Thứ Bảy, 24 tháng 3, 2012

Discover The Effective Leadership Styles Used By High Performance Leaders

Ready to discover the most effective leadership styles for creating high performance?

If you have visited other pages on the site you'll have guessed by now that I am biased towards leadership styles that are inclusive and inspire people to be at their best. But that style doesn't suit every situation. And so being flexible enough to use other styles of leadership, as the situation demands, means you'll be a better leader and your career will benefit.

During my career I've been lucky enough to work as a leader within a couple of high performance organizations and since hanging out my shingle as a high performance leadership development consultant/coach in 2001, I've worked with many more organizations that are high performing (or on the track to becoming). With this experience, the one thing I am sure of is that leadership styles which are based in command and control generally deliver the poorest results, the worst customer service experience and the least happy people.

Don't get me wrong - there is a place for command and control -- if there is an emergency situation you do want someone to take control, make decisions, mobilize resources and people to get through the crises. The problems arise if this model is used in all places at all times!

The series of articles below help you explore the impact of the various leadership styles on the culture of your workplace and understand that all types of leaders can be successful.

Articles on Effective Leadership Styles

Blake & Mouton: Blake and Mouton studied leadership behavior and described two extremes of leadership concern: Concern for Production and Concern for People. Read more about Blake and Mouton ...

Reactive vs Proactive: A Proactive Leader tends to be much more focused on achieving performance objectives. Whereas finding and fixing problems is the forte of the Reactive Leader ...Read more about Reactive vs Proactive

Leadership vs Management; We've had a lot of change in the past 20 years and the speed of change is increasing. There are some distinctions between leadership and management that you may like to grasp ... Read more about Leadership versus Management

Rule Based To Principle Centered Leadership:Is your organization over-burdened with rigid policies, rules and procedures that stop team members from meeting customer needs? Learn how to create a more effective workplace ...Discover more about Principle Centered Leadership here

Transactional Leadership: Transactional Leadership suggests that people are only motivated by rewards and punishment. If you are going to use this style of leadership make sure you implement the tips in the article Read about Transactional Leadership here

Autocratic Leadership: The Autocratic Leadership style enables the people running organizations to meet their instinctive needs (even though) they may not recognize or admit to them. Read aboutAutocratic Leadership here

A Different Leadership Style: The old command and control style is dead. A different leadership style is needed if you really want to connect with your people. Take Some Leadership Lessons From Horses ...

Charismatic Leadership: Charismatic leadership is certainly one of the styles of leadership that can enhance organizational effectiveness. The trick is to use the positive aspects of this leadership style and avoid the traps See how to get the most from using a Charismatic Leadership Style ...

Situational Leadership: Use these resources to help you identify your prominent leadership style (which can be your downfall if you do not use it with care). (Please note these resources are only available to members of the Align-Lead-Inspire Club.) Use the Situational Leadership Resources

Use the surveys on the Assessment Tools page to help you discover your most preferred leadership style.

General Comments on Effective Leadership Styles

Certainly to be a successful leader you will need to develop leadership skills, knowledge and aptitude, however, it's your leadership style that really gives your business unit (no matter how big or small) its flavor.

An effective leadership style for one individual or one organization may not work for you and your situation:

How well do you think Southwest Airlines or Virgin would run with Jack Welch at the helm?
How much would Herb Kelleher struggle (internally at least) if he were to find himself a leader in The Ford Motor Company?
It is well documented that Winston Churchill was a great leader during World War 2. Yet in peacetime his style was found lacking by the nation that had so recently held him in esteem as a hero leader.

Your style as a leader will be largely influenced by two things:

The culture of the organization you find yourself in
The quality of leadership, coaching and mentoring you experience as you move through your career

When you inherit a style from the culture or are overly influenced by another person, you may find yourself feeling frustrated and on-edge. You may have the feeling that you are trying to be someone you are not. You will do well to remember that leadership isn't something that you do, it is an expression of who you are.

Learn about and then try applying the various styles to find the a style that works best for you, your team and your organization.

A word of caution. Do not try to make your preferred/(natural) style fit all circumstances. Remain flexible enough to alter your style to fit the particular situation you find yourself in.

If you are ready to be at your best, take a peek at why leadership coachingwith me may help you fast-track your career and enhance the quality of your life.

Thứ Sáu, 23 tháng 3, 2012

Somalia pirates: EU approves attacks on land bases

COMMENTS (169)

A Somali pirate gazing at the captured MV Filitsa, 7 January 2010

The EU says fighting piracy is a priority of the mission in the Horn of Africa

PIRACY CRISIS

The European Union has agreed to expand its mission against Somali pirates by allowing military forces to attack land targets as well as those at sea.

In a two-year extension of its mission, EU defence ministers agreed warships could target boats and fuel dumps.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says the move is a significant step-up in operations, but one that also risks escalation.

Up to 10 EU naval ships are currently on patrol off the Horn of Africa.

They have policed shipping routes and protected humanitarian aid since 2008. The extension means they will stay until at least December 2014.

An EU official said the new mandate would allow warships or helicopters to fire at fuel barrels, boats, trucks or other equipment on beaches, according to Agence France-Presse.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told reporters: "The EU plan is to allow attacks on land installations when ships are assaulted at sea," adding that "much care" would be taken to avoid civilian deaths.

Rear Admiral Duncan Potts, the operation commander for the EU Naval Force in Somalia, said it had already made considerable progress targeting the pirates at sea.

"If you look at last year, 30 ships and up to 700 hostages were held - today that is eight [ships] and around 200 [hostages]," he told the BBC's 5Live.

"At sea we've had an effect on the pirates' ability to operate but we haven't changed the strategic conditions, which is why we want to target every stage of their operations."

'Robust action'

A two-decade war has wrecked Somalia, leaving it without a proper government.

Analysis

Frank GardnerBBC security correspondent

Taking the fight against Somali piracy to bases on land is a major step-up for EU operations. Until now, pirates have been able to operate from coastal bases in towns like Eyl, Haradhere and Hobyo with relative impunity, returning from lengthy raids at sea to enjoy the spoils back home, though many drown or return empty-handed.

Now, it seems, the paraphernalia of piracy will all become fair game, hitting the pirates where it hurts and trying to disrupt what an EU admiral described to me as "the pirates' business model".

But this new, aggressive policy comes with significant risks. Pirates who see their bases destroyed are likely to protest they were innocent fishermen. It's also possible that, over time, innocent Somali fishermen really will be hurt.

Either way, its likely to enrage the pirates who may be tempted to take out their frustration on the hapless merchant sailors they regularly kidnap for ransom.

The transitional government only controls the capital Mogadishu, while al-Shabab militants, who recently joined with al-Qaeda, hold large swathes of territory.

The EU says the main tasks of the mission are the protection of vessels of the World Food Programme delivering food aid to displaced people in Somalia, and the fight against piracy off the Somali coast.

"Today's important decision extends [Operation] Atalanta's mandate for two more years and allows it to take more robust action on the Somali coast," the EU's foreign policy head Catherine Ashton said in a statement.

The statement said the EU would be working with Somalia's transitional federal government and other Somali organisations to support their fight against piracy from the coastal area.

Brussels also said the Somali government had told the UN secretary general that it accepted its new offer of collaboration.

The statement also said "a budget of 14.9m euros (£12.4m; $19.7m) is provided for the common costs of the prolonged mandate".

In February world leaders agreed to boost support for measures to fight piracy, terrorism and political instability in Somalia, at a conference held in London.

The summit agreed a seven-point plan promising more humanitarian aid, support for African Union peacekeepers and better international co-ordination.

On Wednesday British woman Judith Tebbutt was freed by Somali pirates after being held hostage for more than six months.

The Times newspaper claims her family paid a ransom of $1.3m (£800,000), which was dropped from an aircraft.

Your comments (169)

Thứ Ba, 20 tháng 3, 2012

Qualities of Good Leadership

I've worked with and coached a lot of high performance leaders. Listed below are the top five qualities of good leadership that set these men and women apart from the rest of the pack.

That isn't to say that these leaders don't make use of the other 50+ leadership traits, qualities and characteristics listed over at the good leadership skills page.

But what it does mean is that the leaders who are at the top of the game ... the cream of the crop if you will ... are VERY, VERY good at applying and integrating into their life and work the five leadership qualities listed below.

qualities of good leadership - the best leader

Are you a high performance leader?

What about you? Do you have the goods to be a high performance leader?Do you have the qualities that will help you and others be at your best?

Let's take a look at each of these stand out leadership qualities in detail.

1. Trustworthy

Trust is the basis for all the relationships in your life. Without trust, it's impossible to create healthy and productive environments, either in work or personal situations.

Be aware that others are watching you ... assessing your values system and integrity. People want to be assured that their trust, followed closely by their respect is being placed in a safe place -- your hands -- and that they are indeed wise to follow where you lead.

When people trust you, they are more willing to give their best, as they know that they always get your best. This leadership quality is sometime referred as integrity or honor, but all these terms have the same basic meaning: you say what you do and do what you say ... period.

Read more here about how high performance leaders build trust in the workplace

2. Self Aware and Insightful About Your Impact On Others

This is one of the qualities of good leadership that you really want to master. The best leaders are really great at watching how others are reacting to them and fine-tuning what they are saying to ensure that they are building the relationship.

This doesn't mean that they change their minds every second to get people to like them. Rather it's about finding other ways to say things so that the person they are interacting with wants to work with them and not against them.

The master leaders' know that the power is in the relationship (which is why a lot of the site is dedicated to building relationships!). And all relationships begin and end with what others think of you.

I'm a real fan of the DISC profile system because it helps you to understand your impact on others and gives you the tools to flex your style so that you can get through to others ... so that they are in the place to 'hear' your message ... and it stirs them to respond favorably to you. You may want to take a look at the ecourse called Communicating With Power which is designed to help you understand your impact on others.

3. Love To Learn, Grow, Expand

If you aren't learning, growing, expanding then you certainly can't expect the people around you to be either!

One of the things that seems to set all the great leaders apart is their absolute commitment to stepping into their potential and discovering ways to be the best possible version of themselves. I don't know about you, but I've yet to meet a leader that is considered to be at the top of his or her game, who doesn't read, listen to audios, go to courses or share what he or she learns with others.

They certainly don't sit around waiting to be sent on some corporate course.

And here's the biggest distinction I've witnessed. They seem compelled to learn, grow, expand and yet they also seem to be very content with who they are as an individual. It is kind of like they have this mantra 'Happy with where I'm at ... but not settling'. There is no sense of desperation or not being good enough. More it is am intense curiosity and that deep knowing that the reason we as humans are on this planet is to grow, learn, expand.

One of my favorite sayings is "if you aren't growing then neither are your people" (and you can quote me on that ~wink~).

A high performance leader stays relevant by making sure they are at the leading-edge in terms of leadership skills, interpersonal skills and knowledge in their organization's field of expertise.

You may want to consider joining Align-Lead-Inspire.com - it is the membership site I created for high performance leaders and contains the premium leadership development content ... audios, ecourses, interviews, articles, ebooks

You'll claim the qualities of good leadership and make your mark when you Learn, Grow, Expand

4. Have High Self Worth and Self Esteem

You might not think that how you feel about yourself has a whole lot to do with how others perceive you or how effective you can be at taking charge of a group situation. However, it would be a huge mistake to make this assumption. Every individual is either their own best friend or their own worst enemy.

How you feel about yourself often leads to subconscious patterns. Those with a negative self worth may have many other leadership qualities, but sabotage their own efforts with a deep belief that they aren't good enough to carry the day.

Dealing with self esteem can seem like a touchy-feely waste of time, but that is absolutely not the case. It is crucial to your success and leadership ability.

In this article on leadership and self esteem you can read how Steve's self esteem almost railroaded his career.

It's interesting but almost without exception the leaders that I have coached (and that is in the high hundreds in one-to-one coaching, and thousands in workshop situations) have at some point struggled with their self-esteem. In coaching sessions time and again leaders have asked me to help them work through situations where their self-belief is hurting them. For most leaders this is just a momentary thing and not something that dominates their lives.

But even those momentary lapses do make sure that you have the skills to recognize when its your self-worth thats creating a problem and pick yourself up and get back into the game with a healthier perspective.

I suspect self worth is one of those qualities of good leadership that most people will glide over ... I'm okay with that ... just make sure on those times when you take a hit you've got the skills to get back in the saddle fast!

5. Are Excited By Life

If you aren't excited about the journey ahead how on earth will you excite those around you? Now this doesn't mean you need to go all cheerleader. But it does mean that you get out there with a spring in your step and a vibe of passion, urgency, desire, energy and animation that others just can't help but be compelled by.

As you read the pages on my site you'll guess that I'm a real fan of Richard Branson. He really embodies this quality of good leadership in bucket-loads. You just know that he's thrilled to be alive and seems to bring that sense of thrill and curiosity into everything he does .... whether that's ballooning, building the Virgin Brand, working with a kid in an orphanage or talking to a passenger on a plane.

I contrast Richard's out there, extroverted style with one of the leaders that has most inspired me in a work situation. He was almost the complete opposite of Richard, quiet, more serious than cheerful, considered in his thinking. But did he ever have belief in what we were doing and he was 'quietly' thrilled by the journey we as a team were on.

This quiet sense of destiny and purpose that he brought in to our team inspired all of us. It simply meant that the rah-rah stuff he left to those of us in the leadership team who were higher up on the extrovert scale, and he would come quietly behind reinforcing with all the team members that this was a special moment in their life and be excited by the possibilities of where we were going. And his quiet style did embed in each and every one of us a sense of meaning and joy about what we were doing!

Well that's my Top 5 Qualities of Good Leadership. Come on over and check out the next 5 qualities of good leadership that high performance leaders consistently use.