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Newsletter - September 2011
Styles of Leadership
Leadership can most simply be described as "inspiring and enabling others to achieve a desired future state."
Leadership requires the ability to envision a desired future state, to plan how to achieve it and to motivate and enable people to successfully enact the plan. So three different styles of leadership can be applied, according to the situation:
Prophet Leadership - creating the ideas to move the business forward
Planner Leadership - planning how theideas can be executed
People Leadership - providing the people with what they need to execute the ideas
All of us have a natural predisposition to one of the three styles of leadership. The best leaders however, have the flexibility to apply all three styles, as the situation demands.
Prophet Leadership
Leaders performing the role of Prophet Leader offer visionary ideas or concepts:
- They speak of the way the orgnaisation could be, of the issues they should be addressing, of the goals the organisation should be attaining
- They speak in a futuristic language
- They spark enthusiasm, inspire, generate new ideas and illustrate how to meet needs
- They safeguard the team from resting on its laurels or past achievements
- They view their leadership role as one of pressing the organisation to always look ahead
Planner Leadership
This role is performed through strong organisation. These leaders could be defined as the "nuts and bolts" operators:
- They are time conscious, making sure projects are completed to time, specification and budget
- They are known as the "establishment leaders". They are well informed as to the structure and politics, and represent the majority vanguard
- They are note takers, time line setters and accountability producers
- Their language consists of organisational jargon and gives the impression that all goals will be accomplished
People Leadership
The People Leader is cause centred:
- They assure the team that what they are doing meets people's needs
- They often play the "devils advocate" when discussing the value of a particular program
- They are usually able to assess the true pulse of the organisation
- They look to meet the needs of all stakeholders - staff, customers and the wider society
Leadership Teams
While any individual can develop the ability to perform all three styles of leadership, effective leadership teams usually have a blend of people who favour different styles. This ensures that their is no shortage of ideas, that ideas can be planned and executed and that people's needs are accounted for.
Can you perform all three leadership styles?
To learn more about leadership, go to:
www.developmentinpractice.com.au/solutions/leadership.html
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