Leadership: Principles and Practice

Dr Mary BrownAbi Grist

About us: Mary

• Latin and Greek degree(!)• Moved into Organisational Behaviour, initially

as a trainer before becoming an academic• Interested in personality and individual

differences and how these affect organisational culture

• Doctoral study on the Scottish Episcopal Church in this context-’third sector’ often more interesting and progressive than commercial ones

About us: Abi

• Degrees Languages/Human Resource Management

• Lecturer at ABS & Director of GHRL• Area of academic interest: Deconstructing

Leadership• Area of Professional interest: Organisational

Development, variety of sectors, latterly within Social Firms

Session Discussion Points

To explore:

• What an effective leader is

• What a leader does

• How an effective leader behaves

Activity Stand up if you are:• Taller than average• Shorter than average• Louder• More energetic than others• Not too intelligent• More confident than others• From a high or low social class- not the middle!• You are the oldest child in your family• Your zodiac sign is Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn

What our teams think are the most important leadership qualities....

• 69% TRUST

• 64% GOOD COMMUNICATION

• 54% DECISIVENESS

• 47% MOTIVATION

• 36% PEOPLE FOCUS

• INTEGRITY

• INTELLIGENCE

• DETERMINATION

• SELF CONFIDENCE

• SOCIABILITY

So we understand what effective leadership looks like, why are we not all successful leaders?In other words, how do we translate the principles into practice?1)Start at the beginning, not the end!2)Focus on the process and context

Activity Leaders: What do they do?

... Remember this is about which tasks

you perceive a leader does NOT about which tasks you as a leader undertake...

Leaders: How do they behave?

• Understand that leadership is a process which is reliant on more than the leader!

• Are aware and adapt their style and behaviour to that of the environment

(e.g. directive leadership)

• Followers can influence leadership behaviour, outcomes and level of success

This requires the ability to know one self and others well!!!

Leadership Behaviour continued...

• We all (leaders and team members) differ in the way in which we interact and how we evaluate information.

• Two categories: Sensing and Intuition

Pair 1

• I get my energy from being with people. I think on my feet. I welcome calls or emails

from friends. If this is you, write E.

• I get my energy from recharging my batteries alone reading a book or listening to music. I don’t like interruptions when I’m working. If

this is you, write I.

Pair 2

• I am comfortable with complex facts and figures. I am down to earth and solve problems step by step. I am practical and

hardworking. If this is you, write S.

• I have a vivid imagination and solve problems by hunches. I like to find new ways of solving problems and hate to be bored. If this is you,

write N.

Pair 3

• I am objective and fair. I attempt to help friends in trouble by taking a step back and helping them to consider the best course of action. If this is you, write T.

• I am empathetic and emotional. I have strong loyalties to friends and colleagues. When friends are in trouble I feel upset on their behalf. If this is you, write F.

Pair 4

• I am organised and planful. I never miss deadlines but organise my actions well in advance so as not to be pressured. If this is you, write J.

• I go with the flow and prefer not to have long term plans to take advantage of new opportunities. I leave things to the last minute but somehow manage to meet deadlines by working to the last minute. If this is you, write P.

What style are you?

• Those of you with a Sensing preference are the facts and figures people (S types);

• Those of you with an iNtuitive preference are the ideas and concepts people (N types).

And, within this division;

• Sensing Judging (SJ) types use facts and figures planfully;

• Sensing Perceiving (SP) types use facts and figures opportunistically;

• iNtuitive Thinking (NT) types use ideas to develop systems and theories;

• iNtuitive Feeling (NF) types use ideas to find meaning in the human predicament.

The message is:

• No-one is perfect: we all see the world in different ways

• All types have a contribution to make to life

and often opposites work really well together – provided they KNOW they are opposites

• Being aware of your own style and that of others is a key part of effective leadership

What we want to do

• We want to focus some research on the language of leadership:

-i.e. What happens when people are leading/being led• This assumes it is an activity between people, NOT

something that is DONE to them!• People can be leaders in one interaction and led in

another. The situation and context matter• We will use a method called ‘shadowing’ which is

exactly what it sounds...

Why Social Firms?

• We enjoy working with (you!)them and (your!)their members

• Unique challenges in balancing commercial and social purpose

• They (you!)are set to become even more significant as many people are starting to question ‘pure’ capitalism within it’s emphasis on ‘bottom’ line at the expense of other important aims.

We hope you have enjoyed our session. Thank You !!!