Leadership Style

Graham Sansom UTS Centre for Local Government

Outline
Huge and diverse literature Many theories not all rigorously tested There is no single right style: it depends on the context, the task and the resources at hand But there are some basic elements and skills What Leadership Is Not
Leadership is not magic. It is not a gift that some people have and others don't. It is not standing back and telling others what to do . It is not belittling or demeaning others who don't do what you tell them to do.

Key elements of leadership

Knowing and understanding yourself and others

Understanding the situation and facts of the matter

Applying appropriate skills and techniques

Leadership essentials
Do your homework Know what you want to do Communicate clearly Tell people what to do, not how to do it Seek excellence Lead by example Take care of people Be humble Exhibit good character

A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit

Leadership in local government

Fundamental importance of the legal framework must be understood and applied to all decisionmaking Diverse agendas and accountabilities Multiple points of decision-making Core responsibility to engage with the community Enormous variations in context Often scarce resources relative to needs Limitations on individualistic or charismatic leadership but importance of clear, persuasive messages to cut through

Rudds new federal agenda

A revitalised COAG with results-based funding:
Productivity Business regulation and reform Health and ageing (new Minco for Ageing ALGA repn?) Climate change and water (ALGA repn) Infrastructure (ALGA repn) Housing affordability (ALGA repn) Indigenous reform

Infrastructure Australia Regional Development Australia (building on ACCs) Better Regions program Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program Major Cities Unit

Management to governance*
AREA MANAGEMENT Corporate governance Customers and clients Administration and regulation Public opinion Financial and physical capital

+ Community engagement + Citizens + Strategy and partnerships + Public judgement + Social capital = LOCAL GOVERNANCE
(* Based on Sproats, 1997)

Management to leadership*
MANAGEMENT Plans and budgets Organising and staffing Controlling and problem-solving Minimising risk tends to ORDER and PREDICTABILITY LEADERSHIP Vision and strategy Communicating and aligning Motivating and inspiring Taking risks promotes CHANGE

(* Based on Stace and Dunphy, 1994)

Tasmanian LG Act
The functions of a mayor are
to act as a leader of the community of the municipal area; and to act as chairperson of the council; and to act as the spokesperson of the council; and to liaise with the general manager on the activities of the council and the performance of its functions and exercise of its powers; and to oversee the councillors in the performance of their functions and in the exercise of their powers.

The mayoris to represent accurately the policies and decisions of the council in performing [his/her] functions

continued

The general manager has the following functions:

to implement the policies, plans and programs of the council; to implement the decisions of the council; to be responsible for the day-to-day operations and affairs of the council; to provide advice and reports to the council on the exercise and performance of its powers and functions and any other matter requested by the council; to assist the council in the preparation of the strategic plan, annual plan, annual report and assessment of the council's performance against the plans; to coordinate proposals for the development of objectives, policies and programs for the consideration of the council; to liaise with the mayor on the affairs of the council and the performance of its functions; to manage the resources and assets of the council; to perform any other function the council decides.

Emotional intelligence
PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS Ability to understand oneself To regulate emotions, control reactions, stay calm, recover from difficulty etc INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS Ability to interact effectively and appropriately with others To communicate, cooperate, establish common goals, understand, trust, empathise etc

Self-Awareness

Character and Self Control

Social Skill

Five key elements of emotional intelligence

Empathy

Motivation

Positive Cycle of Motivation

Clear and realistic expectations

Confidence

Praise

Aspiring to high standards Strong results

Lewins leadership styles

Authoritarian
Clear expectations: what, when, how Clear division between leader and followers Little input from others Tends to dictatorial approach

Participative (democratic)
Offer guidance but seek input Participate in group Retain final say

Delegative (laissez faire)

Little or no guidance Abdicate decision-making Tends to poorly defined roles and lack of motivation

Less mature leader

More mature leader Sharing Delegating Consulting Selling

Leader authority

Telling Team participation

Shorter term goals

Longer term goals

Blake and Moutons Grid

High Concern for People/Group Relations
Medium
Country Club Doing Just Enough Lazy/ Laissez Faire Authoritycompliance Teamwork/ All Cylinders

Low

Low

Medium

High

Concern for Getting Job Done

[modified]

Lazy / laissez faire: "I'll just let them get on with it, I'm sure they'll do fine, they don't really want me interfering anyway" Authority / compliance: "We're here to work, the work needs to be done. If they're working hard enough they won't have time to feel unhappy, they're not here to enjoy themselves." Country Club:"It stands to reason, if they're happy they'll work harder and the work will take care of itself." Teamwork / all cylinders:"We're in this together. We need to support and help each other to get this job done."

Less mature leader

More mature leader Sharing Delegating Consulting Selling

Leader authority

Telling Team participation

Shorter term goals

Longer term goals

Situational leadership
Forces on leader

Leadership style Forces in situation Forces on team

Forces on Leader:
eg knowledge, skills, attitude, personality, experience, background, values, personal goals, confidence in others, pressures to perform, weight of responsibility.

Forces on Team:
combination of personalities, values, expectations, ersonalities, values, expectations, willingness and ngness and ability to make decisions, individual al needs, team needs, interest, competition, ence, resources work load, spirit, communication, on, fatigue.

:
, pressures from outside groups, operating nvironment, size or duration of job, conflict of als, stability vs change, emergencies, justice,
ls, stability vs change, emergencies, justice, legality,

Transactional vs Transformative
TRANSACTIONAL People as employees Do what youre paid for Reward and punishment Short term focus Long term costs low job satisfaction TRANSFORMATIVE Vision and inspiration People management Communication and engagement Preferred model long term benefits

Leadership and planning

Failure to plan = planning to fail Effective strategic and corporate planning is now central to successful local government Planning is an essentially political task and requires political understanding and commitment A soundly-based plan facilitates effective leadership:
By providing the essential facts By setting out a realistic vision and objectives for the organisation and community By clarifying expectations of peoples roles and contributions (performance management) By providing a basis for working with others

IAP2 Spectrum

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