Leading from the front or the back
Leading from the front or
the back
Leadership styles - there is a lot
of hocus pocus and bunk written
about leadership styles - so let's make this really easy
There are really only 2 leadership styles - leading from the front and leading
from the back..
What? No complicated methodology? No complicated formula that needs an
army of consultants to set up and deliver?
No - just a simple question
Do you lead from the front or lead from the back?
Imagine this
You are taking your children for a walk (if you don't have children, imagine you
do!) and you are walking in a country park. You let them run on ahead and
play. You idle along at the back - maybe have a drink or an ice cream.
You are leading from the back. You have the situation under control and all is
well.
You have no need to get up and start shouting and telling children what to do.
But then you leave the park and you walk to cross the road.
You don't want to be at the back now. Children will probably expect to be
shouted at. You have to take control and now you are leading from the front.
This can easily be translated into the work place.
Imagine that you are at work and everything is going well. The team has hit
their targets and it’s nearly holiday time and everyone is feeling good. Now is
the time to lead from the back. No one will want to hear from you. No one will
want to go over the work rosters for the next 6 months
Now imagine that your offices have been hit by a power cut. The offices are in
complete darkness and staff and need direction and leadership.
Now is the time to lead from the front.
Going missing at this point would be a very good way to lose the respect of
your staff.
What they need is to see you in command.
Leading from the front http://www.sharp-end-training.co.uk

Leading from the front or the back
Of course, you will flip-flop from
front to back over the course of
a day and a week and a good
manager will be able to
effortless change from one to
the other
A good way to learn how to do this is to listen to staff talking amongst
themselves.
Do they seem anxious or worried? What are they worried about?
Are they working? Should they be working?
Does their behaviour seem to be what you would expect given the conditions
at the time. (For example, if they are strolling about and a big order is needed
to go out, then you need to lead from the front and create a little more urgency
into proceedings)
A bit of chatter is usual in most workplace but by tapping in to it, managers
can decide where they need to position themselves to get the most out of
staff.
Leading from the front http://www.sharp-end-training.co.uk