THE WOMEN GET BACK

KA2 CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT IN THE FIELD OF

YOUTH

MODULE 5: Leadership, Decision Making and Team Working Project Title “The women get back”

Project Acronym WGB

Project Reference №: №: 589785-EPP- 1-2017- 1-PT- EPPKA2-CBY- ACPALA

This project has been funded with support from the

European Commission. This publication reflects the

views only of the author, and the Commission

cannot be held responsible for any use which may

be made of the information contained therein.

Table of contents: Module 5

Contents I. Leadership .................................................................................................................... 2

1. Creating an Inspiring Vision of the Future .......................................................................... 3

2. Motivating and Inspiring People......................................................................................... 4

3. Managing Delivery of the Vision ........................................................................................ 4

4. Coaching and Building a Team to Achieve the Vision ........................................................ 5

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ........................................................................................ 6

II. Decision Making ........................................................................................................... 8

Challenges Women Leaders Face and How to Overcome Them ................................ 8

Success Tips .............................................................................................................. 10

III. Team working ........................................................................................................... 11

Best ideas come from work teams mixing men and women ...................................... 11

IV. Effective Team Working .......................................................................................... 12

V. Important tools .......................................................................................................... 14 1) Strategic Thinking ........................................................................................................... 14

2) Decision Making Skills .................................................................................................... 14

3) Conflict Resolution Skills ................................................................................................. 14

4) Team Building Activities .................................................................................................. 14

5) Delegation Skills ............................................................................................................. 16

6) Mentorship Programs ...................................................................................................... 16

7) Innovation ....................................................................................................................... 15

VI. IT Tools ..................................................................................................................... 17

VII. References............................................................................................................... 18

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Module 5: Leadership, decision making and team working

Course Description

This module aims to bring women powerful tools and understanding on

leadership, how to be better leaders and to position themselves in such

responsibilities. There are several scientific factors and social ‘norms’ to consider,

analyze and work to fight against inequality in this field. Fighting these inequalities

and injustices in the workplace and society in general brings better opportunities

for women and society in general. As we’ll prove in this module the inclusion of

women in positions of leaders and decision making brings out better outputs and

results for the company. This cooperation between men and women is essential

for success and so it’s important to also discuss the aspects of team working and

how to master them.

Learning Objectives: As a result of engaging with the material in this module,

women are intended to achieve the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge: understand the aspects and what it means to be a successful

leader, tools to manage human resources and project strategies;

Skills: personal development, build confidence and self-esteem, social

empowerment

Competences: manage tasks and attribute responsibilities, plan and develop

strategies, conflict and problem solving, leadership

Structure:

The module is divided into three main topics:

Leadership

Decision making

Team working

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I. Leadership

What comes to mind when we think of leadership:

A political leader, pursuing a passionate, personal cause. An explorer, cutting a path through the jungle for the rest of his group to follow. An executive, developing her company's strategy to beat the competition.

Leaders help themselves and others to do the right things. They set direction with an inspiring vision and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to have success as a team or an organization; Most of the times a leader is dynamic, exciting, and inspiring.

Yet, while leaders set the direction, they must also use management skills to guide their people to the right destination, in a smooth and efficient way.

The next chapters will highlight visionary thinking and bringing the main aspects about change, instead of management processes that are designed to maintain and steadily improve current performance.

“Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.”

- Professor Warren G. Bennis Leadership means different things to different people around the world, and different things in different situations. For example, it could relate to community leadership, religious leadership, political leadership, and leadership of campaigning groups. We will discuss the model of individual leadership, and discusses leadership in the workplace rather than in other areas.

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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An effective leader is a person who:

1. Creates an inspiring vision of the future. 2. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision. 3. Manages delivery of the vision. 4. Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision.

Leadership brings together the skills needed to do these things. Bellow we’ll look at each element in more detail.

1. Creating an Inspiring Vision of the Future

In business, a vision is a realistic, convincing and attractive depiction of where you want to be in the future. Vision provides direction, sets priorities, and provides a marker, so that you can tell that you've achieved what you wanted to achieve.

To create a vision, leaders focus on an organization's strengths by using tools such as:

Porter's Five Forces

PEST Analysis

USP Analysis

Core Competence Analysis

SWOT Analysis

Tools like theese help to analyze their current situation and how their industry is likely to evolve, and how their competitors are likely to behave. They look at how they can innovate successfully, and shape their businesses and their strategies to succeed in future marketplaces. And they test their visions with appropriate market research, and by assessing key risks using techniques such as Scenario Analysis.

Therefore, leadership is proactive: problem solving, looking ahead, and not being satisfied with things as they are.

Creating an Inspiring Vision of the Future

Motivating and Inspiring People

Managing Delivery of the

Vision

Coaching and Building a Team to Achieve the

Vision

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Once they have developed their visions, leaders must make them compelling and convincing. A compelling vision is one that people can see, feel, understand, and embrace. Effective leaders provide a rich picture of what the future will look like when their visions have been realized. They tell inspiring stories, and explain their visions in ways that everyone can relate to.

Leadership combines the analytical side of vision creation with the passion of shared values, creating something that's really meaningful to the people being led.

2. Motivating and Inspiring People

A compelling vision provides the foundation for leadership. But it's leaders' ability to motivate and inspire people that helps them deliver that vision.

For example, when you start a new project, you will probably have lots of enthusiasm for it, so it's often easy to win support for it at the beginning. However, it can be difficult to find ways to keep your vision inspiring after the initial enthusiasm fades, especially if the team or organization needs to make significant changes in the way that it does things. Leaders recognize this, and they work hard throughout the project to connect their vision with people's individual needs, goals and aspirations.

Effective leaders link together two different expectations:

The expectation that hard work leads to good results.

The expectation that good results lead to attractive rewards or incentives.

This motivates people to work hard to achieve success, because they expect to enjoy rewards both intrinsic and extrinsic as a result.

People admire and believe in leaders that are expert in what they do. They have credibility, and they've earned the right to ask people to listen to them and follow them. This makes it much easier for these leaders to motivate and inspire the people they lead.

Leaders can also motivate and influence people through their natural charisma and appeal, and through other sources of power, such as the power to pay bonuses or assign tasks to people.

3. Managing Delivery of the Vision

Leadership requires a vast set of skills and tools on management.

Leaders must ensure that the work needed to deliver the vision is properly managed – either by themselves, or by a dedicated manager or team of managers to whom the leader delegates this responsibility and they need to ensure that their vision is delivered successfully.

Team members need performance goals that are linked to the team's overall vision. For this the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) helps in the project management to keep track

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of the overall progress. For day-to-day management of delivering the vision, the Management by Wandering Around (MBWA) approach helps to ensure that what should happen, really happens.

Leaders also need to make sure they manage change effectively. This helps to ensure that the changes needed to deliver the vision are implemented smoothly and thoroughly, with the support and backing of the people affected.

4. Coaching and Building a Team to Achieve the Vision

Individual and team development are important activities carried out by leaders. A leader will then ensure that team members have the necessary skills and abilities to do their job and achieve the vision. They do this by giving and receiving feedback regularly, and by training and coaching people to improve individual and team performance.

Leadership also includes looking for leadership potential in others. By developing leadership skills within your team, you create an environment where you can continue success in the long term.

The words "leader" and "leadership" are often used incorrectly to describe people who are actually managing. These individuals may be highly skilled, good at their jobs, and valuable to their organizations but that just makes them good managers, not necessarily leaders.

Figure 1 - Graphic depicting differences between Manager and Leader [1]

So we should pay attention to how we use the terms, and don't assume that people with "leader" in their job titles, people who describe themselves as "leaders," or even groups called "leadership teams" are actually creating and delivering transformational change.

A particular danger in these situations is that people or organizations that are being managed by such an individual or group think they're being led but they're not. There

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may actually be no leadership at all, with no one setting a vision and no one being inspired. This can cause serious problems in the long term.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

This model is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up.

Figure 2 - Maslow Pyramid of Needs [2]

Physiological needs - these are biological requirements for human survival, e.g. air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep.

If these needs are not satisfied the human body cannot function optimally. Maslow considered physiological needs the most important as all the other needs become secondary until these needs are met.

Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.

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Love and belongingness needs - after physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, the third level of human needs is social and involves feelings of belongingness. The need for interpersonal relationships motivates behavior.

Examples include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).

Esteem needs - which Maslow classified into two categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige).

Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most important for children and adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or dignity.

Self-actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. A desire “to become everything one is capable of becoming”(Maslow, 1987, p. 64).

If we deny women the opportunity to fulfill their economic potential – which essentially means that we exclude half the world’s population – the global economy will continue to suffer.

Figure 3 - Statistics showing the difference between male and female funding

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II. Decision Making

Challenges Women Leaders Face and How to Overcome Them

While the world is evolving, women are still lagging behind when it comes to leadership roles in business. Today, only 26 women are in CEO roles at Fortune 500 companies, making up 5.2% of the female population, according to a report by Pew Research. The stats stay virtually the same for women CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies at 5.4%, showing that there is little movement of women making up these high-ranking positions as company leaders.

With women still pushing to reach the top, they are faced with a range of challenges that many of their male CEO counterparts don’t have an understanding of. It is these issues that are preventing many women from achieving their goal of becoming a leader at their company and diminishing their ability to get ahead in business.

Being Treated Equally: One of the biggest challenges my female clients are currently facing is equality in the workplace. Speaking up, and be heard.

Being Confident: Confidence is key. Get comfortable knowing that people will always try to take you off of "your game" or dislike you for no apparent reason. Knowing this, you are clear on your purpose and on what you are trying to achieve, then you will be successful in getting what you want.

Figure 4 - Cycle showing steps of confidence building

Building A Sisterhood: Garnering support from other women. Women worldwide should support and empower each other, starting with our basic principles of their morals, values, integrity.

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Generating Revenue: Focus on what generates revenue wherever you are. After all, if you don't have revenue, you don't have a business. That gives you freedom and choices.

Speaking Up: It's not enough to be in a role or to sit at the table. One must also speak confidently, regardless of the difficulty.

Building Alliances With Decision-Makers: Build healthy relationships with advocates, create a strong personal brand, establish guidelines before each project, position themselves as experts in their field, and communicate with confidence

Asking For Money: Getting confident in your skills so you price properly and gain respect.

Standing In Success: Confidence to know that if you’re in the room, that means you deserve to be there. Shrinking does nothing but delay your voice from being heard and taken seriously.

Overcoming Perfectionism: Avoid getting paralyzed by perfectionist tendencies.

Shifting Word Choice: Professional women can resolve this issues, conflicts and own the respected leader role by shifting from judgmental to neutral words.

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Success Tips

List of five learned skills around becoming a more effective leader. It's insightful and backs up the research on the ways women bring innovative leadership styles to the top and the financial results to prove it. It takes real practice to bring these skills to the workplace every day.

Actively Listen. We all like to talk, but the best leaders are the ones who listen. Women seem to be better at this. That doesn’t mean you can never voice your opinion, but if you’re able to genuinely understand the perspectives of others, you’ll be able to work with your team more effectively.

Maintain an Inner Calm. If you have an inner calm and peace about who you are and what you are capable of, you are able to lead without your ego taking over. Don't let emotions get in the way of decision making.

Set Regular Meetings & Stick to Them. By meeting with your entire team, as often as daily, but no less than weekly, you have the opportunity to speak openly and freely about what you each would like to work on, as well as discuss bigger topics when they arise, including what’s going on within the organization and how to continue moving forward.

Creativity. Creativity means having lots of ideas, but innovation requires implementing the good ones. An innovative leader not only has or enables her team to have lots of ideas, but also has the faith of her team so that they will implement those ideas quickly.

Not Being Afraid to Change Course When Warranted. An innovative leader recognizes when an idea isn’t as good as she thought. Commitment to a course of action is important, but not if it’s not a good course. Innovative leaders are not afraid to change course when warranted.

Have confidence, take risks, and foster relationships. It’s important to have confidence in your ability, so speak up when you have an idea and make your voice heard.

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III. Team working

Best ideas come from work teams mixing men and women

Study analysis: Teams of workers come up with the most innovative ideas if they are made up of even proportions of men and women, according to researchers. A study published yesterday by the London Business School found that professional teams with an equal gender split were much more likely to experiment, share knowledge and fulfil tasks, regardless of whether the team leader was a man or a woman.

An even mix allowed "a psychological safe communication climate" and self-confidence among members, which in turn provided fertile ground for innovation, says the report from the school's Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business.

More than 100 teams of "knowledge workers" at 21 companies across 17 countries were surveyed. The report concludes that teams work best with an even mix because individuals tend to contribute less fully and confidently if they are in a minority. This applies to men as much as women, according to Lynda Gratton, professor at the centre and lead author of the study. She said: "It is not about gender, it is about minorities. Our data shows that whenever anybody is in a minority they suffer, and as a consequence the team suffers."

However, the research also found that gender differences could have an influence on team performance because male and female workers may have very different lives outside work. What the report calls "spillover" from home influences an individual's performance, which in turn affects their team, says the study. Team members generally experience "positive spillover" in which positive feelings about home life also enrich their work.

But men in particular find stress at home carrying into work and vice versa. Professor Gratton said: "Team leaders who are women have already often made the decision to make their home life easier by having one child early, or not having children at all. Men have not made that choice and it is men who are trying to have it all - work and home - and they can't because they suffer.

"This idea that women think they can have it all is nonsense - they know exactly what sacrifices they have to make."

Women team leaders are also six times more likely to carry the domestic burden than their male peers, according to the research. The study recommends that organisations should "encourage shared domestic labour" by reinforcing family friendly policies and should "actively manage spillover" by reducing the pressure on workers to work long hours.

Meanwhile, a report from the Chartered Management Institute, which represents 73,000 managers, found 54% of the 1,175 senior managers and directors surveyed "often find it hard to get home on time and only one in 10 strongly agree they can relax in their spare time".

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IV. Effective Team Working

The first rule of team building is an obvious one: to lead a team effectively, you must first establish your leadership with each team member. Remember that the most effective team leaders build their relationships of trust and loyalty, rather than fear or the power of their positions.

Consider each employee's ideas as valuable. Remember that there is no such thing as a stupid idea.

Be aware of employees' unspoken feelings. Set an example to team members by being open with employees and sensitive to their moods and feelings.

Act as a harmonizing influence. Look for chances to mediate and resolve minor disputes; point continually toward the team's higher goals.

Be clear when communicating. Be careful to clarify directives. Encourage trust and cooperation among employees on your team.

Remember that the relationships team members establish among themselves are every bit as important as those you establish with them. As the team begins to take shape, pay close attention to the ways in which team members work together and take steps to improve communication, cooperation, trust, and respect in those relationships.

Figure 5 - Core elements of effective team working

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Encourage team members to share information. Emphasize the importance of each team member's contribution and demonstrate how all of their jobs operate together to move the entire team closer to its goal.

Delegate problem-solving tasks to the team. Let the team work on creative solutions together.

Facilitate communication. Remember that communication is the single most important factor in successful teamwork. Facilitating communication does not mean holding meetings all the time. Instead it means setting an example by remaining open to suggestions and concerns, by asking questions and offering help, and by doing everything you can to avoid confusion in your own communication.

Establish team values and goals; evaluate team performance. Be sure to talk with members about the progress they are making toward established goals so that employees get a sense both of their success and of the challenges that lie ahead. Address teamwork in performance standards. Discuss with your team:

o What do we really care about in performing our job? o What does the word success mean to this team? o What actions can we take to live up to our stated values?

Make sure that you have a clear idea of what you need to accomplish; that you know what your standards for success are going to be; that you have established clear time frames; and that team members understand their responsibilities.

Use consensus. Set objectives, solve problems, and plan for action. While it takes much longer to establish consensus, this method ultimately provides better decisions and greater productivity because it secures every employee's commitment to all phases of the work.

Set ground rules for the team. These are the norms that you and the team establish to ensure efficiency and success. They can be simple directives (Team members are to be punctual for meetings) or general guidelines (Every team member has the right to offer ideas and suggestions), but you should make sure that the team creates these ground rules by consensus and commits to them, both as a group and as individuals.

Establish a method for arriving at a consensus. You may want to conduct open debate about the pros and cons of proposals, or establish research committees to investigate issues and deliver reports.

Encourage listening and brainstorming. As supervisor, your first priority in creating consensus is to stimulate debate. Remember that employees are often afraid to disagree with one another and that this fear can lead your team to make mediocre decisions. When you encourage debate you inspire creativity and that's how you'll spur your team on to better results.

Establish the parameters of consensus-building sessions. Be sensitive to the frustration that can mount when the team is not achieving consensus. At the outset of your meeting, establish time limits, and work with the team to achieve consensus within those parameters. Watch out for false consensus; if an agreement is struck too quickly, be careful to probe individual team members to discover their real feelings about the proposed solution.

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V. Important tools

A leader may have great intentions, but may not have the skills and tools they need to anticipate and manage challenges or realize successful outcomes. Having the right tools in your leadership toolbox allows you to accomplish your goals. We’ve compiled a list of 8 skills and tools every leader should have in their toolbox to effectively handle any situation that may arise.

1) Strategic Thinking

Chess players know that, in order to win, they must outsmart their opponent by thinking several moves ahead. A chess player has to see where they want to move and anticipate where they’re opponent is going to move well in advance of taking action. This ability to think strategically is a skill that business leaders need to have as well.

By thinking strategically, you can effectively plan ahead and identify how you will respond to a variety of situations including movements in your team, rising concerns, opportunities for advancement, or new competitors entering the market. While every leader is different, there are some must-have skills for strategic leaders.

2) Decision Making Skills

We make decisions every day. Situations that require a decision, both big and small, can seem to creep up on us or can come at us, fast and furious. Sometimes, the decision is small and has no major impact on our daily lives. Other decisions are major and will not only impact our lives but the lives of our employees as well. Experts suggest that utilizing some simple apps could help improve your decision making skills. Apps like Lumosity or Fit Brains Trainer are like a gym for your brain. These exercises allow you to work your mental muscles and keep your mind sharp. You may also consider adding other physical activities like dancing and getting a good night’s sleep to improve this important skill.

3) Conflict Resolution Skills

Conflict is a natural part of any relationship, working or personal. Resolving conflict is a learned skill and one that can be taught, developed, and refined. A study by Purdue University found that students who have hands-on learning experiences gain a deeper understanding of the concepts that are being taught. Attending a conflict resolution workshop can provide you with the experience in a controlled environment so that you can better handle difficult and uncomfortable situations, and work towards a positive resolution.

4) Team Building Activities

Seventy-five percent of employees rate teamwork and collaboration as very important. Yet, 86 percent of employees and executives blamed a lack of collaboration or ineffective communication as the reason for workplace failings. A good leader recognizes that they are only as good as the people that surround them. Instituting teambuilding activities allows teams time to bond together as well as provides an opportunity for them to decompress from their jobs for a few minutes.

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5) Innovation

“If you’re not evolving, you’re dying” – Marcus Lemonis

That statement holds truer today than ever before. The ability to lead innovation and create change is what allows a company to thrive. Apple is known for its innovation and it has changed the world because of its consistent drive toward making new, improved, and unique products.

Often times, people believe innovation happens when you are just sitting around waiting for inspiration to hit you and then taking action. In reality, innovation is a process of brainstorming, collaboration, and trial and error. Much like conflict resolution, you can refine and learn the skills to be innovative. It’s a conscious decision that requires discipline and dedication to master.

Source: https://innovationandmnes.weebly.com/innovationglobal-innovation.html

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6) Delegation Skills

One of the key tools a leader can use to increase efficiency and develop others is delegation. Delegating your responsibilities doesn’t just benefit you by allowing you to complete other, critical tasks, it also allows your team to grow. When you delegate responsibly, you have more time to focus elsewhere and your team has the opportunity to learn new skills and take on new responsibilities. It also allows you to see how different team members respond when faced with a new task.

7) Mentorship Programs

Have you ever been faced with a new project and you went to Google or YouTube to learn how to do it? Don’t you wish you had that direct of a resource for solving business problems? Many organizations recognize this need and have implemented mentorship programs to support new or rising employees. A mentorship program can help identify and groom high-potentials for management positions. It also provides employees with a sounding board for problem-solving, instantly gives them a friendly face around the office, and has been shown to increase job performance.

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VI. IT Tools Microsoft Project is a project management software product, developed and sold by Microsoft. It is designed to assist a project manager in developing a plan, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing the budget, and analyzing workloads. Dropbox is a file hosting service that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. Microsoft Visio (formerly Microsoft Office Visio) is a diagramming and vector graphics application that allows the users to create advanced diagrams and layouts, as well as capabilities intended to make it easy for users to connect their diagrams to data sources and to display their data graphically.

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VII. References

Difference between management and leadership [1] https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_difference_between_management_and_leadership

Maslow Pyramid [2] https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Venture Funding statistics [3] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/why-do-we-still-make-it-so-hard-to-be-a-female-entrepreneur/

Confidence Cycle [4] https://michaelhyatt.com/gain-more-confidence/

Core elements of team working [5] https://www.smartsheet.com/team-working

Innovation [6] https://innovationandmnes.weebly.com/innovationglobal-innovation.html

What is Leadership? https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_41.htm

Biggest Challenges Women Leaders Face and How to Overcome Them. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/02/26/15-biggest-challenges-women-leaders-face-and-how-to-overcome-them/#

Female Leadership Is On the Rise https://www.forbes.com/sites/njgoldston/2018/06/19/female-leadership-is-on-the-rise-heres-the-lessons-learned-that-will-help-you-get-to-the-c-suite/#6caf2f712299

Decision Making. http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/in-focus/decision-making

Team Working. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/01/gender.world

Effective Team Working. https://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/interaction/team-building/steps

Important Tools for Leadership. https://cmoe.com/blog/leadership-tools/

Microsoft Project. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Project

Dropbox. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropbox_(service)