Strategic Leadership Practice

CMI Level 7 in Strategic Management and Leadership

Global Edulink

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Table of Contents Aspects of Leadership ............................................................................................................................ 2

Leadership vs. Management .............................................................................................................. 2

Leader or manager? ........................................................................................................................ 2

Getting the balance right ................................................................................................................ 5

Many managers and too few leaders? ........................................................................................... 6

Leadership, motivations and behaviors ................................................................................................ 7

Leadership and motivation ................................................................................................................ 7

Transactional leadership ................................................................................................................. 7

Transformational leadership ........................................................................................................... 8

Leadership and motivational theory ............................................................................................. 10

Leadership behaviors ....................................................................................................................... 11

Leadership styles ........................................................................................................................... 11

Level 5 leadership ......................................................................................................................... 14

Leadership in context ........................................................................................................................... 15

Organizational contexts and adaptations ....................................................................................... 15

The strategic context .................................................................................................................... 15

The situational context ................................................................................................................. 17

The cultural context ...................................................................................................................... 19

The leader as change agent ............................................................................................................. 21

Tools for culture change ............................................................................................................... 21

The leader as change agent? ........................................................................................................ 22

Leadership vision and values ............................................................................................................... 25

Gaining followers through vision ..................................................................................................... 25

Engaging people with vision ......................................................................................................... 25

The Importance of values and vision in leadership ...................................................................... 27

Communication the vision ............................................................................................................ 30

6 Principles For Communicating A Powerful Vision For Change ................................................... 32

Gaining followers through values .................................................................................................... 34

Building trust authentic leadership ............................................................................................... 34

Ethical leadership .......................................................................................................................... 36

How To Be An Ethical Leader ........................................................................................................ 37

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Aspects of Leadership

Leadership vs. Management

Leader or manager? What is the difference between management and leadership? It is a question that has been asked

more than once and also answered in different ways. The biggest difference between managers and

leaders is the way they motivate the people who work or follow them, and this sets the tone for most

other aspects of what they do.

Many people, by the way, are both. They have management jobs, but they realize that you cannot buy

hearts, especially to follow them down a difficult path, and so act as leaders too.

Managers have subordinates

By definition, managers have subordinates - unless their title is honorary and given as a mark of

seniority, in which case the title is a misnomer and their power over others is other than formal

authority.

Authoritarian, transactional style

Managers have a position of authority vested in them by the company, and their subordinates work

for them and largely do as they are told. Management style is transactional, in that the manager tells

the subordinate what to do, and the subordinate does this not because they are a blind robot, but

because they have been promised a reward (at minimum their salary) for doing so.

Work focus

Managers are paid to get things done (they are subordinates too), often within tight constraints of

time and money. They thus naturally pass on this work focus to their subordinates.

Seek comfort

An interesting research finding about managers is that they tend to come from stable home

backgrounds and led relatively normal and comfortable lives. This leads them to be relatively risk-

averse and they will seek to avoid conflict where possible. In terms of people, they generally like to

run a 'happy ship'.

Leaders have followers

Leaders do not have subordinates - at least not when they are leading. Many organizational leaders

do have subordinates, but only because they are also managers. But when they want to lead, they

have to give up formal authoritarian control, because to lead is to have followers, and following is

always a voluntary activity.

Charismatic, transformational style

Telling people what to do does not inspire them to follow you. You have to appeal to them, showing

how following you will lead them to their hearts' desire. They must want to follow you enough to stop

what they are doing and perhaps walk into danger and situations that they would not normally

consider risking.

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Leaders with a stronger charisma find it easier to attract people to their cause. As a part of their

persuasion they typically promise transformational benefits, such that their followers will not just

receive extrinsic rewards but will somehow become better people.

People focus

Although many leaders have a charismatic style to some extent, this does not require a loud

personality. They are always good with people, and quiet styles that give credit to others (and takes

blame on themselves) are very effective at creating the loyalty that great leaders engender.

Although leaders are good with people, this does not mean they are friendly with them. In order to

keep the mystique of leadership, they often retain a degree of separation and aloofness.

This does not mean that leaders do not pay attention to tasks - in fact they are often very achievement-

focused. What they do realize, however, is the importance of enthusing others to work towards their

vision.

Seek risk

In the same study that showed managers as risk-averse, leaders appeared as risk-seeking, although

they are not blind thrill-seekers. When pursuing their vision, they consider it natural to encounter

problems and hurdles that must be overcome along the way. They are thus comfortable with risk and

will see routes that others avoid as potential opportunities for advantage and will happily break rules

in order to get things done.

A surprising number of these leaders had some form of handicap in their lives which they had to

overcome. Some had traumatic childhoods, some had problems such as dyslexia, others were shorter

than average. This perhaps taught them the independence of mind that is needed to go out on a limb

and not worry about what others are thinking about you.

In summary

This table summarizes the above (and more) and gives a sense of the differences between being a

leader and being a manager. This is, of course, an illustrative characterization, and there is a whole

spectrum between either ends of these scales along which each role can range. And many people lead

and manage at the same time, and so may display a combination of behaviors.

Subject Leader Manager

Essence Change Stability

Focus Leading people Managing work

Have Followers Subordinates

Horizon Long-term Short-term

Seeks Vision Objectives

Approach Sets direction Plans detail

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Decision Facilitates Makes

Power Personal charisma Formal authority

Appeal to Heart Head

Energy Passion Control

Culture Shapes Enacts

Dynamic Proactive Reactive

Persuasion Sell Tell

Style Transformational Transactional

Exchange Excitement for work Money for work

Likes Striving Action

Wants Achievement Results

Risk Takes Minimizes

Rules Breaks Makes

Conflict Uses Avoids

Direction New roads Existing roads

Truth Seeks Establishes

Concern What is right Being right

Credit Gives Takes

Blame Takes Blames

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Getting the balance right Business leaders often have boundless energy and enthusiasm that reflects their role as

entrepreneurs. However some leaders, and senior managers, have a habit of moving forward too fast

and end up leaving their management teams behind. To be a great leader you need to get the balance

right between your desire for success and your team’s need for a clear system of communication. John

Raftery explains why self-awareness is a vital factor in this process.

John what are the most common problems you encounter with management teams?

The big difficulty managers have is a lack of self-awareness. The more self-aware they are the more

they can control their environment. There’s a phrase that goes “what I’m aware of I can control, what

I’m unaware of controls me.” The biggest fault I find with entrepreneurs or senior executives is that

they move too fast, way ahead of everyone else. They are hungry to achieve more and they see further

ahead than everyone else in the organisation.

But the people around them may not be able to see that far ahead and so frustration often builds up.

Where you have frustration you can get continuously changing priorities and then confusion, and

people start getting get angry or impatient. Short tempers and moodiness can start to surface in the

organisation purely because the business owner or senior manager is forging ahead quicker than the

team can handle.

This frustration is due to a lack of self-awareness?

Well they may be aware of what they’re doing, but their desire to succeed can be greater than their

ability to control what’s going on around them. The team may get left behind. It’s difficult for some to

get the balance right. It requires systems and processes in place to overcome a lot of that. Like proper

communication systems, clarity regarding expectations, measurement of results, milestones to be

reached by certain times, clear time management schedules – they all help to overcome these issues.

‘Communication must be clear and consistent’

Communication is important but the communication must be clear and consistent. Some people

confuse communication with engagement. There can be lots of team meetings where people feel

obliged to contribute by constantly changing priorities, targets or schedules, but this more often

results in confusion. Outwardly it appears to be a system of regular communication, but it’s more a

system of constant confusion. Team leaders need to distil the information down to a clear message

and format, and be consistent with it.

The ‘No Frills’ Approach

Take Ryanair for example. Regardless of how you feel about Ryanair they are a great example of what

I’m talking about. They successfully distilled their entire philosophy down to just two words – ‘no frills.’

Both their customers and Ryanair staff understood that simple message, and that’s what the

organisation stood for. Everything they did was about reducing bureaucracy and costs, and keeping

things as simple as possible.

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Recently that ‘no frills’ philosophy has changed again. Now it’s three words instead of two; the ‘always

getting better’ program. Now they’re making people aware that they are trying to improve customer

service, and it seems to be working as passenger numbers are increasing. Running an airline can’t be

easy, it’s a complex business. But Michael O’Leary keeps the business model simple, he keeps the

message simple so everyone knows what they have to achieve. That’s your challenge as a manager.

Many managers and too few leaders? As an industry, we need to move away from breeding bosses and learn to nurture and grow leaders.

I love being part of the advertising industry. I love the creativity, the passion, the innovation — and

most importantly, the people.

Throughout my career, I have been lucky enough to observe many different styles of people and

specifically, how people manage. Some were loud and crazy, some were more quiet and introverted,

and others were simply good people. All of them succeed on some level, in some way, and I have taken

notes while observing them.

Over time, I have come to realize that in management, anyone can be a boss, but only a few are true

leaders.

Bosses are very different than leaders. Bosses tend to have a style that is about command and control.

They micromanage. They wordsmith. They do things just because ‘they can.’ They tend to lead with

fear rather than encouragement. They are, just like the word, ‘bossy.’

Bosses sometimes disguise themselves as leaders, but inevitably they get found out when their egos

take over and they choose themselves to the detriment of an agency or organization. Bosses

fundamentally believe that being in charge is the same as being a leader — but it’s not.

We all know leaders outside our industry, such as Howard Schultz, Sheryl Sandberg and Tony Hsieh.

And there have been many in the advertising industry who have shown their amazing leadership

openly and sometimes heartbreakingly.

Leaders have one key difference from the bosses that are at their heels: they have a humanity and

humility that everyone around them can relate to and be inspired by. Leaders have an empathy that

comes through because they understand their role is not to do everything themselves, but to inspire

people to do it better than even they dreamt it could be. Leaders lead... they don’t boss.

As an industry, we need to move away from breeding bosses and learn to nurture and grow leaders.

It’s not about entitlement or ‘that’s mine, this is yours’ turf wars; it’s about breaking down the

hierarchy and the walls and, forgive me, the bullshit that’s holding all of us back from being real

leaders.

Let’s become an industry of leaders again. We can develop leaders who will share the credit.

Empathetic leaders who will listen. Generous leaders who will teach. Accessible leaders who will

motivate. Courageous leaders who will ask why. And collaborative leaders who will make us all better.

Things I’m personally working on to grow as a leader instead of a boss:

• Lead by example. Hold myself up to the same standards as I do everyone else.

• Be curious. Act like a student of our business.

• Don’t impose values on people that you yourself don’t embrace

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• Be generous. With your time and with your feedback.

• Empower your leaders to do their best work.

Leadership, motivations and behaviors

Leadership and motivation

Transactional leadership Transactional leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on supervision, organization,

and performance; transactional leadership is a style of leadership in which leaders promote

compliance by followers through both rewards and punishments. Unlike transformational leaders,

those using the transactional approach are not looking to change the future, they look to keep things

the same. Leaders using transactional leadership as a model pay attention to followers' work in order

to find faults and deviations.

This type of leadership is effective in crisis and emergency situations, as well as for projects that need

to be carried out in a specific way.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Within the context of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, transactional leadership works at the basic levels

of need satisfaction, where transactional leaders focus on the lower levels of the hierarchy.

Transactional leaders use an exchange model, with rewards being given for good work or positive

outcomes. Conversely, people with this leadership style also can punish poor work or negative

outcomes, until the problem is corrected. One way that transactional leadership focuses on lower

level needs is by stressing specific task performance. Transactional leaders are effective in getting

specific tasks completed by managing each portion individually.

Transactional leaders are concerned with processes rather than forward-thinking ideas. Transactional

leaders are generally split into three dimensions: contingent reward, management-by-exception:

active, and management-by-exception: passive. The type of leader who focuses on contingent reward,

also known as contingent positive reinforcement, give rewards when the set goals are accomplished

on-time, ahead of time, or to keep subordinates working at a good pace at different times throughout

completion. Contingent rewards are also given when the employee engages in any desired

behavior. Often, contingent punishments are handed down on a management-by-exception basis, in

which the exception is something going wrong. Within management-by-exception, there are active

and passive routes. Management-by-exception: active means that the leader continually monitors

each subordinate's performance and takes immediate corrective action when something goes

wrong. Management-by-exception: passive leaders do not monitor employee performance and wait

for serious issues to come up before taking any corrective actions. In addition to the three dimensions

of leadership above, another form of transactional leadership is recognized, the laissez-faire

dimension. Laissez-faire leadership indicates a lack of leadership and a complete hands-off approach

with employees.

With transactional leadership being applied to the lower-level needs and being more managerial in

style, it is a foundation for transformational leadership which applies to higher-level needs.

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Characteristics

Transactional leaders use reward and punishments to gain compliance from their followers. They are

extrinsic motivators that bring minimal compliance from followers. They accept goals, structure, and

the culture of the existing organization. Transactional leaders tend to be directive and action-oriented.

Transactional leaders are willing to work within existing systems and negotiate to attain goals of the

organization. They tend to think inside the box when solving problems.

Transactional leadership is primarily passive. The behaviors most associated with this type of

leadership are establishing the criteria for rewarding followers and maintaining the status quo.

Within transactional leadership, there are two factors, contingent reward and management-by-

exception. Contingent reward provides rewards for effort and recognizes good performance.

Management-by-exception maintains the status quo, intervenes when subordinates do not meet

acceptable performance levels, and initiates corrective action to improve performance.

Theory Y and Theory X

Douglas McGregor's Theory Y and Theory X can also be compared with these two leadership styles.

Theory X can be compared with Transactional Leadership where managers need to rule by fear and

consequences. In this style and theory, negative behavior is punished and employees are motivated

through incentives. Theory Y and Transformational Leadership are found to be similar, because the

theory and style supports the idea that managers work to encourage their workers. Leaders assume

the best of their employees. They believe them to be trusting, respectful, and self-motivated.

Transformational leadership Development of concept Another researcher, Bernard M. Bass (1985), extended the work of Burns

(1978) by explaining the psychological mechanisms that underlie transforming and transactional

leadership; Bass also used the term "transformational" instead of "transforming." Bass added to the

initial concepts of Burns (1978) to help explain how transformational leadership could be measured,

as well as how it impacts follower motivation and performance. The extent to which a leader is

transformational, is measured first, in terms of his influence on the followers. The followers of such a

leader feel trust, admiration, loyalty and respect for the leader and because of the qualities of the

transformational leader are willing to work harder than originally expected. These outcomes occur

because the transformational leader offers followers something more than just working for self gain;

they provide followers with an inspiring mission and vision and give them an identity.

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The leader transforms and motivates followers through his or her idealized influence (earlier referred

to as charisma), intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. In addition, this leader

encourages followers to come up with new and unique ways to challenge the status quo and to alter

the environment to support being successful. Finally, in contrast to Burns, Bass suggested that

leadership can simultaneously display both transformational and transactional leadership. Now 30

years of research and a number of meta-analyses have shown that transformational and transactional

leadership positively predicts a wide variety of performance outcomes including individual, group and

organizational level variables (see Bass & Bass 2008, The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory,

Research, and Managerial Applications" 4th edition Free Press). The full range of leadership introduces

four elements of transformational leadership:

1. Individualized Consideration – the degree to which the leader attends to each follower's needs, acts

as a mentor or coach to the follower and listens to the follower's concerns and needs. The leader gives

empathy and support, keeps communication open and places challenges before the followers. This

also encompasses the need for respect and celebrates the individual contribution that each follower

can make to the team. The followers have a will and aspirations for self development and have intrinsic

motivation for their tasks.

2. Intellectual Stimulation – the degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks and

solicits followers' ideas. Leaders with this style stimulate and encourage creativity in their followers.

They nurture and develop people who think independently. For such a leader, learning is a value and

unexpected situations are seen as opportunities to learn. The followers ask questions, think deeply

about things and figure out better ways to execute their tasks.

3. Inspirational Motivation – the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and

inspiring to followers. Leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers with high standards,

communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand. Followers need

to have a strong sense of purpose if they are to be motivated to act. Purpose and meaning provide

the energy that drives a group forward. The visionary aspects of leadership are supported by

communication skills that make the vision understandable, precise, powerful and engaging. The

followers are willing to invest more effort in their tasks, they are encouraged and optimistic about the

future and believe in their abilities.

4. Idealized Influence – Provides a role model for high ethical behavior, instills pride, gains respect

and trust.

As a development tool, transformational leadership has spread already in all sectors of western

societies, including governmental organizations. As an example, the Finnish Defence Forces is using

widely Deep Lead© Model as basic solution of its leadership training and development. The Deep

Lead© Model is based on the theory of transformational leadership.

Transactional vs. transformational leadership

Transactional and transformational are the two modes of leadership that tend to be compared the

most. James MacGregor Burns distinguished between transactional leaders and transformational by

explaining that: transactional leaders are leaders who exchange tangible rewards for the work and

loyalty of followers. Transformational leaders are leaders who engage with followers, focus on higher

order intrinsic needs, and raise consciousness about the significance of specific outcomes and new

ways in which those outcomes might be achieved.Transactional leaders tend to be more passive as

transformational leaders demonstrate active behaviors that include providing a sense of mission.

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Transactional VS. Transformational (Odumeru & Ogbonna,

2013)

Leadership is responsive Leadership is proactive

Works within the organizational

culture

Works to change the organizational culture

by implementing new ideas

Employees achieve objectives through

rewards and punishments set by

leader

Employees achieve objectives through

higher ideals and moral values

Motivates followers by appealing to

their own self-interest

Motivates followers by encouraging them to

put group interests first

Management-by-exception: maintain

the status quo; stress correct actions

to improve performance.

Individualized consideration: Each behavior

is directed to each individual to express

consideration and support.

Intellectual stimulation: Promote creative

and innovative ideas to solve problems.

Leadership and motivational theory As a small-business manager, your role is to guide and motivate employees into getting the job done.

Therefore, leadership and motivation go hand in hand. Over the years, researchers have developed a

number of leadership and motivational theories, which managers can employ to fit a situation.

Significance

Without leadership, employees are lost, resulting in a chaotic work environment. Without motivation,

employees fail to perform to the best of their ability. If used effectively, leadership and motivational

theories enable you to lead employees and the company toward success. You achieve this by

understanding the key elements of basic leadership and motivational theories and applying them

accordingly.

Leadership Elements

Leadership theories are separated into four main groups: behavioral, trait, contingency, and power

and influence. Under behavioral theory, autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting anyone

else, democratic leaders consider the teams’ input when making decisions, and laissez-faire leaders

practice noninterference, allowing the team to make many of the decisions. Under contingency

theory, the situation dictates the leadership style that is used. The argument is that one leadership

style doesn’t dictate the type of leadership that should be applied, but rather the situation itself does.

Under trait theory, leaders have certain common attributes that they share and the style of leadership

emerges from these characteristics. Power and influence theory is based on power and influence

tactics leaders use to get things done.

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Motivational Elements

Famous psychologist Abraham Maslow's motivational theory has helped managers to conceive

employee motivation. The theory includes Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which breaks down basic

human needs into five categories: physiological, safety, social, self-esteem and self-actualization. As a

manager, helping an employee to fulfill those needs motivates him into becoming a better worker.

Physiological needs are those required to survive physically, such as food and water. Safety needs

instill security, such as a home or a comfortable routine. Social needs concern the desire to belong

and form meaningful relationships. Self-esteem needs are developed based on confidence and sense

of achievement. Once the individual has obtained those four needs, he develops self-actualization,

which requires him to find himself. By taking a sincere interest in your employees, recognizing their

basic needs and taking steps to meet them, you inspire and motivate employees.

Application

In more recent years, researchers have developed the transformational leadership theory, which is

appropriate in most corporate situations. Under this theory, leaders guide with meaning, values and

a higher purpose. Specifically, it requires you to have integrity, set a positive example, encourage,

support, inspire, apply effective communication, provide stimulating assignments, give credit where

and when its due, expect the best from workers, set realistic goals and help employees focus on team

interests rather than individual needs. To motivate employees, combine effective leadership with

satisfying employee needs, treating workers fairly, rewarding jobs based on performance and applying

effective discipline.

Leadership behaviors

Leadership styles There are as many approaches to leadership as there are leaders, from Lewin’s Leadership Styles

framework of the 1930s to the more recent ideas about transformational leadership. There are also

many general styles, including servant and transactional leadership. Building awareness of

frameworks and styles can help you to develop your approach and to be a more effective leader.

Fortunately, businesspeople and psychologists have developed useful frameworks that describe the

main ways that people lead. When you understand these frameworks, you can develop your own

approach to leadership, and become a more effective leader as a result.

Useful Leadership Style Frameworks

So, let's look at some useful approaches – shown mainly in the order they appeared – that you can

use to become a more effective leader. Your own, personal approach is likely to be a blend of these,

depending on your own preferences, your people's needs, and the situation you're in.

Lewin's Leadership Styles

Psychologist Kurt Lewin developed his framework in the 1930s, and it provided the foundation of

many of the approaches that followed afterwards. He argued that there are three major styles of

leadership:

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1. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their team members, even if their input

would be useful. This can be appropriate when you need to make decisions quickly, when

there's no need for team input, and when team agreement isn't necessary for a successful

outcome. However, this style can be demoralizing, and it can lead to high levels of

absenteeism and staff turnover.

2. Democratic leaders make the final decisions, but they include team members in the decision-

making process. They encourage creativity, and people are often highly engaged in projects

and decisions. As a result, team members tend to have high job satisfaction and high

productivity. This is not always an effective style to use, though, when you need to make a

quick decision.

3. Laissez-faire leaders give their team members a lot of freedom in how they do their work, and

how they set their deadlines. They provide support with resources and advice if needed, but

otherwise they don't get involved. This autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction, but it can

be damaging if team members don't manage their time well, or if they don't have the

knowledge, skills, or self motivation to do their work effectively. (Laissez-faire leadership can

also occur when managers don't have control over their work and their people.)

Lewin's framework is popular and useful, because it encourages managers to be less autocratic than

they might instinctively be.

The Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid

The Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid was published in 1964, and it highlights the most appropriate

style to use, based on your concern for your people and your concern for production/tasks.

With a people-oriented style, you focus on organizing, supporting, and developing your team

members. This participatory style encourages good teamwork and creative collaboration.

With task-oriented leadership, you focus on getting the job done. You define the work and the roles

required, put structures in place, and plan, organize, and monitor work.

According to this model, the best style to use is one that has both a high concern for people and a high

concern for the task – it argues that you should aim for both, rather than trying to offset one against

the other. Clearly, this is an important idea!

Path-Goal Theory

You may also have to think about what your team members want and need. This is where Path-Goal

Theory – published in 1971 – is useful.

For example, highly-capable people, who are assigned to a complex task, will need a different

leadership approach from people with low ability, who are assigned to an ambiguous task. (The former

will want a participative approach, while the latter need to be told what to do.)

With Path-Goal Theory, you can identify the best leadership approach to use, based on your people's

needs, the task that they're doing, and the environment that they're working in.

Six Emotional Leadership Styles

Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee detailed their Six Emotional Leadership

Styles theory in their 2002 book, "Primal Leadership."

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The theory highlights the strengths and weaknesses of six common styles – Visionary, Coaching,

Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting, and Commanding. It also shows how each style can affect the

emotions of your team members.

Flamholtz and Randle's Leadership Style Matrix

First published in 2007, Flamholtz and Randle's Leadership Style Matrix shows you the best style to

use, based on how capable people are of working autonomously, and how creative or "programmable"

the task is.

The matrix is divided into four quadrants – each quadrant identifies two possible styles that will be

effective for a given situation, ranging from "autocratic/benevolent autocratic" to "consensus/laissez-

faire."

Specific Leadership Styles

As well as understanding the frameworks that you can use to be a more effective leader, and knowing

what it takes to be a transformational leader, it's also useful to learn about more general styles, and

the advantages and disadvantages of each one.

Let's take a look at some other styles of leadership that are interesting, but don't fit with any of the

frameworks above.

Bureaucratic Leadership

Bureaucratic leaders follow rules rigorously, and ensure that their people follow procedures precisely.

This is appropriate for work involving serious safety risks (such as working with machinery, with toxic

substances, or at dangerous heights), or with large sums of money. Bureaucratic leadership is also

useful for managing employees who perform routine tasks.

This style is much less effective in teams and organizations that rely on flexibility, creativity, or

innovation.

Charismatic Leadership

Charismatic leadership resembles transformational leadership: both types of leaders inspire and

motivate their team members.

The difference lies in their intent. Transformational leaders want to transform their teams and

organizations, while leaders who rely on charisma often focus on themselves and their own ambitions,

and they may not want to change anything.

Charismatic leaders might believe that they can do no wrong, even when others warn them about the

path that they're on. This feeling of invincibility can severely damage a team or an organization, as

was shown in the 2008 financial crisis.

Servant Leadership

A "servant leader " is someone, regardless of level, who leads simply by meeting the needs of the

team. The term sometimes describes a person without formal recognition as a leader.

These people often lead by example. They have high integrity and lead with generosity. Their

approach can create a positive corporate culture, and it can lead to high morale among team

members.

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Supporters of the servant leadership model suggest that it's a good way to move ahead in a world

where values are increasingly important, and where servant leaders can achieve power because of

their values, ideals, and ethics.

However, others believe that people who practice servant leadership can find themselves "left

behind" by other leaders, particularly in competitive situations.

This style also takes time to apply correctly: it's ill-suited to situations where you have to make quick

decisions or meet tight deadlines.

Level 5 leadership Level 5 leadership is a concept developed in the book Good to Great. Level 5 leaders display a powerful

mixture of personal humility and indomitable will. They're incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is

first and foremost for the cause, for the organization and its purpose, not themselves. While Level 5

leaders can come in many personality packages, they are often self-effacing, quiet, reserved, and even

shy. Every good-to-great transition in our research began with a Level 5 leader who motivated the

enterprise more with inspired standards than inspiring personality.

Excerpts from Good to Great

The good-to-great executives were all cut from the same cloth. It didn’t matter whether the company

was consumer or industrial, in crisis or steady state, offered services or products. It didn’t matter when

the transition took place or how big the company. All the good-to-great companies had Level 5

leadership at the time of transition. Furthermore, the absence of Level 5 leadership showed up as a

consistent pattern in the comparison companies. Given that Level 5 leadership cuts against the grain

of conventional wisdom, especially the belief that we need larger-than-life saviors with big

personalities to transform companies, it is important to note that Level 5 is an empirical finding, not

an ideological one.

The eleven good-to-great CEOs are some of the most remarkable CEOs of the century, given that only

eleven companies from the Fortune 500 met the exacting standards for entry into this study. Yet,

despite their remarkable results, almost no one ever remarked about them! … The good-to-great

leaders never wanted to become larger-than-life heroes. They never aspired to be put on a pedestal

or become unreachable icons. They were seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extraordinary

results.

…It is very important to grasp that Level 5 leadership is not just about humility and modesty. It is

equally about ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to

make the company great.

Not long ago, I shared the Level 5 finding with a gathering of senior executives. A woman who had

recently become chief executive of her company raised her hand and said, “I believe what you say

about the good-to-great leaders. But I’m disturbed because when I look in the mirror, I know that I’m

not Level 5, not yet anyway. Part of the reason I got this job is because of my ego drives. Are you telling

me that I can’t make this a great company if I’m not Level 5?”

“I don’t know for certain that you absolutely must be a Level 5 leader to make your company great,”

I replied. “I will simply point back to the data: Of 1,435 companies that appeared on the Fortune 500

in our initial candidate list, only eleven made the very tough cut into our study. In those eleven, all of

them had Level 5 leadership in key positions, including the CEO, at the pivotal time of transition.”

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She sat there, quiet for moment, and you could tell everyone in the room was mentally urging her to

ask the question. Finally, she said, “Can you learn to become Level 5?”

My hypothesis is that there are two categories of people: those who do not have the seed of Level 5

and those who do. … The second category of people—and I suspect the larger group—consists of those

who have the potential to evolve to Level 5; the capability resides within them, perhaps buried or

ignored, but there nonetheless. And under the right circumstances—self-reflection, conscious

personal development, a mentor, a great teacher, loving parents, a significant life experience, a Level

5 boss, or any number of other factors—they begin to develop.

In looking at the data, we noticed that some of the leaders in our study had significant life experiences

that might have sparked or furthered their maturation.

Leadership in context

Organizational contexts and adaptations

The strategic context

Great leaders complicate leadership development—a notion that may seem paradoxical until you

stop and consider just how much has been written about Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi,

Abraham Lincoln, Golda Meir, Ernest Shackleton, and countless other celebrated leaders. The sheer

volume is overwhelming, and the lessons that emerge from one leader’s experience may be

completely inapplicable to another’s.

The complications run deeper for business leaders. In the corporate context, effectiveness depends

less on the traits of any one executive (or of that person’s direct reports) and more on a company’s

competitive challenges, legacies, and other shifting forces. If only we had a clear set of keys to effective

organizational leadership—a “decoder ring” to understand which practices produce the best

outcomes. Our latest research, however, does point to one major element of the equation:

organizational health. For people seeking to lead companies effectively and for organizations seeking

to develop managers who can deploy different kinds of leadership behavior when appropriate,

recognizing and responding to a company’s health is far more important than following scripts written

by or about great leaders. And that’s true even of great leaders whose circumstances might, on the

surface, seem relevant under a given set of conditions.

To be sure, certain normative qualities, such as demonstrating a concern for people and offering a

critical perspective, will always be part of what it takes to be a leader. But the importance of other

elements, such as keeping groups on task and bringing out the best in others, vary in importance

depending upon an organization’s circumstances. Organizational health changes over time. Effective

situational leadership adapts to these changes by identifying and marshaling the kinds of behavior

needed to transition a company from its present state to a stronger, healthier one.

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‘How healthy are we?’

All this presupposes, of course, that leaders have an accurate sense of how healthy their organizations

are. Developing such a view is easier said than done: it’s only natural for leaders to overestimate the

health of their organizations and the effectiveness of their leadership, given the way many of them

identify with their companies and roles. In our experience, too many executives default to describing

their companies as good and striving to be great. But this can’t be true; by definition, more companies

can’t be above the median line of organizational health than below it. When we examine survey data

through the lens of the different levels of an organization, we find that leading executives typically

have more favorable views of its health than do its line workers—who are, after all, much closer to

the true center of gravity.

What’s more, surveys, interviews, and a significant amount of honest self-reflection all go into more

robust assessments of organizational health. Since a rigorous self-diagnosis isn’t always possible,

we’ve developed some rules of thumb. These move a bit beyond guesswork and provide a more

informed sense of what it feels like to be in one type of company or another; for a broad

approximation, take McKinsey’s nine-question quiz, “How healthy is your organization?” In ailing

organizations, for example, the leadership tends to rely on very detailed instructions and monitoring—

a symptom of excessively tight control. A healthier organization’s leadership, by contrast, shows

greater support for colleagues and subordinates, and sensitivity to their needs. And the leaders at elite

organizations challenge employees to aspire higher still by setting stretch goals that inspire them to

reach their full potential.

The situational-leadership staircase

To explore the effectiveness of different kinds of leadership behavior at companies in different states

of organizational health, we surveyed more than 375,000 people from 165 organizations across

multiple industries and geographies. Drawing both from our own work experience and from evolving

academic research, we focused on more than 20 distinct kinds of behavior that cover a broad range

of leadership characteristics and appear, at least under certain circumstances, to correlate closely with

strong corporate performance.

Analytically, we studied organizational health and leadership effectiveness in turn. First, health: We

sorted companies into organizational-health quartiles, then observed which leadership behaviors

were most prevalent in each quartile. We were particularly interested in identifying leadership

behaviors that were almost always present (as it turned out, there weren’t many), and those that were

more (or less) prevalent, depending upon an organization’s current state of health. Next, we repeated

the quartile approach but this time, we focused not on health but on leadership effectiveness. Which

behaviors did respondents perceive to be most effective? The purpose was to address the possibility

that we were giving too much prominence to behaviors exhibited at companies that were otherwise

healthy, but which survey recipients thought were ineffective practices nevertheless. Instead, we

sought to identify behaviors that matched organizational health with perceived leadership

effectiveness, and to isolate those behaviors that were most effective in different situations.

The analysis yielded what we call a leadership staircase—a pyramid of behavior analogous to Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs (exhibit).2In our hierarchy, like similar ones, some kinds of behavior are always

essential. As organizational health improves, quartile to quartile, additional behaviors become

apparent.

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More tellingly, some appear to be differentiators: emphasizing them in different situations can lift the

organizational health of a fourth-quartile company to the third quartile, a third-quartile company to

the second quartile, and so on. This staircase model aligns squarely with our own real-world

observations.

Exhibit

Baseline behavior

For companies at every level above the truly dysfunctional, a set of threshold forms of behavior

appears to be essential. We call them “baseline behavior.” Others may also be called for, depending

upon an organization’s state of health, but the following practices are appropriate no matter what a

company’s health may be: effectiveness at facilitating group collaboration, demonstrating concern for

people, championing desired change, and offering critical perspectives. The absence of such

fundamentals of healthy interpersonal interaction invites disorder; shoring up these behaviors, on the

other hand, serves to keep organizations from sliding backward into organizational trouble. But in

themselves, they don’t spell the difference between mediocre and top-tier organizational health.

Companies need additional practices to climb the staircase.

The situational context The Situational Leadership Theory was developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard. The model shows

that leadership of employees must be adapted to the skills and job maturity of the individual

employee, and that there is no single "best" style of leadership. By using the situational leadership

theory model, leaders can adapt their leadership according to the needs of the employees, and

conduct an effective leadership based on the situational context. The essence of the model is that

leaders should support their followers based on the followers' needs and capabilities. By doing this,

followers will evolve their skills, and will over time become more skilled, mature and independent.

The model consists of 4 leadership styles and 4 maturity levels, which will be described below.

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Four leadership styles:

S1

The leadership style "Telling" is characterized by a strong leader categorizing roles for the employees,

and who conducts his leadership with one-way communication. This leadership style is very autocratic,

and is based upon followers being told what to do.

S2

The leadership style "Selling" is still characterized by a strong leader providing direction, but there is

more communication with followers. Leaders are trying to sell their messages to the followers, so that

the followers understand the importance of their duties, and understand why different processes are

important for the organization.

S3

The leadership style "Participating" is characterized by two-way communication and shared decision

making. Leaders include followers in job related aspects and in how task are to be accomplished.

S4

The leadership style "Delegating" is characterized by a leader leaving much of the decision making

power to the followers. Leaders are still monitoring progress, but are not as heavily involved in

decision making processes.

Once again, it is important to remember that none of the leadership styles are better than others. The

essence is that leaders should be flexible, and able to use different styles in different situational

contexts with different followers and tasks.

Four maturity levels:

M1

Followers with this level of maturity lack knowledge, skills, or confidence to work on their own. They

often need to be directed and supervised before they take on tasks.

M2

Followers in this category are still unable to take independent responsibility for tasks, but they are

generally willing to work at the task.

M3

Followers in this category are very experienced and able to perform the task at hand satisfactorily.

However, they do not have the confidence to take on sole responsibility for task accomplishment.

M4

Followers are experienced, and believe that they are able to perform well. They are not only able and

willing to perform their tasks, but are also willing to take on independent responsibility for the

accomplishment of tasks.

The maturity levels are also task specific, meaning that generally mature followers may get immature,

if they are set to perform a task they do not have capabilities to accomplish. A generally mature

follower may therefore become immature if tasks change, and the leader must therefore adapt his

leadership to this new situation.

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Combining leadership with maturity levels:

The table below shows the most appropriate leadership style according to maturity levels.

Maturity Level Leadership Style

M1 S1: Telling

M2 S2: Selling

M3 S3: Participating

M4 S4: Delegating

M1 = S1

If the employee has a low level of skills, knowledge and competence, it is probably advantageous to

make use of the leadership style S1. This could possibly be the case when a new and untrained

employee joins the organization, or if tasks of trained personnel change radically.

M2 = S2

In this stage, the follower is more familiar with his/her tasks, but is perhaps beginning to lose

motivation. In this situation S2 might be the right leadership style, where leaders should try to

convince followers about the importance of the tasks, and why the followers should try to develop

the required skills.

M3 = S3

In this stage, where the competence followers is high, leaders could use the S3 leadership style.

Leaders could act as consultants advising the followers on how to get the job done. Likewise, followers

with this high level of maturity may get motivated by being involved in decision making and by being

enabled to shape the content of his/her tasks.

M4 = S4

In this last stage of maturity, the employee can perform his duties independently, and is very

committed in accomplishing tasks. In this situation leaders could feasibly adopt the S4 leadership style,

where followers are allowed to conduct and accomplish tasks independently, and witout much

supervision by leaders.

By using the situational leadership model, leaders can therefore flexibly conduct differentiated

leadership, which will support different followers with different capabilities and job related needs.

Finally, by honoring the different needs of individuals, leaders may increase the learning curve of

followers, and get a more skilled and motivated workforce in return.

The cultural context What makes a great leader? Although the core ingredients of leadership are universal (good judgment,

integrity, and people skills), the full recipe for successful leadership requires culture-specific

condiments. The main reason for this is that cultures differ in their implicit theories of leadership, the

lay beliefs about the qualities that individuals need to display to be considered leaders. Depending on

the cultural context, your typical style and behavioral tendencies may be an asset or a weakness. In

other words, good leadership is largely personality in the right place.

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Research has shown that leaders’ decision making, communication style, and dark-side tendencies are

influenced by the geographical region in which they operate. Below we review six major leadership

types that illustrate some of these findings.

Decision Making

The synchronized leader. Follow-through is key to being seen as leadership material in regions such

as Northeast Asia (e.g., Mainland China, South Korea, and Japan), Indonesia, Thailand, the UAE, and

much of Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile). In order to ascend the organizational ranks,

such leaders must seek consensus on decisions and drive others through a keen process

orientation. Business cycles can take longer as a result. But once all stakeholders are onboard, the deal

needs to close fast or there is risk of jeopardizing the agreement. Synchronized leaders tend to be

prudent and are more focused on potential threats than rewards.

The opportunistic leader. Leaders who self-initiate and demonstrate flexibility on how to achieve a

goal tend to be more desirable in Germanic and Nordic Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark,

Norway), the UK, Western countries on which the UK had substantial cultural influence (the U.S.,

Australia, and New Zealand), and Asian countries that based their governing and economic institutions

on the British model (India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong). More or less individualistic, these

leaders thrive in ambiguity. However, checking in frequently with team members is advised to ensure

others keep up with changing plans. Opportunistic leaders tend to be ambitious risk takers.

Communication Style

The straight-shooting leader. In some regions employees expect their leaders to confront issues

straightforwardly. In Northeast Asia and countries like the Netherlands, excessive communication is

less appealing in the leadership ranks — people just want you to get to the point. Accordingly, task-

oriented leaders are preferred. Impromptu performance review meetings with direct reports occur

more commonly in these locations, and leaders address undesirable behaviors from team members

as soon as they are observed. Straight-shooting leaders tend to be less interpersonally sensitive.

The diplomatic leader. In certain countries communication finesse and careful messaging are

important not only to getting along but also to getting ahead. In places like New Zealand, Sweden,

Canada, and much of Latin America, employees prefer to work for bosses who are able to keep

business conversations pleasant and friendly. Constructive confrontation needs to be handled with

empathy. Leaders in these locations are expected to continuously gauge audience reactions during

negotiations and meetings. These types of managers adjust their messaging to keep the discussion

affable; direct communication is seen as unnecessarily harsh. Diplomatic leaders tend to be polite and

agreeable.

Dark-side tendencies

The “kiss up/kick down” leader. When organizations emphasize rank, emerging leaders tend to

develop unique coping skills. It is a leader’s job to implement mandates from above with lower-level

employees. If overused, this strength can lead to a “kiss up/kick down” leadership style, characterized

by excessive deference or sudden attention to detail when reporting up, and issuing fiery directives

or refusing to compromise when commanding subordinates. Though never a good thing, this derailer

is tolerated more in certain countries, such as Western Asia (Turkey, India, UAE), Serbia, Greece,

Kenya, and South Korea. “Kiss up/kick down” leaders tend to be diligent and dutiful with their bosses

but intense and dominating with their reports.

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The passive-aggressive leader. Some leaders become cynical, mistrusting, and eventually covertly

resistant, particularly under stress. These reactions usually occur when the individual is forced to

pursue an objective or carry out a task without being won over or in the absence of sound rationale.

Though being overtly cooperative while maintaining a level of skepticism can be beneficial in group

settings, these behaviors can also hinder execution. Leaders with this style are more widely accepted

in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it doesn’t seem to impede their advancement. Passive-aggressive

leaders tend to be critical and resentful. Ironically, their aversion to conflict often generates a great

deal of conflict.

To be sure, it is possible for any individual to adjust their leadership style to fit the relevant context.

However, it requires a great deal of effort to go against one’s natural tendencies and predispositions,

and habits are hard to break. It is also important to take into account the culture of the organization,

which requires a much more granular level of analysis to identify the qualities that promote and inhibit

success. When senior leaders succeed, they often redefine culture in a way that is a direct reflection

of their own personality. Thus culture is mostly the sum of the values and beliefs of influential past

leaders.

The leader as change agent

Tools for culture change Flexible

It doesn’t have to be their design. They simply want progress towards the overall vision. These change

agents are never stubborn on matters that seem to have no vision-altering value. They navigate

towards a solution, letting others have “their” way. Everyone walks away feeling as though they have

won.

Courageous

Change agent leaders are willing to receive criticism and still move forward. They know how to filter

through what is valid criticism – worth hearing – and what’s simply a venting of personal interest. They

unwaveringly push through the junk which clouds progress.

Relational

Good change agent leaders value the opinions of other people and work hard to gain trust. They know

ultimate change can’t happen without human capital and they are constantly investing in

relationships. Networking is one of a change agents greatest tools.

Strategic

A change agent leader realizes there are steps to take and they carefully choose the timing of when

to take them. They almost have a keen sense of discernment when it comes to knowing when to pull

the trigger, when to wait, and when to pull the plug completely.

Creative

Good change agents are able to see paths to success others can’t yet see. I need to be honest here

and say I’d rather be strategic than creative. There are some who can always find a way to make their

ideas work, but it comes at the expense of others. But, change often happens because someone chose

to be creative. Effective change is one of the best forms of art in the field of leadership. This takes

creativity.

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Intentional

Change agent leaders make change for a specific purpose. They never waste a change. They know that

every change has the potential to make or break a team and they work diligently to bring the best

results.

Thorough

A good change agent follows through on commitments made and sees the change to fruition. They

don’t give up until the post evaluation is complete and the lessons of change have been learned.

The leader as change agent? The role of change agent is only one in a leader's constellation of roles, but in today's competitive

global environment of dwindling resources, competing priorities and increased demand for higher

education, it's a highly critical one. If universities are to survive and keep pace with the rising

importance of higher education to economic viability, their leaders must be willing to overcome the

human desire to maintain a sense of equilibrium. They must take the risk of embracing a bold vision

that challenges the status quo of cherished assumptions regarding mission, academic programs,

fundraising strategies and community relations.

Mastering the art of being a change agent takes purpose, passion and perseverance--but it is not

rocket science.

The first step is to become a student of change. Identify one or two role models who have successfully

tackled change, and learn from their accomplishments as well as their near misses.

Believing in the Impossible

Two change agents whose bold initiatives are currently transforming their institutions are Molly

Broad, president of the University of North Carolina, and Alexander Gonzalez, president of California

State University, Sacramento.

Gonzalez came to CSUS in 2003 as its first new president in 19 years, inheriting a status quo culture.

"The campus had lost its momentum, and people had become somewhat complacent," says Gonzalez.

One of his first steps was to enhance the university's profile and create the vision of a flagship campus

appropriate to its location in the state's capital.

Gonzalez proceeded to develop a new physical master plan for a more efficient and attractive campus

layout. "The new layout recognizes the campus' potential, including an increase in student housing

from 1,100 to 5,000 beds. This will dramatically change the campus from a primarily commuter to

residential institution, fostering a stronger sense of community," says Gonzalez.

His master plan further anticipates enrollment growth from 28,600 students to 33,000 by 2010. A new

athletics complex and a branch campus in Placer County are also in the developmental stages.

"When times are difficult, peopleare more willing to think of new ways of doing things and plan for

the future." -Alexander Gonzalez, California State University, Sacramento

Gonzalez is moving ahead with his ambitious plans, called "Destination 2010," despite a $14 billion-

plus state deficit and severe funding cuts. He is aggressively pursuing private funding as well as state

bonds. "When times are difficult and the regular course of operations is threatened, people are more

willing to think of new ways of doing things and plan for the future. It's actually a great time to propose

change and innovation.

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When long-term goals and the positives are stressed and the steps to achieving success are clear,

people are more willing to buy in." (For more details about Gonzalez' change initiatives, refer to the

article "CSUS President has Grand Plans for the Future," in the February 2004 edition of Comstock's

Business magazine, California's Capital Region.) "The challenge of a change agent is to promote buy-

in on the part of the people who create organizational capacity for change, in other words, to move

them from a state of disbelief to belief in what is possible," says UNC President Molly Broad, referring

to her successful $3 billion bond campaign.

When she originally proposed the measure in 2000, the reaction on the part of the chancellors was

utter disbelief. The largest bond previously passed had been $300 million. "I was neither fearful nor

entrapped by the culture," Broad recalls. "We had done our analytical homework, and it was

comprehensive and impeccable. We showed how public investment in the university had failed to

keep pace with the demand for higher education and its importance to the state's economic viability.

The backlog of deferred repair and renovation needs for nearly 800 buildings, particularly science and

technology labs, coupled with new construction needed to accommodate an expected enrollment

growth of 48,000 students, was estimated at $7 billion over the next decade."

Undeterred when the bill failed in the first effort, Broad asked for a legislative study to examine her

case. A commission examined classrooms, labs and residence halls, which were in a state of dis repair.

"There was a big risk in exposing the underbelly of the institution," says Broad. "UNCTV played a video

dozens of times showing how bad our labs were. Members of the commission interviewed a young

professor who burst into tears over the unsafe conditions in her freshman chemistry lab." In the end,

taking the risk of capturing these images for the public, along with Broad's passion and perseverance,

spelled success. Even though it doubled the state's cumulative debt, three out of four voters in all 100

counties passed the bond measure.

Opportunities, Not Obstacles

What can be learned from these role models? Let's review their successful attitudes and actions:

A demonstrated confidence in a vision and the passion to carry it through. Both Broad and Gonzalez

believed they could achieve the unachievable. They were willing to take the risk of articulating a bold

vision and focused on what was possible. "In these times of dwindling resources and support, it's

critical to see problems as opportunities rather than obstacles," Gonzalez says.

Broad's perspective is remarkably similar. "Every hill on the horizon is just one more hill, not an

insurmountable mountain," she says. "I was passionate about the outcomes of a successful bond

campaign. I have great perseverance. I've learned a leader has to be a marathoner."

Inclusive leadership; a willingness to engage diverse constituent groups. Having a vision is not enough.

If it is not articulated in ways that resonate for and mobilize followers and supporters, buy-in will

remain an elusive goal among entrenched agendas and positions.

Gonzalez was creative and savvy in finding something in his vision for everyone, from new athletics

facilities to an arts center. Broad had a wellspring of support from students and faculty who rallied

voters in community settings such as local grocery stores.

Using influence more than position power. A change agent is someone who is willing to engage

detractors, not just natural followers. Successful change agents are always superb storytellers who

can capture the minds and hearts of others through visions that shape the future in compelling ways.

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A would-be change agent who cannot tell a compelling story is often left with a dream that never

becomes a reality and with an erosion of trust and support as a leader. For even greater impact,

successful storytellers do not just tell; they show.

Both Broad and Gonzalez used visual media extensively to drive their messages home. For Broad, the

repetitive showing of the UNCTV video was a significant factor of success. At CSU, Gonzalez took to

the road with a compelling video of "Destination 2010" to rally both the internal and external

community.

Skill in overcoming cultural obstacles. Resistance to specific changes or to the pace of change can be

expected from long-tenured players who may be "retired on the job" or invested in the status quo.

The first step for change agents new to their institutions, according to Gonzalez, is to do the homework

and size up the challenge carefully to avoid drawing faulty conclusions. "Learning about relationships

among people and how they operate and interact are extremely important," he says. "Only then can

you move forward and impose your own views."

How can leaders who are not yet comfortable as change agents develop in this role? Start with simple

initiatives on a day-to-day basis, whether it's questioning the sustainability of a program and offering

alternatives, leading the review of an outdated policy through a process that involves seeking the input

of diverse constituents, or suggesting the purposeful abandonment of reports that have outlived their

usefulness. Begin by taking small risks and gradually build up to larger ones. Don't forget to celebrate

successes along the way and to document learning from failures and near-misses.

The Power to Transform

Change agents are strategic thinkers with a vision that is shared across the institution. They are

fearless but pragmatic risk-takers who can envision success. They are proficient storytellers and

experts at managing complex problems and conflict among potential supporters.

But none of these skills will lead to success unless grounded in a passion for the end goal, and the

ability to sustain a marathon through the challenges and setbacks inherent in bold visions. Higher

education cannot transform itself to meet the challenges of the new millennium without this passion

and perseverance on the part of its leaders.

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Leadership vision and values

Gaining followers through vision

Engaging people with vision "The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It's got to be a vision you articulate

clearly and forcefully on every occasion." -Theodore Hesburgh, President of the University of Notre

Dame

"There's nothing more demoralizing than a leader who can't clearly articulate why we're doing what

we're doing." -James Kouzes and Barry Posner

"Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and

relentlessly drive it to completion." -Jack Welch

Leaders have vision. They share a dream and direction that other people want to share and follow.

The leadership vision goes beyond your written organizational mission statement and your vision

statement.

The vision of leadership permeates the workplace and is manifested in the actions, beliefs, values, and

goals of your organization’s leaders. This vision attracts and affects every employee who is engaged

in living this set of actions, beliefs, values, and goals. They want to share your vision.

The ReCellular Leadership Vision

ReCellular, Inc. was formerly a mid-sized company that refurbished, repaired and resold wireless

phones and other electronic devices. Not only did the company keep millions of pounds of these

devices out of landfills, they make thousands of products available for re-use. And, they donated

thousands of dollars to charitable causes from the profits they made recycling.

Now, if you were an environmentally-committed person who cared about the millions of electronic

devices that can potentially reside in landfills, this leadership vision was most appealing. Indeed, many

employees were attracted to the work because of the green mission and the opportunity to serve a

cause that they perceived was bigger than themselves.

Additionally, the opportunity to serve many charitable and environmental causes with the profit from

the sale of the phones while working simultaneously appealed to another group of vision, mission-

driven people.

The ReCellular leadership vision was truly moving and powerful.

Why Is Leadership Vision Powerful?

The leadership vision was powerful because the senior managers and leaders believed in the vision

and mission. Not just a statement hanging on a wall, the leadership vision was even more powerful

because people lived the leadership vision every single day at work.

When leaders share out a powerful vision and organize and staff the workplace to accomplish it, a

powerful dynamic drives employee performance. When leaders walk their talk, it's a demonstrated

motivator for people. When leaders share a strong vision, employees flock to it—even choosing the

job in the company over other options. The leadership vision as manifested in the work of

employees was a retention factor for the people who shared the vision.

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Employees were not just processing wireless devices to make money for the company owners, they

were saving the tiniest babies or providing a safe haven for abused women. They were keeping

electronics out of landfills.

Can a shared leadership vision get any more powerful than this?

Leadership Vision Fundamentals

While your organization may not have such an intrinsically compelling vision as ReCellular, your

leaders can inspire with their own vision. In fact, most businesses were started because the founder

had a vision of what he or she could create.

Employees often join organizations because of the vision and direction shared when they attend the

on-site job interviews. In fact, that is part of the organization's job when interviewing superior

candidates.

They need to give the best candidates, the employees that you really want, compelling reasons to

choose your organization over any other organization—this becomes even more important as the war

for the most talented employees escalates.

The vision may have changed along the way, but as long as the leader continuously shares the vision,

employees can adapt and adjust.

Sharing that vision with others in a way that compels them to act is the secret to a successful

leadership vision.

These are the fundamentals necessary for a vision that excites and motivates people to follow the

leader. The vision must:

• Clearly set organizational direction and purpose;

• Inspire loyalty and caring through the involvement of all employees;

• Display and reflect the unique strengths, culture, values, beliefs, and direction of the

organization;

• Inspire enthusiasm, belief, commitment and excitement in company members;

• Help employees believe that they are part of something bigger than themselves and their daily

work;

• Be regularly communicated and shared, not just through monthly announcements and

reminders at the company meeting, it must permeate all communication at every level of the

organization every day;

• Serve as the reason for why courses of action are chosen, people are hired, markets are

selected, and products are developed;

• Challenge people to outdo themselves, to stretch and reach.

Want to learn more about articulating a vision, mission statement, values and the kind of strategic

framework needed by an organization? See Build a Strategic Framework: Mission Statement, Vision,

Values... and How to build an organization that is based on values.

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The Importance of values and vision in leadership Creating a common vision and implementing shared values are equally important to successful

leadership as are the development of relationships. If a developed, mutually interactive, and beneficial

relationship serves as the foundation for effective leadership, the creation of a vision and

implementation of values are components that build on that relationship and make it stronger. In fact,

one might suggest the vision and values that leaders and followers share serve to initiate the basis of

their relationship in the first place. Arguably, one of the major reasons relationships between leaders

and followers form and, most definitely, the reason these relationships flourish, is because of a

common vision and shared values. There is no doubt, the creation of a common vision and the

implementation of shared values is an essential component of effective leadership. Without a vision

or values, there might not even be a truly, mutually beneficial relationship in the first place.

Vision and values are not only key components of any relationship, and serve to assist in increasing a

relationship’s significance and longevity, they also depend upon and correlate with one another. Any

truly authentic vision automatically incorporates complementing values to that vision. Without values,

a vision worthwhile of pursuit would not exist. Furthermore, values without a vision accompanying

them are in a state of mere stalemate. If values aren’t put into action with a vision, their purpose is

not being utilized to its fullest potential. Therefore, values and vision serve a similar purpose and are

essential requirements, not only for the benefit of relationships, but also mutually, for the benefit of

one another.

The relationship between a leader and his or her followers is just as immensely important as it is

exceedingly delicate and fragile. The incorporation of a leader’s values with an accompanying vision,

in a way, solidifies this relationship. The bond between a leader and his or her followers is

strengthened by the support of values and a vision. In fact, without these components, the

relationship would not truly serve its purpose and the entire premise upon which the relationship was

built would be completely invaluable.

The relationship between a leader and his or her followers is just as immensely important as it is

exceedingly delicate and fragile.

Consider the hypothetical example of a standard relationship that has developed between a leader

and his or her followers. Perhaps this particular relationship is consistent with the unfortunate

majority of standard, workplace relationships: involves forced interaction on a daily or otherwise

frequent basis, but is merely built around a similar position within the company or organization.

Alternatively, perhaps this relationship is even built on shared interests or a similar hobby. Further,

perhaps this relationship possesses situational awareness, or the mutual ability to interpret situations,

and is effectively productive.

First, it can be argued that even this relationship would not exist without at least some shared values

that serve to explain the shared interests or similar hobby. But without shared values at the core of a

relationship serving to define it, the relationship is much weaker than it has the potential of being. In

fact, subtle interferences such as scheduling conflicts, reputation-damaging rumors, or

misinterpretations of a communicated emotion could all potentially end the prior benefits to such a

relationship, permanently. Similarly, without a common vision to further strengthen its bond and

serve as a nurturing source for future direction, this relationship is merely a friendship. Mere

friendship is weakly bound by forced interaction through position or shared amateur interests,

subsequently susceptible to complete defection, and constantly on the verge of ruin.

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A relationship, developed from the implementation of shared values and a common vision, clarifies

the difference between leadership and pure management. Relationships between managers and the

managed, unlike those between leaders and followers, neither include a vision nor implement values.

This stark contrast serves to highlight the difference between management and leadership.

Mere friendship is weakly bound by forced interaction through position or shared amateur interests,

subsequently susceptible to complete defection, and constantly on the verge of ruin.

Because the focus of leadership is people-oriented and the focus of management is task-oriented, the

nature of the relationship, in both instances, define their difference. Within the nature of this

relationship lies either the existence or absence of values and vision.

This differentiation also draws the stark, yet often overlooked distinction between motivation and

inspiration. Motivation is a result of management, the absence of values, and the lack of an effective

vision. Inspiration, on the other hand, is the contrasting result of leadership, the incorporation of

values, and the creation of an effective vision. According to Simon Sinek, popular author, speaker, and

leadership academic, “Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already

motivated people and inspire them,” (Sinek, 2011, p. 21). This statement clearly identifies the

difference between leadership and management and highlights the hierarchy of importance

differentiating motivation from inspiration.

Simply put, inspiration cannot occur without the implementation of values and the creation of a

shared vision. In order to understand the importance of implementing values and sharing a singularly

collective vision, one must first understand the concept of inspiration and its role in leadership.

Inspiration is the “why” of an organization. When the members of an organization are collectively

bound by personal inspiration and internal aspiration, the organization is much more effective and

has a greater chance to not just be successful, but thrive. According to Jim Clemmer, leadership

academic and author of Pathways to Performance, “(An effective leader) must be very clear about

where are we trying to take the organization or the team, what is it that we really stand for, what are

the values and principles we’re going to build this upon, and what kind of business are we in and why

we exist.” (Clemmer, 2007). The “why” of an organization not only guides the purpose of the

organization’s existence, it also provides a common ground upon which leaders and followers can

build a relationship. This common ground is better known as the organization’s collective vision.

The most effective leaders unite their followers and every individual within the entire organization,

regardless of the individuals' position or status within the organization, around the singular vision of

the organization. This vision is both a reflection and a constant reminder of why the organization exists

in the first place. The vision of any organization is the colloquial “big picture” or overall purpose of the

organization that serves to inspire its members. It must be clearly stated, routinely advertised, and

effectively comprehended by every member of the organization in order to produce maximum results

of organizational effectiveness.

French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery is credited for articulating perhaps one of the best

metaphorically encompassing quotations regarding vision: “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up

people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the

endless immensity of the sea.” (Saint-Exupery). When the vision of an organization is subscribed to by

every individual within the organization, leadership becomes much easier. It is the leader’s job to

create a vision for his or her followers. If a singularly collective vision is not established, leadership

becomes less of a reality and management begins to define the practiced path of effectiveness.

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A vision statement possesses much more significance than a mission statement because a vision is

deeply inspirational, while a mission is simply motivational. A vision incorporates personal goals and

aspirations and applies them to the organization’s purpose. In other words, a vision relates much more

to leadership.

If a singularly collective vision is not established, leadership becomes less of a reality and management

begins to define the practiced path of effectiveness.

According to author and leadership scholar Gilbert W. Fairholm, “A vision encompasses both the

present and the future potential and values core of followers. Vision statements are how leaders

communicate or articulate the vision to followers...” (Fairholm, G., 2011, p. 120). Vision is what unites

the members of an organization through the same inspirational viewpoint. Without vision, effective

leadership is not possible. All successful leaders create a vision by which their followers are truly

inspired. In doing so, leaders both implement their personal values and expose the values of their

supposed followers.

Values are the personal tools through which a vision is created, followed, and enforced. It is thought

that values are universal, that everyone has the same values. If this is true, then each individual, or

group of individuals, at least organizes values with a slightly different hierarchy of importance. Values

are what define our moral standards and principles. They are our basic foundation, what we perceive

as acceptable behavior to our very core as individuals. According to popular developmental

psychologist Howard Gardner, “Most human beings crave an explicit statement of value - a

perspective on what counts as being true, beautiful, and good.” (Gardner, 1995).

Because values are rather vague, emotionally binding, and not at all scientific, they can be exceedingly

difficult to comprehensively define. In his book, Perspectives on Leadership: From the Science of

Management to Its Spiritual Heart, Fairholm defines values as “broad, general beliefs about the way

people should behave or some end state that they should attain” (Fairholm, G., 1998, p. 60). This

definition serves as a rather accurate description, as it captures the connection between an

individual’s personal belief and their personal vision.

By incorporating values and implementing those values through an organization’s vision, successful

leaders take the necessary risk of exposing their personal beliefs, shredding all boarders of privacy,

and completely opening up to their followers. According to Clemmer, “You can’t build a team or

organization different from you” (Clemmer, 2007). This alludes to the fact that the best form of

leadership is personal example. Every truly successful leader that ever existed was candid with him or

herself, believed first in his or her own personal values, and effectively communicated them to his or

her followers without hesitancy. Truly successful leaders do not require a filter because they believe

in their core values, whatever those values may be.

Roy E. Disney was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father, Roy

Oliver Disney, and his uncle, Walt Disney, founded. As the last member of the Disney family to be

actively involved in the company, Roy's success was often compared to his uncle and father and, in

2006, Forbes magazine estimated his personal fortune at about $1.2 billion. One of Roy's most famous

quotations accurately reflects his success: “When your values are clear to you, making decisions

becomes easier” (Disney). This perspective regarding the importance of one’s own personal values

serves to describe the advantages of implementing those same values in the workplace.

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Still, leaders must be aware of the potential backfire involved in the implementation of personal

values. According to Sandra E. Cha and Amy C. Edmondson’s article, When values backfire: Leadership,

attribution, and disenchantment in a values-driven organization, hypocrisy and subsequent

disenchantment is always a viable possibility, in any relationship. Leaders who can better align their

thoughts and feelings with their actions may be more effective than leaders who think and feel one

way about something but then do something different (Cha & Edmundsen, 2006). In fact, there are

mechanisms that exist through which charismatic leadership and values achieve their effects, but

value expansion may be a “double-edged sword.” Heightening followers’ experience of meaning at

work can lead to increasing the risk of subsequent disenchantment. (Cha & Edmundsen). If carried out

effectively with candid intention, however, values-based leadership has a much greater potential for

success than a purely management-oriented alternative.

Through the implementation of values and the creation of a vision, leaders give followers a clear and

authentic environment in which to maximize their potential and be truly inspired. This leads to

subsequent success from standpoints of longevity and employee retention, not to mention the more

obvious result, effective short-term production. Dr. Matthew R. Fairholm, distinguished professor at

the University of South Dakota, published leadership academic, and proud son of the aforementioned

Gilbert Fairholm, believes that the implementation of values is extremely beneficial to the leader-

follower relationship as well as production. “This philosophical perspective (values-based leadership)

frees one of the notions that leadership is positional, hierarchical, or managerial and allows for

leadership to be more pervasive in organizations and in life because leadership is not tied to structure,

qualities, or birth. This approach allows leaders to develop, because it is developmental in nature”

(Fairholm, M., 2002, p. 11).

Leadership is much more than incentivized motivation; it is inspiration. Leadership is a multifaceted

life-changing activity. It involves changing of lives while one’s own life is altered from the same

process. Leadership is a mutually, consequentially affecting relationship between leaders and

followers. While it possesses order and displays and utilizes organization, there is no necessary,

binding, or confining structure to leadership. Leadership is, in fact, necessarily and completely natural

because human beings are involved, and all human beings are more than just industrial cogs; they all

have values.

Leadership is much more than incentivized motivation; it is inspiration.

Leaders are just as human as followers. Moreover, followers are just as important, and just as much

leaders as are leaders. This is why position is not a factor of leadership and, instead, relationships are

the essential component - leadership is not positional, but relational. Finally, leadership is even more

than values, it is a holistically transformative, mutual relationship. Leadership is the relationship

produced by the influencing of a follower’s inherent order of values, the application of those values

to a specific vision, and the process of carrying out that vision through constant inspiration.

Communication the vision What exactly is vision? And why is it so important to communicate your vision as a leader?

Vision describes some achievement or future state that the organization wants to accomplish. A vision

has to be shared in order to do what it is meant to do – which is inspire, clarify and focus the work.

According to Talula Cartwright, co-author of Communicating Your Vision, part of your job as a leader

is to generate commitment to your organization’s vision. To do this, you have to communicate the

vision in a way that matters to people. You want people in the organization to believe the vision and

to pass it on to others.

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Leaders need to get the word out about the organization’s vision in multiple ways — and keep the

message going. So how do you get your organization’s vision out there? Try these 9 tips:

No. 1, Tell a story. When you tell a good story, you give life to a vision. A good storyteller creates trust,

captures hearts and minds, and serves as a reminder of the vision. Plus, people find it easier to repeat

a story than to talk about a vision statement.

No. 2, Perfect your “elevator speech.” What compelling vision can you describe in the amount of time

you have during a typical elevator ride? Every leader needs to be able to communicate the vision in a

clear, brief way. Be prepared to talk about it in line at the cafeteria, when you visit the customer

service department, and even walking through the parking lot at the end of the day.

No. 3, Use multiple forms of media. The more channels of communication you use, the better the

chance of your organization understanding the vision. Use the newest communication technologies,

but don’t forget the tangibles: coffee mugs, t-shirts, luggage tags and whatever else you can think of

that will keep the message in circulation.

No. 4, Have one-on-one conversations. Engage others. Personal connections give leaders

opportunities to transmit information, receive feedback, build support and create energy around the

vision.

No. 5, Draw a crowd internally. Identify key players, communicators, stakeholders and supporters

within your organization who will motivate others to buy into the vision.

No. 6, Go outside the company. Communicate to customers, partners and vendors with advertising

and public relations campaigns, catalogs, and announcements.

No. 7, Make memories. Create metaphors, figures of speech and slogans — and find creative ways to

use them. Write a theme song or a memorable motto.

No. 8, Guide the expedition. Use visual aids and updates to keep everyone aware of the progress you

are making toward your vision. Create a vision GPS, but don’t just give out maps. Travel alongside,

stay out in front, offer directions and point out guideposts.

No. 9, Back up what you’re talking about. Bolster what you’re saying with your behavior. If people

see one thing and hear another, your credibility is shot and your vision is dead.

But if you’re not part of your organization’s senior leadership team, the broad organizational vision

probably didn’t come from you. Part of your job is to understand and communicate the vision in a way

that is relevant to you and your group. Be able to answer these key questions:

• What exactly is the company’s vision?

• How do I connect to my organization’s vision, and what is my role in achieving that vision?

• How do I show my passion and enthusiasm for the vision and the organization? and…

• Are there any obstacles in my way to prevent me from communicating this vision? If so, how

can I surmount those obstacles?

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6 Principles for Communicating A Powerful Vision for Change A great vision for change is only as good as how and when its communicated. As a Navy SEAL, effective

communication was tantamount to success in chaotic environments. Similarly, when you're faced with

the inevitable adaptive challenges an organization encounters throughout its lifecycle,

communication can either be the catalyst for success or the most damning piece of the puzzle.

Creating, defining and communicating the vision for organizational transformation is a tricky process

and requires considerable time and resources to get right. Getting it wrong will doom a change effort

to failure, almost every time.

The first step when heading into the murky waters of change is to build a powerful guiding coalition,

or transformation task force if you will. This team must include senior leaders, key managers, and

additional team members who are among the most well respected in the company and known for

embracing change.

Regardless of the team members involved, no successful, lasting organizational change has been

accomplished without an impactful, concise, and feasible vision. The transformation task force must

participate in developing this vision statement for change, buy into the outcome, and be able to

articulate it in many ways to others within the organization.

For example, let's say an IT services company has a new transformation goal of reducing costs while

also improving customer and employee retention by a significant margin in the next two years. Not an

easy task, especially when doing such things in tandem. But most great organizational change visions

are both lofty and feasible. They can't be too far from reach for anyone to believe in, but also not so

mundane that nobody gets excited about the outcome.

There are six core principles that organizations, senior leaders and those involved in the

transformation task force must embrace throughout the process.

1. Simplicity

The change vision must come in many forms, and you must be able to communicate it in both short

and long form. If you can't articulate a powerful vision in five minutes or less, in which the listener

understands and can envision the outcome, you need to go back to the drawing board.

I have seen this go sideways when a leadership team invests many hours in developing a great vision

that will align with a solid plan of attack, but then they assume they can communicate this vision in

five or 10 minutes at the company meeting. If it takes a long time to develop the change vision, it will

also take a long time to communicate it until it sinks in. Keep it simple, and plan to over communicate.

2. Authenticity

Authenticity starts with a leadership team having a good track record and a culture based on trust and

accountability. Without these foundational elements, there will be a longer road ahead. No leadership

team or company is perfect, so if the track record is a bit muddled, that's fine.

A powerful vision followed by immediate action, behaviors consistent with the new vision, and follow-

through are a great way to rebuild trust. Authenticity is also established when the vision aligns with

the company culture and values, even if part of that vision is to improve the culture.

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3. Multichannels

As I touched on before, the communication of the change vision must be done early, often, and

through every means possible. But be careful. Over-communicating a poor or misaligned vision

through many channels would be detrimental. First, spend the time getting it right, and collect

feedback so you have as many considerations as possible.

Great channels to use are the company newsletter, an intranet, company-wide meetings, posters in

the break room, one-on-one meetings, and just good old-fashioned casual conversation. Senior

leaders, managers and members of the transformation task force should find three or four

opportunities a day during conversations and meetings to weave stories and examples of how the

vision is being—and can be—implemented.

4. Repetition

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Use the channels and every opportunity to distill and communicate important

information on progress throughout the process, especially if strategies are being tweaked along the

way.

I've found that being overly repetitious, although it can feel like you're being annoying, is the only way

to make a transformation vision sink in. When repeated regularly and supported by targeted

storytelling and public recognition for early adopters, a well-intentioned vision has a much greater

propensity for being implemented successfully and at a faster pace. And you're likely to have the

support and assistance of more people. Maybe even everyone.

5. Consistent behavior

I can't stress this enough and it absolutely has to start at the top. Let's go back to the example of the

IT services company. Its vision is to reduce costs and improve customer and employee retention, a

tricky task because improving customer and employee retention can often require hard cost

investments.

Reducing costs can't just involve layoffs and cutting resources--that can quickly lead to an increase in

customer turnover, not a reduction. That said, sometimes that is just the reality. Cost cutting must be

considered at all levels. If the senior executives are still lounging in opulence, flying in private jets and

taking the board of directors on lavish golf getaways, nobody will continue to believe in the vision.

And that's just one example. Behaviors, especially of those at the top, must embody the new vision

on and off the battlefield.

6. Feedback

As previously mentioned, feedback should be gathered while developing the new change vision. But

it also must be collected throughout the process, especially from the front-line troops. Communication

must be encouraged, top down and bottom up.

"How do you think we are doing with the implementation of the new vision?"

"Do the quick wins we have established resonate with you?"

"From your perspective, are we still on the right path? If not, what adjustments should be made?"

Effective communication is an important element of any high-performance team or healthy

relationship. Keep it simple, believable, and authentic, and use many channels. Make sure behaviors

match the vision, and get feedback along the way!

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Gaining followers through values

Building trust authentic leadership Sooner or later every leader realizes that 99% of the people he depends on for success don’t report to

him. Authentic leadership relies on persuasion and persuasion relies on trust. Trust is the most

important asset that any organization, brand, product, leader, or individual can have. Most

importantly, trust is not a scarce resource. We can all have more than we need. However, trust is

fragile: Once squandered it is often impossible to regain. Here are 8 ways to guarantee that you, your

product, your brand, and your company will always be trusted.

Several months after taking a new job as head of sales and marketing for a software company, the

head of another department came into my office and said, “I think you have a commitment

problem.” She said she had given me several suggestions yet there was no evidence that I was acting

on any of them.

“I do have a commitment problem,” I replied. “I am fanatical about keeping them.” I told her that I

never commit to more than ten things at a time, and showed her a document containing her

suggestions as well as my ten top priorities. I said that if she could make a case for replacing one of

my priorities with one of hers I would gladly listen. She ended up agreeing with my priorities, and this

rocky start actually led to a deep personal friendship and the most trusting and productive relationship

of my entire career.

Love may make the world go round, but even love depends on trust. Trust between the United States

and Canada produced the longest unguarded border in the history of mankind saving untold billions

in defense expenditures and economic friction. I was in Russia recently and a woman summed up

Russia’s tragic and enduring problems with, “There is no trust in Russia.” We accept bits of valueless

paper called currency in exchange for goods and services because we trust others to do the same, and

I wouldn’t dare climb into my car if I didn’t trust you to obey traffic laws. Without trust the world

quickly descends into William James’ “Bloomin’, buzzin’, confusion.”

The first secret to trust is keeping promises. Trust depends on promise and fulfillment or what lawyers

call contracts. Few realize that corporate profit and loss statements consist of promises not

money. There is no cash or “real money” on the P&L; instead the meat is accounts receivable and

accounts payable which are merely promises to pay for goods and services already rendered or

received. In my own company we considered keeping promises so mission critical that we

implemented formal internal and external processes for making, tracking, and fulfilling promises. For

example, despite being a perpetually cash starved startup we paid our vendors on time simply because

this is what we had promised to do even if it meant I didn’t get a pay check.

To build trust we also must be willing to make promises and this is the second step. One of the most

difficult management challenges I ever encountered was getting others to use goal language. We often

assume that if we don’t make promises we will never have to worry about breaking them. So we hide

behind “I’ll try” rather than “I’ll do” in an attempt to side step accountability through ambiguity,

equivalence, obfuscation, or even downright double talk. Unfortunately this stratagem merely signals

a person who can’t trust himself, and someone who can’t trust himself is never trusted by others. We

all want solid commitments from others and this means we must be willing to offer accountability

ourselves.

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The third secret to establishing trust is to under commit and over deliver. Over promising is the flip

side to under promising and just as damaging. Negotiating up front is far more effective in creating

and maintaining trust than the inevitable excuses that arise when a promise is not fulfilled. We

overcommit because we want others to like us, but the best way to ruin a relationship is by not

following through on our promises.

The fourth secret to trust is proactive communication. I recently read an article in the Wall

Street Journal (don’t ask why!) evaluating various firms that clean and preserve bridal dresses. An

expensive process that takes months, one firm dazzled the article’s author by sending weekly progress

reports. As fallible human beings we will never keep all our promises, but no matter how compelling

our excuses may be for failing to deliver on time and on budget there is no excuse for not giving others

a heads up. Keeping everyone in the loop is not just common courtesy it is essential. If the news is

good people can relax, and if the news is bad there is plenty of time to go to plan B. In the story I

related above, my mistake was in not communicating therefore forcing my colleague to confront me

in the first place about her suggestion.

The fifth secret is don’t cut corners. We are far better off doing a few critical things to the nth degree

than a lot of things with a “good enough” attitude. Cutting corners assumes that no one will notice,

and this adds insult to injury because it implicitly treats others as if they were too damn stupid to

notice.

The sixth key to trust is never hide mistakes. Inevitably some of our mistakes will be discovered and

when they are any rational observer will assume that where there is one there are others yet to be

discovered. Autonomy or being our own boss is what turns work into fun, and hiding mistakes is the

quickest way to trade hands off autonomy for a hands on boss or regulatory agency anxiously

monitoring our every move. Also beware of excuses; a simple apology is far more effective in

maintaining trust than a box car full of trumped up excuses and finger pointing.

The seventh trust building secret is purifying motivations. Putting our own agenda first always dooms

trust. Others rapidly see through the smoke screen, and from then on every move we make is

screened for ulterior motivations real or imagined. Conversely, team players who put the interests of

others ahead of their own accrue the incredible power that only trust can bestow.

The final secret to trust is never make people ask. When you repay a debt or fulfill an obligation

without being reminded you get ten times the trust building credit that you would otherwise. Nobody

likes hounding a company or an individual to fulfill a promise, and when you add this emotional cost

it is always subtracted from your treasury of trust. For example, when your friends must remind you

to pick up the check once in a while you end up picking up more than your share of the checks while

getting little or no credit for the gesture. When I forced my colleague to come to me about her

suggestions I was guilty of violating this simple rule which put me on the defensive.

Louis R. Mobley my mentor and the founder of the IBM Executive School said that what makes

business possible is trust. In our own company, for example, our commitment to building trust meant

going from a tiny start up to eventual acquisition without ever suing or being sued while collecting

over 99% of our receivables without ever running a credit check. A society, company, brand, product

or individual can never have too much trust, and if you follow the simple steps outlined above I

guarantee you will always have all the trust you need to be successful.

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Ethical leadership Ethical leadership is leadership that is directed by respect for ethical beliefs and values and for the

dignity and rights of others. It is thus related to concepts such as trust, honesty, consideration,

charisma and fairness.

Ethics is concerned with the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society finds desirable or

appropriate. Furthermore, ethics is concerned with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives.

A leader's choices are also influenced by his moral development.

Here are 10 ethical leadership characteristics:

1. Justice

An ethical leader is always fair and just. They have no favorites, and treat everyone equally. Under an

ethical leader, no employee has any reason to fear biased treatment on the basis of gender, ethnicity,

nationality, or any other factor.

2. Respect others

One of the most important traits of ethical leadership is the respect that is given to followers. An

ethical leader shows respect all members of the team by listening to them attentively, valuing their

contributions, being compassionate, and being generous while considering opposing viewpoints.

3. Honesty

It goes without saying that anyone who is ethical will also be honest and loyal. Honesty is particularly

important to be an effective ethical leader, because followers trust honest and dependable leaders.

Ethical leaders convey facts transparently, no matter how unpopular they may be.

4. Humane

Being humane is one of the most revealing traits of a leader who is ethical and moral. Ethical leaders

place importance in being kind, and act in a manner that is always beneficial to the team.

5. Focus on teambuilding

Ethical leaders foster a sense of community and team spirit within the organization. When an ethical

leader strives to achieve goals, it is not just personal goals that they’re concerned about. They make

genuine efforts to achieve goals that benefit the entire organization – not just themselves.

6. Value driven decision-making

In ethical leadership, all decisions are first checked to ensure that they are in accordance with the

overall organizational values. Only those decisions that meet this criterion are implemented.

7. Encourages initiative

Under an ethical leader, employees thrive and flourish. Employees are rewarded for coming up with

innovative ideas, and are encouraged to do what it takes to improve the way things are done.

Employees are praised for taking the first step rather than waiting for somebody else to do it for them.

8. Leadership by example

Ethical leadership is not just about talking the talk, this type of leader also walks the walk. The high

expectations that an ethical leader has of employees are also applicable on the individual level.

Leaders expect others to do the right thing by leading from example.

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9. Values awareness

An ethical leader will regularly discuss the high values and expectations that they place on themselves,

other employees, and the organization. By regularly communicating and discussing values, they

ensure that there is consistent understanding across the organization.

10. No tolerance for ethical violations

An ethical leader expects employees to do the right thing at all times, not just when it is convenient

for them. Don’t expect a leader of such high values to overlook or tolerate ethical violations.

How To Be An Ethical Leader We can’t really discuss ethical leadership without looking first at ethical behavior. Ethical behavior, in

its simplest form, is knowing and doing what is right. The key to having an ethically-run company is

employing morally upstanding leaders.

In her book, Seven Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership (2013),

author Linda Thornton says that getting employees to act ethically in the workplace starts at the top.

In fact, managers should realize that their actions have a trickle-down effect within the company;

employees will likely follow the lead and model their actions.

With the awareness about the importance of business ethics, Bayt.com embarked on a research

journey into ethical leadership in the Middle East, which we did in collaboration with Canadian

University Dubai (CUD). The poll showed that the building blocks for a more sustainable form of

leadership in the region indeed exists.

Many define business ethics as being socially responsible

We often hear about the negative impact of making ethical mistakes in business. We hear about

fines, boycotts, and very embarrassing scandals that make us doubt the very integrity of

organizations we admire.

What we don’t hear often about are the benefits of ethics, and how ethical leadership can have a

positive ripple on business- especially when it’s programmed into an organization’s corporate

culture. These days, it’s more important than ever before to program ethical leadership by having set

ethical guidelines and procedures. Leaders who understand this are more likely to attract top

employees and clients. When they set the right example for other employees, they help create an

environment that encourages good corporate citizenship, and that motivates employees to perform

better and more innovatively.

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Image credit: Bayt.com

The majority agree that everyone is responsible for being ethical

37% of respondents in the Bayt.com poll on ethical leadership in the Middle East view business ethics

not just as being legally compliant, but also engaging in socially-responsible activities. 65% see ethics

are the responsibility of everyone in the organization.

In your effort to promote ethical behavior throughout the organization, try to develop a transparent

work culture to both your employees and stakeholders. Make sure that company information is

always available to those who need it, and demonstrate transparency in your decision making process.

Employees are much more likely to reciprocate when managers exhibit trustworthy behavior.

Image credit: Bayt.com

Leaders are setting positive examples

Ethical leaders are those who display reflect a good image of the business, and in turn, attract and

retain the best talents. Good news is, 75% of professionals in the Middle East affirm that their

managers often set an example of how to do things ethically, as revealed in the Ethical Leadership in

the Middle East poll of January 2016.

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Image credit: Bayt.com

Leaders are listening to their employees

Develop an honest work environment where employees can report unethical behavior without fear

of punishment. No one wants to be considered a snitch, so gain confidence and trust by providing a

private space to discuss any concerns anonymously. Investigate the claims fully, before jumping to

conclusions, while maintaining the anonymity of your employee. Then discipline or reprimand, if

necessary, in order to establish that some actions are not accepted, and will not be tolerated. 72% of

professional respondents in the same poll (ethical leadership in the Middle East) say that their

managers discipline or reprimand employees who violate ethical standards.

Image credit: Bayt.com

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Leaders are talking about ethics

According to our poll on diversity of thought in the Middle East, released in October 2015, 88% of

professionals in the region are comfortable sharing their views at work, even if it goes against the

majority. Today we see more and more leaders who are encouraging their employees to communicate

freely and openly and not restricting their thought process and ideas. By doing so, a leader would not

only be promoting an environment of honest and open communication, but also showing staff trust

and respect. At Bayt.com, for example, we offer an online platform, Sawtna, where employees can

voice their concerns. We also conduct town hall meetings across our offices so employees can interact

with management and give their feedback on issues that affect them.

Recommendations: How managers can program ethics into their leadership style

We can’t talk about ethical leadership without providing a guideline to managers who want to

program ethics into their corporate culture and leadership style. Here are seven ways managers in the

Middle East can promote ethical behavior:

1. Don’t think about ethics as just following laws and regulations. Leaders need to take action and

show consumers and other stakeholders that they are actively engaged with ethical issues that matter.

Recognize how ethics influences consumers' reasons to buy from you, and demonstrate a

commitment to go beyond mere compliance with laws and regulations. They must prove that they are

committed to ethical issues, including human rights, social justice and sustainability.

2. Care about people before profits. Realize that the triple bottom line of people, planet and profits

is not only about prioritizing people over profits, but also thinking about how your company affects

the planet and adopting environmentally-friendly ways of doing business.

3. Ethical behavior is reciprocal. Employees are more likely to reciprocate when their managers

exhibit trustworthy behavior, so it is important to demonstrate fairness and transparency in all your

decisions.

4. Democratize decision making. Asking for feedback and suggestions from your staff will show trust

and respect for their opinions.

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5. Share and delegate. Sharing information with and delegating tasks to your team will empower and

motivate them, yielding tremendous dividends in their creativity.

6. Communicate. Being an ethical manager is about clearly communicating what is acceptable

behavior, and what is not, and ensuring your employees understand that you have an open door policy

to discuss any situation where an ethical decision is needed. Prevention is better than cure.

7. Have a clear code of conduct. Codes of conducts are required to help employees discern the

different shades of grey in the ethical continuum. It is essential that training and explicit discussions

about ethical issues are conducted regularly. Include ethical behavior in performance metrics and

employee reviews, and set the right cultural tone right from the start.