OLT - Understanding Leadership

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UNDERSTANDING
LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP: A DEFINITION

CREATES a clear vision
of the future

MOTIVATES and INSPIRES
others to engage
with that vision

MANAGES delivery of the vision

WHO HAS INSPIRED YOU?

NOTE:
THEY MUST BE A LEADER!
THEY MAY BE FAMOUS; THEY MAY NOT
THEY CAN BE ANYONE FROM EITHER YOUR’
COUNTRY OR OVERSEAS

HOW DID THEY INSPIRE
YOU?

WHAT QUALITIES DO THEY HAVE THAT
MAKE THEM GOOD LEADERS?

SOME CHARACTERISTICS
OF A GOOD LEADER:

1. Collaborative
Transparency build’s trust; if you are connected to your team and genuinely interested in their participation
and welfare, they will join you in your quest. People own what they help to create.
2. Visionary
Hoffer said that “The leader has to be practical and a realist yet must talk the language of
the visionary and the idealist.” Therein lies the balance. Leaders must live in the future
state and carry the vision yet engage in the purposeful motivation and practical realities
of the present.
3. Influential
The key to successful leadership today is influence, and not in ‘command and control authority.
We live in a new day, a digital age with a new set of rules. Influence comes from listening not
talking, from taking time to earn respect and in being gracious and yet persuasive.
4. Empathetic
We are all flawed human beings; we all have our bad days. Leaders, who recognise that he or she is leading
complete people and not just managing for an outcome, will engender a huge amount of loyalty, engagement
and productivity. Treating others, as we would like to be treated, is a universal principal that’s worked well for
over 2000 years!

5. Innovative
‘Innovate or die’ is a truism that is probably more relevant now then in anytime since the industrial
revolution. As Dr. Gary Hamel so rightly says; Management innovation is going to be the most enduring
source of competitive advantage. There will be lots of rewards for firms in the vanguard.
8. Passionate
The stony face leader that shows no emotion is a relic of the Industrial Age. Genuine passion for your
people and purpose is a great motivator that builds momentum. An engaged and empowered team led
with clear vision and purpose by a passionate leader is a force to be reckoned with.
7. Ethical
Dispassionately choosing your moral framework sounds like an odd business success driver. Very few
choose to go off the path to corruption or excess, it is usually an incremental slide. Making a stand early
may save you, and others, a world of hurt and is a more sustainable life and business choice. Often it’s as
simple as doing what you say you will do.
6. Grounded
Leaders need to be centered and balanced if they are to be effective and resilient. We need
to be mindful to look after ourselves so that we can effectively serve others. We are Body,
Soul and Spirit and each leader will need to tend to their own foundational well being, in
order to be sustainable in the cauldron of the modern workplace.

DIFFERENT STYLES OF
LEADERSHIP:

AUTOCRATIC LEADERS

• Leader retains power
• No input from subordinates
• Motivation by rewards and
punishment

• New / untrained subordinates
• Limited time
Useful when
• Subordinates become resentful
• Subordinates become dependent on leader
Bad when

DEMOCRATIC LEADERS

• Decision-making shared
• Subordinates establish goals

• Complex problems need solving
Useful when
• There isn’t enough time
• When safety is an issue
• When it is easier for a leader to make a decision
Bad when

LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEADERS

• Leader provides little or no
direction
• Subordinates make all
decisions

• Subordinates are highly skilled and experienced
Useful when
• Subordinates feel insecure without a leader
• Subordinates need feedback from leader
• Subordinates are “covering” for ineffective
leader
Bad when

BUREAUCRATIC LEADERS

• Management by procedure
• Management “by the book”

• Subordinates or employees tasks are
repetitive
Useful when
• Subordinates or employees lose interest in
job
• Subordinates or employees do not give
anything extra
Bad when

ABUSE OF LEADERSHIP
POWERS:

CONTROLLING
MANIPULATIVE
BULLYING
DOMINEERING
CORRUPTING

THE FUNCTIONS OF A LEADER
COULD INCLUDE:

Developing a plan to enable the
team to reach its goal

Communicate instructions
clearly to the team

Listen to, and respond to,
feedback from the team

Provide effective and useful
guidance to the team

Keep the team informed of progress

A SIMPLE METHOD OF LEADING:

1. TELL 2. SELL
4. DISSOLVE 3. RESOLVE

PERSONAL PROFILE CHARACTERISTICS
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON SHOULD I BE?

Self-Confident

Have a Positive Attitude
and Outlook

Self-Motivated

Be a Good Role Model

HOW do you think you could
become a better leader?

OBSERVATION OF OTHERS
EMULATE
PRACTICE
SELF ASSESS - USE FEEDBACK

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