging their strengths, having their backs when outside influences could present some risks, knowing how to balance their weaknesses, and truly helping them rise to their potential builds trust. By truly looking out for others and giving to them as part of your team you will receive their dedication and loyalty in ways that you would not otherwise be able to do. Create Transparency - Being open and honest with your employees and organization about where you are headed, what is currently going on, and any issues that are arising allows the employees to feel part of the process and want to give more to the organization. It is a way for people to feel included, in the know, and understand where the leader is coming from and going. Are you implementing these strategies to build trust in your organization? Which ones could you begin to implement if you are not already? As a leader, developing a plan for the year can be a time consuming task. Setting the correct course of actions for the year, however, can pay off in dividends in achieving your true long term goals. But the real rubber meets the road when you actually put the plan into action.
How can you make sure you stay on course especially at the beginning of the year? Create quarterly/weekly plans based off the annual plan - in order to truly meet your longer term goals create smaller action steps that you can focus on daily to achieve those goals. Break down the larger plans into actionable items to do each week and each quarter. This will make the goals less daunting and easier to follow. Look at your quarterly/weekly goals every morning - in order to stay focused on your goals and on track review those weekly and quarterly goals daily and do the action items that are relevant. By looking at them each day they stay top of mind and reinforces actions that you need to take. Create some discipline around the new goals - reinforcing the importance of the goals in reaching your long range vision is important to communicate to yourself and your team on a regular basis, especially in the beginning of the year. Creating disciplined messages and actions that are consistent with the goals creates new habits, which will be invaluable in keeping you on track. Stay flexible with your actions - fire drills will be an inevitability of your role as a leader so staying flexible in your actions is key. However knowing what your plans and vision truly are and where they are taking you will keep the fire drills in perspective and allow you to come back to the long term goals when the emergencies are over. How are you staying on track with your 2011 goals? With the economy going up and down in the last couple of years businesses have had to be nimble and resilient to ensure that they stayed afloat or prospered in this environment. Leadership in a time of change can be a career maker or a career breaker. How can you make sure that it a career maker? In order to progress in times when the environment is shifting all around you need to do the following:
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Monica ThakrarMonica Thakrar has over 18 years experience in business focused mainly on strategy, change management, leadership development, training and coaching resulting in successful implementations of large scale transformation programs. MTI Newsletter Signup For Email Newsletters you can trust. Archives
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