#2: Strengths Oriented Leadership

By Steve Hale and Sam Young

One of the most insidious behaviors a leader can impel on their followers is to treat them as a group in the name of fairness.  The notion of group fairness has become associated with a diverse variety of institutions, such as, governments, unions, schools, and large corporations.  One of the core tenants of non-diversity as practiced in the institutions mentioned is that to treat people fairly we must treat everyone the same.

Consider that one who leads in a global setting across several cultures, with few common references, how to begin.  In order to lead effectively in a diverse environment one must know self in terms of strengths and then be able to assess the strengths of followers (Rath, 2007).  Understanding the dynamics of a leadership coupled with follower’s strengths one may formulate an effective strategy, in part, to lead.  As the world shrinks in terms of labor talent necessitating cross-cultural inclusion the development of one’s Global Leadership Quotient becomes significant (Service & Loudon, 2012).

One of the essential skills a leader should master is the ability to assess the strengths of their followers as individuals and communicate in a fashion that resonates with those strengths.  For example, an experience involving a subordinate failing to follow direction was puzzling.  Working as a senior programmer-analyst, the initial phase of the assignment was complete.  The next phase of the project, delayed due to company's reprioritization, gave way to reassigning the senior programmer-analyst to a new project.  The problem was the person kept returning to the old project to make minor changes, the new project languished.

A junior executive frustrated, wrote, an e-mail expressing his displeasure but before sending the message, decided to ask for input seeking an alternate approach.  After consultation, the question arose as to what are the five most dominant strengths of the individual (Rath 2007).  It turned out two of the primary strengths included "responsibility" and "focus."  They concluded the she had a high level of responsibility and wanted to remain focused on developing the old project to the maximum utility possible.  Instead of sending the original email, they rewrote it and indicated their reassignment was critical to the overall success of the department.  The new email stated that her "responsibility" for the old project had ended and she has now been given this new “responsibility” that she needed “focused” on.  The individual later communicated an apology, stating they did not understand exactly what the request was, until faming the direction in specific language that she identified with.

Treat every person as individuals, recognize every person has their own fears, wants, needs, and desires.  To treat everyone the same is to treat everyone as a number measured against a theoretical model.  Literature is replete with accounts of leaders who have improved their own successful intelligence by identifying shortcomings in themselves and those they sought to lead.  George W. Bush, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Condoleezza Rice, Mother Teresa, Teddy Roosevelt, and Jesus are historical exemplars of formally educated and uneducated leaders who improved and applied their intelligence in ways that led to successful leadership outcomes.

The leaders identified above, identified each person's or the group need, and addressed them individually.  A strong leader will meet individual needs and desires through a situational style demonstrated in the leader's actions.  The real essence of being a compassionate leader and exercising strong leadership is to permit each individual, within bounds, to help followers to grow and perform their best work by leveraging and building upon natural talent.

References

Rath, T. (2007).  Strengths Finder 2.0.  Gallup Press, New York.

Service, R. W., & Loudon, D.(2012).  A global leadership quotient-GLQ: Measuring, assessing, and developing.   China - USA Business Review, 11(8) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1466546805

#1: Trust

By Steve Hale and Sam Young

The study of certain leadership traits continue as objects of extensive study.  Organizations spend vast amounts of time and money to develop or expand leadership traits for selected individuals.  In spite, of the resources committed to study leaders and leadership the fluidity in economics, business, and the closing of cultural gaps demand further analysis.  Today, identifying leaders in terms authenticity, relationship building, and emotional intelligence is more than just another fanciful trend or the latest craze in creating leaders.  The business world has evolved into a virtual environment requiring leaders who understand what it means to authenticate, relationship oriented and possessing the personality, true for both leaders and followers that depend on a high degree of emotional intelligence.

A virtual workforce is becoming a reality.  Many factors pushing this phenomena such the cost of labor, availability of technical expertise in a worldwide market and improved network and security infrastructure outside of North America sharing knowledge between physically diverse teams is increasing in importance, has certainly complicate the role of a leader.  It is not completely clear how the relationship between knowledge sharing and interpersonal trust should work, without a worker losing their uniqueness and value to an organization.  The challenge of creating a diverse workforce where sharing is open and petty bickering is minimize is still an area of continuing research in leadership, particular across multiple cultures.

Leadership is a relatively simple concept with several constituent parts.  Leadership has static and simple components and dynamic and complex interactions.  In essence, leadership is the ability of the leader to accomplish a vision or set objectives through the efforts and activities of followers.  Fundamental to leadership in all but the most trivial forms is the creation of a trust relationship.

We have identified fifty characteristics of a sustainable leader.  In subsequent postings, we will discuss each of these traits in detail.

Sustainable Leadership Characteristics #1: Trust

Without trust, the myriad of leadership traits often will fall short in motivating others to work toward a common vision or goal.  Patrick Lencioni, in his best seller Five Dysfunctions of a Team, places trust as the foundation of all successful teams.  Trust building usually occurs one of two ways.  Trust forms through controlling people through real or imagined fear or by developing a relationship based on competence and mutual respect between leaders and followers.

Inducing trust through real or imagined fear:

Understanding real or imagined fear culture becomes an important factor in the success of this tactic; fear is a tactical rather than strategic.  In dictatorial organizations, real fear arises through control mechanisms such as the threat of the loss of property, life, or position.  An example of imagined fear may arise as a matter of culture or politics.  In the instance of a virtual or knowledge worker who fears their individual contribution may not be recognized, worries that credit is shifted to the team, fear in the loss of identification of individual achievement, accomplishment, or uniqueness goes to the core of an individual’s sense of worth.  The perceived loss is primarily cultural, as exemplified by the differences between Asian team values versus North American and European values.  In non-Asian team’s, loss of individualism becomes the main concern, not necessarily the accomplishment of the leader’s vision. 

Trust based on competence and mutual respect:

There are leaders where placing blind faith them as leaders based on their position in the organization, or based upon personal charisma, or intelligence can be a fatal mistake for followers.  If leaders can gain the trust of the followers then team members will be reluctant to share opinions, they will fear evaluations, in short they will fear and remain suspicious of leadership.  So the principle question becomes how one instills trust in their followers.

Building Trust:

1. We willing to accept blame for team failures.  As the leader, you are responsible for the outcome; so do not shift blame to your followers.
2. Each person or knowledge worker has unique value, find it.  As the leader, it is your job to identify the value or strengths in every team member.  Use that strength(s) for the benefit of the team.
3. Always work to build up each member of the team and do not criticize in front of peers or superiors.  Always acknowledge each person’s effort and never take credit for something that the team accomplished.
4. As the leader if you fail, admit it to your team if you hide the failure so will the team members.
5. Build a culture where there is allowance for failure, and encourage each team member to experiment with ideas they developed and bring the idea forward.  If a leader values innovation, they must also be prepared for some failure.  Failing to unleash the creative force of your followers will leave the team weak and shallow to your competition.
6. When there is disagreement the leader should development, an environment where constructive debate is encouraged false agreement is destructive in the long term.  If you are in a position where your team rarely disagrees, it is likely they are afraid of discussing the “truth”, which is ultimately fatal to leadership.
7. Always do what you say, when you say you are going to do it.  If the commitment turns out to be impossible to accomplish communicate to those affected do not feign your followers misunderstood what you committed to. Be honest and committed to your commitments made to the team.