Leadership

20
aug
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How Knowing Your Leadership Style Makes You a Better Leader

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What is Leadership Style?

Leadership style is the particular way in which a person leads others. It’s best understood by measuring the extent to which a leader’s preferred behavior demonstrates assertiveness and expressiveness, which are broad categories of behavior dimensions. The combination of high/low on the assertiveness dimension and high/low on the expressiveness dimension results in four possible leadership styles: direct, spirited, systematic, and considerate.

These are the four leadership styles and their assertiveness/expressiveness levels:

  1. Direct – Direct leaders have high assertiveness and low expressiveness. They tend to lead by taking charge.
  2. Spirited – Spirited leaders have high assertiveness and high expressiveness. They usually lead others by inspiring them.
  3. Considerate – Considerate leaders have low assertiveness and high expressiveness. They lead by building group harmony.
  4. Systematic – Systematic leaders have low assertiveness and low expressiveness. They usually lead by planning carefully.

The assertiveness dimension measures the degree to which a person’s behavior is forceful or directive. Highly assertive people like to take control of situations while people with low assertiveness may be more comfortable in less visible roles. The expressiveness dimension measures the degree to which a person’s behavior is emotionally responsive or demonstrative. Highly expressive people like to show their emotions and form interpersonal relationships while less expressive people tend to keep to themselves.

Each Style’s Strengths and Weaknesses

For direct leaders, their take-charge style can pull others through. They like to compete, which may give the organization an edge over others, and they produce quick results. They are energetic, and get people moving. They also take charge no matter how challenging the situation.

The spirited leader can encourage the team when their energy begins to flag. They are big picture, vision-oriented thinkers, who are good at generating enthusiasm and rallying support. They motivate others to develop fresh, new approaches, and they are spontaneous and create a fun atmosphere.

Considerate leaders can grow team harmony with their desire to accommodate everyone. They provide others with a sense of reassurance in difficult or changing times. They are also able to build a loyal following by demonstrating their support for others. Considerate leaders recognize the importance of taking others’ views and feelings into account.

The systematic leader focuses on accuracy and objectivity. Their analytical style can be a real asset. They provide structure for activities, which usually helps tasks or projects stay on track. A systematic leader makes sure that no one overlooks the important details and makes decisions based on facts. They also have a strong orientation toward objectivity and accuracy.

Why is it Helpful to Know About Leadership Styles?

Current research shows that the most effective leaders know that their first reactions to situations may not always prove effective. They know they must make deliberate choices about their way of leading. Effective leaders first evaluate a situation, and then, depending on the specific requirements of the situation, they may deliberately choose to follow their natural inclinations, leading others in their characteristic way. Or they may choose to modify their leadership styles to suit the situation.

One leadership style isn’t necessarily better than the others, and you could have traits of more than one style. The key is to know which one you are most like, and which ones your colleagues are. If you know these things you can use your style to interact with people better.

The benefits of knowing your leadership styles include:

  • Being able to work with others better
  • Predicting people’s actions
  • Knowing why you act the way that you do
  • Seeing the bigger picture better
  • Adapting to fit the situation at hand

The most effective leaders know how to make situational choices when leading, regardless of their dominant style. They may deliberately choose to follow their natural inclinations, leading others in their characteristic way, or they may choose to modify or adapt their dominant style to suit the situation. Making use of a style other than one’s dominant style is called “flexing” and is central to achieving success as a leader.

Learning More

To learn more about the benefits of leadership styles, attend the Leadership Styles: Measuring and Refining Your Skills webinar on Sept. 13 at 2 p.m. This webinar is for trainers and managers who train and lead others, and is based on the HRDQ product What’s My Leadership Style? Participants will learn how to identify personal leadership style, how to capitalize on style strengths, discover how to minimize style trouble spots, and learn how to use their personal style to interact most effectively with others. Register here: www.hrdqu.com/webinars/leadership-styles-measuring-and-refining-your-skills/.

The webinar is based on HRDQ’s What’s My Leadership Style?, a management development and leadership style assessment and training workshop that identifies leadership styles and helps organizational leaders, managers, and supervisors improve performance and become effective leaders. Learn more here: www.hrdqstore.com/whats-my-leadership-style.

14
aug
0 0

Being a Transformational Leader

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Leaders must be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Transformational leadership is an approach to leading others that causes change in individual and social systems. In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change with the end goal of developing followers into leaders.

Transformational leadership creates important, positive change in the workplace. It’s grounded in the belief that inspiring others to focus on the greater good produces a level of excellence that exceeds results achieved by other forms of leadership. It has many benefits, and is worth considering by everyone in a position of leadership.

Types of Leadership

Transaction leadership measures performance against set standards, focuses on short-term goals and results, enables quick decision-making offers structure and direction, and appeals to the self-interest of employees. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, builds a culture of trust and mutual respect, increases transparency and open communication, instills commitment and accountability, and propels far-reaching changes.

Individuals and organizations can be successful using transactional leadership; however, its strengths are more effective for maintaining the status quo or making incremental changes rather than creating sweeping transformations. Transformational leadership, in contrast to transactional leadership, is highly effective for accomplishing major and lasting change.

The Four Components to Transformational Leadership

James Downton originated the phrase “transformational leadership,” and James MacGregor Burns  expanded on it. He identified four core components of transformational leadership, which he called inspirational motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. These four components to transformational leadership are also named calling, charisma, challenge, and caring. Their definitions are below:

  • Calling: Articulating a vision designed to create positive change that resonates with followers.
  • Charisma: Connecting with followers through words and actions so that followers enthusiastically support the calling.
  • Challenge: Encouraging followers to apply critical thinking and innovation to achieve the positive change described in the calling.
  • Caring: Showing genuine concern for each individual’s needs and wants, celebrating individual accomplishments, and supporting individual growth and development.

Ways to be a Transformational Leader

In order to truly be a transformational leader, you need to carry out the four components of transformational leadership. You should identify your calling and share it with passion and purpose with others. You should be able to develop the elements of charisma and then share impactful stories with your peers and employees. You should help others engage in critical thinking and use problem solving. You should also implement ideas to encourage creativity and innovation. Finally, you should try to make personal connections with your followers and encourage their growth.

Learning More

Attend HRDQ’s webinar What Makes Great Transformational Leadership? on Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. EDT. This back-to-basics webinar focuses on the what – and the how – of effective leadership. You’ll learn to recognize the characteristics of effective leadership and behaviors that may undermine performance. More importantly, you’ll leave with a solid understanding of how best to develop both aspiring leaders and seasoned veterans.

Participants will learn how to carry out the four components of transformational leadership, identify their calling, develop the elements of charisma and share impactful stories with others, help others engage in critical thinking, implement ideas to encourage thinking outside of the box, and make personal connections with your people and encourage their growth. Register here: https://www.hrdqu.com/webinars/what-makes-great-transformational-leadership-2/.

This webinar is based on research from HRDQ’s Transformational Leader, a training program that gives both newly emerging and experienced leaders and managers the tools and techniques for developing and refining their skills. This learning resource can help your organization retain employees and clients, make better decisions, and improve performance.

The Transformational Leader will walk you through the four components to transformational leadership – calling, charisma, challenge, and caring – allowing you to develop the skills and techniques required to make a real difference at your workplace and to inspire others to work toward a shared vision of positive change. Click here:  https://hrdqstore.com/products/transformational-leader-customizable-course.

21
jun
0
courageous_leadership

Having Courage Doesn’t Always Mean Saying “Yes”

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Sometimes people think that having courage requires saying YES to every big risk that comes along. But sometimes it actually means applying a disciplined NO to assert a boundary.

Ed Viesturs, one of America’s greatest adventurers, has summited all fourteen of the world’s 8000-meter summits and has been to the top of Mount Everest – not once or twice – but seven times. Think he knows something about taking smart risks?

In this video, Bill Treasurer shares the story of Ed’s first two attempts to climb Mount Everest — both of which ended with him turning around before he reached the top. He applied a disciplined NO for the sake of a more important YES. Getting up the mountain was optional: getting back down was mandatory!

Watch the video now to hear the rest of Ed’s story, and discover how you can put your courage to work today.

What have you tolerated for too long that you need to start saying NO to?

Want to know more about courage? Join us for Courageous Leadership: How to Build Backbone, Boost Performance, and Get Results, presented by Bill Treasurer. The Courageous Leadership webinar will provide practical strategies for building workforce courage so workers can become opportunity-seekers. A proven approach for using courage to improve performance and counteract the negative impacts of workplace fear will be introduced. When everyone is working with more courage, the entire organization is transformed for the better.

19
jun
0
leadership_style

Leadership Styles in the Workplace: Benefits and Drawback to Each Style

Posted by Leadership, Leadership Style AssessmentNo Comments

Knowing your leadership style – and the styles of people around you – is important. If you are aware of your own style you can work with others better by adapting your style to meet the requirements of individual situations and personalities. If you can read others’ leadership styles you can handle workplace relationships with ease.

“Leadership style” is defined as a person’s unique way of influencing others to work toward goals. Within the specific styles there are also measurements of assertiveness and expressiveness that add to your own unique style. Assertiveness measures the degree to which a person tries to influence other people’s thoughts and actions. Expressiveness measures the degree to which a person displays his or her emotions when interacting with others.

These are the four leadership styles and their assertiveness/expressiveness levels:

  1. Direct – Direct leaders have high assertiveness and low expressiveness. They tend to lead by taking charge.
  2. Spirited – Spirited leaders have high assertiveness and high expressiveness. They usually lead others by inspiring them.
  3. Considerate – Considerate leaders have low assertiveness and high expressiveness. They lead by building group harmony.
  4. Systematic – Systematic leaders have low assertiveness and low expressiveness. They usually lead by planning carefully.

One style isn’t necessarily better than the others, and you could have traits of more than one style. The key is to know which one you are most like, and which ones your colleagues are. If you know these things you can use your style to interact with people better.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Each Style

Each type of leader has a time to shine. There are moments at work when being a specific kind of leader can be beneficial. Similarly, there are times when a certain kind of leader could have difficulty.

Direct: When there’s a work crisis, a direct leader’s take-charge style can help others push through tough situations. However, when delegating tasks to others is necessary, direct leaders may have trouble giving up control.

Spirited: If a group’s energy starts running low, a spirited leader’s spontaneity can provide a vital spark. However, their tendency to live in the present can be a problem in situations that require careful, long-term planning.

Considerate: Team harmony is vital, and a considerate leader has the ability and empathy to accommodate everyone. However, this could cause issues when one person pushes for a special interest and the considerate leader easily caves.

Systematic: Accuracy and objectivity at work are important, and they are strengths of a systematic leader. Their analytical style can be a valuable asset. However, when time pressures build their thoroughness may slow down projects.

Learning More About Leadership Styles

Learn more about leadership with HRDQ’s webinar “Leadership Styles: Measuring and Refining Your Skills”. Attendees will learn how to identify personal leadership style, learn how to capitalize on style strengths, discover how to minimize style trouble spots, and learn how to “flex” personal style to interact most effectively with others. Register here.

The webinar is based on What’s My Leadership Style by HRDQ. This leadership style assessment is ideal for training anyone who needs to influence others towards achieving a goal, and it’s appropriate for both new and experienced leaders. Learn more about the product.

22
apr
0
courageous_leadership

3 Ways to Harness Fear

Posted by LeadershipNo Comments

This post is from Bill Treasurer. He will be presenting the upcoming webinar Courageous Leadership: How to Build Backbone, Boost Performance, and Get Results. Register today, and you’ll learn a lot more about courage.

Why do some people confront their fears and others avoid them? I grappled with this question during the writing of my first book, Right Risk. Through the writing of that book, and after consulting with many leaders and experts since, I have learned that people face their fears when they are so physically and psychologically prepared that they are able to convert fear into excitement.

The goal of harnessing fear is putting fear’s energy to good use. Fear, like electricity, can be paralyzing. But properly harnessed, it can provide workers with the energy they’ll need to sustain them when facing challenging situations. Here are three things you can do to put fear to work for you:

1. Normalize it.

Worse than fear is its emotional corollary, shame. Workers, particularly men, feel embarrassed about feeling fearful. When comparing themselves with more confident coworkers, fearful workers see themselves as inadequate, wondering, “What’s wrong with me that I can’t be more fearless?” When shame enters the room, confidence walks out the door.

In dealing with fearful workers, it is tempting to want to discount their fears by telling them, “Don’t be afraid.” But doing so is silly and ineffective. They are afraid. So why not acknowledge that instead? Acknowledging fear makes it more ordinary, lessening workers’ feelings of shame. “Of course you’re afraid,” you might say, “why wouldn’t you be?”

During Giant Leap’s courage-building workshops, we often include a segment where each participant shares a fear that he or she is facing at work. The ensuing conversations are rich and profound, and for me the most important and gratifying aspects of our work. Fear, when exposed to the light of day, loses its potency. When workers voice their fears, the fears become more normal and mundane. These conversations, which often last a few hours, help mitigate workers’ feelings of shame because they begin to realize that at any moment nearly all people are dealing with some type of work-related fear. By far the most common thing participants tell me after these conversations is that by hearing the fears of their coworkers, they feel “less screwed up” than they did before the workshop. The fact that so many people are contending with a workplace fear shows them that fear is a normal part of the work experience. Once workers start to see fear as normal, they give it less attention, which allows them to shift their focus away from it.

2. Tie Fear to Courage

Many people wrongly exclude fear from the definition of courage, believing that courage is the absence of fear, or fearlessness. The reality, though, is that courage is fearful. When we are acting courageously, we are, most typically, very afraid. But we don’t allow the fear we’re carrying to stop us. Instead, we press on. This is the signature feature of courage: to carry on despite being afraid. Fear, thus, is an essential element in the definition of courage. You can’t be courageous unless you are afraid.

When fear is included in the definition of courage, fearful situations turn into opportunities to demonstrate courage. The best evidence that a worker is being courageous is that she shows all the signs of being afraid but is taking action anyway. People who press on despite being full of fear epitomize what it means to be courageous. This is exactly the type of behavior that you as a manager want to acknowledge and reinforce. Few things stiffen the spine with pride as much as hearing your boss say things like “I’m impressed with how courageous you’re being” or “Thanks for being so courageous.”

Former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani underscored how closely courage and fear are tied together in a talk I attended. He was reflecting on the lessons that his father had given him about courage, and how he drew on those lessons during the days immediately after 9/11. He said, “If you don’t have a fear, you’d better go get one. Dealing with fear is how you find your courage.”

3. Use Fear’s Energy

The best way to deal with fear is to use it against itself. Fear is not inert. It has energy. When properly harnessed, fear’s energy can provide momentum for facing challenging situations.

Much of my company’s work involves designing and developing comprehensive leadership programs for emerging and experienced leaders. As part of the design process, we gather input from many sources, including the organization’s most senior executives. While designing of one of our programs, I asked the CEO what he considered to be the single the most important leadership message he wanted to reinforce among the leadership ranks. He said, “The most important thing people need to know is that leadership depends on having sweaty palms.”

“Huh?” I said.

He explained, “For our leaders to grow, and for our company to be most successful, our leaders need to regularly be doing things that are so scary for them that it causes their palms to sweat. Challenge provokes fear, and having sweaty palms shows you, physiologically, that fear is energizing the body. You get sweaty palms by moving outside of your comfort zone and into your courage zone. It’s inside your courage zone where the learning and growing happens.”

For workers, having sweaty palms means learning to carry fear with them when facing challenges. Again, courage is not about being fearless. It’s about taking your fear with you. Part of your job as a leader is to help people to stop fearing fear. Fear is a business reality. Fear is. Harnessing fear helps workers to capitalize on fear’s energy so that they can do challenging and courageous things.

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