January 7, 2004
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How To Get Leaders To Lead Effectively

Greetings!

Welcome to this week's issue of The Total View.

Having the title of CEO or President may make you top dog but it does not guarantee effectiveness. In this week's issue read about the difference between being a leader and demonstrating leadership.

The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!)

Ira S. Wolfe ©2003 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about Success Performance Solutions or read back issues of The Total View, visit our website at www.super- solutions.com.

How To Get Leaders To Lead Effectively
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He looked like a leader. He acted like a leader. He was promoted to the leading position in the company. But under his leadership, the company failed miserably.

Need I recount how often this happens?

Leadership is not just about assuming, acting or playing a role. Wanna-be leaders are often thrust into leadership roles because they took charge of projects or teams in the past and got results. Or they were recognized as a potential successor and taught how to "act" like a leader in Leadership Development 101. In the case of family-owned businesses, they may have been just next in line. All hopes for a successful transfer of authority and power rested on the leadership gene being in the blood while bystanders hope some of Gramps or Dad's charisma and skills might have rubbed off.

"Graduates" leave development and coaching programs armed with a few new key skills and tactics. At the very least, they are now equipped with the intellectual capacity of how to act as a leader. But role-playing a leader without sharing in and believing the values of an organization and without understanding what got them there may not be enough to keep them in the lead. The actions that got them promoted into a leader's role in the first place now might be now perceived quite differently by employees, suppliers, vendors and even the community at large.

For example, the determined, assertive and courageous successor might now be seen as the heavy-handed bully or manipulator. The charismatic, caring, collaborative new leader on the other hand might be seen as shallow, soft and indecisive. The decisive are now considered impulsive, the compassionate as softies, the independent as out of touch with others, and the visionary as the unrealistic dreamer. In any case, the promising leader is not able to deliver the organization to the promised land of market position and profitability. These organizations then begin operating under a leader who is leading without leadership.

A great manager gets people to do what he wants them to do. But "a leader" as described by Rosalynn Carter, "takes people where they want to go." " A great leader", she continued, " takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to go."

And Warren Bennis, one of the most respected and renowned experts of our day on the subject, defined leadership as "getting people to want to do what you want them to do." Leadership is then not just getting people to do what you alone want them to do but understanding how to use different leadership styles and when to use them in the right context.

Successful leadership also requires willing followers. That is why great managers are not always effective leaders. Managers search for ways to motivate others first so they will do want they want them to do. Highly successful leaders seek to understand themselves first and then inspire others to do the same.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard from an executive or managers that "I just finished leadership training. I now want all my managers to take that DISC-thing (or Myers-Briggs "test")." I then listen to how "interesting" it was learning about DISC . But it doesn't take long to figure out that what he is really saying is "I want to know how many Ds (or reds or lions or whatever symbol has been used to describe the "best" leader style) are on my team".

That's not all bad because it's a first step. But when asked how their style impacts the ability of others to influence, empower or inspire their direct reports or how their personal style biases the information they receive, it's not unusual to hear that it's not them who needs the training. They themselves are naturals "at reading people". It's always the other guys who seem to need help. When I have the opportunity to interview the rest of this team, I receive a very different impression of the leader's effectiveness and ability to "read" people. Many executives are in the position of the top dog but they are not leading the organization.

Why? The highly effective leader understands how his own style is impacting the effectiveness of his team. And even more importantly the highly effective leader understands how team members will approach each situation differently and how he needs to approach them uniquely to get the best possible outcome for the organization.

Click here for more information on SPS Leadership Effectiveness Assessment and Training.

Perfect Labor Storm Alerts # 61 to #65
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Fact #61