Date post: | 21-Jan-2015 |
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LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAMME Session Two:
The Character of Leadership
Are great leaders born or made?
• Bell curve • Learn the characteris>cs of great leadership • Different styles – themes of character
Integrous Leadership
• The founda>on – all else is built on this – The integra>on of outward ac>ons and inner values – same on the outside as on the inside
– Transparent – what you see is what you get • Values/character guide decisions • Be – Do – Have – Become the person you need to be to lead – Your team will model your behaviour
Behaviours that build integrity:
• Do the right thing, always • Do what you say you’re going to do • Be honest in your conversa>ons, even if the truth is
uncomfortable • Deliver clear and concise messages to your team • Only make promises that you can keep • Be willing to deal quickly to those in your team who act
without integrity • Loyalty to the company; it’s visions, values and goals • Loyalty to your team; have their backs • Don’t let others sway you away from ac>ng with integrity,
whatever their posi>on
Character Traits of Great Leaders
• Who are some leaders you respect? • What character traits do they demonstrate?
12 Character Traits of Great Leaders
1. They have a vision • The vision for a company or a team sets the focus, it liNs people up,
and it inspires them to excellence. • A great leader not only creates a compelling vision they also
communicate that vision in a way that people can understand and get behind: – Learn to paint a picture with words – the power of the story. – Ask each of your team to tell you, in their own words, about the vision
of the company and your team. How close is it to what you thought they understood? Is your team on the same page as you?
– As you work, your company and team’s vision should be in your mind every day, and you should reevaluate it occasionally so that it stays current with the changing >mes in which we live. And remember, your team needs to be just as involved as you in keeping it up to date if you truly want them to buy in on the vision. Be sure to keep your key players involved.
2. They are passionate
• Your team want passion; in fact, they'll go to the ends of earth because of it. People will live and die for it such is the desire for passion in our lives. Think of the sailors who traveled with James Cook to explore uncharted territory, heading into the unknown, not knowing if they would ever return. Their leader’s passion inspired them to put their very lives at risk.
• To build an extraordinary team, you've got to light the ‘fire in their bellies’, to get them to feel passion about the company and connect to the vision. Passion is such a key part of being a great leader that if you don't have it, you simply can't be a great leader, because if you don’t have it you can’t expect your team to have it.
• And passion is infec>ous. When you talk about your vision for the company and your team, let your passion for your vision shine through. Others will feel it and want to get on board with you. If you don't have passion for your vision, you need to recreate your vision or reframe your descrip>on of your vision so it's connected to your passion, it’s that important.
3. They are BOLD • Nice leaders are liked by everyone, but they don't have the
courage to say what needs to be said, and they are therefore weak and are walked all over.
• Fierce leaders don’t think of other people’s feelings at all and they use force to get their way; they aren’t liked and as soon as their backs are turned people will undermine them.
• Bold leaders have both compassion and courage. They listen to people and are compassionate to their situa>on and their needs, and they are courageous enough to say what needs to be said and to do what needs to be done.
Nothing changes un.l the unsaid is spoken and bold leaders understand this and apply it.
4. They set the focus • Energy flows where focus goes. Your team will focus
wherever you are focussing, so a great leader decides consciously where to focus, and hence where the team will focus.
• The importance of focus is to get people to take ac>ons that move them towards their objec>ves, and the company’s objec>ves. Therefore you need to make sure they are clear on both their objec>ves and the company’s objec>ves, and also the cri>cal drivers, which are the ac>ons they must take to make progress.
• Effec>ve focus will take people from being task driven to being outcome driven and will accelerate their progress towards achieving your company’s goals.
5. They are great team builders and surround themselves with great
people • The success of a great leader is not an accident, and most
people would agree it’s not a testament to their ability alone. They consistently surround themselves with talented people and build that talent into a great team. They are not afraid of hiring people who are be\er than them; in fact they welcome it because they know it’s cri>cal to achieving progress.
• They also recognise there are too many moving parts to control singlehandedly, so they put their focus on what they do best and delegate appropriately. Importantly, they delegate to people who have demonstrated competence in the task required.
6. They are open
• Great leaders are open to new ideas, even if they don’t confirm to the usual way of thinking. They will suspend judgement while listening to new ideas and will welcome ideas that aren’t their own.
• The leader who thinks they have to come up with all the good ideas is severely limi>ng their business. By being open, you will also build mutual respect and trust with your employees, and it fuels your team to con>nue to come up with new and be\er ideas to further your vision.
7. They set the standard and demand accountability
• Great leaders set a standard of excellence in an organisa>on. As General Norman Schwarzkopt said, “shined shoes save lives”. Great leaders understand that excep>ons are the enemies of excellence and that tolerance of slipshod can’t happen.
• Great leaders will ins>l a culture of accountability in their organisa>on, that is; see, own it, solve it, do it.
• They ensure people come to them with proposals and solu>ons, not just problems. – Problem + 3 Solu>ons + Proposal – Do this enough and people will start to figure things out themselves and this will empower them to be their best.
8. They are creaQve
• Crea>vity is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solu>ons, and to come up with new ways of looking at things and solving problems.
• Great leaders have the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new direc>ons. Two of the most important ques>ons that a leader can ask are, "What if… ?", and, “What more can we do?”
9. They are great decision makers
• Great leaders make decisions quickly and are commi\ed to those solu>ons. This means they change them slowly, but that are not so ridgid they they will never change them.
• They are analy>cal in that they will make decisions based on the facts at hand, but they won’t over-‐analyse and paralyse themselves.
• They will be thoughful to all par>es concerned, but they won’t become obsessive and they will understand that they can’t please everyone, and in fact that’s not their goal.
10. They are magnanimous
• Great leaders give credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader will take personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together, and causes them to both respect and trust their leader.
• To ‘spread the fame and take the blame’ is a hallmark of great leaders; they aren’t looking for the credit, they are looking for the results.
• They acknowledge people and say ‘thank you’.
11. They are engaged in their surroundings
• Great leaders are present and engaged in the present moment. They value their >me and that of others, to everyone's benefit. They expect structure to mee>ngs, substance to discussions, and aim to stay on schedule. In exchange, you get their complete a\en>on. You won’t find a great leader tex>ng while they talk with you.
12. They seek out posiQve energy
• Passionate leaders are inherently op>mis>c; they genuinely believe anything is possible and want to be surrounded with people who are enthusias>c and keep them inspired.
• Great leaders are likely to be openly frustrated when there is a roadblock or a wave of nega>vity, because they see this as a hindrance towards achieving great things. They have no >me for pessimism; failure is not an acceptable answer.
• A great leaders believes that in the end if you haven’t achieved what you need to achieve, it’s not the end.
OUTCOME: Trust Without trust people won’t buy 100% into a leader, they will always hold something back. When people totally trust their leader they will follow them into the unknown, which is where leaders need to go to forge new ground. • Integrity – honesty and truthfulness. Doing the right thing, even if it’s the
thing that takes the most effort. And it’s doing it even if no one were to know about it.
• Competence – encompasses an individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills. You need to believe that someone has the skills to carry out what they say they will.
• Consistency – relates to someone’s reliability, predictability and good judgement in handling situa>ons. Inconsistencies between words and ac>ons decrease trust.
• Loyalty – The willingness to save face for another person. Trust requires that you can depend on someone not to act opportunis>cally.
• Openness – Can you give the full truth?
Exercise 1. For the next twelve weeks focus on one of these
character traits each week 2. Review the notes on that trait three >mes a day –
once when you wake, once at lunch>me, and once before you go to bed
3. Focus on that trait throughout the day and ac>vely live it
4. Ensure that every week you master the trait you are focusing on
5. At the end of the twelve weeks you will have mastered the twelve character traits to become a great leader
Final thought…
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we
never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most
people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master
anything in particular.” Anthony Robbins