“How to Become an Effective Business Leader”
Entrepreneurs Brief Guide – Volume 5
Dr Jim Porter
This e-book consists of twelve “Entrepreneurs Brief Guide” publications for leadership success. It addresses briefly all you need to know about how to become an effective business leader; including leading by example, emotional intelligence, and networking. It also contains independent and practical advice for entrepreneurs and business leaders. This guide is invaluable to individuals, entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders who are seeking personal growth and success.
Learn how to:
Adopt
an Appropriate Leadership Style
Match Your Commitments to Your
Values
Understand Power and Learn to Negotiate
Increase your
Emotional Intelligence
Manage Your Responsibilities as a
Leader
Effectively Lead by Example
Lead From the Front
Raise
Your Expectation
Motivate Yourself to Lead
Go the Extra mile to
Become a Better Leader
Manage Your Time
Stay Socially Connected
Copyright
How to Become an Effective Business Leader
Dr Jim Porter
Revision: SW.05.001
Copyright © 2011 – All Rights Reserved.
Smashwords Edition
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the author.
ISBN:
978-1-4659-2063-8
Publisher: Smashwords, Inc.
CHAPTER No.1: How to Adopt an Appropriate Leadership Style
For centuries we have witnessed various leaders and their distinct leadership styles. They have included Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela to name but a few. Business people and psychologists have broken down and created simple ways to explain leadership styles so that they can be of some use and guidance for aspiring leaders. So how do you decide which approach is the best for you?
Learn how to:
Appreciate the various styles of leadership
Appreciate different leadership theories
Figure out the best leadership style for you
For centuries we have witnessed various leaders and their distinct leadership styles. They have included Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela to name but a few. Business people and psychologists have broken down and created simple ways to explain leadership styles so that they can be of some use and guidance for aspiring leaders.
So how do you decide which approach is the best for you? Consciously or subconsciously, you will use a style of leadership pointed out in this publication. Understanding the styles and their impact can help you create your own personal leadership style and help you become more effective as a leader.
There are various frameworks that have shaped the present understanding and knowledge of leadership.
This publication will provide information on:
The different leadership theories (broadly four kinds)
Glossary for some extra leadership terms.
The various leadership theories
Social scientists and researchers have developed various kinds of leadership theories over the years, which can be broadly classified as:
The Traits theories
These theories look at what kind of a person makes a good leader. The theories argue that leaders share various types of personality traits and characteristics and that leadership emerges from these traits.
Traits are external behaviours that stem from things going on within the leader’s mindset. These thoughts and beliefs are important for effective leadership. This theory helps us to identify good leadership qualities, including empathy, good decision making, a pleasing personality, assertiveness and so on.
The Behavioural theories
These theories answer the question of what a good leader does. They focus on how leaders behave.
Back in the 1930s, Kurt Lewin developed a leadership framework based on leadership behaviour and argued that there are three types of leaders:
Autocratic leaders
These leaders make decisions on their own without consulting their teams. This is appropriate for times when quick decisions need to be taken.
Democratic leaders
These leaders allow the team to provide their input before they make a decision. This style is considered relevant when team agreement matters, however it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas.
Laissez-faire leaders
These leaders don’t interfere and allow the team to take as many decisions as needed. This happens when the team is highly capable and motivated and does not require constant monitoring.
Apart from Lewin’s model, there is also the:
The Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid
This helps you to decide how to lead, based on your concern for people as opposed to the concern for production. This model describes five different leadership styles:
Impoverished
Country Club
Team leader
Produce or perish
Middle of the road.
These styles will help you understand your own leadership habits and adapt them to meet your team’s needs.
Another model is offered by John Adair:
Action-centered Leadership
This framework is consistent with behavioural theories of leadership. The best leadership style is discovered by balancing task, team and individual responsibilities. The behaviour of the leaders has a direct impact on their effectiveness.
The best leaders are those who can choose from the various different styles and select the right style for each situation.
The Contingency theories
The fact that there isn’t one correct type of leader has led to the theory that the best and most appropriate leadership style is contingent, i.e. it depends on the situation.
Different situations, such as when a quick decision is needed and the leader needs the full support of his/her team, require different styles of leadership.
The Hersey Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory is a popular contingency-based framework, which links leadership style with the maturity of individual members of the team.
The Power and Influence theories
These theories of leadership adopt a different approach. They’re based on the different ways in which leaders use power and influence to get things done, and their leadership style emerges as a result.
One of the most well known theories of this type is French and Raven’s five forms of power. This model distinguishes between using your position to exert power and using your personal attributes to be powerful.
French and Raven identified three types of positional power: legitimate, reward and coercive, and two sources of personal power: expert and referent.
According to this model, using personal power is the better alternative and expert power is the most legitimate of these. Leading by example is another highly effective way to establish and maintain your positive influence over the team.
Another leadership style supported by these theories is Transactional Leadership. This approach assumes that work is done only because it is rewarded and on no other basis, hence it focuses on designing the tasks and reward structures.
Although this may not be the most appealing leadership strategy in terms of building relationships, it does work and is used in most organizations to get things done.
However, there is one leadership style that is appropriate in many corporate situations, Transformational Leadership. A leader using this style must:
Have integrity
Set clear goals
Lead by example
Clearly communicate the vision and goal
Encourage and support
Recognize good work and people
Provide interesting work
Inspire and motivate individuals
Help individuals see beyond their interests and focus on team interests and needs.
Transformational leaders are highly motivating and trusted.
Some other terms to better understand leadership theories
There are various leader/leadership terms you may come across while researching different leadership styles. Some of them are briefly explained below:
Bureaucratic Leadership
This type of leader works by the book, following rigorous rules and ensuring that their staff does the same. It is considered appropriate for situations involving serious safety risks or where large sums of money are involved.
Charismatic Leadership
This type can seem similar to transformational leadership because the leader inspires enthusiasm in their team and is very energetic in driving others forward.
Sometimes charismatic leaders can tend to believe more in themselves than their teams, and this is a big risk. For the team, the presence of a charismatic leader can ensure success on a project.
People-oriented Leadership/ Relations-oriented Leadership
Leaders are completely focused on organizing, supporting and developing the people in their teams. It’s a participative style and encourages teamwork and creative collaboration.
Servant Leadership
This term, coined by Robert Greenleaf, describes a leader who is not formally recognized as one but leads by simply meeting the needs of the organization, and thus is a ‘servant leader’.
It is similar to democratic leadership, as the whole team is involved in the decision making. Servant leadership is an important way to move ahead in a world where values are important, and servant leaders are chosen on the basis of their values and ideals.
Task-oriented Leadership
This is the opposite of people-oriented leadership. It focuses on getting the job done and is quite autocratic. These leaders define the workplace, the roles required, put in the structures in place, plan and organize as well as monitor.
But since task-oriented leaders don’t tend to consider the welfare of their employees, this style may suffer from various drawbacks.
Conclusions
In conclusion, good leaders actively switch between styles depending on the people they lead and the work that needs to be done.
As a leader, always establish trust first and learn to put the needs of your team before your personal needs.
Leadership Quotes
The following quotes on leadership offer you an opportunity for learning and food for thought and reflection.
Leadership and Vision
"If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere." Henry Kissinger
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt
"Don't be afraid to take a big step when one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small steps." David Lloyd George
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
Leadership Character
"Charisma becomes the undoing of leaders. It makes them inflexible, convinced of their own infallibility, unable to change." - Peter F. Drucker
"A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity." Baltasar Gracian
"Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy." Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf
"Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing." Albert Schweitzer
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod." Sir Winston Churchill
"Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader." General George S. Patton Jr.
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." John F. Kennedy
Leadership and Management
"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. . . . The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives." Theodore Roosevelt
"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall." Stephen R. Covey
"You manage things; you lead people." Grace Murray Hopper
Leadership and Empowerment
"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." Ralph Nadar
"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others." - Bill Gates
"The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership." Harvey S. Firestone
"The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in others the conviction and will to carry on." Walter Lippman
CHAPTER No.2: How to Match Your Commitments with Your Values
People mostly re-examine their priorities after a major set-back in their personal or professional life. However, with the right framework, one can think through the preferences way before a tragedy strikes. Every individual has certain things he/she treasures the most. But only when you step out of your routine and assess how you're spending your resources and time, you realize there is a gap there which raises questions about how you match your resources with your values.
Learn how to:
Identify your values
Benchmark your commitments with your values
Bridge the gap
People mostly re-examine their priorities after a major set-back in their personal or professional life. However, with the right framework, one can think through the preferences way before a tragedy strikes. Every individual has certain things he/she treasures the most. But only when you step out of your routine and assess how you're spending your resources and time, you realize there is a gap there which raises questions about how you match your resources with your values.
For more than a decade now, the London Business School has been teaching a course on leading strategic transformations in organisations. The course teaches and analyses how certain commitments of an organization such as investments, contracts, public promises etc. prevent the organization from taking effective measures to survive in the market. It also looks into how managers commit to new business opportunities thereby transforming their organisations. This course has helped students in managing their personal commitments as well.
The following framework helps individuals in matching their commitments with their proposed values:
What are commitments?
In the context of business, managerial commitments represent actions which are taken in the present to set the course for the organization to adapt.
Business executives manage such commitments systematically and would never make a move without first conducting research and matching the step with their goals. This is one if the basic rules in business. There are a lot of routine commitments of a business which are almost invisible in the daily corporate life but are very significant for the smooth operation of the organization, yet they are hardly given any importance by the top executives and managers.
However, in our personal lives as well, our most requisite commitments hardly attract any attention from us. Apart from the dramatic commitments that one might take such as getting married or joining the army, our most important commitments which form the basis of our life, stem from our small decisions of how we are going to allocate and invest our resources and time.
How to mind the gap?
An important step in managing your commitments is to make a list of what matters most to you. We all have a sense of what is most important to us and what we value the most but we must revise them from time to time as our priorities keep changing. Make your list by dividing a sheet of paper into four columns, titles left to right as: What Matters To ME, Money, Time and Energy. This little exercise will help you check how you're investing your resources and matching them with your commitments, while also guiding your activities. This will also reveal the gaps which you can then fill by allocating your resources in the requisite fields.
For making the best use of this list, ensure that you do not use one worded nouns in the first column. For example, instead of using "money", replace it with "financial security for the family". Write as many values as you wish as there is no right number for them.
Also, keep editing the list if your value has changed in time. Be honest while jotting down your values and don’t apply self-censorship. This exercise is about you, about what you value and not what others believe you should value.
Once you have listed down your values, the next step is to measure how committed you are to each one of them in terms of how you have allocated your resources. You will notice your commitment levels in the small routine actions in your daily life which together form the course of your life.
Once you have jotted down all your values, match them with your resources. Let's look at each of the elements in the list:
Money
Start by determining how much money you have invested and spent on each of the values that you have listed. However, you are likely to make some judgment calls because your personal budget categories are not likely to match with your values you have listed. For this you must list your expenditures in another category termed "other". Your expenditures are also likely to split across various values and you will also discover that your money is also allocated in long term investments. You should then assess only your unrestricted routine spending and leave out your fixed investments.
Once you have done this, in the next step you must convert your expenditures into percentage of tour household income and then plot them against your ranked values. If your important values do not get the highest percentage of your finance, then there is a gap between your values and your commitments.
Time
Time is a very important resource which depletes very fast too. Start by considering what you have done with your waking hours in the past one week. Then consider your values and try to map the hours next to them. As like with money, allocate those hours which support your values.
You might also want to include a value which refers to your personal space required by you to relax and run some thoughts through your mind. Then you can check if you have been dedicating most of your time to the values you cherish most or if there was a lot of time you couldn’t account for.
Energy
Energy can be categorized as: physical, emotional and mental. This is also a scarce resource which decreases with one's age. An individual who spends an hour with an activity when most rejuvenated exhibits a greater level of commitment than when one is tired or distracted. In the worksheet, tyr to denote the values which receive your attention with '+' sign and '-' for the ones which don’t.
Why is there a gap?
After you have filled the worksheet, you will end up with your analysis of the association between your values and your commitment of resources. This exercise helps in exposing the gaps between your values and your commitments. Since these gaps can develop and widen with time, it is important to understand how they develop in order to prevent them from becoming very large.
Some of the reasons for the gaps are:
People are usually caught up in their commitments of the past. The course taught at the London Business School terms this as "active inertia", the tendency of the manager to respond to the current changes in the business environment by adapting strategies which were successful in the past.
Personal commitments which we can't rid ourselves from deplete our time and resources as they don’t match with our values.
Another reason is the "commitment creep" syndrome. This refers to people taking up commitments without really realizing what they're signing up for. It also refers to over-commitment.
Usually personal and professional commitments pop up when you least expect them to. As a result you are not able to allocate the adequate resources.
Expectations of other people also prevent us from committing our resources to those values which matter most to us.
Some values attract less resources than others because they generate less positive support as compared to others.
Most people end up taking commitments which seem very enticing at the start but soon their novelty wears out. These are often also very risky and end up causing other commitments to be left out.
Some of the other commitments you have will undermine you credibility if not given the adequate time and other resources. Social obligations for example such as policing the neighborhood depend on the commitment of each member of the society.
Also if you keep piling up new commitments while not performing on your older ones, you end up in the clutter trap. As a result none of the commitments are met as you simply keep tossing one commitment over the other.
How to change the course?
Individuals usually find that discovering their values is easier than analyzing the gaps and the reasons for the gaps. Although the toughest bit is closing the gap as change is very difficult to embark upon. Usually one of the main reasons for a change is a crisis as it pushes people to reconsider and evaluate their commitments.
Crises lead to a chain of constructive events:
Crises push people in figuring out what really matters.
They help people in making choices.
They help people in clearing out their personal journals and diaries.
They help in cancelling out outdated commitments.
They provide a relief by helping in breaking the cycle of success.
Conclusions
In conclusion, in order to match your commitments with your values, remember to chalk out your values and resources on the worksheet and align them to each other. The analysis will help you in identifying the gaps and where you're going wrong. You can then allocate your resources effectively to values which are most important to you.
Quotes
“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” Tom Robbins
“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”
“Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.” James Womack
“An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.” Mae West
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” Mario Andretti
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.” Zig Ziglar
“Commitment in the face of conflict produces character.”
“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” Peter F. Drucker
“The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi
“When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.”
CHAPTER No.3: How to Understand Power and Learn to Negotiate
As a leader, you have to try to juggle various responsibilities at the same time, so you need to try to make sense of the situation. Try to understand where power comes from, as people tend to follow those who have power.
Learn how to:
Appreciate the five bases of power
Negotiate conflicts successfully
Apply Adam’s Equity Theory to balance employee inputs
As a leader, you have to try to juggle various responsibilities at the same time, so you need to try to make sense of the situation. Try to understand where power comes from, as people tend to follow those who have power.
You must also try to understand how to find a fair compromise between your team members, or between you and another member. The purpose of negotiation is to resolve situations where your needs conflict with those of others. The aim of a win-win situation is to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties and leaves all parties feeling that they’ve won.
As a leader you must also find a fair balance between an employee’s input and an employee’s output. Finding a fair balance serves to ensure a strong and productive relationship with the employee.
This publication will provide information on:
The five bases of power
How to successfully negotiate conflicts
How to apply Adam’s Equity Theory to balance employee inputs
The bases of power
Understanding power sources will help you to:
Better understand why you’re influenced by someone, and decide whether you want to accept the base of power being used.
Build your leadership skills by using and developing your sources of power.
Recognize your own sources of power.
The most notable study on power was conducted by social psychologists John French and Berman Raven in 1959. They identified five bases of power:
Legitimate
This stems from the belief that a person has the right to make demands and expect obedience from others. A president or prime minister or monarch has this power. So does a CEO or a fire chief. Individuals holding formal, official positions typically have power. Social hierarchies and organizational structure all provide the basis for legitimate power.
This type of power can be unpredictable and unstable because if you lose the title/position, your legitimate power will automatically disappear. Relying on legitimate power as your way to influence others isn’t enough.
Reward
This stems from one person’s ability to compensate another for obedience. Individuals in power are often able to give out rewards such as pay rises, promotions, desirable assignments, training opportunities or even simple compliments.
The problem with this basis of power is that you may not have as much control over rewards as you need, because supervisors don’t usually have that much control over salary increases or promotions.
When you use up all the available rewards or the rewards don’t have enough perceived value, this power weakens.
Expert
This is based on a person’s superior skill and knowledge. When you demonstrate expertise, people tend to trust and respect what you say. Your ideas will have more value and others will look at your for leadership in that area.
You can also take your confidence and reputation for rational thinking and use it with other subjects and issues. It is a good way to build and maintain expert power and is one of the best ways to improve your leadership skills.
Referent
This stems from a person’s perceived attractiveness, worthiness and right to respect from others. This is at times thought of as charisma, charm or appeal. It comes from others liking, respecting and strongly identifying with another person in some way.
Celebrities can be said to have referent power, which is how they are able to influence the mass audience. Referent power is a big responsibility as you don’t necessarily have to do anything to earn it, and it can be abused quite easily.
Relying solely on referent power isn’t a good strategy for a leader who wants longevity and respect.
Coercive
This is based on the belief that a person can punish others for non compliance. The source of this power is problematic and can be subject to abuse. It can also lead to dissatisfaction at the workplace.
Threats or punishments are common tools of coercion. While your position may give you the capability to coerce others, it doesn’t automatically mean that you’re justified to do so.
Relying solely on these powers will result in a very cold technocratic style of leadership. So, to be a true leader, you need a more robust source of power.
How to successfully negotiate
Depending on how severe the disagreement is, some preparation may be appropriate for conducting a successful negotiation. If you need to resolve a major disagreement then make sure you prepare thoroughly.
For a small disagreement, excessive preparation may be counter-productive, as it requires a lot of time which can be better used. It can also be seen as manipulative because just as it may strengthen your position, it may weaken your opponent’s.
Draft a worksheet by making two columns on a piece of paper. The left column is titled ‘Aspect of the negotiation’ and underneath it write: Goals, Trades, Alternatives, Relationship, Expected outcome, Consequences of winning or losing, Power and Possible solutions. Name the right column ‘Notes’ and write down the notes next to each point.
Make use of this win-win negotiation preparation worksheet and think through the following:
Goals
What do you want to get out of the negotiation and what do you think the other person wants?
Trades
Do you or the other person have something you can trade? Do you have things the other person wants?
Alternatives
If you’re not able to reach an agreement, what alternatives do you have? Are they good or bad? What alternatives does the other person have?
Relationships
What is the history of your relationship with the other person? Could this impact the negotiation? How will you handle this?
Expected Outcomes
What outcome are people expecting from this negotiation?
Consequences
What are the consequences of you winning or losing this negotiation?
Power
Who has the most power in the relationship? Who stands to lose the most if agreement isn’t reached?