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TRANSCRIPT
Achieving Excellence through
Strategic Management
- Module One -
Day 2:
Leadership
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Leadership
Introduction
John Adair (1934 - ), a British professor and distinguished expert on Leadership
and Management, argues that a good manager is a good leader; in addition, a good
leader is a good manager. The leader must address the key issues of achieving the
task, building the team and developing individuals. The leader who concentrates
only on the task/job such as the number of criminal convictions achieved in the
justice sector, but neglects training, encouraging and motivating the group/team will
always have problems of dissonance and dysfunction.
John Adair further argues that the leader, who concentrates only on creating a team
spirit while neglecting the task/job or individual needs, will not get maximum
involvement and commitment, which only come from an environment that is both
harmonious and genuinely productive. Staff members would therefore lack any true
achievement or feeling of success which is reflected in the diagram below.
Figure 2: John Adair’s ‘Three Circles’ Diagram (1975)
To achieve this harmonious and productive workplace John Adair highlights eight
essential leadership functions:
DIRECTION COMMUNICATION CO-ORDINATION DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING APPRAISAL CONTROL ASSESSMENT
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John Adair has undertaken extensive research and practice within the British Army
and The Industrial Society on the nature and practice of leadership, drawing on
(amongst others) Fayol's classic theories and later studies of motivation. He
introduced the concept of Action-Centred Leadership, arguing that:
There are clear differences between ‘managing’ and ‘leading’;
Fifty per-cent of performance within teams comes from the individuals
and that the other 50% comes from quality of leadership;
Leaders should be good at inspiring others. This depends on their own
ability to communicate and share their own enthusiasm and commitment
with the rest of the team.
Adair's Skill List of an Effective Leader
John Adair highlights the following skills that make an excellent leader.
Enthusiasm
Can you think of any leader that lacks enthusiasm? It is very hard to
do, isn’t it?
Integrity
This is the quality that helps people to trust you. Trust is essential in
all human relationships – both professional and private.
‘Integrity’ means both personal wholeness and adherence to values
outside yourself especially goodness and truth.
Toughness
Leaders are often demanding people; uncomfortable to have around
because their standards are high. They are resilient and tenacious.
Leaders aim to be respected, but not necessarily popular.
Fairness
Effective leaders treat individuals differently, in accordance to their
needs, but equally. They do not have favourites. They are impartial in
giving rewards and penalties for performance.
Warmth
Cold fish do not make good leaders. Leadership involves your heart
as well as your mind. Loving what you are doing and caring for people
are equally essential.
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Content / Job
Process / People
80%
20%
Humility
An odd quality but one that is characteristic of the very best leaders.
The opposite to humility is arrogance. Who wants to work for an
arrogant manager? The signs of a good leader are a willingness to
listen and a lack of ego.
Confidence
Confidence is essential. People will sense whether or not you have it,
so developing self-confidence is always a preliminary to becoming a
leader. But don’t let it become overconfidence as this can lead to
arrogance.
Action-Centred Leadership
John Adair's Action Centred Leadership Model provides a simple illustration of
effective management in action. He states that if you look closely at matters
involving leadership, there are always three elements or variables:
The leader - qualities of personality and character;
The situation - partly constant, partly varying;
The group - the followers: their needs and values.
Work groups are always different, just as individuals are. After coming together they
soon develop a group personality. So that which works in one group may not work in
another. All groups and organisations are unique. If a group is to work effectively
and efficiently, there are three areas of important overlapping need, as illustrated
below:
John Adair's Action Centred Leadership Model
Overlapping Needs
Figure 3: Iceberg Analogy & Action Centred Leadership Model
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Studies have shown that most managers spend 80% of their time in the content/job
area of their work (the part which is easy to see – as if it is the part of an iceberg that
rises above the surface of the sea) and only 20% of their work time on
process/people (the part which is hardest to see – as if it is the part of the iceberg
that remains below the surface).
Is this the most effective use of their time? The following sections explain Adair's
model and this should help you to answer this question.
Task Need
Work groups and organisations are formed because there is a task (job) to be done,
which is too big for one person. You can do smaller jobs by yourself, but you cannot
deal with major jobs on your own - you need a team for that.
Team Need
As with an iceberg, much of the life of any group lies below the surface.
Again, it is best to think of groups that are threatened from without by forces aimed
at their disintegration or from within by disruptive people or ideas. We can then see
how they give priority to maintaining themselves against these external or internal
pressures, sometimes showing great ingenuity in the process.
Many of the written or unwritten rules of the group are designed to promote this unity
and to maintain cohesiveness at all costs. Those who challenge or infringe group
standards and corporate balance may expect reactions varying from friendly
indulgence to downright anger.
Instinctively a common feeling exists that ‘united we stand, divided we fall’, that good
relationships, desirable in themselves, are also an essential means towards the
shared end. This need to create and promote group cohesiveness could be called
‘team maintenance need’.
Individual Needs
Individuals bring into the group their own needs. Not just their physical needs for
food and shelter (which are often catered for by the payment of wages) but also the
psychological needs: recognition, a sense of doing something worthwhile, status,
and the deeper need to give to and receive from other people in a working situation.
These individual needs are perhaps more profound than we sometimes realise.
Individual needs spring from the depths of our common life as human beings. They
may attract us to, or repel us from, any given group. Underlying them all is the fact
that people need one another – not just to survive – but to achieve and develop
personally. This growth occurs in a whole range of social activities such as
friendship, marriage, and social interaction with the community. Inevitably, work
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groups are extremely important because many people spend much of their waking
time in them.
How the three areas/circles interact
As illustrated previously, the three areas of need overlap and influence one another.
For example, if the common task/job is achieved this satisfies both the team needs
and many of the personal needs of the individuals. If there is a lack of cohesiveness
in the team circle - a failure of team maintenance - then performance in the task/job
area will be impaired and the satisfaction of individual members reduced.
Thus we can visualise those needs as three overlapping circles; a simple but not
superficial model. In whatever type of work you are, at whatever level of leadership -
team leader, operational leader, trainer, or strategic leader - there are three things
that you should always be thinking about: task, team, and individual.
Functional Approach to Leadership
What has all this got to do with management or leadership you might ask? Simply
this: in order to achieve the common task and to maintain individual performance
and teamwork, certain functions have to be performed. A function is what you do, as
opposed to a quality, which is an aspect of who you are. For example, someone has
to define the objectives, make a plan, or hold the team together if it is threatened by
disruptive forces. You can learn to provide the functions of leadership, which are
called for by task, team and individual needs. This is the key to effective leadership.
Moreover, you can - by practice, study, experience and reflection - learn to do the
functions with skill. They will become your leadership skills. However, this does not
mean that you will be performing all of them all of the time.
The Role of a Leader
You can now be crystal-clear about your role as a leader. In its wider social use, a
role can be roughly defined as the expectations that people have of you. However, if
different people have different expectations you may experience role confusion. For
example, if there is a difference between the expectations of your manager, your
colleague and your team – it can cause confusion in you, your team and some of the
individuals who make up your team.
We do not expect people to act outside their roles in the context of work. For
instance, if a Judge stopped court proceedings simply to tell a joke that he had heard
on the radio the previous night, most of us would be amazed. We do not expect
Judges to behave in that way – we have a clear picture of the role they should play.
The three-circle model helps to define the leader’s role in a visual way. People
expect their leaders to help them to achieve the common task/job, to build the
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The Role Functions
Defining the Task
Planning
Briefing
Controlling
Evaluating
Motivating
Organising
Providing an Example
synergy of teamwork and to respond to individuals and meet their needs. The
overlapping circles integrate these three facets of the role.
John Adair's Definition of Leadership Functions
Figure 4: John Adair's Definition of Leadership Functions
How to turn the Core Functions into Skills
It is important to note that because the three areas of task, team, and individual
overlap so much - any function will tend to affect all three circles. Take planning for
example. At first sight that appears to be solely a task function. Yet there is nothing
like a poor plan to break-up a team or frustrate an individual; it hits all three circles.
Another general factor to bear in mind is that leadership and management exist on
different levels:
Team leadership Leading a team of between five to 20 people.
Operational
leadership
Leading a significant unit in the business or
organisation, composed of a number of teams whose
leaders report to you.
Strategic leadership Leading a whole business or organisation, with overall
accountability for the two levels of leadership below you.
Not only the three circles but the eight functions also apply at all these levels, but in
different ways. The functional approach to leadership described here is sometimes
called 'action-centred leadership'. A function is one of a group of related actions
contributing to development or maintenance, just as each part of the body has its
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function in relation to the whole. Are you functional as a leader? In other words, are
you capable of performing the regular functions expected of a leader?
Defining the Task
‘Task’ is a very general word. It simply means ‘something that needs
to be done’ or ‘a job’ – usually something that you are required to do.
Generally speaking, people in teams or organisations have some idea
of what they are there to do. The task needing to be done should be
focused onto an objective that is:
Clear;
Concrete;
Time-limited;
Realistic;
Challenging;
Capable of evaluation.
Additionally, objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic, and Time bound (SMART). If it is not possible to evaluate
an objective in that there is no ‘success criterion’ then it will not be
possible for team members to know that the objective has in fact been
achieved. If your target or goal is to reach the top of Mount
Kilimanjaro you will know when you reach it. In many other areas of
human endeavour, the success criteria are far less obvious but people
still enjoy a sense of achievement. Leadership is also about
answering the question ‘why’ as well as ‘what’. A boss may tell you
what to do, but a leader will explain or convey to you why you are
doing it, in order to generate your willing co-operation and enthusiasm.
The hallmark of all true leadership is one who inspires to act in
accordance with the intended goals. There is an overlap here with
motivation, or giving others a sufficient reason or grounds for action.
Referring to the task circle Adair suggests that all leaders should be
able to relate an objective to the wider aims and purpose of the
organisation. In other words, they need to be able to think - and often
to speak - in terms of a set of directions. Hence leaders at all levels
should stimulate a vision of where the team is heading. ‘Vision’
literally means to see where you are going – this can be a new
direction for a small team or everyone in the organisation. Change
always brings the necessity to think very hard about your purpose, as
well as your aims and objectives in the context of rapid changes in
markets, technology, economy and social lives. This is the prime
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responsibility of strategic leaders, but it is wise to involve operational
and team leaders in this process as well.
Planning the Task
Planning is the first of Adair's eight functional tasks. It means building
a mental bridge from where you are now to where you want to be
when you have achieved the objective. The function of planning
meets the group’s need to accomplish its task by answering many
open-ended questions such as
Who?
Where?
What?
When?
Why
How?
For example: Why are we doing this job? How shall we achieve this
task? Who should complete it? When should we complete it by?
Where shall we carry out each part of the task?
There is a useful way of looking at the planning function as a cake that
can be sliced in different proportions, as illustrated in John Adair’s
Planning Continuum. The advantages of moving towards the right-
hand side of the continuum are considerable. The more that people
share in decisions that affect their working life, the more they are
motivated to carry them out. This is one facet of empowerment.
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Figure 5: John Adair's Planning Continuum
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On the other hand, you will notice that when you work in the sixth position
you have lost control over the outcome. The team may make a plan that
meets all the objectives, but you would have done it differently. Can you
live with that?
Where you should be on the planning continuum depends on several key
factors, notably the time available to plan and the competence level of the
team members. There is no one right ‘style’. The best leaders are
consistent - you know where you stand with them and they are in many
respects predictable. But when it comes to decision-making they are
infinitely flexible. So a good leader, working with individuals or teams,
can operate at many different points on the scale during a day. A trainer
or facilitator who is responsible for a group of students on a course
should plan to be at the end of the continuum by the conclusion of the
course – because the students will return to their work and must be able
to integrate their learning into their job roles without the assistance of the
trainer.
Once work has started on the plan, it may be necessary to revise or
adapt it as circumstances or conditions dictate. You must steer a middle
course between the perennial need for flexibility as change unfolds and
tenacity in sticking to the agreed plan. Certainly, allowing too many
unnecessary changes in the plan can breed confusion. As the military
proverb says; ‘Order; counter-order; disorder.’
Briefing the Task
Briefing is the function of communicating objectives and plans to the
team. It usually involves standing or sitting in front of the team and
briefing them in a face-to-face way (a form of presentation).
Like all functions, briefing can be done with skill, for there is a right way to
brief a group and a wrong way. Briefing is part of a much larger
communication skill: effective speaking. Here are some guidelines:
Be prepared - rehearse and practise. Make sure that you have
some professional-looking visual aids - ‘A picture is worth a
thousand words’;
Be clear- double check that what you are saying is not vague,
ambiguous, or muddled;
Be simple - reduce complicated matter to its simplest form without
oversimplifying. Avoid technical language or jargon that your
audience will not understand;
Be vivid - colour your message with enthusiasm, confidence, and
humour. Make it live - make it exciting and challenging and fun;
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Be natural - you do not need to be a great orator. Just be yourself -
your best self.
Briefing is not something that you do only at the outset of a project and
then forget about. It is always a function waiting to be performed at
appropriate stages of a task/job.
Briefing is a small part of the skill of public speaking. Listening is just as
important – everyone has something to contribute to the plan and its
execution: ideas, suggestions, or information. If you want to be an
effective leader then listen.
Briefing sessions or conferences - work meetings - allow you to do some
valuable work in all three circles. In the task area you can make it the
occasion for taking charge by giving direction and focus. A certain
amount of assertiveness is often required of leaders, and the group will
accept it - even welcome it - if the situation calls for it. You can stress the
team approach to the task at hand, thus building up team spirit. You can
meet individual needs by listening to contributions, and acknowledging
the help you have received. It can also be an opportunity for
emphasising the significance of each individual’s contribution to the
success of the enterprise.
John Adair's Short Course on Leadership
The six most important words… ‘I admit I made a mistake.’
The five most important words… ‘I am proud of you.’
The four most important words… ‘What is your opinion?’
The three most important words… ‘If you please.’
The two most important words… ‘Thank you'.
The one most important word… ‘We.’
And the last, least important word… ‘I.’
Some of the supreme examples of leadership occur when a leader takes
over a demoralised group and returns it to success. The initial briefing
meeting can be especially important in this process, for first impressions
are as basic in working relationships as in love and friendship. The
impression that you make on people at that first meeting will stay with
them forever.
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But you can share your vision, your spirit of resolve, and your
determination to change the climate and standards of the group. That
may require some tough talking, and people will wait to see if it is going to
be backed up by equally firm deeds.
Controlling the Task
Controlling is the function of ensuring that all the energy of the team and
the resources at its disposal are focused on achieving the defined task.
Humans are not machines, and some of their energy during the day will
go into discussions or activities unrelated to the common task. Within
reason, this ‘time-wasting’ is acceptable, but it can become a problem in
a team that does not have a positive attitude to the common task.
It is the natural instinct of leaders (perhaps in contrast to managers) to
rely as much as possible on self-control or self-discipline in others. The
better the team and its constituent individual members, the more you can
do that.
The point about self-discipline is that it is the only way to be
disciplined/controlled and free. If control or discipline is imposed upon
us, as sometimes it must be, we always lose an element of freedom.
Leadership only exists among free and equal people; therefore a large
element of self-control within the group and the individuals is a necessary
element of leadership. If a group or team lacks self-discipline, they are
also inadvertently robbing themselves of the opportunity to experience
quality leadership.
Management implies the efficient use of resources as well as their
effective use. In these days of scarce resources - time, money, and
material in all its forms - the thrifty or economical use of resources is
imperative for anyone that occupies organisational or community
leadership roles. Good leaders will be managers in the sense that they
manage carefully and spend to good effect the resources at their
disposal. They get the maximum results with the minimum use of
resources. Remember however, it is possible to reduce overhead costs
so much that it has an adverse effect on an organisation's ability to
function effectively.
Evaluating the Task
As we have already seen, a key part of defining the task is establishing
the success criteria – to see if we are achieving the objective or at least
making progress in its general direction.
Evaluating is much wider than that; work performance has to be judged in
relation to organisational values, which are usually implicit in the
organisation’s purpose. Consequently, evaluating is not something that
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you, as a leader, leave to the end. Whenever you comment on the
progress of a task - or the lack of it - you are performing the function of
evaluating.
Because it is a major mental function, an integral part of thinking,
evaluating will play a crucial role in your decision-making. When you
assess the possible consequences of a decision, for example, you will be
evaluating.
You also evaluate in the other two circles: the team and the individual.
Why evaluate the team, or get the team to evaluate its ways of working
together? Because it is the principal way to build or develop the team –
here are some of the criteria or hallmarks of an excellent, high-
performance team:
Clear realistic objectives - everyone knows what the team’s
objectives are and their part in the plan;
Shared sense of purpose - by which I do not mean that every
member can recite the organisation’s mission statement, but that
they have a clear direction plus the energy to get there;
Best use of resources - all resources belong to the team and are put
to work according to priority;
Atmosphere of openness - excellent two-way communication
between leader and members and amongst the members
themselves. People should be able to speak openly, without fear of
being thought critical. All that matters is to ensure that the best
decisions are taken;
Handles failure - success is often to be found at the edge of failure.
A high-performance team picks itself up quickly after a failure,
learns the lessons and presses forward;
Rides out the storms - the test of a high-performance team is in the
storms that destroy other teams. The true evaluation of teamwork is
during the difficult, demanding change situation.
When it comes to teamwork, remember that success can breed failure.
Successful teams sometimes become overconfident and start making
mistakes, the ones that can sink your organisation. The price of
excellence in teamwork is eternal vigilance. As a leader, you should
have a relationship with each member of the team (each individual) - an
equal but different relationship - as well as a relationship with the team as
a whole.
Those relationships will involve you in talking and listening to each
individual. Your observations and conversations may require you to take
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the role of a coach or counsellor. Appraising or evaluating individual
performance is a natural expression of leadership. You should take steps
to avoid appraisal becoming a bureaucratic routine so that it does not
become formalised or systematised within your organisation.
Motivating Others
Motivation comes from the Latin verb ‘to move’. There is, of course, a
variety of ways to move people: you can threaten them with punishments
of one form or another, or induce them with financial rewards. Although
motivating others in this way can fall within the compass of leadership as
well as management, it is not characteristic of it.
John Adair’s Key Principles For Motivating Others
Be motivated
yourself
If you are not fully committed and enthusiastic,
how can you expect others to be?
Select people
who are highly
motivated
It is not easy to motivate the unwilling. Choose
those who have the seeds of high motivation
within them. However, remember to comply with
equal opportunities.
Set realistic and
challenging
targets
The better the team and its individual members,
the more they will respond to objectives that
stretch them, providing these are realistic.
Remember that
progress
motivates
If you never give people feedback on how they
are progressing, you will soon de-motivate them.
Provide fair
rewards
Not easy. Do you reward the whole team, or
each individual, or both? Either way, the
perception of unfair rewards certainly works
against motivation.
Give recognition They cost you nothing, but praise and recognition
based upon performance are the oxygen of the
human spirit.
One of the popular motivational theories is that leaders should motivate
people with a combination of rewards and threats - the ‘carrot and stick’
approach. However, modern thought suggests that people motivate
themselves by responding to inner needs. As a leader, you must
understand these needs in individuals and how they operate, so that you
can work with the grain of human nature and not against it. Maslow's
hierarchy of needs is valuable in our understanding of how humans are
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Basic and instinctive needs
Societal and needs of civilisation
The needs vary according to the state and nature of the individuals and the society in which they live
motivated to act.
Maslow makes two interesting points. Firstly, if one of our stronger needs
is threatened, we jump down the steps of the hierarchy to defend it. You
do not worry about status (see ‘esteem’), for example, if you are starving
(see ‘physiological’). Therefore, if you appear to threaten people’s
security by your proposed changes, you should expect defensive
response. Secondly, a satisfied need ceases to motivate. When one
area of need is met, the people concerned become aware of another set
of needs within them. These in turn now begin to motivate them. There
is obviously much in this theory – when the physiological and safety
needs in particular have been satisfied they do not move us so strongly.
Figure 6: Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs
Being an Ethical Leader
We begin by considering ethical and value-based leadership.
The term ‘leadership’ has already been examined during your workshop and we will
now explore what is ethical leadership.
Our purpose is not to tell you what is ethical and what is not. It is to help you to
determine better for yourself what is ethical and what is unethical.
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So what is ethical?
The short answer is that there isn't an answer. There is no absolute rule of what is
ethical and what is not. Defining what ethical and unethical mean is only a little easier.
A simpler broad definition of the word ethical is 'fair'. And 'fair' to fair-minded people,
especially those affected by the situation. This is not a scientifically robust definition, but
as you will see, when we peel back the layers of what is ethical, it is very difficult to be
scientific and firm about what it all means.
The modern Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says:
"Ethical - Relating to moral principles or the branch of knowledge dealing with these..."
Interestingly the definition continues by way of example:
"...Morally correct: Can a profitable business ever be ethical?"
Morals and morality appear commonly in attempts to define what ethical means,
although given the difficulties of defining the word morality without using quite subjective
terms, this is not terribly helpful. Morality incidentally is defined in the OED as
'...principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad
behaviour’. (Adapted from an article posted on www.businessballs.com)
Organisational outcomes and benefits from ethical leadership
More and more leaders of businesses and other organisations are now waking up to the
reality of social responsibility and organisational ethics. Public opinion, unleashed by
the internet particularly, is re-shaping expectations and standards. Organisational
behaviour - good and bad - is more transparent than ever - globally.
Injustice anywhere in the world is becoming more and more visible, and less and less
acceptable.
Reaction to corporate recklessness, exploitation, dishonesty and negligence is
becoming more and more organised and potent. Employers, businesses and
organisations of all sorts - especially the big, high profile ones - are now recognising
that there are solid effects and outcomes driving organisational change. There are now
real incentives for doing the right things and real disincentives for doing the wrong
things.
As never before, there are huge organisational advantages from behaving ethically, with
humanity, compassion, and with proper consideration for the world beyond the
boardroom and the shareholders:
Competitive advantage
Customers are increasingly favouring providers and suppliers who demonstrate
responsibility and ethical practices. Failure to do so means lost market share and
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shrinking popularity, which reduce revenues, profits, or whatever other results the
organisation seeks to achieve.
Better staff attraction and retention
The best staff want to work for truly responsible and ethical employers. Failing to be a
good employer means good staff leave employment and reduces the likelihood of
attracting good new-starters. This pushes up costs and undermines performance and
efficiency. Aside from this, good organisations simply cannot function without good
people.
Investment
Fewer and fewer investors want to invest in organisations which lack integrity and
responsibility, because they don't want the association, and because they know that for
all the other reasons here, performance will eventually decline, and who wants to invest
in a lost cause?
Morale and culture
Staff who work in a high-integrity, socially responsible, globally considerate organisation
are far less prone to stress, attrition and dissatisfaction. Therefore they are happier and
more productive. Happy productive people are a common feature in highly successful
organisations. Stressed, unhappy staff are less productive, take more time off, need
more managing, and also take no interest in sorting out the organisation's failings when
the whole thing implodes.
Reputation
It takes years, decades, to build organisational reputation - but only one scandal to
destroy it. Ethical, responsible organisations are far less prone to scandals and
disasters. And if one does occur, an ethical, responsible organisation will automatically
know how to deal with it quickly, openly and honestly. People tend to forgive
organisations who are genuinely trying to do the right thing. People do not forgive, and
are actually deeply insulted by, organisations who fail and then fail again by not
addressing the problem and the root cause. Arrogant leaders share this weird delusion
that no-one can see what they're up to. Years ago maybe they could hide, but now
there is absolutely no hiding place.
Legal and regulatory reasons
Soon there'll be no choice anyway - all organisations will have to comply with proper
ethical and socially responsible standards. And these standards and compliance
mechanisms will be global. Welcome to the age of transparency and accountability. So
it makes sense to change before you are forced to.
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Legacy
Even the most deluded leaders will admit in the cold light of day that they would prefer
to be remembered for doing something good, rather than making a pile of money or
building a great big empire. It is human nature to be good. Humankind would not have
survived were this not so. The greedy and the deluded have traditionally been able to
persist with unethical, irresponsible behaviour because there has been nothing much
stopping them, or reminding them that maybe there is another way; but not anymore.
Part of the re-shaping of attitudes and expectations is that making a pile of money, and
building a great big empire, are becoming stigmatised. What is so great about leaving
behind a pile of money or a great big empire if it has been at the cost of others' well-
being, or the health of the planet? The ethics and responsibility Zeitgeist1. is
fundamentally changing the view of what a lifetime legacy should be and can be. And
this will change the deeper aspirations of leaders, present and future, who can now see
more clearly what a real legacy is.
1. Zeitgeist - mood or feeling of the moment - from the same German word, formed
from 'Zeit' (time, in the sense of an age or a period) and 'geist' (spirit - much like the
English word, relating to ghosts and the mind). Zeitgeist is pronounced 'zite-guyste': the
‘I’ sounds are as in 'eye' and the G is hard as in 'ghost'. The word Zeitgeist is
particularly used in England these days to refer to the increasing awareness of, and
demand for, humanity and ethics in organised systems of the modern 'developed' world,
notably in people's work, lives, business and government.
The UK Institute of Business Ethics suggests a simple 'test' for ethical decision-making
in business.
Adapted below, it is applicable to all decisions in all types of organisations and in life as
a whole. It is a remarkably easy test to apply.
Try it next time you have to make a decision:
Transparency - am I happy to make my decision public - especially to the people
affected by it?
Effect - have I fully considered the harmful effects of my decision and how to avoid
them?
Fairness - would my decision be considered fair by everyone affected by it (consider all
stakeholders - the effects of decisions can be far-reaching)
If you can honestly answer ‘Yes’ to each of the above questions then you are likely to
be making an ethical decision.
If you have any doubt about saying ‘Yes’ to any of the questions then you should think
about things more carefully. Maybe there is an entirely different and better solution -
there often is.
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If you can't decide how to answer these questions, seek input from someone who has
strong ethical principles, and who owes you nothing. Especially do not ask anyone to
advise you about difficult decisions if they owe you some sort of allegiance.
Leaders can sometimes be blinded by their own feelings of self-importance, and more
dangerously can believe that the leader's job requires them to shoulder the burden of
decisions which cause anguish and suffering, or worse. Believing that leadership carries
some sort of right to take risks with other people's well-being is nothing more than
arrogant delusion. A strong feature of good leadership is knowing when and having the
strength, to find another way - the ethical way.
Organising the Task
Organising is the function of arranging or forming into a coherent whole.
It can mean systematic planning as well, but that is a function we have
already covered. It encompasses the structuring - or restructuring - that
has to be done if people are to work as a team, with each element
performing its proper part in an effective whole. For example, you may
break a larger group down into smaller subgroups.
Much of the ground here has already been covered such as being clear
about the objectives, making a workable plan, and structuring the group
to facilitate two-way communication, teamwork, and the appropriate
measure of control. However, there are three other aspects to be
considered: systems, administration, and time management.
Systems
Organisers tend to organise things by introducing systems. A system is
almost a synonym for an organisation: a set of interrelated parts making
up a whole. However, ‘system’ can refer to processes - orderly or
structured ways of doing things - as well as social structures.
You cannot run anything without systems: production systems, selling
systems, financial systems, and so on. In large organisations, there is a
variety of other systems, such as appraisal systems or quality control
systems.
A good leader understands the importance and value of systems. Almost
by definition it is impossible to think of organisations that do not have
systems or definite ways of doing things, although they are not always
immediately apparent. A good leader respects and works through the
systems, changing them if need be. But they are not bound by them, like
prisoners shackled in chains. They know when a system is becoming
counterproductive.
Moreover, every system - if you think about it - requires teamwork to
make it effective. So we come back to that core function of leadership:
building and maintaining the team. To keep systems - the very essence
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of a corporate body - fit and healthy, good leadership at all levels is
needed.
Administration
Administration is usually linked to management skills rather than
leadership skills. You may be able to recall a leader you have met who
was full of entrepreneurial spirit, enthusiasm, and drive, a motivator of
others but completely useless as an organiser and administrator. Indeed,
‘industrial administration’ was once the name for what we now call
management, as highlighted by the term MBA - Master of Business
Administration.
Administration, as we all know, involves paperwork and is primarily
concerned with the day-to-day running of things. It usually includes
financial administration of various kinds and levels.
The key thing to remember is that administration is always secondary to
something else. It is a servant function. Minister is the Latin word for
‘servant’; it comes from the familiar minus, ‘less’ (as opposed to the
magister, ‘master’, derived from magis, ‘more’).
In the old days, when organisations were overstaffed, you as the leader
(alias magister) could delegate all the day-to-day paperwork to your staff.
To some extent you still can, not least if you have a secretary. But these
days, leaders - equipped with personal computers - will often have to do
a great deal more administration than in the past, especially at team
leader level. So being a good administrator is now a part of being a good
leader.
Taking on this administrative responsibility of leadership is a way of
becoming a good facilitator, for you are thereby freeing the team as a
whole and its individual members to be effective, creative, and innovative.
That does not mean to say that you should do all the administration - far
from it. You need to delegate so that you have time to think and time to
lead. But you should perform the administration that cannot be delegated
(either because of its nature or because you lack anyone to delegate it to)
in such a way that you are providing a good example. If you are late and
sloppy doing the paperwork in returns, how can you expect others to be
on time with their returns? Make sure that your team has a reputation for
excellence in all administrative matters.
Lastly, seeing part of your role as an administrator helps to create real
teamwork in the organisation. As an administrator, you will come to
appreciate more and more the contributions of those in the ‘backroom’ of
the enterprise, those who are primarily administrators. Their work may
be more mundane and more behind-the-scenes, but it is vital to the
success of the organisation as a whole and to your team in particular.
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Remember to share your success with these invisible members of your
team!
Time Management
Leaders need time to think, time for people - customers as well as team
members - and time to grow the organisation. Therefore, they should be
skilled managers of their own time. If you cannot organise yourself, how
can you organise anyone or anything else? Administering that scarce
resource, your own time, is the priority for any leader.
If you were to keep a diary of how you spend your time over a two-week
period, charting every half hour at work, then go through it putting a T for
Task, TM for Team Maintenance, and I for Individual Needs beside each
item, you might get an indication of where you spend most of your time.
You may of course put more than one of these code letters beside each
item.
This exercise, properly done, will give you an idea of how much of your
key resource - time - is not being spent in your core role as a leader.
Then ask yourself: ‘What am I being paid to do?’
Time management is made up of applying some underlying principles.
Know and understand your role remit, aims and objectives and be aware
of practical policies and time-saving tips. Learning to say no, which
sounds so simple, can save you a bundle of time.
Effective Delegation
One of the challenges of management is to know which tasks are
appropriate to delegate to other people, and how to delegate these tasks
effectively. Many of your outcomes as a manager will be achieved
through the tasks other people do, and it is clearly vital to your success
that you learn how to delegate.
Delegating may not be an option for you at present. However, there may
be possibilities for you to delegate later in your career, so the expertise
you acquire now will prove useful to you.
The benefits of delegating
Being in control doesn’t mean having to do everything yourself.
Delegating some of your tasks to others will leave you more time to plan,
organise and co-ordinate. It will enable you to spend more time on tasks,
which require your specialist attention. You may also be able to develop
your own skills by taking on more advanced work.
Managers are often so busy ‘doing’ they never have time for anything
else. Your creative skills may never be employed because you have no
time to sit down to think and plan tasks ahead of time. Delegation will
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help you create that time. Efficiency and productivity can be improved by
allowing decisions to be made at the lowest possible level. Greater staff
involvement in decision-making can increase motivation and improve
work performance. Delegation can also help to develop staff to their full
potential and, having staff trained to handle a variety of tasks, gives you
greater flexibility in organising your workload.
Those to whom work is delegated will be able to increase their
competence and skills as a result of what they do. This may help to
increase their commitment to the organisation and give greater job
satisfaction. People do not usually shine if their work presents few
challenges. If they are set new tasks, motivation and morale can
increase, particularly if the task is carefully matched to their skill. Their
personal development is enhanced alongside their career development.
Your attitude towards delegation
Some people at management level delegate willingly. Others do so
reluctantly — or not at all. There may be many reasons for this
reluctance. The following questions will help you focus on your own
attitude towards delegation. Tick the statements you relate to most
1 I can do it more quickly myself.
2 It’s too risky — The job can’t afford mistakes.
3 I am responsible, so I must keep control.
4 It would be time consuming initially, but would save time long term.
5 I’m not sure they’ll do it properly.
6 They may prove better at the job than I am.
7 If I delegate the easy tasks, I will be left with all the difficult ones.
8 I will get some of the credit for their success in the delegated task.
9 I do not like to do everything myself — I’m far too busy.
10 I feel powerful when I keep all the tasks for myself.
11 I’m not always the best one for the job.
If you ticked Numbers 4, 8, 9 and 11 you are already good at delegation.
You know that it is impossible to do everything yourself and recognise
that others may be equally qualified to take over some of your tasks. You
also know that their success will reflect on you and that it is worth the
time and effort involved in training them.
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If you ticked Numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 10, you must seriously consider
to what extent your refusal to delegate is eating into your time and
preventing you from doing more important things.
If you ticked a mixture of responses, you are obviously able to delegate
some tasks, but may be too restrictive in your role. This, in turn, gives
you unnecessary work to do.
Once you recognise the benefits of delegation, the next steps are to
decide what and who to delegate to.
What to delegate
There are certain tasks, which can be delegated more easily than others.
Here are some suggestions:
Minor routine tasks
Particularly work which has to be covered whether you are present
or not some of these tasks may be time-consuming and not need
your level of competence.
Work, which will develop others
Look for a range of interesting and increasingly complex tasks to
provide new challenges which will increase their skills.
Duties others can do equally as well
Look at tasks where a particular person’s skill and experience could
be valuable.
Assignments others can do better
Recognise that you are not necessarily the best at everything.
New responsibilities
New responsibilities will come your way, but some may take too
much time for you to learn, relative to their importance.
What not to delegate
There are certain tasks, which are difficult or inadvisable to delegate.
These include:
Matters requiring your professional expertise;
Crises;
Specific personal or confidential matters;
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Disciplinary and grievance matters;
Policy making or planning.
But, make sure you do not just delegate boring, routine tasks and keep
the interesting ones for yourself.
Who to delegate to
Here are some guidelines. Delegate to:
People who are directly responsible to you;
Those who have potential; those who need more responsibility;
Those who need a challenge;
Those who feel frustrated by lack of promotional opportunity;
Individuals who have weaknesses in areas which could be helped
by your experience;
Staff whose development will contribute to the success of the
individual, the office, the service, or yourself;
Team members at the lowest level at which a job can be done.
Delegating a portion of your work to a member of your team, is not only
delegating the task; it is also delegating the authority to carry out that
task.
What you cannot delegate is accountability. You are the one who
delegated the task. You are ultimately accountable – both when things
go well and when things go badly. If you match the task and the
individual carefully, the fact that you are accountable should not be a
problem.
How to delegate
Before you delegate any task, you must have it clearly defined in your
own mind. The following ten steps are the ones you will have to take to
ensure you provide sufficient information for the job to be done properly.
1 Describe the assignment (the overall goal).
2 Set sub-objectives and specific tasks.
3 Indicate performance standards (how they will know the task has
been carried out to a satisfactory standard).
4 Allow for questions (throughout your instructions).
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5 Check understanding (regularly).
6 Indicate responsibility (who is in control).
7 Give some useful examples (to illustrate your points).
8 Indicate the follow-up procedure (to enable a performance check)
9 Provide the necessary resources (ensure everything is provided to
complete the task).
10 Provide the necessary authority (make it clear to all involved that
authority has been given).
Providing an Example
Leadership is example; certainly, it is impossible to think of leadership
without example. It may take many shapes and forms, but it has to be
there.
In the context of communication, you can think of examples of communicating a
message through ‘body language’ or non-verbal communication or, as the modern
management proverb puts it, you have to ‘walk the talk’.
John Adair's Key Questions for Good Leadership
Task The core action of going out in front on the journey in order
to show the way is a form of leading by example.
How can you ‘lead from the front’ in your field?
Team As a builder and maintainer of the team you need to
maintain or change group standards - the invisible rules
that hold groups together.
Individual Think of each team member as a leader in her or his own
right. Each should be a leader in their technical or
professional role, and a ‘three-circle’ contributor.
How can you develop your team's standards through the power of
example?
Remember that you cannot avoid being an example of some kind or
other, simply because the people that work with you will always observe
what you are and what you do as well as what you say. ‘Managers take
six months to get to know their staff,’ goes a Japanese maxim, ‘but staff
only take six days to get to know managers.’
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Example, in other words, is just you. Nevertheless, you do have some
discretion as to whether it will be a good or poor example.
You can see now the importance of this function, but can it be done with
skill? At first sight no, for skill implies a conscious learning of an art. To
set an example consciously in order to influence others seems to be
rather manipulative. That is why Adair advocates providing an example,
rather than setting one. For you can provide an example in an
unselfconscious way, as an expression of who you are as opposed to
something done for a carefully, calculated effect. If your example
becomes a habit, you will not have to think about it.
It follows that if you are going to lead effectively by example as much as
by other means you will need at least modesty if not humility - that rarest
of all qualities in leadership, found only in the best. The Chinese
philosopher Lao-Tzu summed it up in the sixth century before the
Christian era:
A leader is best when people barely know that he exists. Not so good when people
obey and acclaim him — worst when they despise him.
Support for John Adair’s research
Since John Adair’s original research, his findings have been supported and reinforced
on many occasions. The 2006 European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)
Excellence Model identifies the following criteria to identify an excellent Leader
Leaders develop the mission, vision & values and are role models of a culture of
excellence;
Leaders are personally involved in ensuring the organisation’s management
system is developed, implemented & continuously improved;
Leaders are involved with customers, partners & representatives of society;
Leaders motivate, support & recognise the organisation’s people.
Prepared by Dr Debra Willoughby
The model has been adapted for use within the Police sector and is the base for the
Achieving Policing Excellence through Strategic Leadership Mod
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