Monthly Archives: November 2014

Leadership Only Occurs in Groups

Leader Reality Check:

Turn Around. Who Is Following You?

If no one is there,  then you’re just taking a walk…

 

LadyLeader_InFront

Leadership occurs in groups. Whether a small group, committee or large crowd – leadership is about one individual influencing a group of others to achieve a common objective (Northouse, 2013).  How does a leader successfully lead groups?

Ackermann and Eden (2011) observe that each member of a group (leader included) comes to the table with their own views due to their differing expertise, roles, accountabilities, experiences, consequences and personal perspectives. Considering this, where does the team even begin reaching common ground?

Ramsey(2005) suggests that leading groups occurs on 4 differing levels. They are:

  • Self –  We must ‘rescript our internal dialogue’ – our mental models developed in early childhood. They limit our perceptions, behaviors and aspirations into adulthood.
  • Relationships –  Many lack skills to genuinely ‘connect’ with fellow group member due to perception filters. We categorize, simplify and short hand our mental processes so much that we arrive at conclusions without fully giving a matter more than cursory consideration. We ignore new information or influencers which might require a different course of action.
  • Context –  Many aspiring leaders lack the critical consciousness to simply put themselves in the other individual’s shoes. This requires leaders to consider ethical implications, ‘low power/high interest’ groups and impacts on larger social realities.
  • Organization – This requires ‘re-patterning’ within the organization. This usually also entails systematic changes which risk threatening political and power roles – and those who have benefited from the status quo.

Collaborative ethos is not arrived at without growth (personal and organizational), sacrifice and the desire to change and evolve in an extraordinary way. We begin by changing ourselves, identifying our own values (assumptions) and processing our emotions to resolve anger, fear and hurt (Ramsey, 2005) – then the real work of successfully leading groups can begin!!

References:

Ackermann, F. and Eden, C. (2011). Making Strategy: Mapping out strategic success. California: Sage Publishing.

Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, Inc.

Ramsey, V. & Latting, J. A.(2005). Typology of Intergroup Competencies. Journal of Applied Behavior Science. (41),3. pp. 265 – 284

 

Leadership Involves Influence

johnquincyadamsLeadership_If youractions

Influence is the indispensable, fundamental ingredient required for leadership to occur. Without influence, leadership could not exist (Northouse, 2013). Webster’s Dictionary defines influence as, ‘the power to change or affect someone (or something) in an important way without using force’.

According to Hughes and Beatty (2005), leaders use influence   to:

  • Get people on the same page regarding goals
  • To win people’s commitment to an effort, not just their compliance
  • Prioritize the way resources (staff, talent, time, money, materials, etc.) are used and invested
  • Share insights and observations that will enhance the quality of interactions and increase the probability of achieving desired results

Bacon (2012) states that positive effects of influencing are compliance, commitment or leadership. Compliance is usually a result of success in logical persuading, legitimizing or offering exchanges or incentives, while commitment is typically garnered through socialization of a matter, using power of relationships, building alliances or consulting.

Leadership, cited as the height of positive influence outcomes, results in others carrying out the influencers’ aims – achieving feats well beyond what an individual influencer could accomplish alone. To achieve this, influencers appeal to individual, team or organizational values or establish themselves as the models for the behaviors they want to see in others (Bacon, 2012).

As leaders who want to influence effectively, we must confidently live and act according to reasoned, well-informed, strong  values and be the examples, and models for the actions we want to see in others. The most effective place to lead is from the front!

References:

Bacon, T. (2012). Elements of Influence: The Art of Getting Others To Follow Your Lead. New York: American Management Association.

Hughes, R. L. & Beatty, K. C. (2005). Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role In Your Organization’s Enduring Success. San Francisco, CA:   Jossey-Bass.

Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, Inc.