Six Steps to Effective Leadership

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Six Steps to Effective Leadership

• Joyce Osland
• San Jose State University

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Which is true and why?

• The first step in becoming a truly effective
  leaders is wanting to be a leader.
• Behaving as and becoming an effective leader is a
  secondary by-product of an intense commitment to
  a purpose.

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Why is your center or core crucial to your
ability to lead?

• More powerful influence on others
• Without it, youll be off-balance and cant be an
  anchor to others
• More able to withstand criticism and adversity

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1. Clarifying Your Center. How?

• Example of Matsushita Leadership Center
• Determining your lifes purpose
• What you stand for engagement
• Developing character Ends versus Means
• Meditation

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• Leadership is an act of engagement.
• Alexander Horniman

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2. Clarifying Whats Possible

• Dont let the urgent drive out the important
• Set aside time to think and meditate discipline
  your mind to think about the future
• Read outside your field to get ideas
• Build scenarios
• Dont be discouraged by constraints

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3. Clarifying What Others Can Contribute

• Basic assumptions about others dont think in
  limited terms about what they can accomplish
• Identifying the critical skills dont limit
  your thinking about what skills you really need

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FMCs Welder Selection Process

• Assumptions
• Organizations process was more important than
  its technical skills (highly qualified people who
  cant work together would be less effective than
  moderately talented people who could)
• Social skills are harder to teach than technical
  skills
• People trained in one technical way, reinforced
  by union experience focused on a narrow range of
  skills would have difficulty learning new
  methods.

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FMCs Welder Selection Process

• Critical Skills selection criteria
• Self-esteem able to accept feedback
• Learning attitude eager to learn new skills
• Team spirit willing to share the work and
  responsibility for results
• Pride in quality focused on improving their
  work
• Four hour recruiting/screening process choice?

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4. Supporting Others so They Can Contribute

• By redesigning work systems
• Information Age Organizational Stuctures What
  did BancOne do?
• Empowering Systems Design
• Design systems that give individuals more
  autonomy about organizing their own work
• Aim for rapid use of good info and multiple
  talents of employees

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5. Being Relentless

• Refers to the stamina and tenacity leaders need
• Is your life a motorboat or a wood chip?
• Easily chosen goals do not lead to deep
  commitment
• Relentlessness comes from self- confidence

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6. Measuring and Celebrating Progress

• Focusing on the right measures
• Can you think of an example of poor measures of
  progress that harmed a leadership effort?
• Focusing on the glass half-full
• Look for progress and celebrate it
• Examples of celebrating progress?