Leading Past Perception: Helping Leaders Make a Difference

Leading

Past Perception

Helping leaders make

a difference.

NAKIA MELECIO

Copyright © 2014 Nakia Melecio.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1040-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1039-5 (e)

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 04/07/2014

Contents

Preface

Summary

Chapter 1:   Evolution of Leadership

Great Man Theories

Trait Leadership Theories

Contingency Theories

Behavioral Theories

Transactional leadership Theories

Transformational Theories

Participative Theories

Chapter 2:   Understanding Ethical Dilemmas and Stewardship

Ethical Organization

Ethics

The Facets of a Code of Ethics

Normative Ethics

Framework of Ethical Decisions

The Utilitarian Decision Making

Chapter 3:   Understanding the Nature and Dynamics of Organizations

Classical Organizational Theory

Neoclassical Organization Theory

Contingency Theory

Systems Theory

Organizational Structure

Functional Structure

Project Management/ Divisional Structure

The Matrix Structure

Organic and Mechanistic Structure

Organizational Culture

Motivation and Effectiveness

The Learning Organization

A learning organization begin with leaders

Chapter 4:   Leading the New Organization

Globalization

Corporate Social Responsibility

Social Media

Internal and External Crisis

Political and Global Risks

Employee Empowerment

Changes in Leadership Styles in the 21st Century

Aligning Employees

Empowered Employees

Mentoring

Customer Satisfaction

Collaborating

Critical Thinking

Adaptability

Self-Awareness

Purposefulness

Decisions

Innovation

Chapter 5:   Servant Leadership

Characteristics of a Servant Leader

Good Listeners

Feels Empathy towards Others

Focused towards Healing People

Has an Increased Sense of Awareness

Good at Persuading People

Thinks Long term

Foresight

Stewardship

Committed to Development of People

Focused on the Wellbeing of the Community

Chapter 6:   Being Bold in Strategic Planning and Change

Common Behaviors Seen in Bold Leaders

Keep People Informed

Be a Coach

Prepare Backup Plans

Make Decisions Based on Cold Truth and Facts

Prepare Champions

Never Forget or Forego Values

Create Credibility before Expecting Followers

They Take Small Steps with the Team

Chapter 7:   Understanding Toxic Leadership and Its Effect on the Organization

What is a Toxic Leader?

Characteristics of a Toxic Leader

Why are we Attracted to Toxic Leaders

Our Need to Follow Authority

Our Need for Security

Our Need to Belong

Our Fear of Uncertainty

Effect of Toxic Leadership on the Firm

Chapter 8:   Leading a Value - Driven Organizations

Leader’s Role in a Value Based Organization

How to Tell an Organization is Value- Driven?

Employees Know the Values of the Company

Employees Know How these Values are practiced

The Values Should be Clearly Visible in the Company’s Actions and Decisions

The Company Provides Customers the Value it Promises

The Firm, Values and Mentors Its Employees

Chapter 9:   Leading Across Cultures and the Importance of having a Healthy Cultural Organization

Cross Cultural Challenges

Leading a Diverse Workforce

Get Rid of Personal Biasness

Help Your Team Accept the Differences

Chapter 10:   Innovation: The Last Frontier of Competitive Advantage

Leadership Skills for Creating an Innovative Organization

Challenges Status Quo

They Never Reject Ideas

They Question

They Create an Environment of Trust

They are always open to New Learning

They are Always Testing New Theories

They are Positive People

Change Brings About Innovation

How a Leader Responds to Circumstances

Key Contributing Factors for Innovation

1.   Creativity

2.   Keeping an Open Mind

3.   Predicting and Planning for the Future

Chapter 11:   Conflict Management

Types of Conflicts

1.   Personality Clash

2.   Miscommunication

3.   Feeling Threatened

Benefits of Effectively Handling Conflicts

Conflict Can Act As a Change Agent

Conflict Improves Employee Performance

Conflict Provides a Chance to Innovate

Skills required in Order to resolve Conflicts Effectively

Formalization

Emotional Noise

Victimization

Leader as Mediator

Get the Employees to Agree to Mediation

Get them aligned with the Firm’s Goals

Gain Complete Understanding of the Situation

Create Ground Rules

Conduct the Session

Help them Come to an Understanding

Chapter 12:   The Coach Approach Leader

Value and Benefits of Coaching

The Gap

Coaching Strategies

Chapter 13:   Dynamic Communication

Principles of Effective Communication

Build Trust

Make Communication Engaging

Get to the Point

Transfer Ideas

Listen by Keeping an Open Mind

Notice and Read

Build Command over Subject

Touch Hearts

Tips for Effective Communication

Chapter 14:   Influencing and Engaging Others

The Nature of Work

The Culture and Organization’s Environment and Trust in the leader

Appreciation and Recognition, Including Rewards

Communication

Chapter 15:   Building High Energy Relationships and Teams

Skills and Training

Objectives

Recognition

Team Loyalty

Chapter 16:   Developing Your Human Capital

Chapter 17:   The Importance of Organizational Culture

Collaborative Culture

Controlling Culture

Creative Culture

Compete Culture

Chapter 18:   Leading With Integrity and Character

Chapter 19:   There is Value in a Name

Chapter 20:   How to Reinstate Trust

Look In the Mirror and Be Honest With Yourself

Manage Your Expectations and Reactions

Create Boundaries

Chapter 21:   Real Transparency in Communication

Bull in a China Shop

Hidden Agenda

Chapter 22:   Dealing with Moody People in the Workplace

Chapter 23:   Create Boundaries When Dealing With the Narcissist Leader

Chapter 24:   Vicious Cycle of Criticism in the Workplace

Chapter 25:   How to Identify Co-dependency in Your Work Relationships

Preface

T hroughout the history of mankind, leadership has been one subject that has been studied, examined and analyzed thoroughly, in order to gain some insight into the best leadership technique and tactic that will help create successful organizations. In this book, I examine and evaluate factor after factor that has a profound effect on how effective a leader is in lea ding.

Perception is reality and reality is perception. How employees react and respond to the directions of their leader depends largely on how they perceive their leader; no matter how he actually is, it is the perception that matters. To create the right perception in order to improve group communications and dynamics, it is essential that communication between the leader and his employees is ever flowing.

Open communication ensures that employees are open about their feelings and expectations with the leader, along with having a deeper understanding of what is expected from them, which creates a bond of trust between the leader and his team. In order to ensure complete trust, a leader must make sure he has his employees’ best interest at heart. If negative perceptions are not remedied they could ignite a series of damaging behavior, causing employees to rebel. To create an environment of mutual respect and cooperation, a leader must display the behavior he expects his employees to emulate.

In this book, readers will find out the advantages of keeping communication flowing and its direct impact on trust amongst team members. Trust plays a major role in how well employees respond to the requirements of the firm, along with how productive they are, which depends largely on their engagement with the firm.

Within the pages of this book, we discuss the practices that a leader can follow which not only encourage open communication, but also build trust and create employee engagement in order to increase productivity. The importance of trust holds within its core, the opportunity to build healthy relationships that are required in order to create a feeling of respect amongst a team. In order to encourage the members to help each other grow, a feeling of mutual respect and care is required.

A leader can create this momentum within a group by keeping the right attitude, encouraging conflict resolution and initiating team-building practices, which are all discussed in future chapters of the book.

Revealed within this book are the benefits of evolving into the role of a servant leader, which is one of the most effective forms of leadership today. These skills allow leaders to tackle the toughest of challenges in these turbulent times, by preparing their team and turning them into a strong force that is ready for any challenge required of them. To achieve this trust, open communication, timely feedback, coaching, mentoring and some others skills are required, which readers will be taken through step by step in this book.

The difference between all other leadership books and this particular book lies in the fact that within this book we are taking the view that leadership is a process comprised of more than the leader and the situation. Most other books focus on previous researches that see leadership’s effectiveness by extracting meaning amongst the social process that occurred amongst the groups of people engaged in joint activities.

However, we are taking a more constructive view by focusing on the perceptions of the behavior of the leader and the firm, as seen by the employees and how they react and respond to these perceptions. It is how the employees and all other groups of people involved in the group dynamics, and how they make sense of what is happening that brings about expected results.

This is why one of our main focuses is genuine relationship rather than fake ones because the damage caused by the wrong intention can have a very strong effect on altering the employees’ behavior and damaging the firm instead of benefiting it. Due to this fact alone, we need leaders today that have a strong character, temperament, and boldness to even lead past perception.

This helps us understand why some leaders are effective and why others are not. It is not what leaders know that is important, it is how they extract meaning from a situation that is equally important in helping them deal with situations and become effective leaders.

Summary

T here was an era in which the concept of leadership involved an authority figure that gave out orders, which were blindly followed. That time has been long gone, and today many organizations realize that the key to surviving in today’s competitive market is through innovation and creati vity.

Along with this, they have also realized that for an organization to succeed, innovative and unique thinking employees are necessary to create an edge through which the organization can succeed. To ensure employees bring innovative ideas, they have to be given a work environment, which nurtures their creativity.

Thus the employees of a firm are in fact their best assets. To make sure the employees of any organization work at their maximum potential, a leader with these qualities is required. Thus for a leader today, leading is no longer screaming out commands but rather involves a huge array of qualities, skills and collaborative effort.

Using this book, you will be able to understand the qualities that enable a leader to make his team succeed, which will in turn allow the organization to accomplish its goals.

Chapter One

Evolution of Leadership

L eadership has evolved greatly throughout the years and hence, what we know as leadership today is nothing compared to what leadership was known as, in the twentieth century. Even though the autocratic styles of leadership were effective in the early twentieth century, the dynamic market of today needs a dynamic leader. Although that is true, yet the basic purpose of a leader has stayed the same, throughout all these y ears.

The basic purpose of a hiring a leader is to provide guidance and direction to his team, communicate the goals to them and to ensure smooth functioning of the team as a component of the organization. The purpose nevertheless can be achieved through different means to the same end. Perhaps this is why leadership is one of the world’s most comprehensively researched topics.

This is also apparent from the different leadership theories that were followed throughout the history of man. Hence, studying these historical leadership theories will help us better understand the developments that leadership has undergone and the reasons, which make the leadership of today, the ideal leadership style.

Great Man Theories

A leader is born great. There are some people who have that spark in their personalities which sets them apart. During the 1840’s, it was generally believed that these people were born with a unique spark that made them eligible for greatness. This led to the belief that leadership skills cannot be acquired; they are present in a gifted few.

The right leadership skills including charisma, people skills, intellect, and confidence were the skills that made a leader different from others. This portrays a leader as more of a prophet rather than a normal man.

Even though many disputed this theory, it was a general belief that took a while to change.

Trait Leadership Theories

The great man theories however led to the belief that there had to be some specific traits in the great leaders that sets them apart. As a result people tried to specify and thus narrow down these traits in order to identify leaders by these traits rather than the other way around.

Thus the trait leadership theories claimed that a leader was someone who was born with leadership traits. The difference here is that this theory identifies that a man is not born a leader but a man born with certain traits can become one.

These traits include creativity, smartness, dependability and social skills. Thus anyone born with these traits would make a great leader.

The shortfall of trait theories lies in the fact that they didn’t take into account the success of the leader in achieving his goals. For example if a leader has all the traits of a great leader, yet he fails to make his teamwork effectively. This could be due to any reason such as a clash between him and a team member, or some issues he is facing at home etc.

The sole purpose of the above example was to identify the importance of the circumstances in the leadership roles. Even if a leader has everything it takes to be great but the economy is facing a downfall, well there isn’t anything much he can do about it using any traits he might posses.

Contingency Theories

Thus with contingency theories, came a step in the right direction. It stated that no two situations are similar and the