Leadership

Leader:
A leader strengthens and inspires the followers to accomplish shared goals. Leader is someone who can take a group of people to a place they dont think they can go.

LEADERSHIP CREDIBILITY AT WORK:

A process to build a flourishing career and cultivate, lasting relationships.

WHAT IS CREDIBILITY?
Leadership is a give and take between those who desire to lead and those who choose to follow. Any discussion of leadership should attend to the energy of this relationship, which serves as a vital force for the organization. Strategies and talent are empty without an understanding of the human passions that connect constituents and their leaders. Two decades of research by James Kouzes and his associates shed some light on the concept of this vital force. Through the world wide administration of seventy-five thousand questionnaires that asked for the seven qualities most sought after and admired in a leader deep insight was gained. The results of the survey have been amazingly consistent over decades. Four qualities have continuously earned more than 50 percent of the votes. We must believe our leaders are: Honest, Forwardlooking, Competent, and Inspiring. Communications experts often refer to these characteristics as .source credibility.. In determining the believability of communication sources researchers evaluate individuals on three criteria: their perceived trustworthiness, their expertise and their dynamism. The most credible sources of information rate the highest on these dimensions. Notably these characteristics are tightly linked to the admired leader qualities of honesty, competent and inspiring. What this link clearly says is that people want leaders who are credible. The propellant to accelerate your success as a leader is credibility. Above all else, we want to believe in our leaders, trusting their word, seeing a match between their words and behavior, that they have personal passion about the direction in which we are going, and that they are taking the lead with a full compliment of knowledge and skills. Knowing leadership credibility has such a significant impact on your follower`s attitudes and behavior certainly provides a clear precept for leaders. Credibility makes a difference, and leaders must want to take it personally. Loyalty, commitment, energy and productivity depend upon it. When leaders are asked to define the ideal leader it is not uncommon to hear an emphasis on intelligence. Frequently left off the list are the qualities that are a personal reflection of the individual. But recent studies indicate that leaders who are honest, competent, inspirational and look to the future receive kudos as the most influential leaders in life and work. Current research also supports that although a certain degree of analytical and technical skill is a minimum requirement for success, what is called .emotional intelligence. serves as an accurate predictor to distinguish those who will outperform the capable managers. By combining the emotions and thinking, leaders can build a flourishing career and cultivate lasting, meaningful relationships with credibility as the cornerstone.

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THE BEHAVIORS OF CREDIBILITY:

In the research by Kouzes and his associates we learn some common phrases used by followers to describe how they know credibility when they see it: Leaders practice what they preach.. They walk the talk.. Their actions are consistent with their words.. They put their money where their mouth is.. They follow through on their promises.. They do what they say they will do.. The verdict is clear. Followers tell us that as leaders we can only be judged as credible when our words match our behaviors. Our followers are watching. If they dont see the consistency between the voice and actions, we will be deemed not really serious at best or maybe more harshly as we are labeled a hypocrite. Kouzes wrote, "To gain and sustain the moral authority to lead, it is essential to model the way." Now that we understand the power that lies in connecting what we say to what we do, then at the core of being a leader is to connect your voice to your impact. Aspiring leaders need to give finding their voice the first priority .If you dont find your own voice then your communication will always belong to someone else. Using someone else` s words will never make you credible. As an aspiring leader, you have an opportunity to freely and honestly choose the principles that guide your actions. Then as you communicate your beliefs, the impact you have will uniquely represent who you are as a leader. Finding your voice by clarifying your personal values requires commitment. If you are ready for the challenges here are some steps you can take.

STEPS TO CREDIBILITY:
FIND YOUR MIRROR, Tools and Resources:
360 Degree Feedback Assessment Center Executive coach Emotional Intelligence Training

Prime the Pump Activities:

Set aside 15 minutes each day to reflect and hear what truly matters to you Schedule time each week to enjoy a hobby or activity that feels fulfilling Keep a journal that identifies key learning of the moment

Design Your Museum Research:

Know the key messages you want to deliver Know what your behavior teaches others about your values Know your personal 30-second elevator speech by heart

Author Your Leadership Book & Map Your Future:

Pick leaders who you admire Identify the actions that allow you to make inferences about their values Evaluate how these values show up in your behavior

Prepare For Sabbatical & Communicate Your Values:

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Leadership Write a memo to your direct reports or clients to guide actions and decisions while you

are on a six-month sabbatical Write a credo for your family and/or friends Prepare a tape (audio/ and or video) sharing the three most important things you have learned from your life

Conduct Your Performance Appraisal & Evaluate Your Vulnerabilities:

Identify new strengths to build based on what you value

Know what influences your behaviors Consciously choose the behaviors you want to perfect Bring balance to your scale of strengths and weaknesses with a development plan

Ethical responsibilities of a leader in an organization:

1-Make it clear:
A couple of definitions, The first responsibility of leaders is to establish clarity about what ethics means and what is expected(define reality) and last is to say thank you. In between leader is servant. By Max Depree Determining right thing to do and doing it. values are personally or organizationally held believes that guide us in determining a right path to follow. Ethics usually focus on: How people are treated. The quality by which work is done. How resources are managed. How decisions are made.

2-Build commitment:
The second responsibility of ethical leader is to build commitment to ethical reflection and action. Ethics in three simple steps, A. Ethical awareness:

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a. In what ways is this about ethics b. In what ways are values being challenged B. Ethical decision making: a. What would our values (personal and organizational) guide us to do. C. Ethical behavior:
a. What steps must I/we take in order to honor our values in this situation?

b. How must I/we act with courage in order to do right thing?

3-Assess and act wisely:

The third responsibility of ethical leader is to assess and act wisely in ethical dilemmas. Right vs Right a real dilemma: The really tough choices . Dont center on right versus wrong. They center on right versus right. They are genuine dilemmas because each side is firmly rooted in one of four basic core values. Four common types of Right versus Right dilemmas: 1- Justice versus Mercy
2- Truth versus Loyalty

3- Individual versus Community 4- Short-term goods versus Long-term goods Resolution requires choosing which value is the most important one by which to live. Three principles of resolution: 1- Do what produces greatest good for the greatest number. (utilitarianism) 2- Follow only principle/s you want everybody else to follow. (categorical imperative) 3- Do others what you would like them to do to you. (golden rule) Rather we may find a third way that honors both and provides the situation for compromising.

4-Help make it sense:

The fourth responsibility of ethical leader is to help ethical behavior make sense.
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It won`t happen if doesn`t make sense. Acting ethically would make sense: In specific context With my personal values With organization`s mission With fulfilling daily responsibilities With achieving personal success The leader has responsibility to make sure it make sense. Leader must model the way by: Acting ethically 24/7 publically and privately Building a team around them that models ethical behavior Expecting others to act ethically Allocating time and other resources needed to prove that ethics is How we do things around here.

Leadership Styles:
Leadership style refers to a leader's behavior. It is the result of the philosophy, personality and experience of the leader.

1-Autocratic or authoritarian style:

Under the autocratic leadership style, all decision-making powers are centralized in the leader, as with dictator leaders. They do not entertain any suggestions or initiatives from subordinates. The autocratic management has been successful as it provides strong motivation to the manager. It permits quick decision-making, as only one person decides for the whole group and keeps each decision to himself until he feels it is needed to be shared with the rest of the group. I think Mr. Pervez Musharaf is the recent example of the style.

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2-Participative or democratic style:

The democratic leadership style favors decision-making by the group as shown, such as leader gives instruction after consulting the group.They can win the co-operation of their group and can motivate them effectively and positively. The decisions of the democratic leader are not unilateral as with the autocrat because they arise from consultation with the group members and participation by them. For example Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto adopted this style to some extent fully.

3-Laissez-faire or free rein style:

A free-rein leader does not lead, but leaves the group entirely to itself as shown; such a leader allows maximum freedom to subordinates, i.e., they are given a free hand in deciding their own policies and methods. I have not yet seen this style of leader ship, so I cant represent any example.

Different situations call for different leadership styles. In an emergency when there is little time to converge on an agreement and where a designated authority has significantly more experience or expertise than the rest of the team, an autocratic leadership style may be most effective; however, in a highly motivated and aligned team with a homogeneous level of expertise, a more democratic or laissez-faire style may be more effective. The style adopted should be the one that most effectively achieves the objectives of the group while balancing the interests of its individual members.

4-Toxic leadership:
A toxic leader is someone who has responsibility over a group of people or an organization, and who abuses the leader-follower relationship by leaving the group or organization in a worse-off condition than when s/he first found them. For example, the dictators, who ruled over the Pakistan in history.

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Qualities of an Ideal Leader:

1- They give priority attention to external and internal customers and their needs. 2- They empower the subordinates rather than control. They are showing confidence in them by empowering them. 3- They emphasis on improvement rather than maintenance. They say , if it isnt perfect, improve it. 4- They emphasis on prevention before the problem occurs. an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 5- They encourage collaboration rather than competition to improve the quality and avoid leg pulling. 6- They train and coach rather than direct and supervise.
7- They learn from problems as the hundred percent prevention is not possible. They are

motivated by problems to improve their future performance.

8- They continually try to improve their communication. As communication is two way process,

downward & upward.

9- They continually demonstrate their commitment to quality. Leaders walk their talk- their

actions. 10- They choose suppliers on the basis of quality rather than on price. Low price item/material may increase the cost of living. 11- They establish organizational systems to support the quality effort. At the senior management level a quality council is provided and the first line manager level. 12- They encourage and recognize team effort and give rewards for deserving efforts.

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