By developing one's leadership capabilities, will also enable a person to perform better in a team situation. Leadership development is about studying leadership principles and understanding these principles to internalise it on a daily basis in one's efforts to live by them. Leadership development is a continuous process of career building and can be regarded as an excellent career builder. Let us look at some of the concepts of good leadership and see what it takes to use it as a career builder for a better future and to use it as a personal career builder..
Gene Autry's Cowboy Code of Ethics:
1.1 The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair
advantage.
1.2 He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
1.3 He must always tell the truth.
1.4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
1.5 He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
1.6 He must help people in distress.
1.7 He must be a good worker.
1.8 He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
1.9 He must respect women, parents, and his nations laws.
1.10 The Cowboy is a patriot.
MacArthur
developed a list of questions to guide him in his leadership duties. These
principles can be applied to any leadership situation.
2.1 Do I heckle my subordinates or strengthen and encourage them?
2.2 Do I use moral courage in getting rid of subordinates who have proven
themselves beyond doubt to be unfit?
2.3 Have I done all in my power by encouragement, incentive and spur to salvage
the weak and erring?
2.4 Do I know by NAME and CHARACTER a maximum number of subordinates for whom I
am responsible? Do I know them intimately?
2.5 Am I thoroughly familiar with the technique, necessities, objectives and
administration of my job?
2.6 Do I lose my temper at individuals?
2.7 Do I act in such a way as to make my subordinates WANT to follow me?
2.8 Do I delegate tasks that should be mine?
2.9 Do I arrogate everything to myself and delegate nothing?
2.10 Do I develop my subordinates by placing on each one as much responsibility
as he can stand?
2.11 Am I interested in the personal welfare of each of my subordinates, as if
he were a member of my family?
2.12 Have I the calmness of voice and manner to inspire confidence, or am I
inclined to irascibility and excitability?
2.13 Am I a constant example to my subordinates in character, dress, deportment
and courtesy?
2.14 Am I inclined to be nice to my superiors and mean to my subordinates?
2.15 Is my door open to my subordinates?
2.16 Do I think more of POSITION than JOB?
2.17 Do I correct a subordinate in front of others?
Source: The West Point Way of Leadership by Col. Larry R. Donnithorne
Anyone can become a leader. All the characteristics and traits of leadership can be acquired through learning and practice.
Leadership is not synonymous with assertiveness, despotic behaviour or managerial position.
Assertiveness is a good quality only if it can be backed up by respect. Respect stems from various sources as outlined lower down on this page.
Management is about doing things efficiently. Leadership is about doing things differently, in new ways, in better ways. Leadership is about lateral thinking, being innovative and creative.
Leadership is not limited to the top echelon in an organisation. Any person in an organisation, who can differentiate him or her self by being inventive, can be a leader. If you display inventiveness, others will follow your direction naturally out of respect.
Leadership does not follow lines of authority. More often than not, creativity stems from the floor level nearest to the processes and problems. Leadership is therefore by no means limited to the formal structure of supervisory and managerial positions.
The role of leadership can be earned in many ways, small or big. For instance, you can display leadership and earn respect from others in the following ways:
- Expert or superior knowledge about a subject or something
- Excellence in execution of tasks
- Positive attitude, high morale
- High ethical values and codes of conduct
- Good human relations
- Streamlining paper work, production, methods, your use of time
- Being innovative or creative
Innovativeness usually results in bigger leaps with more benefits and profits. It can therefore be most profitable for an employer to cultivate, encourage and support the development of creativity and risk taking in all employees.
Therefore, the most important quality to develop and the fastest way in order to become a leader, is through creativity.
4.1 Leadership traits:
You will also have to foster the following traits to retain respect:
1. Loyalty
2. Willingness to stand out, differentiate yourself, risk being rejected by
being different.
3. Determination and perseverance to push through your own ideas.
4. Improvement drive - desire to find better ways of doing things, curiosity.
5. Questioning mind - not accepting authority, willingness to challenge the
status quo.
6. Self-belief - believing that you can think for yourself and devise a better
way.
7. Thick skin - being able to withstand criticism and recover from setbacks.
8. Learning from mistakes - being prepared to try things to find what works.
9. Trustworthiness - keeping your word, being honest.
10. Delivering on promises - like being trustworthy, you deliver what you
promise.
11. Treating people with respect and fairness.
12. Not deliberately harming others.
13. Dedication to improving the lot of those you represent.
14. Management skills - the ability to get things done efficiently.
15. Strong influence skills
16. The ability to convey a compelling vision of the future.
These characteristics can be either classified under ethics or managerial skills.
How do these characteristics compare with entrepreneurial traits?
4.2 The psychological traits of entrepreneurs:
1. Desire to perform
2. Drive, determination and energy
3. Goal orientation
4. Time conscious
5. Self-motivated
6. Self-control
7. Can make decisions in situations of lack of information or uncertainty
8. Take calculated risks
9. Positive self-image
10. Creative and innovative capabilities (imaginative and real)
11. High ethical standards about integrity and trustworthiness
12. Intelligence
13. Individualistic
14. More task than human oriented
15. Flourish on feedback
16. Take initiative and responsibility for their actions
17. Objective and optimistic
18. Profit is a measure of success
Think of your team as members of a symphony orchestra or a jazz
band. All the instruments must play together in a cohesive way, each one in
support of all the others. You can only get musical magic if all instruments
interact harmoniously together. The same goes for team or organisation success.
The same sense of direction, co-operation, support, tolerance and encouragement
must be present, if you want to turn out some magic results.
Does your attitude encourage your followers to be afraid of making decisions, so
that they only react on instructions from yourself? Are you restricting their
initiative and minds, so that they do only the minimum to survive? Are you
afraid to loose power of authority? Are you only interested in short term
results?
Does your attitude encourage your followers to develop their skills, initiative
and decision-making abilities? Will this attitude not help you later on to
delegate more complex duties to your followers? Will this not give them a
stronger skills base to support you better?
It all depends on the quality that you expect and showcase to your band members.
They can make you only as good, as you allow them to. To put it another way,
they cannot make you better, than what you permit them. It is all in your own
hands as appointed leader. The ball is entirely in your corner to convert your
official leadership position to that of natural, respected leader.
· they aim to manage time so that it is possible to complete the work that is planned in the time available;
· they consistently complete the day's work in the required time. The unsuccessful supervisor is the one who keeps missing deadlines and regularly has to work overtime to get the job done;
· Working long hours is not a long-term solution. Getting the work done by working long hours is a short-term solution. It can never be the long-term solution to time problems, since people cannot work in the same way as machines. The effects of working long hours over a long time are fatigue, more mistakes, an increase in accidents, and generally a lower standard of work.
· they achieve better results than those who don't have any system of time management. They are also likely to waste less time during the day, since they know how to protect their own time from interruptions. They also know how to make the best use of their employees' time;
· they have learnt to do their work in order of priority;
· they have learnt to delegate certain of their time?consuming activities;
· they have taught their employees how to do each other's job, so less time is lost when an employee is absent; and
· they encourage their employees to bring them solutions to their problems and not just their problems.
These eleven characteristics are continuously being researched and updated and were found to be relevant for adults as well. This is how the author converted it into own words:
· Know the Needs and Traits of the Group and Self
· Know Group Capabilities
· Exchange of Information
· Overcoming Barriers
· Monitoring the Group
· Appraisal of Group
· Conferring
· Be the Example
· Exchange of Leadership Roles
· Be Deputy for the Group
· Develop the Group
7.1 KNOW THE NEEDS AND TRAITS OF THE GROUP AND SELF
Every person of the group has unique needs and traits.
1. Know your own needs and traits first.
2. Know the needs and traits of each member of the Group. It will enable the
leader to deal with each person as a unique entity, to treat that person with
respect, and to help the person develop.
3. This knowledge about individual group members helps in planning their growth
and in completing tasks at hand.
4. This knowledge will inspire trust and confidence among group members.
Through counselling and questionnaires, find out as much as possible about each
individual person:
· Reasons for joining the organisation
· Future expectations from the organisation
· Interests and hobbies
· Longer term future plans
· Proficiencies learned in the past
7.2 KNOW GROUP CAPABILITIES
Capabilities are skills, which a person previously acquired
through learning and experience. If you know and use these capabilities of group
members, they develop existing skills further and are also constructively
motivated.
· Uphold a comprehensive database of group member capabilities, hobbies,
interests and resources
· Be knowledgeable about the organisation mission, objectives and resources
7.3 EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
To increase your capabilities in obtaining data:
· Get in the habit of really listening to group members and others.
· Be inquisitive to fully comprehend the information.
To increase your capabilities in supplying data:
· Make sure you have the attention of your audience.
· Be clear and concise in oral communication.
· Illustrate with charts and tables for clarity.
· Ask questions to make certain the audience comprehend your message.
7.4 OVERCOMING BARRIERS
You must plan to solve problems, overcome barriers or achieve
group goals:
· What are the aims of the exercise or operation?
· What resources are at your disposal?
· What are the facts or data?
· Discuss the alternatives and reach a conclusion.
· Put the whole plan in writing and discuss it a final time with group members.
· Carry out the plan.
· Appraise the outcomes.
7.5 MONITORING THE GROUP
Monitor the progress regularly and take action when actual
results deviate too far from the planned results. This is called short interval
control to ensure the group attains end goals as planned.
· Get regular feedback from the group members about progress.
· Make your instructions clear and pertinent.
· Pitch in and help when necessary.
· Quickly deal with disruption. Guide the group toward self-discipline.
7.6 APPRAISAL OF GROUP PERFORMANCE
Appraisal helps measure the performance of a group in getting a
job done and working together. It suggests ways in which the group can improve
its performance. There are two basic types of appraisal questions. After every
task ask these appraisal questions:
Goal achievement-
· What were the end goals?
· To what degree were those goals achieved?
· Was the job done within the preset time frame?
Group cohesiveness-
· What happened with relationships between Group members – positively or
negatively handled?
· Was group participation evenly distributed among members?
· Was it an enjoyable experience for group members?
· How well was conflict handled?
7.7 CONFERRING
Importance of conferring
· To help people to reach solutions.
· To encourage or motivate.
· To help a person reach his or her potential.
Necessity of conferring in cases of
· When there is indecision or lack of certainty.
· When there is confusion or lack of correct information.
· When there is lack of alternative options.
How do you confer?
· Analyse the situation by careful questioning and listening to ensure you grasp
everything. Summarize. Check the facts. Paraphrase to make sure you understand.
· Let them list as many options as possible.
· Let them list the disadvantages of the options.
· Let them list the advantages of the options.
Finally, let them decide on a solution by asking leading questions. The
counsellor’s role is to give encouragement and information so that the group can
come to a satisfactory solution.
7.8 BE THE EXAMPLE
Setting the example is probably the most important leadership skill. It is the most effective way to show others the proper way to conduct themselves, and is even more effective than verbal communication. Without this skill, all the other skills will be useless. One way to think about setting the example is to imagine yourself as a member of a Group and think about how you would like your leader to act.
7.9 EXCHANGE OF LEADERSHIP ROLES
While there are various ways to exercise leadership, the goal of
leadership is more that of facilitator for participative decision-making. When
the work is done or decisions reached, the group must feel they have ownership
for the decisions and results.
Does your attitude encourage your followers to be afraid of making decisions, so
that they only react on instructions from yourself? Are you restricting their
initiative and minds, so that they do only the minimum to survive? Are you
afraid to loose power of authority? Are you only interested in short term
results?
The leader wants to give group members the skills he or she possesses, not to
use those skills in ways that keep the group weak or dependent. He or she must
offer leadership opportunities to group members and teach them the skills they
need. The leadership role should shift naturally from member to member according
to the contributions they can make or the expertise they possess.
7.10 BE DEPUTY FOR THE GROUP
Group leaders must represent the group at higher committee
meetings.
The leader represents the group in two situations:
· Without counselling - when he or she doesn't have the opportunity to consult
with group members about a decision
· With counselling - when he or she can meet with group members about the issue
In some cases the leader must represent the group's decision exactly; in other
cases, he or she must use independent judgement. You will need to solicit and
analyse members' views and attempt to represent those views within the
guidelines of your evaluation of your group opinions. The leader must be a
“linking pin”.
7.11 DEVELOP THE GROUP
Effective teaching is a process to increase the knowledge,
skills, and attitudes of the Group and its members. The focus is on learning,
not teaching. For teaching to be effective, learning must take place.
The steps of effective teaching include
· Choosing the learning objectives
· Providing a discovery experience that helps the learner understand the need
for the skill
· Demonstrating or explaining the skill
· Allowing the learner to practice the skill
· Evaluating the process
“It all depends on the quality that you expect and showcase to your band
members. They can make you only as good, as you allow them to. To put it another
way, they cannot make you better, than what you permit them. It is all in your
own hands as appointed leader. The ball is entirely in your corner to convert
your official leadership position to that of natural, respected leader.”
- Innovative skills
- Negotiating Skills
- People skills
- Time Management Skills
- Presentation Skills
- Interview Skills
- Meetings Skills
- Project Management Skills
- Business Analysis Skills
About the Author:
Pierre
du Plessis (MBL, 1982, UNISA) is a business consultant, expert in Performance
Management, co-owner of Leaders
Circle, author of several e-books and training manuals, previous Corporate
Logistics and Procurement Manager, ex-army infantry soldier as Officer in Charge
of Battalion Operations and nowadays business owner of several successful
offline business operations. Get more details here about careers at the
Career Builders Club.
This article can be used for re-publishing purposes, as long as it remains unchanged, including this biography.
Related article: The meaning and definition of integrity.
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