Leadership in the 21st Century
There is no excuse now for poor Leadership in the 21st Century. With the wealth of academic material on the subject that is now available - no one in a leadership position should fail.
Sow to reap passionately believe that it is the combination of the best of academic theory put into practice on the ‘shop floor’ that delivers the best leadership in whatever field it is required.
Now in the second decade of the 21st Century it is clear that lifelong learning is fundamental to progress for individuals or teams at whatever stage they are at - in life or in work.
The Association for Project Management (APM) define leadership as ‘the ability to establish vision and direction, to influence and align others towards a common purpose, and to empower and inspire people to achieve success’.
Sow to Reap would add ‘motivate’ to the last sentence above – so it would read…..’ and to empower, motivate and inspire people to achieve success’.
Leaders need followers – but these followers only come if they are motivated and inspired. Coercion, command and control will not produce willing followers for long. Motivation and inspiration energize people, not by pushing them in the right direction as control mechanisms do but by satisfying basic human needs for achievement, a sense of belonging, recognition, self-esteem. Such feelings touch people deeply and elicit a powerful response.
The Sow to Reap Leader Acronym
Sow to Reap have written the following definition for what LEADER stands for:
Lifelong learning (for you & your team)
Empowers
All of your
Delegated team(s) to
Enjoy & expand their
Responsibilities
The Leader Acronym©Stephen Kelly 2018
The definition above encapsulates all the qualities required to be a great leader.
Learn. Delegate. Empower people so that they continually enjoy and expand their learning and their responsibilities.
With a restless perfection philosophy today’s leaders must adopt continual improvement and lifelong learning for themselves and their teams.
Life is a continuum of change. The constant changes in societies,politics, markets , customers, competition and technology around the world are forcing organisations to continually review and clarify their values, develop new strategies, and learn and implement new ways of operating.
The aim of management is predictability – orderly results. Leadership’s function is to produce change. Setting the direction of that change is essential. Direction setting results in visions and the strategies for realising them. With change inevitably will come incidents of conflict. At the centre of being a Leader in the 21st century are strong social skills and grace under pressure.
The Leader Level is a simple model for anyone in a leadership position to have at ‘top of mind’ through any waking moment, every day at work or play.
Life is a continuum of daily ups and downs with happy/sad, stressful/calm moments which can change at a moments notice.
The key is to remain calm and consistent
“Am I on the level?” , “How am I feeling right now ! ?”
Evanglise and communicate your Vision
Be consistent
Do not be moody
Do not propagate a culture of fear of you in your teams
Have grace under Pressure
Keep calm and carry On
Learn Emotional Intelligence:
-Self Aware
-Situational Aware
-Self Manage
-Social Skills
-Relationship Management
What is your dominant Action Logic
No Ripple Effect
Be a Leader-Manager
Leadership –centred Culture
Have Panache
There are many theories of leadership and the subject can be approached in a variety of ways. One simple approach to understanding different leadership styles is the comparison of transactional leaders and transformational leaders.
Transactional leaders ensure that requirements are agreed and that the rewards and penalties for achievement, or lack of it, are understood. It is an exchange process to do with setting objectives and plans: ‘do this and you will be rewarded thus’.
In contrast, transformational leaders do everything possible to help people succeed in their own right and become leaders themselves. They help those people to transform themselves and achieve more than was intended or even thought possible.
The position of leader is granted by followers who make the decision to follow. That decision will be influenced by the leader using an appropriate style of leadership that takes account of both the situation and the readiness of people to follow.
Team members’ willingness to follow will vary according to their levels of motivation and ability, as well as their loyalties, priorities and the context of the situation.
Leaders must be aware of their team members’ motivational requirements in order to manage their approach to individuals flexibly. The motivation of individuals is the subject of many theoretical models, such as those proposed by Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor.
A leader provides constructive and immediate feedback on the performance of individuals and encourages feedback on their own performance. To enable continual improvement, lessons learned will be shared and success celebrated. Leaders can act as a coach and/or mentor to team members to promote personal growth and development.
References
Association for Project Management -www.apm.org.uk/body-of-knowledge/people/interpersonal-skills/leadership/
Ronald A. Heifetz – The Work of Leadership – Harvard Business Review January 1997
Donald L. Laurie – The Work of Leadership – Harvard Business Review January 1997
Daniel Goleman – What Makes a Leader – Harvard Business Review June 1996
Robert Goffee – Why Should Anyone be Led by You – Harvard Business Review September 2000
Gareth Jones – Why Should Anyone be Led by You – Harvard Business Review September 2000
John P. Kotter – What Leaders Really Do – Harvard Business Review May 1990