OVER the past 30 years, there has
been increasing data to suggest that leadership has a lot more to do with
inspiration and vision, rather than straightforward technical competence.
Leadership is now recognised as a transferable
skill that can be developed by continued learning and development.
By contrast, the Great Man theories
of leadership and cults of personality are now seen as largely irrelevant.
Research carried out by the
Department of Trade and Industry in the United Kingdom confirms that today's
workforce is more diverse, informed and sophisticated than ever before.
Ultimately, people are still looking
for something different and better in organisational leadership.
Managers demand inspirational and
visionary leaders who win not only results, but also the trust and respect of
their teams.
Followers will respond to leaders
who tell them that what they do is important and that it makes a difference.
There exists, unfortunately, an
inspirational gap.
Research suggests that over half of
managers are working for organisations which have apparently not yet fully
evolved to meet the needs of today's high performing workplaces.
Too many experience excessive
bureaucracy and command and control behaviours, which have a tendency to
inhibit, rather than improve, individual and organisational performance.
Inspiring
others
For Singapore to maintain its
competitiveness, there is a growing need for companies to adopt strategies that
will enable a greater level of innovation and deliver higher value goods and
services.
Significant changes in what is
required of good leaders have been observed over recent years.
High-performance, innovative
organisations require "inspirational leadership" more than ever
before if they are to survive and prosper in a world where the only certainty
is uncertainty.
Inspirational leadership requires
six essential elements. Such leaders:
* Genuinely care about their people,
* Involve everybody,
* Show lots of appreciation,
* Ensure work is fun,
* Show real trust, and
* Listen a lot.
To discover how these elements can
be better realised in practice, a comprehensive research project was designed
to look in more detail at the qualities of inspirational leaders.
A series of in-depth qualitative interviews
with leaders who had been selected by peers for achieving exceptional results
revealed common themes in terms of their most prevalent leadership
characteristics.
They identified their own strengths
as:
* Strong communication -
storytelling and listening,
* Passion for learning and intense
curiosity,
* Focus on developing people,
* Having fun and very energised,
* Strong self-belief, coupled with
humanity and humility,
* Committed to giving something back
and to making a significant difference,
* Clarity of vision and ability to
share it with their people,
* Dogged determination, often
"relentless",
* Very strong focus on priorities,
* Not afraid to show some
vulnerability,
* Regular use of reflective periods,
* Almost universal dislike of
jargon, and
* Passion for and pride in what they
do.
Desirable
traits
Not surprisingly, many of the
leadership qualities desired by the followers surveyed also reflected the views
of both exceptional leaders and the findings from best practice case studies.
They valued leaders who showed:
* Genuine shared vision,
* Real confidence and trust in their
teams,
* Respect for employees and
customers,
* Commitment to developing people,
* Clear standards of ethics and
integrity, and
* Willingness to take risks.
Managers confirmed that individuals
and teams who were inspired and enthused would operate at a different level
from the competition.
Around one-third of followers
admitted that they had never worked for, or been motivated by, an exceptional
leader in their lives.
Over 60 per cent of followers
reported that their leaders were out of touch with how people were feeling.
This remoteness and distance had a negative impact on morale and motivation
levels.
Giving people space and responsibility,
and recognising and believing in their abilities, remain the most effective and
powerful ways to motivate followers.
Participative, rather than command
and control cultures, tend to encourage these behaviours.
This finding is probably linked with
another: that followers do not, on the whole, see their leaders creating a
feeling of energy, fun and excitement in the organisation.
About 93 per cent identified this as
a key leadership attribute, yet only 32 per cent experienced it.
Article by Chris Fenney, director of
Training Edge International. He has more than 30 years' experience in training
and management development gained in commercial organisations in Europe and the
US.
Email : chris.fenney@trainingedgeasia.com
Website: www.trainingedgeasia.com