Spark Your Improvement as a Leader

It is easier to be a judge of others’ leadership than it is to lead. All of us have a critic that lives and thrives within us. Most of us never question that critic when the target of criticism is someone else and especially, when we are up close and personal with someone we view as a poor excuse for a manager or a lousy leader. This situation often intensifies when that someone is our boss or a leader in our midst. No question that a lack of management skills or inadequate leadership ability can create a ripple effect resulting in confusion, frustration, dissatisfaction, and even disaster. Perception can come crashing into reality when something similar to an Enron debacle surfaces.

Responsible, dynamic leadership calls for you to become a master at self-evaluation. Examine the common characteristics of great leaders and ask yourself, “where am I with that?”  Keep a watch out for people who exhibit great leadership and ask them about their journey. Look over the common characteristics of lousy leaders and find your own sparks for improvement.

Common Characteristics of Lousy Leaders

• Lack of character
• Issues with honesty, limited humility, questionable trustworthiness
• Rules oriented vs. people oriented
• Micro managing
• Disengaged from the team
• Undermining or allowing undermining to go on among the troops
• Defensive when challenged or offered feedback
• Attack mode when giving feedback
• Power smacking – in meetings or in groups dressing people down
• Seeking blame rather than resolution
• Ignoring poor behavior or lousy performance among leadership

Four Essential Elements of Lead Management

A system of motivation that I am a student of is called, Choice Theory. It is the premise for understanding why all of us do what we do, when we do it.  Want to learn how to succeed at leading others?  Check out this four elements of Lead Management and join me for Supervisor Boot Camp.  Check out our calendar.

•  The leader engages the workers in a discussion of the quality of the work to be done and the time needed to do it so that they have a chance to add their input. The leader makes a constant effort to fit the job to the skills and the needs of the workers.

• The leader or a worker designated by the leader shows or models the job so that the worker who is to perform the job can see exactly what the manager expects. At the same time, the workers are continually asked for their input as to what they believe may be a better way.

• The leaders asks the workers to inspect or evaluate their own work for quality, with the understanding that the leader accepts that they know a great deal about how to produce high-quality work and will therefore listen to what they say.

• The leader is a facilitator in that he shows the workers that he has done everything possible to provide them with the best tools and workplace as well as a non-coercive, non-adversarial atmosphere in which to do the job.

Lead management is the basic reform we need to generate quality and increase productivity. It is the way to manage, coach and lead others so that the worker stays motivated. Motivation is an internal thing it comes from within. Regardless of where it comes from, supervisors are expected to lead the team to perform more efficiently and effectively.

 

Still learning,

 

Honey