Leadership effectiveness: It all starts with you

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Leadership effectiveness It all starts with you

• Some key objectives
• To develop a level of self understanding which
  will enable you to correctly identify your own
  strengths and areas for improvement Cf
  Churchills Statistical Office
• To observe others behaviour and correctly
  identify their strengths and areas for
  improvement with respect to the leadership, team
  and communication skills.
• To be able to adapt (or match) your behaviour to
  facilitate effective communication with others in
  your group or team

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Effective Leaders most frequently mentioned
skills(Carlopio et al, 2001)

• Verbal communication (including listening)
• Managing time and stress
• Managing individual decisions
• Recognising, defining, and solving problems
• Motivating and influencing others
• Delegating
• Setting goals and articulating a vision
• Self-awareness
• Team building
• Managing conflict

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Skills are

• Behavioural
• Set of actions that people do and which lead to
  certain outcomes
• Can therefore be learned
• Paradoxical
• Managers need to participate in paradoxical
  skills eg hard and soft, directive and
  participative, nurturing and competitive
• Interrelated
• Skills are not performed independently of one
  another
• There is overlapping in application to ensure
  flexibility
• Skill competency diminished many variables by
  conservatism, yes men, and use of power and
  existence of fear

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Personal Assessment of Management Skills
(Instrument Carlopio et al 2001)

• Measures
• Self awareness
• Managing stress
• Solving problems creatively
• Communicating supportively
• Gaining power and influence
• Motivating others
• Managing conflict
• Empowering and delegating
• Building effective teams

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Personal assessment of management skills

• You cant teach an elephant to fly but.
• What are you good at? Build up those skills and
  behaviours. Become more self aware
• What do you need to improve on? Identify what you
  need for your current role we cant do
  everything

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Communication-Matching Process

• We all need to communicate so that the meaning
  and the relationship is understood we need to
  match meaning, point of view, world view, values
  and culture
• What influences us? From what perspective do we
  communicate? Can we change that perspective?
• Influence dimensions based on premise that
  non-verbal behaviours influence performance and
  communication considerably

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Influence dimensions for your communications
profile (Carlopio et al, 2001)

• Linear Lateral
• Detailer Conceptualizer
• Rapid processor Gradual processor
• Self evaluator Other evaluator
• Initiator Responder
• Exaggerator Understator

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Influence Dimensions Think about

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your
  strongest style?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your
  weakest style?
• How do you respond to people who share your
  strongest style?
• How do you respond to people who strongest style
  is your weakest style?
• Who would the best people be for you to work with?

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Value of the knowing where you are placed

• Understand own biases in communication and
  leadership,
• Recognise the consistent variations between
  people.
• Recognise that others may or may not approach
  situations in the same way as ourselves.

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How do you learn?

• Do you like ordered, common sense practical
  information (Planners)
• Do you like exciting and unusual information
  (Creators)
• Do you like time to reflect on information in
  concert with each other (Developers)
• Do you like structure and logic (Analysers)
• How do those around you like to learn?
• Have you got a balance of abilities to draw on in
  your work group

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What is our cognitive style? (How do we perceive,
interpret and respond to information)

• How do we gather information
• Detail focus, attributes of elements and
  relationships between elements Sensing
• Holistic view, emphasising commonalities and
  generalisations Intuiting
• How do we evaluate the information
• Systematic problem solving approach thinking
• Gut feel feeling
• (eg Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and other longer
  versions of similar instruments)

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Application

• How can we relate to people who may have a
  different style to us?
• What implications does cognitive style have for
  degree course majors, course design, future
  occupations, study habits, social relationships,
  examination ability?

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What is our attitude towards change?

• We need to be aware of our orientation to change
  and how much we are in control of our own
  destiny
• How do you tolerate ambiguity?
• To what extent do you attribute cause of outcomes
  to factors you can control (internal) versus
  those you cannot control (external)
• western culture values high tolerance of
  ambiguity and high internal locus of control but
  this does not guarantee managerial success

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Interpersonal orientation

• When interacting with others are we willing to
  put as much effort into interactions as we expect
  or needs from those interactions?

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Descriptors of Fundamental Interpersonal
Relations Orientation-Behaviour (FIRO-B) Needs
OPENNESS/ affection
INCLUSION
CONTROL
Expressed
I join other
I take charge,
I get close and
Toward
people, and I
and I influence
personal with
Others
include others.
people.
people.
Wanted
I want other
I want others to
I want
people
From
people to
lead me or give
to get close and
Others
include me.
me directions.
personal with
me.
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Learn to recognise your own abilities and build
on them. Think about the strengths and
weaknesses of those you are dealing with on a day
to day basis and appreciate their perspective.
It may not be the same as yours but may be
equally valid. Effective leadership comes in
many guises
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Reference

• Carlopio J., Andrewartha G., Armstrong H. 2001.
  Developing Management Skills A comprehensive
  guide for leaders, 2nd edition. Frenchs Forest
  Prentice Hall.

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