Leadership Development is Coming of Age and Returning to Each and Every Individual

Leadership development can be read in any business, educational or professional organizational journal. Leadership continues to be a popular topic. However, with thousands of articles, hundreds of books, the question for me is "Why?"

With all this information, why are we still not developing the leaders necessary for the 21st century? Maybe, because the focus is on the competencies (knowledge and skills) and fails to acknowledge that each individual brings to the table of life certain key strengths. When a competency-based model for leadership is implemented, this approach ignores the wealth of inherent strengths that reside within each individual and can be developed into incredible leadership skills.

Also, leadership skills are not just relegated to the executive team or upper management, but should cascade down throughout the organization and positively develop each and every stakeholder.

So, then what is the definition of leadership? Peter Drucker has stated that "leadership is all about results." Drucker's definition is only part of what leadership means. By achieving results forward progress is made and those involved feel that their efforts have been justified.

Leading without securing either business results or personal results is much like walking the same path over and over again. This may be an easy path to travel, but ultimately diminishes the incredible potential residing within all individuals and decreases the overall results within the organization. Also, this approach reinforces a fear of accountability. By not having the desired results clearly articulated and shared, everyone denies accountability and embraces a victim mentality by pointing their fingers at other shareholders.

Another part of leadership, missing from Drucker's definition, is that core values must always be demonstrated when achieving the desired results. Failure to include those non-negotiable behaviors within the overall definition of leadership supports a culture contrary to the desired results.

Today's media has the ability to almost immediately broadcast the unethical behaviors of corporate CEOs to elected government officials. These individuals, in many cases, are viewed as leaders within the communities because they were able to secure significant results. However, because they sacrificed their values or in some cases there were no core values present, these individuals are truly not the leaders necessary to take a school corporation, an organization, a state or a country forward in the 21st century.

Also, leadership begins with the individual. Leadership is about individuals achieving results. Drucker's and others' definitions may imply that leadership begins from within each individual, but the definition of leadership must clearly state the source of leadership.

Finally, leadership is truly about achieving the desired results. The use of the word desired indicates that there exists some planning, strategy and higher order thinking skills involved. Results are not achieved willy-nilly or haphazardly, but rather with careful and thoughtful consideration.

If we accept the definition of leadership as being individuals who consistently deliver the desired results while executing positive core values, our belief of leadership may change. No longer do we confuse leadership with management, that leadership is only for the administrative team or that leadership for management is different than leadership for the rest of the those within the organization. Nor we will accept any results, but rather results that can be directly tied to specific strategies and tactics. Now, we can begin to look at the strengths of each individual and how those strengths can be further developed and leveraged to create a win-win for everyone.

The next question is how do we leverage the strengths of each individual to help them become better leaders who can consistently achieve the desired results without the sacrifice of positive and critical core values? That is a very good question and the answer may be far simpler than many realize.

In any organization, management needs to model the leadership behaviors that they are expecting from each other as well as everyone else. The disconnect between "Do as I say and not as I do" rings even more false today than 40 years ago. Today's work force can see the disconnects and more importantly will challenge those very same issues. Their challenges can be direct, but are usually indirect through many of their miss-behaviors including "jumping ship."

Leadership development is coming of age and more and more individuals are recognizing that leadership requires a shared definition as well as total alignment within the organization. Failure to embrace this realization will create a rudderless ship traveling thousands of miles in a continual circle while wasting the individual potential of each crew member.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. is a business coach and executive coach with offices in Indianapolis and near Chicago. She writes, speaks and coaches people in businesses to quickly double or triple results through the creation of an executable strategic plan along with the necessary leadership skills "to pull it off."

One quick question,Of you could develop accountable employees who consistently demonstrate exceptional leadership skills, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give me, Leanne, a call at 219.759.5601 for a free telephone consultation.

Visit http://www.processspecialist.com/ and explore everything from free articles to connecting with Leanne.

Leadership Development - Leadership Styles and Training

What makes a good leader?

Leadership development

Ever since we started Impact Factory, lo these many years ago, we have struggled with the whole notion of leadership development or leadership training. Indeed, we have resisted writing about it in much detail because the subject is so subjective.

Are leaders born or made? Can you use management leadership training to give leadership skills to someone who isn't leadership material? How is it done?

Given that we're being asked to create a lot more leadership programmes of late, we decided we'd take a hard look at just what makes a good leader.

Even of you don't think of yourself as a leader, you will have areas in your life where other people look to you for leadership. So here are some essentials qualities and skills you need to be a good leader in whatever leadership arena you're in.

Leadership training

Training is a misnomer when applied to leadership. Any leadership development programme has to include at least a passing reference to the following:

Introduction to the concept of leadership behaviours
Discussion and debate about leadership
A widening of the definition beyond traditional leadership stereotypes
Personal understanding of individual leadership qualities and strengths
The difference between leadership and management
A look at how people perceive, their perception is their reality
Assumptions and their effect on how people see the world
What are your terms of reference and seeing the bigger picture
Personal patterns and beliefs
A look at the elements that have influenced and shaped the participants
Establishing ownership of individual's leadership behaviours

A programme needs to be designed around the development of the individuals involved rather than towards competencies identified as required by the organisation.

Leadership style

What does a leader look like?

No cookie cutter models here. Everyone can develop their capacity to lead, from church committees to local pressure groups to business teams to political parties. When someone is committed to, and practises using their leadership capabilities at all levels in their life, then they can and will develop their own potential as a leader.

There is a tendency, in our Western culture, to see Leadership as synonymous with white, middle class, male, in charge. There's a kind of unspoken template of what leadership is supposed to look like. Now we know that isn't true. Leadership can and does come in many different shapes and forms.

Good leaders don't conform to a template. Indeed, leaders are people who don't usually follow the party line. They have an edge to them, they get up people's noses sometimes, they make decisions - lots of them - that often others don't like. They say the things that need saying in a way that others understand.

Don't let the picture get in the way

However, it is important to acknowledge that people developing their leadership skills are often hampered by their picture (or other people's picture) of what a leader is supposed to 'look' like.

This is when it's important to understand that the role of leader is not only completely individual (remember, they don't fit a mould!) but also has to be worked at with belief and will and determination by the person occupying it.

It's different for everyone

Not only that, leaders will be experienced differently by the individual people they lead. One getting encouragement, another understanding. That, of course, will be due to the leader's ability to see what each person needs (more on this later).

In addition, not every leader is going to be a great leader in the sense that the world around them acknowledges their leader status. Many leaders get no 'public' recognition, only their personal satisfaction of a job well done.

Leadership theory

Seeing the Big Picture Vision

When the 'vision' word is used it usually means that someone has an idea of what the future could look like and a plan to get there. No point painting rosy, pie in the sky pictures ('we'll double our turnover in a year; we'll create international markets; we'll be number one in the UK', etc.) if pie in the sky is all they are.

More like, 'we could double our turnover in a year, this is how we could get there, this is what I expect from everyone in the organisation to help us get there and any new ideas are welcome.'

The ability to see

There is one essential quality for anyone in any position of leadership: the ability to see what is going on. Seeing is clarity. Seeing in the 'wood for the trees' kind of way.

We've heard the following phrase from a number of people throughout the years and it's a good one - get your attention off yourself and on to whatever is going on.

What you'll see

Here's what you'll be able to see if you do that: you'll be able to see things from other people's points of view; you'll be able to understand what's going on for them. You'll be able to see what other people are capable of and how to help them achieve it. Most importantly, you'll be able to see the whole picture not just your little bit of it.

Leadership skills

What makes you tick?

Know thyself. To be able to see you need a clear understanding of what has made you the way you are and what has shaped and influenced your life. The clearer you are about what motivates and affects your behaviour, the clearer you will be able to see what is going on with other people.

You didn't spring fully formed from Zeus's head - many things have affected you over the years. A good leader is proud to acknowledge role models, people, places, things, etc, which have inspired them.

You can't do it alone

Any good leader worth their salt should be able to name 100 people, places, things, right off the bat. Why? Because they know themselves well enough to acknowledge who has supported and inspired them along the way, and what support they still need to get things done.

Leadership quality

Qualities

Think about what qualities your role models have that are attractive to you, that make them inspiring. Now, putting aside modesty, false or otherwise, think about what qualities they have that you also have. You have to know who you are and accept that you have outstanding qualities - leaders are able to do that.

Beliefs, rules and patterns

How well do you understand the rules, beliefs and patterns you have created in your life so far? Everyone's got 'em.

They can be the simple kind of rule - you should brush your teeth twice a day. They can be the more complex kind - you should treat everyone the way you expect to be treated. Beliefs can be things like - I believe everyone should be fair. And patterns can be as simple as going to and from work the same way every day.

When identifying your rules, patterns and beliefs see if you can avoid putting a value judgement on whether they are good or bad; this is far more about seeing just how well you understand your own behaviour.

Leadership management

Moving things forward Innovative thinking

Leadership requires innovative thinking; it requires people making positive and inspiring impacts; and it requires them to be able to motivate others. What is needed is an ability to think and act 'out of the box'; out of the accepted or 'right' ways of doing things.

The culture of tomorrow will be one where change and innovation are the order of the day. Out of the box thinking and identifying future needs go hand in hand.

There's no such thing as 'can't do'

'Can't do' is an alien concept to a real leader. Leaders get things done. They have commitment, persistence, determination and resilience. Couple all of that with creative problem-solving and you have a person things happen around.

What we mean, is that no matter what their personality, there will be a kind of buzz around them; things change when they're around; indeed, things might even get shaken up when they're around. It isn't always comfortable being around leaders.

You can't stay stuck

Along with a 'can do' attitude, is an ability to move things forward. When others get bogged down, good leaders know how to motivate and inspire the people around them. They are willing to take risks and stand up for what they believe. They want to get things done and bring people along with them.

Development training

Can training develop leadership skills?

In our view, you cannot 'send' someone on a leadership programme who doesn't want to be there and expect them to become a leader. It's not like the reluctant presenter who gets sent along to a course and finds out that it's not so bad after all. If your prospective leader isn't fully engaged in the process, sending them along to be 'taught' leadership skills will be a waste of time and money.

If you fall into that category, then no amount of leadership training is going to develop your skills.

However, if you have to step into a new leadership role, or there are greater expectations of how you manage people, or you've become a project leader, and you have a willingness to develop and take on new skills, then it's really possible to give yourself a leadership boost. Everyone can develop their capacity to lead, from church committees to local pressure groups to business teams to political parties. When you are committed to, and practise using your leadership capabilities at all levels in your life, then you can and will develop your own potential as a leader.

Management training

We believe there is a real difference between management and leadership. You don't need to be a leader to be able to manage other people. However, to be an outstanding manager, you do have to have some of those essential skills and qualities that are necessary in developing as a leader.

Even if you are a manager with no major aspirations of leadership, there will be people who will turn to you for leadership, whether you like it or not. Therefore, when looking for training to develop your skills, it might be a very good idea to look at leadership courses as well as management courses.

Leadership courses

There are scores of courses available calling themselves Leadership Training, Leadership Development, Leadership Skills, etc. We cannot judge just how good they are, but if you think about everything you've read so far and feel in synch with our sentiments, then that's what you need to look for: courses that incorporate a clear approach to developing leadership skills.

Earlier in this document we outlined some of the things to look for in a Leadership Training Programme. Add to that list a few more essentials:

How to initiate leadership behaviours
Understanding how commitment works
Leading by example
Influencing skills
Empowering and motivating others
Thinking on your feet
Handling yours and others' stress

In our view, really good leadership courses need to incorporate all of these elements to be truly effective. Equally important, a programme needs to be relevant to your specific leadership needs and not something off the peg.

This is why Impact Factory only delivers tailored leadership training; so that each and every course fits the organisation to a 'T'.

In conclusion:

Expect the unusual, the quirky, the non-conformist, the doer, the inspirer and you've got yourself a leader. To become one or to develop your leadership skills you have to be fully engaged in the process of development and just like everyone else, you have to practise, practise, practise.

Key Learning Points:

The power of aligning personal motivation and business objectives
The capacity of strong well expressed beliefs to motivate others
Communication is far more than just words
Leadership is not just about getting people to do what you ask
It is far more about seeing what is needed and carrying people forward with your vision
Being able to create the impact you want
Expanding your spheres of influence
Being able to talk to people in terms they understand
Using appropriate language
The relevance, development and use of personal style
Putting across concepts and ideas with ease and flair
The value of creative risk-taking and "out of the box" thinking
Making sure projects move forward without having to do all the work yourself.

Jo Ellen and Robin run Impact Factory who provide Leadership Training and Development, Public Speaking Presentation Skills, Communications Training and Executive Coaching for Individuals.

Will That Be Leadership Or Management Development? Integrating the Right Hand With the Left Hand

Introduction

During the 1990s, the topic of leadership took on new meaning and interest in organizations. As with many business fads (e.g. total quality management, business process reengineering, and knowledge management), the numbers of articles and books on leadership exploded to serve the insatiable appetites of business people, HR practitioners, and the public in general. Interest in the field of management diminished, while people explored such topics as spiritual leadership; the learning organization concept and its implications for shared leadership; women as leaders; lessons from such notable individuals as Gandhi, Thatcher and Churchill; and Native teachings.

While the plethora of new books and articles on leadership has contributed in an important way to raising the level of awareness and understanding on the subject, it has also created confusion, and perhaps more importantly, relegated management as a discipline to the back burner. It is only in the past decade where some prominent thinkers and writers have begun to stress the importance of management practices in organizations and the need to integrate this discipline with that of leadership development. While the two are distinct, they are nevertheless interrelated.

In a period of discontinuous change (that change is not smooth but rather comes in unpredictable bursts), the interlinking of management and leadership development is extremely important. No longer can organizations afford to address the two fields as separate silos. Instead, a systems approach is required to ensure that an organization's managers develop good management practices and solid leadership abilities. Combined, the two fields will ensure that those in management positions are able to deal with discontinuous change, and that their staff possess the necessary competencies to learn continuously, explore opportunities, innovate, and serve clients to the highest degree possible.

The Question

Before an organization jumps into developing a management and leadership development model, it is essential that the question be asked: who is a leader in the organization? Is leadership specific to management positions? If so, then leadership is positional in the organizational hierarchy. Or is leadership seen by senior management as being more inclusive, in which employees throughout the organization are encouraged to develop their leadership abilities?

This is a key question to pose because it creates a common vocabulary and set of expectations in an organization. From this will emerge a culture that is defined on how leadership is perceived and practiced.

The issue of leadership versus management development becomes a moot point if leadership in an organization is defined as being the domain of management. As we will see below, approaching the two fields as separate entities only further deepens the rift between them, contributing to misunderstandings throughout an organization, the ineffective use of training funds, and limited progress in creating effective managerial leaders.

If an organization chooses the path of participative leadership, as it recreates its corporate culture, the challenge will be how to create a model that reflects both management and leadership development. For employees in management positions, there is a rapidly growing need to have an approach (or program) that embraces both management and leadership competencies. For aspiring managers, these employees need to be factored into the process. The urgency for this is rising as the existing management cadre begins to retire in large numbers over the next few years. Those seeking to move into management are the succession pool, and hence require sustained attention in terms of their developmental needs.

For employees who do not aspire to be managers, or who will not progress to this level, the added challenge is how to encourage their leadership development, in the context of their participating more in decision-making and in taking more initiative. This assumes that senior management wishes to support the creation of a 'leaderful' organization because of the benefits this would bring.

The next section looks at what a number of leading thinkers are saying on management and leadership.

Management versus Leadership

The relationship between leadership and management has been described by Kotter (2001) as "...two distinctive and complementary systems of action." While each field has its own unique characteristics and functions, both are essential for managers if they are to operate successfully in complex organizations that are subject to continuous change. To focus on leadership development may produce strong leaders, but the consequence will be weak management. And the converse is true. How to combine strong leadership and strong management, so that there is balance, is the real challenge.

Similarly, Drucker (1998) sees the interrelationship between the two. He does not believe that management and leadership can be separated. He states it is "...nonsense*as much nonsense as separating management from entrepreneurship. Those are part and parcel of the same job. They are different to be sure, but only as different as the right hand from the left or the nose from the mouth. They belong to the same body."

A third perspective is that of Henry Mintzberg, noted for his early empirical work on what managers do. In an interview with CBC's Ideas in 1999, he explained that managers "...sit between their organizations and the outside world....they manage information in order to encourage people to take action." Where does leadership fit in his perspectives on organizations? The long lists of attributes and characteristics of leaders leads Mintzberg to state: "...Superman's abilities are modest in comparison. We list everything imaginable." For Mintzberg, good leaders are candid, open, honest, and share information with people.

From this brief review of what three leading management thinkers have expressed, one outcome facing organizations with respect to their leadership climate may be described as follows: When an individual enters an organization that is functioning well, one is able to sense it. Some call this the "smell of the place". It becomes very apparent in this type of organizational climate that there is abundant energy present, and that this energy is focused. People enjoy going to work everyday because they understand where they fit into the organization's vision and what their roles and responsibilities are. They are committed.

This is the challenge, therefore, of weaving together the roles of management and leadership so that they form a coherent whole, with respect to how the works get done in organizations. But what can we say about the key distinctions and complementarities between management and leadership?

Management & Leadership as Functions

Increasingly, managers must deal with complexity in their organizations and the surrounding environment. In the absence of good management practices, organizations fall into chaos, which in turn threatens their survival. Thus, one can say that management brings order to organizations and consistency to their products and services. Leadership, in contrast, involves coping with change. In a world experiencing economic and societal turbulence, this key feature of leadership is becoming increasingly valuable to organizations.

These two features, coping with complexity and change, shape the functions of management and leadership. In the real world, therefore, managers have three essential tasks to perform. First, they must determine the work that needs to be done by their staff. Second, to accomplish this work people must work laterally, often forming networks. Managers are conduits to ensuring that this occurs. And third, they must ensure that the work gets done properly and on time.

Management and leadership, while both addressing these tasks, approach them from different perspectives.

Planning

Planning, budgeting, and resource allocation are activities initiated through the management function in an effort to address the issue of complexity. As a management process, planning is about producing orderly results, not about change. Leadership, on the other hand, involves creating a vision to chart a course for the organization. As part of this process, strategies are developed to initiate and sustain the needed changes to stay focused on the vision. How this is done is critical to helping move an organization towards its vision.

Organizing

To reach its goals, management organizes and hires. This involves creating an organizational structure, including a set of job descriptions, that will enable the organization to achieve these goals. Through this process of organizing and staffing, management develops delegation authorities and monitoring systems. It also creates communication plans to ensure that employees understand what is taking place.

But the management function needs the opposing hand of leadership to assist it, namely in aligning people. Communication becomes a critical activity here, especially in regard to ensuring that all employees understand the vision.

Controlling

Management must also ensure that the plan is achieved, and it is does this through controlling and problem-solving. Monitoring plays an important role here. In contrast, leadership requires that people are motivated and inspired to work towards a vision, despite setbacks and unforeseen problems.

What does this mean for Management/Leadership Development?

This paper has shown that while management and leadership do indeed possess some distinct differences, there is also a complementarity that is emerging. The growth in knowledge work and the expectations of workers (e.g., Generation Y) are strongly influencing how both leadership and management are practices. Work still needs to be planned, organized, directed, coordinated, monitored, etc. But the context is changing rapidly, both from an externally driven, discontinuous change perspective, and from within - the values people possess and what motivates and inspires them.

How organizations approach management and leadership development is critical to their eventual success, let alone their long-term survival. And as noted at the outset, one of the first questions that must be asked is "How do we define leadership in our organization?"

References

Drucker, Peter. (Sept. 1998). Feature Interview with Peter Drucker. Training & Development Magazine.

Kotter, John. (Reprint Dec. 2001) What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review. pp. 85-87.

Mintzberg, Henry. In Conversation. CBC Ideas. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1999.

James Taggart has been a student of leadership for over 15 years, and devoted over a decade to applied work in leadership development, organizational learning, and team building. As a thought leader, he has initiated and led several change management projects. He has also worked as an economist for many years, conducting applied research into labour market issues; carrying out policy research in the areas of science, technology and innovation; and initiating projects focused on industrial competitiveness.

In addition to bachelor and master degrees in economics from the University of New Brunswick, Jim holds an executive master degree from Royal Roads University in Victoria. His master's thesis was on the topic of shared leadership.

Jim invites you to visit his leadership website: http://www.leadershipworldconnect.com

1 Hour Leadership Development Program - 14 Leadership Tips

Leadership is the road map to success. It brings continuous excellence in human life.

Are there born leaders? Every man is a leader and leadership is evolved with in and it flourishes in every aspect of living; let it be business, your office, in sports, in politics, in society, family and in every corner of the world.

First we must understand that leadership is not just an outside process, we lead our self first and influence our self to establish the self-direction and self motivation to deliver the best.

Leadership begins within. The seeds are already embedded inside us. We need to care it, water it, nourish it and get the best out of it continuously. If you can develop your personal leadership skills i.e. once you learn to lead yourself, you can set examples of your selves and lead your people.

Leadership is a multidimensional activity. It seems to be very complex but its simple and within ourselves. We need to bring the leadership out, spread its rays and bring meaning to life. Leadership is both an inward and outward activity. Leadership starts with personal leadership and it spreads around taking shape of what I call people leadership. It is result oriented and relationship oriented. The CEO of a company and the sales executive both are leaders. A CEO leads the organization where as a sales executive uses his leadership skills to establish himself in the organization.

Effective Leadership Training Program in 1 hour time

Leadership Tips 1 of 14: Set the right attitude

Leadership Tips 2 of 14: Fine tuning 'the self'

Leadership Tips 3 of 14: Developing vision and conquer time

Leadership Tips 4 of 14: Knowledge building

Leadership Tips 5 of 14: Courage builder

Leadership Tips 6 of 14: Creativity - cultivate different seeds

Leadership Tips 7 of 14: Change adaptability

Leadership Tips 8 of 14: Setting the environment

Leadership Tips 9 of 14: Communication with understanding

Leadership Tips 10 of 14: Understand emotional needs

Leadership Tips 11 of 14: Art of positive motivation

Leadership Tips 12 of 14: Appreciate, recognize and reward

Leadership Tips 13 of 14: Breaking the shell

Leadership Tips 14 of 14: Transfer leadership

Leadership Tips 1 of 14: Set the right attitude

Attitude contributes a lot to success. A study in Harvard University figured out an interesting result that a person gets a job or promotion because of his attitude, contributing 85% and remaining 15% only to other factors.

Always be positive, optimistic. Stay away from negative areas. Never let negativity enter your mind. Take life with a smile. Inhale positive thoughts and spread positive energy. I have a friend she is a very positive person and when ever you say something she laughs loudly in a special way. This positive ness from her laugh generates lot of power and energy, in everyone around her. It's always great to have some natural positive power generators as friends.

If one believes he can win, he will win. We have to develop our positive believing attitude.

We may loose out or may not achieve perfection still we are winners because we are positive, we have the desire and commitment. Learn from other mistakes and avoid it happening to you. Success is routed through failures but the 'never say die' attitude leads to success.

Leadership Tips 2 of 14: Fine tuning 'the self'

Self discipline is the key in a leader's life. A system should be developed so that the maximum level of performance energy can be achieved. One has to manage oneself first. For this we need to fine tune ourselves both physically and mentally. Setting good habits are very important and it directly results in positive ness and optimistic vision.

The first and best victory is to conquer self.

- Plato, Greek Philosopher

Bring a system in your life

Wake up early

Most leaders wake up early. In doing so they have lot more time to organize and feed their mind & body with positive energy. Too much sleeping makes you dopey. It won't fresh you up, rather it tires you. So Sleep well and wake up naturally before the alarm rings.

Energize your mind & body

Get up early, devote some time for yourself, do some mind and body exercises. You will feel refreshed and calm for the whole day and also will boost your confidence level. This is so because human body generates lot of enzymes and fluids, if we exercise and these help in increasing the performance level of our body and mind.

Good Food habits

Food habits play an important role in your body and mind activities. You are what you eat or your thoughts are what you eat. So take a balanced diet.

Relax yourself, take a stroll, day dream

Releasing of stress is very important and our body and mind needs to relax. A break is always mandatory.

Leadership Tips 3 of 14: Developing vision and conquer time

Vision is your goals; it can be a combination of goals, your career goal, business goal, financial goal, family goal, etc. Goal is time bound. Your goal should be broken down into smaller goals; it should be clear and specific. You can also have short term goals running parallel to your long term goal. Goals cannot be vague and it should be realistic and balanced. It must be SMART.

S - specific (prioritize)

M - measurable

A - achievable

R - realistic

T - time bound

You have to balance the goal with environment - let it be your family, business, finance, health, society.

The most important is the plan. You should have a specific plan that helps you to achieve your goal in time. Goals are dynamic because of the changes that life brings. So it's important to adapt or foresee the change and update your goals.

Leadership Tips 4 of 14: Knowledge building

Feed you mind continuously with good thoughts and knowledge. In this competitive world it is important to gain external & internal knowledge. External knowledge is on the world around you; it may or may not affect you. It can be the market knowledge. Internal knowledge is directly related to your vision. It is a critical success factor for successful accomplishment of your vision.

Convert opportunity to success, for this you need to look for inputs always. Collect as many data as possible, eliminate junk and keep only the relevant ones. This Data is Information, listen to it carefully. Information is Knowledge, understand it well. Knowledge is Intelligence, its wisdom. Knowledge is potential power and Wisdom is power. Power is success.

'ACT' on the knowledge and wisdom attained. Just acquiring the knowledge will not lead to success; link it with your vision and ACT.

Leadership Tips 5 of 14: Courage builder

Courage is the strength and power of leadership. Most people don't like to take risk. They don't even initiate opportunities, because of fear of loosing or the change involved in it. People are afraid to take ownership of situation, either it be a good situation or bad situation. And, if it's a bad situation it's the blame game they play. Eliminate fear! The best way to control or win fear is to face it with mental strength and determination.

Leadership Tips 6 of 14: Creativity - cultivate different seeds

Creative ideas lead over experience and existing winners. It cuts every limit to success.

Stop doing the same thing over and over, stop imitating what others did. Most inventions or creative ideas evolve when men are alone, while day dreaming during their leisure time and when their mind is relaxed and full with positive energy.

Leadership Tips 7 of 14: Change adaptability

Learn to manage change. Life is full of choices and compromises. It's dynamic and changing. The environment around us is changing, society is changing, people are changing, technology is changing, and almost everything is changing. The best way to manage change is to embrace it. Anticipate it, monitor it, accept it, adapt to it & enjoy it. Make, 'change' part of your life, a leader is a continuous learner so he has to change continuously by enhancing skills and move forward.

Leadership Tips 8 of 14: Setting the environment

Set the office environment right, display or hang motivational posters, product banners, policy documents, incentive charts, mission statement etc around. Display employee performance chart and best performer awards and photos around. Establish a positive quality environment where the staffs are motivated to deliver their best.

Leadership Tips 9 of 14: Communication with understanding

The greatest road block in communication is our tendency to evaluate or make judgments once you hear or see something. This is our natural urge. We usually agree or disagree to a statement from our point of view. Suppose this statement on which you evaluate has greater emotions, feelings and a strong message then your reactions will be sensitive. Either you approve or disapprove the attitude expressed. This impulse to evaluate any emotionally meaningful statement from our point of view is what blocks interpersonal communication.

Leadership Tips 10 of 14: Understand emotional needs

Victory has an emotional attachment, a passion in achievement of vision. Every individual of the victorious team will have a winning purpose and will be emotionally attached to it. This emotional purpose is the driving force towards victory.

Leaders need to take care of their staff. Discover their emotional needs, then motivate and give every support needed to meet their emotional need.

A leader's greatest job is to bring out the value of his team members. Let them know their value. A leader should be compassionate at times, which will bring in an extra bonding and emotional attachment, developing into trust, understanding and value for each other. It develops unity. It is a great feeling when your team leader listens to you; value your points and helps in solving the problems, either official or personal. It reduces stress and alleviates their performance to achieve the vision.

Leadership Tips 11 of 14: Art of positive motivation

The best motivation comes from within. A good leader just has to ignite the belief system and fuel it; success will ensue. Motivate staff regularly, from your top performing executive to your office boy because I believe, if one person in your team is de-motivated it can ruin the entire team. If there is a problem of concern at office on any matter bring it out rather that encasing it.

Your internal motivation is your self drive (hunger to succeed) and attitude. Don't be complacent.

In a positive environment even an under performer is motivated and becomes a performer but in a negative environment a performer can fail miserably because he is not valued and is continuously de-motivated.

Listen to your staff, make sure their views and points are considered and appreciated. Further, keep promises, give respect and seek respect, be committed to the staff and be one among them. Let the team have a shared vision and it's not an individual, it's a team with passion, which succeeds.

Leadership Tips 12 of 14: Appreciate, recognize and reward

Appreciation, reorganization and reward, play magic on individuals or team. Employees who feel recognized deliver excellent results. Keep the team and the individual team member well informed on the company activities and their performance status. Update the sales score board daily. Trigger the competition among team members, competition among teams, and among different branches.

Appreciate, recognize and reward performance. A job well done pat on the shoulders, well done hand shake, a personalized appreciation email or letter can be very motivating and will help in steady growth in the performance of the team.

Recognize employee performance at the right time, delay can cause de-motivation. And, reward them at the right occasion. Results are best when you reward. But remember it's a regular process.

Increase reward program and minimize finger pointing. Praise the employees publicly and specifically for his work. Display testimonial letters on the board. Celebrate occasions and event like birthday, marriage anniversary, etc.

Leadership Tips 13 of 14: Breaking the shell

Life is a continuous learning process. Regularly update your skills and be hungry for new updates in different areas. Read and listen to motivational books, tapes and disks. Arrange presentation and learning session. Let every staff contribute to it.

The whole idea behind it is to develop a family environment, free of stress and fear. Employees can free themselves and display their strength in every area. They are encouraged to take risk and develop new ideas which will help to discover new processes and strategies. Employees never fear to bring new creative thoughts or ideas and experiment them. These ideas may be successful or it may fail, either ways it is recognized and rewarded. It's not suppressed, it is appreciated and encouraged. The basic idea is to energize, develop, equip and take new challenges & responsibility which will lead the company to greater vision and success. Work is delegated to those employees who tend to put extra effort. They are smart workers. They work more for the company; they spend more time on office work.

Leadership Tips 14 of 14: Transfer leadership

Be a transparent leader, be committed at all levels, keep even the small promises not just in you work place but in your life also. Be sincere and caring. Don't put off things, do it with out any delay. Stand by your employees; if some complaints arise from customer first investigate it and take corrective or preventive action. Never put an employee in state of fear of loosing the job. Advice him, and see that he and other staffs don't repeat the same mistake again.

Lead from front, be a role model. Show expertise and confidence. Leaders show the route to success and help their subordinates to become a leader. They spread the light of leadership and bring the subordinates to their level. They give the freedom to develop oneself and grow. Subordinates look up to the leader for guidance and direction. Leaders Leave Legacy!

For detailed training program on Effective Leadership or Leadership Development please visit the link in the author profile.

I am a Btech(Computing) Engineer from Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia, Canada.

I am still a learner and I try to avoid making mistakes myself by learning from other people's mistake.

I believe, the quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor!

I am on continous learning and research process in the following arears - People Management, Business Communication, Leadership, Financial Planning, Solution Selling and Philosophy.

My vision is to fine tune the human brain to get the best results in all areas.

Please visit my link for detailed wisdom on Leadership. http://www.squidoo.com/leadership-in-life

10 Tips for Creating a Public Sector Leadership Development Program

The most recent edition of Public Personnel Management, Winter 2004, focused solely on one of the hottest issues facing today's public sector human resource professionals: workforce and succession planning. During the 2004 IPMA-HR International Training Conference, numerous sessions focused on the growing need to implement workforce and succession planning systems in order to address the mass exodus of workers that is anticipated in the next five to ten years. In both Public Personnel Management and at the conference, the issue of leadership development was cited as a primary tool for preparing the workforce for the future.

Numerous agencies are incorporating leadership development as an element of their workforce planning efforts. Notable leadership development programs that have been documented include those implemented in San Diego County, CA; Henrico County, VA; Hennepin County, MN; City of Las Vegas, NV; City of Phoenix, AZ; and City of San Jose, CA. In my observation, many of the best practice elements in public sector leadership development are consistent between agencies. The purpose of this article is to share ten practices that appear to be common threads among agencies that are developing leaders internally to fill anticipated vacancies in the future.

The following tips are provided as guidance to public sector organizations that may be interested in developing their own leadership development programs.

Tip One: Base the program on a competency model.

Before any training or development activities can take place, it is critical to identify the skills and competencies that will be developed as a result of the effort. As discussed in the Public Personnel Journal, Winter 2004, Henrico County developed 20 core leadership competencies including communication, critical thinking and decision making, organizational astuteness, and personal integrity. These competencies provided the framework for their development efforts. Other agencies, including the County of San Diego base their leadership academy on the same model as the multi-rater, 360-feedback tool that is used in the program.

Whether your organization has an established competency model that is used throughout your human resource programming or not, it is critical to spend some time defining the skills that leadership program participants are expected to develop. For example, the City of San Jose conducted a survey of top managers, followed by round-table discussions to determine the competencies to be developed in their leadership program called The Art and Practice of Leadership.

Tip Two: Allow participants to self-select.

Each agency must determine for itself the best method for selecting leadership development program participants. Factors including collective bargaining influences, time, and the intended target audience may impact the process you use to identify participants. Some organizations are targeting potential future executives only while others are offering leadership development opportunities organization-wide.

In my experience, the highest levels of success in terms of participant commitment result from a competitive process where interested participants apply to be involved. By self-selecting, rather than by being appointed, participants are more likely to clarify their purpose for wanting to take part in the program. When participants are mandated to attend a leadership development program, they are often reluctant to commit the time and energy into their development, and oftentimes, they do not fully understand why they are being asked to participate.

The selection process you choose will depend upon the target audience for the program (entire workforce vs. middle managers). You may choose to use a written application, manager nomination, personal interviews, assessment centers, or other means by which participants compete for entrance into the program. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended that participants have a choice in whether or not they participate in your leadership development efforts.

Tip Three: Involve executives and elected officials in the development and implementation of the program.

It has been said in numerous articles about employee and leadership development that without the full support and involvement from the executive leadership team, the program will fail. Top management must be involved in the development of the curriculum, the selection of the attendees, and in the presentation of the program. Their support is critical for the success and long-term viability of any leadership development program.

Likewise, many agencies are finding that involvement by an elected official can also supplement the curriculum of a public sector leadership development program. For example, the City of Las Vegas invited a councilmember and the City of San Jose invited the Mayor to address their recent leadership academy programs. The official in each case addressed the class of leaders for up to one hour. They were asked to give their expectations for public sector leaders, and program participants were allowed to ask questions. The dialogue created in these forums allowed the organization's future leaders to see the organization through the eyes of an elected official. A facilitated conversation that followed the presentation encouraged the participants to identify meaningful "take-aways" from the elected official's comments. Because program participants have not likely interfaced extensively with an elected official, but will likely be expected to as their leadership responsibilities increase, this has become a critical element in public sector leadership development programs.

Tip Four: Use 360-degree feedback, individual development planning, and coaching as the core around which other development opportunities revolve.

360-degree survey tools provide feedback enabling leaders to realize strengths and areas for development based on their own and other's perceptions. Typically such feedback comes from the participant's direct supervisor, direct reports, and peers. Today, such processes can easily be facilitated on-line and feedback reports are comprehensive and detailed. Numerous vendors can now customize survey tools to reflect your organization's competency model (see Tip One above).

The feedback process, however, is only the start of the development process. It is recommended that the feedback be delivered in conjunction with opportunities for one-on-one coaching, as many participants find the feedback difficult to translate into everyday behaviors. A trained coach can assist the participant in making sense of the data. In addition, the participant should be expected to develop their own individual development plan that addresses competencies that are highlights in the feedback report. The individual development plan, once endorsed by the participant's direct supervisor, should then become the blueprint for the participant's leadership development efforts.

Because the feedback process can be so powerful, it is recommended that any leadership development program begin with this element, as it will provide the direction that each participant will need as they pursue the program. With their feedback, the participant can customize their leadership development experiences to address the identified needs. Because of this flexibility, 360-feedback is a highly recommended and popular tool.

Tip Five: Implement action learning through project teams.

Another popular tool for enhancing the leadership skills within public organizations is the use of action learning. Action learning is a typical educational approach where participants learn by addressing issues that are unique to their own organization and/or community. The format involves a continuous process of learning and reflection, built around learning groups of colleagues, more often with the aim of getting work-related initiatives accomplished.

The City of San Jose is using action learning as part of their new leadership development effort. The program participants are divided into six, functionally-diverse teams. Each team is assigned one of the city's corporate priorities which include:

o Performance-driven government

o Support for effective council policy-making

o Effective use of technology

o Customer service

o City as an employer of choice

o Neighborhood-focused service delivery

Teams are guided by team sponsors, who are all members of the City's executive team. Over a period of six months each team is expected to identify a City issue or project that needs attention. The teams research the issue, benchmark approaches with other jurisdictions, propose solutions the City could consider, develop a formal written report, and make a formal presentation in the City Council chambers as part of their program conclusion. The City Manager and other top executives will receive their presentations and provide feedback to each team. Whenever possible, the team will be given the authority to implement or participate in the implementation of their recommendations which may have citywide or regional implications. As a result, the participants are able to practice their communication and team skills as part of the process, receive feedback on their report writing skills, and practice making presentations in a forum that is new to many of them. They also have the opportunity to showcase their skills related to issues that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to explore.

Tip Six: Use internal and external resources.

As mentioned in Tip Two above, it is important to make full use of your organization's executive leadership team sessions that directly relate to the organization's strategic plan, culture, and expectations. However, other concepts may be better presented by individuals outside of the organization, who provide an outside or neutral perspective. You may also find that your organization does not have the capacity or expertise to address all the competencies included in your model. A balance of internal and external presenters provides participants with the opportunity to compare and contrast the agency's approach with practices and methods used outside of the organization.

Tip Seven: Maximize internal publicity.

In every case, leadership development program participants dedicate a great amount of time and energy to these kinds of programs. Not only is it a commitment of the participant's time, it is a commitment of their manager and staff's time that cover for the participant when they are attending program activities. You can communicate the goals and outcomes of the program and recognize the importance of the effort by using internal communicating tools like email, newsletters and Intranet postings. Everyone who is touched by the program should understand its importance to the organization's goals.

Prior to the start of the program, formally introduce the participants to the organization and encourage each organizational member to support them. After the program, each graduate should be recognized using the same communication tools (email, newsletters, Intranet, etc.) and their managers and staffs should be thanked for supporting them. Internal publicity can help garner support and enthusiasm for the program and its goals.

Tip Eight: Continuously adjust.

The first version of any comprehensive program like this is rarely perfect. It is important to continually modify the program based on the feedback received not only from the participants, but from their managers as well. By continually improving the program, it will meet the needs of the organization, even as the organization changes. In every leadership development program I have developed and managed, the agenda and curriculum is modified during the program and after graduation to reflect the changing needs of the participants and the organization. It is critical to be flexible and to listen to the program participants and their managers in order to ensure the program continuously improves and maintains its credibility and relevance.

Tip Nine: Celebrate the achievement.

A learning opportunity such as a leadership academy or leadership development program requires a commitment of time and resources, not only on the part of the coordinators, but on the part of management and the participants. A graduation or other public celebration is critical to recognize the achievements of all the parties involved. The graduation does not need to be elaborate or lengthy. A brief lunch with informal presentations will do the trick. Nevertheless, finishing a program like this without some recognition is like going to a movie that doesn't include the credits at the end.

Tip Ten: Measure and track outcomes.

While each organization determines the level and extent to which the results of a leadership development program are measured, a variety of tools can be used to determine the impact of the program. Such measures include:

o Knowledge of leadership concepts as measured via a pre- and post-assessment tool

o Perceived change in selected leadership skills as measured by a multi-rater, 360-degree feedback tool

administered at the beginning of the effort and again one year later

o Number of participants retained over one, three, and five years

o Number of participants promoted over one, three, and five years

o Perception of participant's supervisor related to the participant's change in behavior after attending the leadership development program

o Reaction to the leadership development program curriculum as measured by end of session evaluations

However your organization decides to measure the outcomes of your development efforts, it is recommended that the measurements be established prior to the start of the program and that they be monitored closely. Such measures will allow you to make appropriate adjustments to future programs and will assist you in showing the impact of the effort on your organization's strategic objectives.

If your organization has not yet embarked on a leadership development effort, it is likely that you will in the near future. Changing demographics, an impending "brain drain," and a need to enhance retention levels are driving public organizations of all sizes to explore tools for ensuring the stability of their workforce. And, while many organizations are exploring these efforts, each must find a solution that works best for their organization's culture and goals. The elements presented in this article reflect the common practices in public sector leadership development efforts today.

Marnie E. Green is Principal Consultant of the Arizona-based Management Education Group, Inc. She is the author of Painless Performance Evaluations: A Practical Approach to Managing Day to Day Employee Performance (Pearson/Prentice Hall). Green is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations develop leaders today for the workforce of tomorrow. Contact Green at http://www.managementeducationgroup.com

We offer this article on a nonexclusive basis. You may reprint or repost this material as long as Marnie Green's name and contact information are included Mgreen@managementeducationgroup.com, 480-705-9394, http://www.managementeducationgroup.com