You are on page 1of 72

Leadership

Session Style
• Consider
– nature of topic
– time available
– Team size

• Decisions

– Structure the discussion: ppt


– Demonstrate leadership in action: videos rather than role plays
– Audience involvement: Pre-session task rather than activities / Need
based
Topics
• Context – nature of our business 

• Lets start with a demonstration of leadership - Video 

• My leadership style: Pre-session task 

• Challenges facing industry 

• Challenges of leadership 

• Leadership - Definition 

BACK
Topics
• Leadership - Dimensions 

• Demonstration – Public Corporate – Video 

• Leadership – functions 

• Leader - qualities 

BACK
Topics
• Leadership styles 

• Choosing a style 

• Leadership – a continuum 

• Leadership – thoughts

• How to become a leader?


BACK
Context
• Nature of business
– Insurance industry – Financial services

– Product (service) – Intangible

– People & Product (Service) – Inseparable

– Contingent consumption vs necessary evil

BACK
Leadership in action

BACK
Leadership styles - Questionnaire
• What is my current leadership style?

– There are no right or wrong answers

– This questionnaire is to help you assess what


leadership style you currently operate out of.

BACK
Leadership styles - Questionnaire
• What is my current leadership style?

– The relative size of each of the three scores in the three


cells A, B and C on page 6 indicate what style of leadership
you normally use — Authoritarian, Participative, or
Delegative.

– If your score is 40 or more, it is a strong indicator of your


normal style.

BACK
Leadership styles - Questionnaire
• What is my current leadership style?

– The relative score is an indicator of the style you least /


most frequently use.

– If your score is 20 or less, it is a strong indicator that you


normally do not operate out of this mode.

BACK
Leadership styles - Questionnaire
• What is my current leadership style?
– If two of the scores are close, you might be going through
a transition phase, either personally or at work.

– If there is only a small difference between the three


scores, then this indicates that your perceptions of the
mode you operate out of are in the formative stages, or
you are a leader trying to feel out the correct style for
yourself.

BACK
Challenges facing the industry
1. …
2. …
3. …
4. Discounts
5. Competition

The real challenge - Trust


BACK
Challenges of leadership
• Within organizations, apart from business
challenges, what are the people challenges we
face?

• Lets look at a different type of leader…

BACK
Leader - Definition

A real leader has the ability to motivate others

to their highest level of achievement; then gives

them the opportunity and the freedom to grow

The IBM Way – Buck Rodgers

BACK
Leadership - Dimensions
• The process of influencing group activities
towards the accomplishment of goals in a
given situation

BACK
Leadership - Dimensions
• A relationship between two or more people in
which influence and power are unevenly
distributed

• Leaders do not flourish in vacuum. The


essence of leadership is followership.
Followers suspend their judgment and follow
the decisions of the leader

BACK
Leadership - Dimensions
• Leadership is about removing barriers in situations so
that followers work with freedom and independence

• Leadership is essentially a continuous process of


influencing behavior, breathing life into the group
and motivate it towards the goal. The lukewarm
desires for accomplishment are transformed into a
burning passion for accomplishment

BACK
Leadership - Dimensions
• Is the difference between effective and
ineffective organizations

BACK
Leadership - Dimensions
• Leadership is the lifting of human sights to
higher vision. The raising of human standards
to higher performance, the building of human
personality beyond its normal limitations

Adapted from Peter Drucker

BACK
Leadership

Leveraging ordinary people  extraordinary results

BACK
Leadership - functions
• Develop team work
– Individuals

– Varied interests & multiple goals

– Bring about a fit between individual and


organizational goals

BACK
Leadership - functions
• Leader is a representative of the team

– The crucial link between the employees and the


top management

BACK
Leadership - functions
• Counsel employees at times of emotional
disequilibrium

– Frustrations over inability to climb the


organizational ladder

– Personal challenges affecting performance

BACK
Leadership - functions
• Utilize power appropriately and effectively

– Leverage on power to inspire, guide and direct


team to achieve unity of purpose and efforts

BACK
Leadership functions - Siamese twins
• Responsibility & accountability

• Inseparable like insurance financial services


and customer

• Delegate responsibility not accountabiliy

BACK
Delegation
• Is about letting go – making yourself
vulnerable

• Allow room for self expression or experiment

BACK
Leadership vs lack of leadership
Leadership Lack of leadership
Inspires the employee Drives the employee
Accomplishes work and Accomplishes work at the
develops the employee expense of the employee
Shows the employee how to Instills fear in the employee by
do his job threats and coercion
Assumes obligations Passes the buck
Fixes the breakdown for the Fixes the blame for loss in
loss in production or sales production or sales

BACK
Leader - Qualities
• Ability to awaken in others the desire to follow
a common objective in a given situation

• You cannot let yourself be afraid about what is


yet to come

• You have to see it coming sooner and move


faster
BACK
Leader - Qualities
• Confront brutal reality first

• Figure what has to be done

• Make sure what needs to be done is actually done

• Find opportunity in chaos

• Contagious confidence

BACK
Leader - Qualities
• Get everyone to row together

• Know how to prioritise

• Move with agility

• Sense of urgency

BACK
Leader - Qualities
• Decisive and bold decisions

• Stare into the face of uncertainty

• Accept change

• Neither fear nor uncertainty affect them

BACK
Leader - Qualities
• Take charge

• Pull people together

• Anticipate

BACK
Leader - Qualities
• Realistic about the external environment but
still positive and reinforcing in responding to
the difficulties

• Make strategic, structural, financial and


operational change drastically as is necessary
with information that is at best incomplete

BACK
Leadership Styles

BACK
Leadership styles
• Behavior, a leader exhibits, during supervision

• Essentially three types


– Autocratic / Authoritative
– Participative / democratic
– Free rein

BACK
Autocratic leadership style

BACK
Participative leadership style

BACK
Free reign

BACK
Leadership styles
• Autocratic leader
– Description
• Theory X leader
• Centralize power & decision making
• Threat of penalties and punishment
• Sets goals and structures work
• Gives orders for subordinates to follow – what to do
not why?

BACK
Leadership styles
• Autocratic leader
– impact on team
• Frustrating
• Effective action impeded
• Low morale

BACK
Leadership styles
• Autocratic leader
– Advantages
• Permits quick decision making
• Increases productivity
• Enhances morale in successful situations

BACK
Leadership styles
• Autocratic leader
– Disadvantages
• Subordinates follow directions even if incorrect
• Subordinates avoid responsibility
• Lack of innovation and initiative
• Low involvement
• No ownership of outcomes

BACK
Leadership styles
• Autocratic leader
– Suitable in situations where
• subordinates lack knowledge of company goals
• subordinates inexperienced
• Culture of fear and punishment
• Leader prefers active and dominant role in decision
making
• Little room for error in final outcomes
• Under conditions of stress
• Situations demanding great speed

BACK
Leadership styles
• Democratic / participative style
– Description
• Theory Y leader
• Leadership by consultation
• Invites decision sharing
• Decentralized power & decision making
• Team members are encouraged to exploit their
potential
• Participative leader attaches high importance to work
and people

BACK
Leadership styles
• Democratic / participative style
– Impact on the team
• Job satisfaction
• High on morale

BACK
Leadership styles
• Democratic / participative style
– Advantages
• Skill development of team members to take on higher
responsibilities – succession planning

BACK
Leadership styles
• Democratic / participative style
– Disadvantages
• Time consuming
• Team members expect to be consulted on every matter
• Some team members may misunderstand the leader to
be incompetent
• Some leaders may use this as a “passing the buck”
process

BACK
Leadership styles
• Democratic / participative style
– Suitable in situations
• Goals communicated and have been accepted
• Rewards and involvement are used as primary means of
motivation and control
• Leader truly desires to hear the ideas of his / her
employees before decision making
• Not suitable when employees look up to seniors for
instructions / directions
• Not suitable when employee does not seek interaction
with leader

BACK
Leadership styles
• Democratic / participative style
– Suitable in situations
• The leader wishes to develop skills of team members
• Team members are reasonably knowledgeable and
experienced
• Team members want active involvement in issues that
affect them
• There is sufficient time available for implementation

BACK
Autocratic vs democratic
Authoritative Participative

Autocratic, task oriented and restrictive Democrative, follower oriented


Leader structures tasks, strives to find Leader is considerate, recognizes and
better methods, keeps employees busy respects needs and human dignity
One way communication, control wielded Two way communication, shared control
by the leader
Centralized decision making speeds up Decentralized decision making is slow
decisions
Obtaining employee commitment is Leader gains team commitment
difficult

BACK
Which is better?
• Autocratic vs participative
– Morse and Reine in their research on the topic
found
• Autocratic leadership resulted in greater productivity
• Democratic leadership resulted in greater job
satisfaction

BACK
Leadership styles
• Free reign
– Description
• Complete delegation of authority to team members
• Free rein manager avoids power, abdicates
responsibility, relinquishes leadership

BACK
Leadership styles
• Free reign
– Impact on the team
• High morale
• Self driven
• Owns responsibility and accountability

BACK
Leadership styles
• Free reign
– Advantages
• Develops skills of team members
• Higher risk ability
• High on morale

BACK
Leadership styles
• Free reign
– Disadvantages
• Risk of teams working at cross purposes

• Organization moving into chaos

BACK
Leadership styles
• Free reign
– Suitable in situations
• Organizational goals have been communicated well and
accepted
• Leader is comfortable with complete delegation
• Team members have proven track record
• Team is willing to take the responsibility

BACK
Why some leaders free reign
• Lack of self confidence

• Fear of failure

BACK
How to choose my leadership style?
• Depends on the

– Person

– Goals

– Needs of team members

BACK
How to choose my leadership style?
• Depends on the goals
– Immediate goals to increase productivity implies
choose autocratic leadership style

• Depends on the team members


– Autocratic leadership requires team members
who completely trust each other or team
members with relatively low aspirations

BACK
Leadership is a continuum
• It is not either autocratic or democratic or free
reign

• It is a smooth transition from one to the


others as the situation demands

BACK
Leadership thoughts
• I like people

• I feels good about myself

• To be given responsibility is an honor

• I like to solve problems

BACK
Leadership thoughts
• I believe that any problem can be solved

• My attitude is that I do not have to win every


battle though winning the war is imperative

• I have a good sense of self-worth

• I have a strong sense of purpose

BACK
Leadership – How?

Interpersonal influence

BACK
Leadership – How?

BACK
Leader - Definition

A real leader has the ability to motivate others

to their highest level of achievement; then gives

them the opportunity and the freedom to grow

The IBM Way – Buck Rodgers

BACK
Dr MLK

Leadership – How?

BACK
BACK
• Have you ever felt unseen, unheard, not
understood

• EQ Know their feelings, their experiences,

• Thoughts, behaviors, feelings

• Pay attention to yourself


• Be honest with yourself

• Be curious about your judgments

• Self awareness and performance

• Being open
• Being curious

• Our perceptions create our experiences

• Apple - Everything we do we challenge status quo

• People don’t buy what you do, people buy why


you do?
• We make great computers

• This is how design them – beautiful, easy to


use

• Want to buy one?

You might also like