What drives you as a leader

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What drives you as a leader?
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The map for this session
What kind of leader do you espouse to be?

• What drives you?

• What expectations do others have of you?

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What drives you as a leader?
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Who inspires you?
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What kind of leader do you espouse to be?

• An individual must want to be a leader to be
  effective
• I.e. to connect, excite and inspire others to
  follow
• What is it that drives you - What do you care
  passionately about?
• Are you clear about your purpose and values and
  can you use these in your leadership role?

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What does it mean to be a leader?

• Leadership is creating a world to which others
  want to belong (Gilles Pajou)
• Leadership defines what the future should look
  like, aligns people with that vision and inspires
  people to make it happen despite the obstacles
  (John Kotter)
• Leadership is a relationship through which one
  person influences the behaviour or actions of
  other people (L Mulling)

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• Leadership comes from the self

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Leadership

• Something we do with others not to others?
• Leadership is a dynamic relationship between the
  leader and their followers, without them there is
  no relationship and no leadership
• Effective leaders have an overarching sense of
  purpose together with sufficient self knowledge
  of their potential leadership assets

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Leadership

• We can be more effective leaders if we recognise
• Leadership is situational
• -What is required of us will depend upon the
  situation
• Leadership is non hierarchical
• -hierarchy is neither a necessary nor sufficient
  condition for the exercise of leadership
• Successful organisations seek to build leadership
  capability widely and give people the opportunity
  to exercise it
• Leadership is relational
• -You cannot be a leader without followers
• -Successful leaders actively and reciprocally
  engage in a complex series of relationships that
  require cultivation and nurture
• Leaders need to know how to excite their
  followers to become great performers

Adapted from Goffee Jones
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Leadership is situational
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Leadership is situational
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Action-Centred Leadership
Allocating resources Organising duties and
responsibilities
Focusing on goals Planning work
Controlling quality Checking
performance Reviewing progress
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Action-Centred Leadership
Maintaining morale and building team spirit
Maintaining communication within the group
Setting standards and maintaining
discipline Ensuring systems support the work of
the team
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Action-Centred Leadership
Meeting the needs of individual Attending to
personal problems
Developing and training the individual
Giving praise and recognition
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If you accept that leadership is situational

• -You need to develop excellent situation sensing
  abilities
• -Pick up whats going on
• -Adapt without losing sense of self
• -Use your own behaviour to change the situation
• -i.e. exemplify an alternative context

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Leadership is relational, so what do followers
want?
Community Engender a sense of belonging so that
it is clear why I am here
Authenticity Know yourself and show yourself
skilfully so that I am proud to be led by you
Significance Recognise my contribution Make me
feel valued
Excitement Excite me to higher levels of
performance and commitment I want to see your
passion
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Leadership is relational, so what do followers
want?
Community Engender a sense of belonging so that
it is clear why I am here
Authenticity Know yourself and show yourself
skilfully so that I am proud to be led by you
Significance Recognise my contribution Make me
feel valued
Excitement Excite me to higher levels of
performance and commitment I want to see your
passion
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Authenticity is key

• Authenticity is integral to the relationship
  between leaders and followers
• I.e. a consistency between words and deeds, a
  coherence between different roles and a comfort
  with being yourself
• To demonstrate authenticity
• Know your strengths and use them to your
  advantage
• Deploy your differences in a way that attracts
  followers
• Be yourself in context
• I.e. read and respond appropriately

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Balancing Authenticity and Skill
High
A U T H E N T I C I T Y
Maverick
Low
High
Low
SKILL
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Leaders need to be able to excite others

• To perform exceptionally in pursuit of a goal
• How do you do this in your organisation?
• What previous experience do you have to draw on?

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So, why would anyone want to be led by you?

• Which personal strengths form the basis of your
  leadership capability?
• Which strengths could excite others?
• What are the values that underpin your approach
  to leadership?
• Which personal weaknesses do you reveal to those
  you are leading?
• The foibles that make you more attractive as
  opposed to the ones that irritate
• Are you able to read different contexts?
• How well do you pick up the subtle shifts in the
  behaviour of others? (team, customers,
  competitors etc)
• Do you conform enough?
• How do you gain acceptance with others?
• How adept are you at identifying a common goal?
• How skillful are you at moving between closeness
  and distance?
• Do you evoke loyalty and affection whilst also
  reminding your followers of the collective
  endeavour you are engaged in?
• How well do you manage the shifts between
  closeness and distance?
• How well do you communicate?

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So what does drive you?
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TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSISDRIVERS

• Different internal pressures we place on
  ourselves
• Make us use different kinds of energy than we
  otherwise might to satisfy self imposed
  expectations
• Cause us to communicate and interact in
  particular ways
• Can cause stress for us, as we seek to fulfil a
  never ending pressure

Eric Berne
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EXAMPLES OF DRIVERS

• Improve performance be perfect
• Get a move on hurry up
• Dont show my emotions - be strong
• Look after others please people
• Persevere try hard

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DRIVERS CAN HELP US TO

• Understand the demands we subtly impose on
  ourselves and others
• Understand the impact of our style of
  communication on others
• Explain some of the conflicts that occur between
  people with different drivers
• Make us more aware of when its helpful to be our
  natural self and when to be different

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BE PERFECT
Believe that the only satisfactory outcome is one
that is exactly right At their best when their
critical faculty can be deployed Anxious not to
make a mistake Tend to be well organised Highly
Self-Critical whilst seeking to avoid criticism
from others at all costs Can be perceived as
picky by others, double checking and
embellishing Find decision making difficult -
want it to be perfect
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BE STRONG
Believe that being in control and coping with
tough demands is most important At their best
when managing a crisis Will always remain calm
and strong under pressure and when faced with
conflict Anxious to control emotion at all
cost Never ask for help or support and look on
people who ask for help as weak May be seen by
others as cool or remote with a stiff upper lip
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HURRY UP
Believe there is merit in completing tasks in the
shortest possible time At their best when faced
with a tight deadline Energetic and excitable by
nature Able to energize others whose own impetus
has worn off Anxious about delays and
inaction Can be perceived as frenetic,
overloaded, disorganised, inattentive to
detail Leave things to last minute and often take
on too much with the effect that quality
suffers With others can be impatient, interrupt,
finish off sentences
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PLEASE PEOPLE
Believe that somebody must be pleased by
everything they do At their best when restoring
or building relationships Seek to create harmony
around them Good Team Players Anxious to gain
approval Dependant on others opinions of
them Wont criticize others, avoid
confrontation Completely tolerant, accommodating
and Chameleon like Smile, nod and agree a lot
(with anybody)

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TRY HARD
Believe persevering is all important At their
best when starting things off with lots of
energy Tenacious and loyal by nature Enjoy
gathering information developing expertise in a
subject area Believe they must keep going, and
are never finished Start off many tasks but find
it difficult to see them through to
completion Often repeat themselves, and talk in a
very detailed way May be perceived by others as
over complicating things
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So what does drive you as a leader?
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On your tables Relating each of the drivers to
the Adair model of leadership

• Which aspects of leadership will those with this
  driver relish?
• What might be their leadership blind spots?
• What would someone with this driver need to do
  to maximise their effectiveness?

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Further Reading

• Berne, E. The psychology of human relationships.
  1973
• Goffee, R Jones, G. Why should anyone be led by
  you. 2006
• - Kotter, J. What leaders actually do. 1999
• Contact Details
• Sally Cray, Centre for Leadership, Salomons
  Campus. Canterbury Christ Church university
• 01892 507620 sally.cray_at_canterbury.ac.uk