This is the general content of a talk on leadership skills that I gave at SMILDA for their officers. Dr. Srinivasa Rao was kind enough to give me the opportunity which came my way thanks to my friend Achyut Menon who recommended my name to him.
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
A
leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his
aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu
Effective leadership:
It is all about bringing the best out of everyone in the team to achieve
the team’s goal. The keyword being – ‘the best’ i.e. the team’s potential.
3 levels of
leadership
- Unprepared, Untrained and even Reluctant leadership: Leader is not prepared for leadership role and not secure. He/She expects everyone to know what they are doing, does not give any direction and goes with the flow.
Result – If the team is good he/she
may get some positive result, else it may end up with a negative result.
- Process driven leadership: Leader has some idea and follows a basic process. This can be taught or learned. In such scenarios team members are more focused and committed and work for a cause.
Result – Leader gets a decent
result if he/she planned for it well and executed the process well.
- Inspirational leadership: Leader is an evolved leader. Higher level of leadership where team members go beyond their past capabilities and deliver much higher results for team. Here the team members are willing to go that extra length by themselves. Result – Extraordinary results.
One must certainly get
out of Level 1 and be at Level 2. The Level 2 is a simple enough process-driven leadership style
that one can stick by and get safe results even without conviction, belief and strength of personality or stature. Some training could help
young leaders achieve good results at Level 2 as well. And one must also always aspire for Level 3 or
Inspirational Leadership which can make a huge difference to the world, to the team and oneself.
Level 1- Unprepared and untrained leaders – Poor
results
In most of such cases the leadership position is thrust on
the leader. There is no formal training and lack of leadership experience and
that makes the person insecure. Leader closes himself out, is not accessible to
his team and becomes unreasonable in his demands. He/she may not have goal
clarity and provides no direction. He/she
cannot hold the energy of the team together.
There is no real goal orientation, no coordinated team work,
no clear plan, no empowerment of the team members, no consistent effort, no
feeling of team spirit. Low morale, low performance. Low motivation. Average
result.
Leadership has made no difference here and it may end up
having a negative impact on everyone including the leader.
Level 2 -Process driven leadership – Positive results
With some leadership experience and/or formal training, leaders
who are appointed to leadership positions can follow a process and get most
things right. Here I feel most employees who are in some form of leadership
positions, must be given some training on the process so they do follow some
basic process right. Following the process does not require an extraordinary
personality. It only requires preparation and work before assigning goals,
roles and targets. In such cases, the leader must look at the process from the
leader’s perspective and set the process in motion (as opposed to knowing it
and not doing anything about it).
Process
Goal clarity –
Why are you here as a leader? What do you want to achieve as a leader? It is important
for the leader to have goal clarity - about what he/she wishes to achieve and
how. As the leader he/she sets the goals, the framework, for his team and they
will follow it. Goal clarity requires a clear understanding of the system, the
effort required.
To do: The leader must be clear about the goal and communicate
the goal clearly to the team at the earliest – probably in the first meeting
itself. It is probably the most important part of the process because all
thought and action will be driven towards it. It is also the one thing that can
hold the team’s energies together.
Role clarity –
Who does what? Who reports to whom? Where does each one’s role end and where
does it begin? It is important to specify roles so people don’t step on each
other’s roles.
To do: The leader must mention clearly the role of each
person, and what is expected of him/her in that role. Assigning roles requires
the leader to know team members and their capabilities well and to understand
what makes them tick and what does not.
Target setting –
What to expect from each one? By themselves team members wait for instructions.
Rarely do team members find it in themselves to motivate themselves and do
extra work. Hence it is the leader’s job to push them or create an environment
where they work by creating targets. Leader should know what members are
capable of and degree of difficulty of assignment before assigning targets.
To do: The leader should know what a good target is for each
team member. The target should stretch the team gradually but it should be
achievable. The targets should challenge and motivate, not discourage and
demotivate.
Providing inputs
– Training, hardware, sotware and other inputs to be provided if the team is not
fully equipped. The leader must know what inputs are required and ensure that
they are provided.
To do: Understand the job and degree of difficulty in the
job and equip team fully before they get to work.
Communication - Leader must communicate clearly what is
expected from the team and get their assent and buy in.
To do: To
communicate clearly what is expected, what is negotiable and what is
non-negotiable, what will be tolerated and what will not be tolerated, what is the reward and the punishment. Also
to communicate the extent of support one would get and in what areas. Keep all
doors of communication open.
Performance appraisal
– Appraise the team’s/individual’s performance periodically and take corrective
action. Here it is important for the leader to be sympathetic to honest efforts
and at the same time set corrective action for dishonest or low performers who
are not putting in effort.
To do: Look for
those who are compromising the team effort and those who are helping its cause.
Understand the reasons why and take action accordingly. It’s either a
competence issue or an attitude issue so deal with it. However always be clear
about the outcome so it guides the process.
Level 3 – Inspirational leadership – High Results
All Round
The guiding mantra for leadership of this type is - everyone
wants to excel. How does the leader get them to excel is the question? How does
the leader create that atmosphere?
In these scenarios we are looking at leaders who believe in
their team and its potential irrespective of its past record, who provide a
worthy goal, the correct inputs that push the team’s limits, who believe that
the team can handle the responsibility themselves. The critical thing about
inspirational leadership is the transfer of ownership of the team’s goals to
the members themselves so they take it upon themselves to achieve it (instead
of being pushed to achieve it).
1)
Transfer of ownership of achieving the goal.
Transfer of ownership needs the leader to be a secure,
trusting, supportive, patient, sympathetic person who has no ego. He must be
able to trust his team to have the potential to achieve things much bigger than
what he can conceive. He must not insist on micro managing, on giving them
processes all the time but rather, show them high targets, guide them and
support them in achieving them. They will find the way once he shows them the
big goal. As they go on the path, he must trust them even when they fail, and
help them through their anxieties until they succeed. At times he may have to
step in under pressure and set things right. He should feel no loss of ego as
they fly higher than he has, as they become independent and free.
Transfer of ownership could include the following activities:
A Worthy Goal– As defined by the team, a goal higher than
commonplace results. A goal that gives them glory and reward. Guide them on
this as they arrive at a common goal and support them.
The Process of achieving the goal– As defined by the team. Again
guide them, and help them prepare for next level. Be hard on their work ethic, and
be sympathetic to their individual goals and dreams.
Individual target setting – As defined by team/individual.
One can go by potential and then bridge the gap with current performance.
Corrective measures – As defined by the team
Factors that help in this style of leadership:
1)
Being secure as a leader. Accept yourself as you are. Do
not feel challenged by their independent thought and act. You are still the boss.
2)
Be supportive of team’s effort even when they fail
initially. Give them time. Tell them what to do - not how to do. They will
learn to fall and get up on their own.
3)
Guiding and mentoring them when they are going astray.
Coach instead of commanding.
4)
Believe and trust the team. Hold your belief. If you believe
in them, they will deliver. If you do not believe, they will not deliver.
5)
To raise the performance, raise the bar. By expecting
the best, you foster a team that will reach higher. Make them stretch, flow
into greater space. Lead by example where necessary.
6)
Empower everyone. No favorites. Empower the weaker
players.
The effective leader knows himself. It all boils down to the
leader’s clarity about himself.
The clearer you are about yourself, the more secure you are
as a leader. The more secure you are as a leader, the more compassion and
understanding you can bring to the workplace.
Know and accept yourself. yourself. Your goals, methods.
Team. Strengths. Weaknesses.
That’s when all the minor glitches go away and the team
starts falling in line.
Leadership tenets
Be aware that
-
The leader is wholly responsible for the team’s
performance.
-
No one starts with best resources. It is what the
leader does with the resources that is important.
-
The team reflects the leader. If members are shirking
responsibility, are being dishonest, are doubting, not performing – they are
reflecting the leader somewhere. The leaders own doubts, fears, lack of
clarity, lack of security shows up in these incidents. The core team reflects the
leader and his beliefs
-
Leaders bring vision, greater common good, greater
individual good, a vibrant future, human empowerment and development, clarity
and conviction.
-
They leave the team as a better unit, as better
individuals with greater belief in themselves.
-
They use resources efficiently -they don’t do
everything themselves.
-
The leader takes the pressure when the heat is on. Can
do it himself.
Make a difference –
Use this opportunity
As a leader, one can make a
difference to the world so use this opportunity to make even a small difference
in your area despite the constraint. The small difference you make will slowly grow into
something much bigger. Empower your people, your team and achieve higher.
***
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