Many
organisations today are undergoing a rapid transition in leadership styles.
Coupled with the reality that modem organisational life is achieving more with
less, there is a demand for a new form of managerial leadership-
high-performance leadership.
High-performance
leaders empower others to venture into unknown territories, inspire colleagues
and staff to make difficult decisions, and are able to move their organisations
forward in new ways to achieve better results.
Managerial
leadership
The term “managerial
leadership” recognises the subtle switch over the past decade from the
role of a manager to that of a leader.
This is not to decry
the traditional management activities such as planning, oiganising and
controlling. Rather, it is to acknowledge the transition from control to
empowerment that has taken place.
Managerial
leadership is a way to encompass both sets of activities. And high-performance
leadership is a way of recognising the leadership attributes needed to achieve
long-term organisa-tional success. One of the key distinguishing features ol
this type of leadership is the ability to initiate, drive and constantly
encourage change. High-performance leaders are pioneers, willing to step out
into the unknown to achieve innovation. These leaders search out opportunities,
experiment and take risks. They lead by example and act as a role model for
others to follow, acting in ways that are consistent with their beliefs.
High-performance leaders acknowledge the power of working collaboratively and
concentrate their efforts on building peak-performance teams. This involves
developing vision and values, establishing direction, and persuading others to
see, understand and believe in their vision through develop¬ing shared goals
and plans of action.
Change
To Match
As the team develops
and matures, the leader must change his leadership style to suit the stages of
development of the team. He must also be able to diagnose and troubleshoot at
every stage. This ability to change leadership style — not only during the
stages of team development, but also when leading and managing staff at every
level is the hallmark of high-performance leadership. By analysing the
“maturity” of the subordinate and the varying levels of support and direction
needed in any given situation, the leadership style can be varied. Choose the
most ap¬propriate style — direction, coaching, support or delegation — to match
the circumstances.
Desirable
Qualities
Sharing vision and
setting goals he at the heart of managing performance, which is the natural
domain of a high- performance leader. Involving others in creating smart goals
and setting performance standards and expectations lead to a clear
understanding of what is needed from the team. Being able to spot performance
problems early and developing the ability to coach and counsel are now an
integral part of the leadership role. High-performance leaders develop the key
interpersonal skills to lead others. They understand their strengths and
weaknesses as a leader, acknowledge their preferred behavioural style when
dealing with other people, and develop the ability to change style if
necessary. They understand the power of effective communication, encourage
others to give constructive feedback and praise when appropriate. They have
leamt to empower and delegate. Above all, they are honest. In the majority of
surveys about the most admired qualities of leaders, respondents said they
admire leaders who are (in rank order): honest, competent, forward-looking and
inspiring.
In
a Nutshell
To summarise, one can
refer to Warren Bennis's now-classic book, Leaders. He describes leadership as
"heading into the wind with such knowledge of one¬self and such
collaborative energy as to move others to follow”. His book offers four major
strategies that seem to form the essence of high-performance leadership:
Attention
through vision:
“l have a dream” (Martin Luther King). The leader must set a vision for others
to follow.
Meaning
through communication:
“If you can dream it, you can do it” (Walt Disney).The leader’s vision must be
communicated to the people who can make it happen.
Trust
through positioning:
The accumulation of trust is a measure of the legitimacy of leadership. Trust
is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.
Deployment
of self through positive self-regard: Leaders must have persistence and
self-knowledge , be willing to take risks and accept losses, make and honour
commitments, and be consistent and willing to learn constantly. To paraphrase a
quote from Colin Powell: “High-performance leader¬ship is about achieving more
than the science of management says is possible.”
Article Contributed
by Chris Fenney, Co-founder and Director of Training Edge International and has more than 30 years experience
in training and management development, gained in demanding
yet sophisticated commercial organizations both in Europe and the
U.S.A., where a high premium has always been placed on optimizing human
resources and improving performance.
For more information on our training programmes , please contact us at 63365804.
