"By Lorraine Pirihi"
In this article the author says that managing stress is not easy if you don't have the right people in your business or team.
In his point of view every business owner or manager has a challenge to hire right people for a specific job in the organization to reduce stress in the organization. Its very difficult to assess the right person for right job or objective or goal.
He asked Nathan Chanesman, Managing Director of Myprofile Pty Ltd. to please explain…
"Without quality employees who share your vision and work ethic your business is not going anywhere.
So how do you find the "right" employee?
He also mentioned that we do bad experiences by hiring wrong employees for different jobs which causes organizational stress because they are not fit for the goals and objective of the organization. They don’t have skills and abilities to meet the organizational goals.
“People problems take the most toll on us personally producing significant emotional wear and tear.
What if you had a tool that could tell you in advance of hiring, if the candidates applying have the right attitude and behavioural style to do that job successfully?
Now that would be something! Well read on. It's now possible to predict behaviour quickly and accurately.”
Author said people can do more jobs if they are qualified and skilled for that position. However some people have natural aptitude and behavioural style which is much effective for the job. Those are self motivated they didn’t feel any stress to do that job. These are the people need to hire.
The question is how we can select to right employees? Which type of behavioural style they should have in their personality?
Author also mentioned that whilst we are all different, our behavioural habits and style are more predicable than we think. We each have a dominant style and this determines how we manage at work, at home, in our relationships, how we communicate and importantly what careers we are best suited to.
D - Drivers. These are people who want to get things done. Active and fast paced, more interested in tasks than relationships. Often strong willed and very assertive, they push to have things done their way.
P - Promoters. These are people who want to be noticed. Active and fast pace they are relationship oriented rather than tasks. Often very expressive, chatty, friendly and usually dramatic. Do things more intuitively.
S - Supporters. These are the people who want to get along. Very social and relationship oriented and not as vocal or enthusiastic as Promoters. Very dependable, work slower, great team players, amiable, want to help, show concern and want take care of everyone.
A - Administrators. These are people who want to get it right. Task oriented, not big on relationships, not very social and don't express their feelings. Very analytical, cautious and risk averse. They work at a slower more methodical pace and are less assertive and less expressive.
Each style has it's own behavioural patterns. Some styles don't get along, others are more suited to each other.
Interestingly the population is evenly spread, in other words 25% are one of four styles and more significantly 75% are of a style different to yours.
Conclusion:
Managing stress at work can be kept at a healthy level if you understand what behaviourial type you are and those around you.
Using a simple tool such as MyProfile for yourself and your people will be of great benefit. Stress is caused by many factors and often it's because the wrong people have been put into jobs that they are totally unsuitable for.
Stress can be reduced in many organizations if they people do what they supposed to do. There may be possibility of mistake in hiring process. There may be some persons who don’t much knowledge and experience to choose suitable candidate. If all the hiring authorities are qualified and they have much experience and knowledge about the selection of candidates then its much better for an organization to manage stress easily.
It is necessary to consider all the elements while making the hiring process more effective. Myprofile is the best way to choose a suitable candidate for any job. It makes the selection and assessment so easy for owners or managers. They can make effective decision regarding selection of employees.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The 5 P’s of Change:
The 5 P’s of Change:
Leading Change by Effectively Utilizing Leverage Points within an Organization
RAIG M. MCALLASTER
Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 318–328, 2004 ISSN 0090-2616/$ – see frontmatter
_ 2004 Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2004.06.008
www.organizational-dynamics.com
In this article author looks at some ways to lead change. Successfully executing change initiatives, influencing others and moving the organization towards your point of view are clearly dependent on your ability to lead and manage. One of the keys to successful change is recognizing the different approaches that people and organizations go through when dealing with the reality that things will be different. He developed an integrated approach to handling change. The focus of that approach is the Five P’s of Change. The Five P’s focus on different leverage points that, when used as an integrated approach, can help organizations and their members accept and cope with change. The Five P’s can work independently, but change is most effective when they are leveraged together. While utilizing these leverage points can make a significant difference in the successful execution of a change effort, many times they are overlooked and the opportunity to move an organization to a new sustainable competitive advantage is lost.
The Five P’s are as follows:
• Pain
• Process
• Politics
• Payoff
• Persistence
Pain:
Pain is a fundamental driver of change. Many people and organizations change only when faced with a level of pain that leaves them without options. Basically, there are three types of pain—bad, good, and imposed.
By bad pain means organizations going down day by day and they didn’t think about change. After some time when they reached to end point at which it is difficult for them to survive then they make some change for getting in the market otherwise they didn’t think about any change.
For organizations, bad pain comes with red ink, and when the future is cast with almost certain doom and extinction.
The second type of pain found in organizations is ‘‘good’’ pain. Good pain can occur when an organization experiences phenomenal growth, when opportunities are breaking, and business is booming. In good times people work overtime and are tapped out trying to meet demand. Resources aren’t the issue. The issue is time and energy.
A third type of pain is imposed pain. This type of pain can be the most effective type when it is used in a proactive manner. When using imposed pain, the manager makes the decision that he will not wait for other factors, good or bad, to be the catalyst for change. Imposed pain is an example of leadership providing a stimulus for motivation and requires a firm determination and focus by the person leading the change. This is very difficult to handle employees in case of imposed change. Managers have to face a lot resistance against change. Large amount of risk is involved in this change process because employees are not ready for change and its very difficult for them to adjust themselves according to the situation.
Process:
Process is the essence of how one goes about changing the environment. The process used by many companies today to fix their organizational problems and drive change is referred to as ‘‘management by best seller (MBBS).’’
The process that should be used to determine and implement change varies by organization and by the problems and opportunities they face. In their article on the psychology of change, Lawson and Price (2003) state that four conditions are required to impact change:
• employees must see the reason for change and concur with those reasons;
• organization structures must support the change;
• employees must have the skill sets needed to implement the change;
• they must see those around them in positions they respect actually supporting and modeling the change.
Author suggests a process which is much effective for change in the organization. These include:
o Research problems and identify the causal problems or fundamental opportunities.
o Identify possible solutions.
o Communicate, communicate, and communicate.
o Select and announce the chosen course of action as soon as possible.
o Execute, execute, execute.
People in organizations are continuously bombarded with new flavor of- the-month programs. Successful execution of change initiatives requires the full attention of management and a dedication to doing it right.
Politics
Politics are ever present in society and in organizations of all types. Politics is, indeed, an important element of culture. Politics can and does make a major impact on influencing change. The effective agent of change will factor politics into the equation and effectively leverage it into any change activity. A successful leader must understand the politics of the organization; for example, who are their supporters and antagonists, and who are the undecided. This knowledge allows a leader to position the proposal to take advantage of its strengths, adapt it to address the perceived weaknesses of antagonists, and motivate the undecided. Building coalitions going into a change initiative helps to prevent the dreaded defeat or deadlock, or need to go back for further refinement or study.
Payoff
Payoff addresses the age-old question: ‘‘what’s in it for me?’’ Too often managers and executives implement sweeping changes in organizations, and never think about the payoff for people affected by the change. Sure, senior management receives bonuses, promotions, new opportunities, and the satisfaction of doing a challenging and exciting job.
There are following rewards which play an important roll in payoff:
• Money
• Relationship
To use relationships as a payoff, management could talk in terms of:
1. What the new relationships could mean to the person,
2. How relationships with management would be strengthened and what that might mean,
3. How the process of meeting new people helps a person grow emotionally, psychologically, socially, and
4. How the new relationships would be just as good as the old or maybe even better because of the change.
• Opportunity and development
• Pride
Persistence
In this point author said that the managers must be in touch with the employees continuously and providing in time information to the employee for making the change successful. It is same like marketing process that tells the employees what you want to do. What are your ideas about the change? What you want to do in the future?
Success is built upon creating momentum through persistent efforts to overcome resistance. Organizations are constantly formulating new ideas and initiatives for change, and this constant bombardment is often met with skepticism and a desire on the part of people for stability and sanity in their lives. Part of persistence relates to the fact that the first time a manager or leader of an organization does something that is different or in conflict with the new initiative, it provides the rationale and excuse for others not do it.
Conclusion& Findings:
Change is constant. Change is a normal part of evolution. It is essential to survival. Yet many organizations take change lightly and don’t think about how to aggressively and strategically make change happen. The assumption the change is good, and therefore irresistible, is common in our society. The 5 P’s are integrated leverage points that can provide key insights into the way an organization can affect change to improve its success. Can change happen without the 5 P’s, or with just a few of them? Yes, but the odds are stacked against a successful change initiative.
Without 5 P’s changes can be happen in the organizations but it provide us guide line for change so that we have to face less resistance against change. These are the leverages for change which have high success ratio for change. The organizations using these leverages for change have greatly probability for success..
Leading Change by Effectively Utilizing Leverage Points within an Organization
RAIG M. MCALLASTER
Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 318–328, 2004 ISSN 0090-2616/$ – see frontmatter
_ 2004 Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2004.06.008
www.organizational-dynamics.com
In this article author looks at some ways to lead change. Successfully executing change initiatives, influencing others and moving the organization towards your point of view are clearly dependent on your ability to lead and manage. One of the keys to successful change is recognizing the different approaches that people and organizations go through when dealing with the reality that things will be different. He developed an integrated approach to handling change. The focus of that approach is the Five P’s of Change. The Five P’s focus on different leverage points that, when used as an integrated approach, can help organizations and their members accept and cope with change. The Five P’s can work independently, but change is most effective when they are leveraged together. While utilizing these leverage points can make a significant difference in the successful execution of a change effort, many times they are overlooked and the opportunity to move an organization to a new sustainable competitive advantage is lost.
The Five P’s are as follows:
• Pain
• Process
• Politics
• Payoff
• Persistence
Pain:
Pain is a fundamental driver of change. Many people and organizations change only when faced with a level of pain that leaves them without options. Basically, there are three types of pain—bad, good, and imposed.
By bad pain means organizations going down day by day and they didn’t think about change. After some time when they reached to end point at which it is difficult for them to survive then they make some change for getting in the market otherwise they didn’t think about any change.
For organizations, bad pain comes with red ink, and when the future is cast with almost certain doom and extinction.
The second type of pain found in organizations is ‘‘good’’ pain. Good pain can occur when an organization experiences phenomenal growth, when opportunities are breaking, and business is booming. In good times people work overtime and are tapped out trying to meet demand. Resources aren’t the issue. The issue is time and energy.
A third type of pain is imposed pain. This type of pain can be the most effective type when it is used in a proactive manner. When using imposed pain, the manager makes the decision that he will not wait for other factors, good or bad, to be the catalyst for change. Imposed pain is an example of leadership providing a stimulus for motivation and requires a firm determination and focus by the person leading the change. This is very difficult to handle employees in case of imposed change. Managers have to face a lot resistance against change. Large amount of risk is involved in this change process because employees are not ready for change and its very difficult for them to adjust themselves according to the situation.
Process:
Process is the essence of how one goes about changing the environment. The process used by many companies today to fix their organizational problems and drive change is referred to as ‘‘management by best seller (MBBS).’’
The process that should be used to determine and implement change varies by organization and by the problems and opportunities they face. In their article on the psychology of change, Lawson and Price (2003) state that four conditions are required to impact change:
• employees must see the reason for change and concur with those reasons;
• organization structures must support the change;
• employees must have the skill sets needed to implement the change;
• they must see those around them in positions they respect actually supporting and modeling the change.
Author suggests a process which is much effective for change in the organization. These include:
o Research problems and identify the causal problems or fundamental opportunities.
o Identify possible solutions.
o Communicate, communicate, and communicate.
o Select and announce the chosen course of action as soon as possible.
o Execute, execute, execute.
People in organizations are continuously bombarded with new flavor of- the-month programs. Successful execution of change initiatives requires the full attention of management and a dedication to doing it right.
Politics
Politics are ever present in society and in organizations of all types. Politics is, indeed, an important element of culture. Politics can and does make a major impact on influencing change. The effective agent of change will factor politics into the equation and effectively leverage it into any change activity. A successful leader must understand the politics of the organization; for example, who are their supporters and antagonists, and who are the undecided. This knowledge allows a leader to position the proposal to take advantage of its strengths, adapt it to address the perceived weaknesses of antagonists, and motivate the undecided. Building coalitions going into a change initiative helps to prevent the dreaded defeat or deadlock, or need to go back for further refinement or study.
Payoff
Payoff addresses the age-old question: ‘‘what’s in it for me?’’ Too often managers and executives implement sweeping changes in organizations, and never think about the payoff for people affected by the change. Sure, senior management receives bonuses, promotions, new opportunities, and the satisfaction of doing a challenging and exciting job.
There are following rewards which play an important roll in payoff:
• Money
• Relationship
To use relationships as a payoff, management could talk in terms of:
1. What the new relationships could mean to the person,
2. How relationships with management would be strengthened and what that might mean,
3. How the process of meeting new people helps a person grow emotionally, psychologically, socially, and
4. How the new relationships would be just as good as the old or maybe even better because of the change.
• Opportunity and development
• Pride
Persistence
In this point author said that the managers must be in touch with the employees continuously and providing in time information to the employee for making the change successful. It is same like marketing process that tells the employees what you want to do. What are your ideas about the change? What you want to do in the future?
Success is built upon creating momentum through persistent efforts to overcome resistance. Organizations are constantly formulating new ideas and initiatives for change, and this constant bombardment is often met with skepticism and a desire on the part of people for stability and sanity in their lives. Part of persistence relates to the fact that the first time a manager or leader of an organization does something that is different or in conflict with the new initiative, it provides the rationale and excuse for others not do it.
Conclusion& Findings:
Change is constant. Change is a normal part of evolution. It is essential to survival. Yet many organizations take change lightly and don’t think about how to aggressively and strategically make change happen. The assumption the change is good, and therefore irresistible, is common in our society. The 5 P’s are integrated leverage points that can provide key insights into the way an organization can affect change to improve its success. Can change happen without the 5 P’s, or with just a few of them? Yes, but the odds are stacked against a successful change initiative.
Without 5 P’s changes can be happen in the organizations but it provide us guide line for change so that we have to face less resistance against change. These are the leverages for change which have high success ratio for change. The organizations using these leverages for change have greatly probability for success..
Saturday, November 22, 2008
6 Key Contributors To Successful Team Leadership
Leading teams is challenging but in truth, certain contributors can result in you being a more successful team leader. So what are the 6 key contributors to successful team leadership?
Contributor 1: Relevant and meaningful purpose and goals
Teams that prosper need to have a clear purpose which is meaningful to them and matters to them. Additionally, they need to have goals that act as milestones or checkpoints along the way. In successful teams, the team will be passionate and enthusiastic about what they want to achieve and will get behind it if it is meaningful. Ask yourself what the team is trying to create, the reputation it wants to have and the results it wants to achieve. As the leader, get clear on the role you want to play, your style of operating and how you want to be seen by your team.
Contributor 2: Confidence and commitment building
As the leader of the team you need to build the confidence and commitment of individuals in the team. Part of your role here is to create an environment where people are encouraged and supported to take risks. How you respond to setbacks will be an excellent indicator of how well you do this. Another part is providing meaningful feedback on the good and not so good things.
Contributor 3: Skill mix
In your capacity of the team leader you have a role to play in getting the right skills in place and then continually strengthening these skills. The team does not operate in a static environment so you need to adapt to changing circumstances and people will only adapt if they have the skills to do so.
Contributor 4: Relationship management
The team you are leading might be totally motivated and be full of belief. However, you cannot expect that to be replicated throughout the organisation. People will be envious and may even try to derail your efforts. It is important that you as the team leader create good relationships outside of the team and leverage these relationships to overcome obstacles.
Contributor 5: Opportunity creation
As team leader you could decide to personally take all of the best opportunities that come up. Successful leaders know that it important not just to think about their own situation but also to look at creating opportunities for others to learn, grow and develop.
Contributor 6: Do the work
Teams are generally small in size so there is no space for people who distance themselves. Team leaders who are successful don't sit in an Ivory Tower, dishing out instructions. They get involved and do real work rather than watching in the wings.
Bottom line - By focusing on some key contributors we can make a step change in your performance as a team leader.
Reflections:
These are the main contributors which are very helpful in making effective and innovative teams.By these leaders can cope with difficulties which they face during the change process while making teams. Leaders motivate their subordinates towards their goals. They always make them confident to do the work right. They train them how they can handle different situations during the performance of duties.
The person having these abilities which are mentioned can become an effective and innovative leader..
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with teams in organisations who want to be more effective and achieve sustained success. He is an authorised Facilitator for Team Coaching International's Team Diagnostic Assessment. Sign up for his free e-course and monthly newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/
Contributor 1: Relevant and meaningful purpose and goals
Teams that prosper need to have a clear purpose which is meaningful to them and matters to them. Additionally, they need to have goals that act as milestones or checkpoints along the way. In successful teams, the team will be passionate and enthusiastic about what they want to achieve and will get behind it if it is meaningful. Ask yourself what the team is trying to create, the reputation it wants to have and the results it wants to achieve. As the leader, get clear on the role you want to play, your style of operating and how you want to be seen by your team.
Contributor 2: Confidence and commitment building
As the leader of the team you need to build the confidence and commitment of individuals in the team. Part of your role here is to create an environment where people are encouraged and supported to take risks. How you respond to setbacks will be an excellent indicator of how well you do this. Another part is providing meaningful feedback on the good and not so good things.
Contributor 3: Skill mix
In your capacity of the team leader you have a role to play in getting the right skills in place and then continually strengthening these skills. The team does not operate in a static environment so you need to adapt to changing circumstances and people will only adapt if they have the skills to do so.
Contributor 4: Relationship management
The team you are leading might be totally motivated and be full of belief. However, you cannot expect that to be replicated throughout the organisation. People will be envious and may even try to derail your efforts. It is important that you as the team leader create good relationships outside of the team and leverage these relationships to overcome obstacles.
Contributor 5: Opportunity creation
As team leader you could decide to personally take all of the best opportunities that come up. Successful leaders know that it important not just to think about their own situation but also to look at creating opportunities for others to learn, grow and develop.
Contributor 6: Do the work
Teams are generally small in size so there is no space for people who distance themselves. Team leaders who are successful don't sit in an Ivory Tower, dishing out instructions. They get involved and do real work rather than watching in the wings.
Bottom line - By focusing on some key contributors we can make a step change in your performance as a team leader.
Reflections:
These are the main contributors which are very helpful in making effective and innovative teams.By these leaders can cope with difficulties which they face during the change process while making teams. Leaders motivate their subordinates towards their goals. They always make them confident to do the work right. They train them how they can handle different situations during the performance of duties.
The person having these abilities which are mentioned can become an effective and innovative leader..
Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with teams in organisations who want to be more effective and achieve sustained success. He is an authorised Facilitator for Team Coaching International's Team Diagnostic Assessment. Sign up for his free e-course and monthly newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Visit to ITAB
We visited ITAB Company this week on 17 Nov. It was an interesting and informative visit. We got lot of information from the company Managing Director and Production Manager. They provide us lot of information about their products, production process, methods of working, and how they market their products. What are the main things which are very important for them to sustain competitive advantage.
Turnover of the company:
Its turnover is round about €360 million per annum.
Suppliers and customers:
They didn’t prepare all the things by own. They have supplier from where they get material according to the order of the customer and give it final shape according to the demand of their customers.
Main products:
They prepare so many products e.g. wood, plastic, steel, metal etc.
Their main product is metal sheet products. They mostly work on concept.
Innovations:
Their radical innovation is auto scan check out system. Their other innovations are check out systems, out gates of big stores.
No of employees:
There are total 150 employees working in head office and production area.
The thing which I like more after the visit is their working environment and their structure. They don’t have so many people for controlling the quality of their products. They have only one quality control manager and four assistants which reports to the quality control manager. They train the employee in a way that every employee himself control the quality of the products on which he is working. There is no need of extra employees for controlling the quality.
They only check the quality at the end when product is in end stage of production. They also give priority to the people who are their customers and employees who work for them. They also have a logistic chain for providing in time delivery to the customers. They have only few products in their warehouse which are very important for quick delivery. From which they prepare the things after getting order. They believe on quick delivery for maintaining their customers. They also invite others to come with creative ideas.
Turnover of the company:
Its turnover is round about €360 million per annum.
Suppliers and customers:
They didn’t prepare all the things by own. They have supplier from where they get material according to the order of the customer and give it final shape according to the demand of their customers.
Main products:
They prepare so many products e.g. wood, plastic, steel, metal etc.
Their main product is metal sheet products. They mostly work on concept.
Innovations:
Their radical innovation is auto scan check out system. Their other innovations are check out systems, out gates of big stores.
No of employees:
There are total 150 employees working in head office and production area.
The thing which I like more after the visit is their working environment and their structure. They don’t have so many people for controlling the quality of their products. They have only one quality control manager and four assistants which reports to the quality control manager. They train the employee in a way that every employee himself control the quality of the products on which he is working. There is no need of extra employees for controlling the quality.
They only check the quality at the end when product is in end stage of production. They also give priority to the people who are their customers and employees who work for them. They also have a logistic chain for providing in time delivery to the customers. They have only few products in their warehouse which are very important for quick delivery. From which they prepare the things after getting order. They believe on quick delivery for maintaining their customers. They also invite others to come with creative ideas.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Characteristics of innovative leaders
Innovate: (Word Net definition):
1: to create (a new device or process) resulting from study and experimentation [syn: invention] 2: to create something in the mind [syn: invention, excogitation, conception, design] 3: the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new...
Lead:
1: To show the way to by going in advance; 2: To guide or direct in a course [syn: guide]; 3: a) To serve as a route for; b) To be a channel or conduit for; 4: To guide the behavior or opinion of; to induce; 5: a) To direct the performance or activities of; b) To inspire the conduct of; 6: To play a principal or guiding role in; 7: a) To go or be at the head of...
By definition Innovation is a creative act that has implicit leadership characteristics. Leadership itself does not necessarily require innovation.
Characteristics of Innovative Leaders
Fast and action oriented.
Innovative leaders believed on speed and action orientation. They are much speedy in identifying the opportunities. Speed, responsiveness, and agility are everything to innovative leaders who analyze situations, make decisions and act on opportunities. They find shortcuts to slash red tape. They’d rather make a wrong decision than blow a potential opportunity by cautiously sitting still and playing it safe until all the data are in.
Immersed in progressive change:
Innovative leaders build organizations and foster a culture of on-going, never-ending change. They plan a change in very effective manner. They ensure that their organizations continually learn, adapt, evolve, and improve. Their first objective is to deal with turbulent change around them, then become master of that change.
Future-obsessed:
The beckoning horizon ahead excites them. These leaders visualize their organization’s future and plot its course. They’re always asking, “What next?” “Where else?” They create the future by visualizing it now.
Masters of motivation and inspiration:
Vanguard leaders first get people excited, then committed, and finally moving swiftly. They tap into secret chambers of the minds, hearts, and souls of people and know which “buttons to push” to activate their staff’s pride, faith, hope, drive, and perseverance. Innovative leaders make their followers feel special as if they were an elite exclusive team fulfilling some noble destiny. They help their employees fulfill a deep longing for creativity and innovation. They impart a sense of invincibility, power and control over their situations. These leaders accomplish two overwhelmingly important things: they make people feel good about themselves and they make them feel good about what they’re accomplishing.
Passionate:
Innovative leaders are incredibly driven. And that rubs off on their followers. They express emotions freely and showcase their excitement about new ideas and change.
Super-salespeople and evangelists:
The secret of innovative leadership is not authority, but influence and loyalty. President Dwight Eisenhower noted, “You do not lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.” Innovative leaders persuasively communicate an optimistic, bright, enticing picture of the future for their followers. They elicit support along the way. They’re “dream merchants.” They keep the dream alive by referring to the grand vision or goal at every opportunity. They convince people to get on board and stay on board.
Rule breakers:
The only rule they have is, “There are no rules.” Bureaucratic thinking, even in small organizations, focuses on strictly (oftentimes “blindly”) following rules, regulations, methods, procedures, formulas, policies, and playing it safe. It’s about “running a tight ship.” Unfortunately, it stays in the harbor a lot and that’s not what ships are built for. Innovative leaders get followers to discard their policy and procedures' manuals and, instead, create common sense, flexible, and ethical guidelines to creatively operate. Set sail!
Mountain climbers:
What do Alexander the Great and Eckard Pfeiffer, CEO of Compaq Corporation, have in common? Both got their “troops” conquering more territory by repeatedly giving them challenging battles to fight and mountains to climb. But before the arrogance of complacency of victory set in, they announced yet another new and exciting goal—a new peak—to reach. “Are you ready for a bigger game?” they ask their followers. By creating on-going inspiring short-term visions and galvanizing followers to rush toward them, will innovative leaders keep interest and motivation peaked at all times.
Opportunists:
Innovative leaders aggressively seek out and grab ideas and opportunities before others are even aware of their existence. They study trends, technological developments, and are well-rounded readers. They’re always asking themselves questions like, “How does ‘this’ apply to my organization?” How can I use it or get ideas from it?”
Builders:
You can’t build good products in poor factories. The factory of creativity is the organization’s culture and operating climate. A major role of the leader is to create an environment where imagination, smart risk-taking, aggressive initiatives, and bold tactics are encouraged and rewarded. As builders, they design their organization’s infrastructure to support every aspect of innovation by helping to create or modify the organization’s collective values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.
High-gain risk-takers:
You won’t find innovative leaders thinking small. Their plans are grandiose; their actions big and daring. They seek large gains and aren’t afraid to take smart calculated risks. These are people who create industries and fortunes, not by cautiously holding back, but by boldly leaping far ahead of the average crowd.
“We probably won’t remember the innovative person who couldn’t drive an idea from concept to reality -- or the leader who managed well but never really led an innovation. However, we will almost always remember the innovative leader.” (posted by Leigh Duncan)
However, what leaves the indelible impression on us are usually not the quirks of the innovative leader, but the unconventional thoughts, ideas, inventions, discoveries, institutions, products and experiences they bring to life.
Innovative leaders:
• Marry the art of invention with the discipline of management
• Are motivated by what is possible, not by what seems probable
• Consistently push the envelope – for themselves and all who follow
• Fear stagnation more than taking risks
• Are unflagging excellence junkies who resist the status quo
• Embrace failure as a step toward success
• Welcome change and challenge like fine, old friends
• Hunger for learning, stimulus and discovery
• Are motivated by internal drive, rather than external forces
• Inspire others by "doing" and "demonstrating"
• Admit to a strong inner sense of direction, mission or calling
These are the characteristics which should be present in a leader. Without these characteristics its difficult to become a good leader. These are most common factors which are important for an innovative leader.
Here are some names of famous leaders.
C.S. Lewis wrote that "Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth... you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." There's something unmistakably original and truthful about innovative leaders. I'd name the following to the roll call:
• Abraham Lincoln
• Benjamin Franklin
• George Washington
• Winston Churchill
• Martin Luther King
• Marshall MacLuhan
• Jesus Christ
• Mother Theresa
• Albert Einstein
• Bill Gates
• Steve Jobs
• Meg Whitman
• Howard Hughes
• Richard Branson
References:
• Northhouse,P.G.(2007)Leadership Teories and practices, 4th Edition
• Bass, B. M. (1985) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectation, New York: Free Press.
• Bennis, W. (1998) On Becoming a Leader, London: Arrow.
• Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S. (1964) The Managerial Grid, Houston TX.: Gulf.
• Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S. (1978) The New Managerial Grid, Houston TX.: Gulf.
• Burns, J. M. (1978) Leadership, New York: HarperCollins.
• Covey, S. R. (1989) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,
• Fiedler, F. E. and Garcia, J. E. (1987) New Approaches to Effective Leadership, New York: John Wiley.
1: to create (a new device or process) resulting from study and experimentation [syn: invention] 2: to create something in the mind [syn: invention, excogitation, conception, design] 3: the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new...
Lead:
1: To show the way to by going in advance; 2: To guide or direct in a course [syn: guide]; 3: a) To serve as a route for; b) To be a channel or conduit for; 4: To guide the behavior or opinion of; to induce; 5: a) To direct the performance or activities of; b) To inspire the conduct of; 6: To play a principal or guiding role in; 7: a) To go or be at the head of...
By definition Innovation is a creative act that has implicit leadership characteristics. Leadership itself does not necessarily require innovation.
Characteristics of Innovative Leaders
Fast and action oriented.
Innovative leaders believed on speed and action orientation. They are much speedy in identifying the opportunities. Speed, responsiveness, and agility are everything to innovative leaders who analyze situations, make decisions and act on opportunities. They find shortcuts to slash red tape. They’d rather make a wrong decision than blow a potential opportunity by cautiously sitting still and playing it safe until all the data are in.
Immersed in progressive change:
Innovative leaders build organizations and foster a culture of on-going, never-ending change. They plan a change in very effective manner. They ensure that their organizations continually learn, adapt, evolve, and improve. Their first objective is to deal with turbulent change around them, then become master of that change.
Future-obsessed:
The beckoning horizon ahead excites them. These leaders visualize their organization’s future and plot its course. They’re always asking, “What next?” “Where else?” They create the future by visualizing it now.
Masters of motivation and inspiration:
Vanguard leaders first get people excited, then committed, and finally moving swiftly. They tap into secret chambers of the minds, hearts, and souls of people and know which “buttons to push” to activate their staff’s pride, faith, hope, drive, and perseverance. Innovative leaders make their followers feel special as if they were an elite exclusive team fulfilling some noble destiny. They help their employees fulfill a deep longing for creativity and innovation. They impart a sense of invincibility, power and control over their situations. These leaders accomplish two overwhelmingly important things: they make people feel good about themselves and they make them feel good about what they’re accomplishing.
Passionate:
Innovative leaders are incredibly driven. And that rubs off on their followers. They express emotions freely and showcase their excitement about new ideas and change.
Super-salespeople and evangelists:
The secret of innovative leadership is not authority, but influence and loyalty. President Dwight Eisenhower noted, “You do not lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.” Innovative leaders persuasively communicate an optimistic, bright, enticing picture of the future for their followers. They elicit support along the way. They’re “dream merchants.” They keep the dream alive by referring to the grand vision or goal at every opportunity. They convince people to get on board and stay on board.
Rule breakers:
The only rule they have is, “There are no rules.” Bureaucratic thinking, even in small organizations, focuses on strictly (oftentimes “blindly”) following rules, regulations, methods, procedures, formulas, policies, and playing it safe. It’s about “running a tight ship.” Unfortunately, it stays in the harbor a lot and that’s not what ships are built for. Innovative leaders get followers to discard their policy and procedures' manuals and, instead, create common sense, flexible, and ethical guidelines to creatively operate. Set sail!
Mountain climbers:
What do Alexander the Great and Eckard Pfeiffer, CEO of Compaq Corporation, have in common? Both got their “troops” conquering more territory by repeatedly giving them challenging battles to fight and mountains to climb. But before the arrogance of complacency of victory set in, they announced yet another new and exciting goal—a new peak—to reach. “Are you ready for a bigger game?” they ask their followers. By creating on-going inspiring short-term visions and galvanizing followers to rush toward them, will innovative leaders keep interest and motivation peaked at all times.
Opportunists:
Innovative leaders aggressively seek out and grab ideas and opportunities before others are even aware of their existence. They study trends, technological developments, and are well-rounded readers. They’re always asking themselves questions like, “How does ‘this’ apply to my organization?” How can I use it or get ideas from it?”
Builders:
You can’t build good products in poor factories. The factory of creativity is the organization’s culture and operating climate. A major role of the leader is to create an environment where imagination, smart risk-taking, aggressive initiatives, and bold tactics are encouraged and rewarded. As builders, they design their organization’s infrastructure to support every aspect of innovation by helping to create or modify the organization’s collective values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.
High-gain risk-takers:
You won’t find innovative leaders thinking small. Their plans are grandiose; their actions big and daring. They seek large gains and aren’t afraid to take smart calculated risks. These are people who create industries and fortunes, not by cautiously holding back, but by boldly leaping far ahead of the average crowd.
“We probably won’t remember the innovative person who couldn’t drive an idea from concept to reality -- or the leader who managed well but never really led an innovation. However, we will almost always remember the innovative leader.” (posted by Leigh Duncan)
However, what leaves the indelible impression on us are usually not the quirks of the innovative leader, but the unconventional thoughts, ideas, inventions, discoveries, institutions, products and experiences they bring to life.
Innovative leaders:
• Marry the art of invention with the discipline of management
• Are motivated by what is possible, not by what seems probable
• Consistently push the envelope – for themselves and all who follow
• Fear stagnation more than taking risks
• Are unflagging excellence junkies who resist the status quo
• Embrace failure as a step toward success
• Welcome change and challenge like fine, old friends
• Hunger for learning, stimulus and discovery
• Are motivated by internal drive, rather than external forces
• Inspire others by "doing" and "demonstrating"
• Admit to a strong inner sense of direction, mission or calling
These are the characteristics which should be present in a leader. Without these characteristics its difficult to become a good leader. These are most common factors which are important for an innovative leader.
Here are some names of famous leaders.
C.S. Lewis wrote that "Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth... you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." There's something unmistakably original and truthful about innovative leaders. I'd name the following to the roll call:
• Abraham Lincoln
• Benjamin Franklin
• George Washington
• Winston Churchill
• Martin Luther King
• Marshall MacLuhan
• Jesus Christ
• Mother Theresa
• Albert Einstein
• Bill Gates
• Steve Jobs
• Meg Whitman
• Howard Hughes
• Richard Branson
References:
• Northhouse,P.G.(2007)Leadership Teories and practices, 4th Edition
• Bass, B. M. (1985) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectation, New York: Free Press.
• Bennis, W. (1998) On Becoming a Leader, London: Arrow.
• Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S. (1964) The Managerial Grid, Houston TX.: Gulf.
• Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S. (1978) The New Managerial Grid, Houston TX.: Gulf.
• Burns, J. M. (1978) Leadership, New York: HarperCollins.
• Covey, S. R. (1989) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,
• Fiedler, F. E. and Garcia, J. E. (1987) New Approaches to Effective Leadership, New York: John Wiley.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Characteristics of innovative leaders
Four Characteristics of Innovative Leaders
Jun292007 Filed under: Leadership Author: Tony Morgan
Craig Groeschel from LifeChurch.tv had the unenviable task of presenting the after-lunch session yesterday. I had a meatball sandwich. Craig had to be better than that meatball sandwich. Even though he was competing with lunch and my lack of sleep, he certainly delivered.
Craig talked about the challenges of innovation. He suggested:
Limited Resources + Increasing Passion = Exponential Innovation
He then went on to talk about four characteristics of innovative leaders.
They heal the sick.
Not just physical healing. “In order to reach those that no one else is reaching, we will have to do things that no one else is doing.” We have to be driven to bring people to Jesus. We have to be passionate about that. “When is the last time you had a non-believer in your home?” We need to lead our people to love those that don’t know Christ. They need to be real people with names that people know. That type of ministry looks very different than the typical church ministry looks today. “Who is God calling you to reach that no around you is reaching?”
They break rules.
We don’t break away from the Truth of Jesus Christ. We need to do less “preaching” and more “listening.” Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. Martin Luther put the Bible in the hands of the common man. John Wesley preached outside the church walls. Bill Hybels combined the passion of parachurch with the power of the local church. “We have to care more about reaching people than following man’s rules.” Sometimes you have to stop watching what others are doing to hear from God. It’s your turn. Break some rules. “What is God calling you to try that hasn’t been done before?”
They offend Pharisees.
“When you do something new, the Pharisees will attack you like you never dreamed possible.” The things that are accepted today in the Church world, were hated ten years ago. When they do criticize, you must handle their criticism with grace. A lot of you are angry, and you
have to get over your anger. Don’t shoot back. “What new thing is God calling you to create that will be hated today and embraced tomorrow?”
They redefine success.
John 3:30. Less of me and more of God. We have to do that…in everything we do. For example, a 2,000-person church in a metro area like Washington, D.C. is a “microchurch.” We can’t be impressed with ourselves. Craig explained for him: Success is going to be if my children know Jesus. Success is going to be when my wife gets the best of me and not the leftovers. Success is going to be spending time with God…just me and God. Success is getting people out of our building and out impacting the world. Instead of counting the number of people that are showing up, what if we started counting the number of people who we lost?
Reflections:
I like this article because in this author describes the four major characteristics of an innovative leader. According to him if a person have these characheristics he can be a good innovative leader.
An innovative leader heal the sickness he like to fight with the challanges. He always accept challanges. He give courage to others for doing new things in an eefective way..
He did not care any rules. If he follow the rule the he can not be an innovative leader. Some times rules become a barrier for innovation. He work according to his thinking.He do the things in new way.Thats why he break the rules for some times.
He define the ways a success by participating in it for a project.He not only give courage to the others but also actively participate in the activities for setting an example of effctively doing the things..
I agree with the author without following or without these characteristics a person can not be an innovative leader.
Jun292007 Filed under: Leadership Author: Tony Morgan
Craig Groeschel from LifeChurch.tv had the unenviable task of presenting the after-lunch session yesterday. I had a meatball sandwich. Craig had to be better than that meatball sandwich. Even though he was competing with lunch and my lack of sleep, he certainly delivered.
Craig talked about the challenges of innovation. He suggested:
Limited Resources + Increasing Passion = Exponential Innovation
He then went on to talk about four characteristics of innovative leaders.
They heal the sick.
Not just physical healing. “In order to reach those that no one else is reaching, we will have to do things that no one else is doing.” We have to be driven to bring people to Jesus. We have to be passionate about that. “When is the last time you had a non-believer in your home?” We need to lead our people to love those that don’t know Christ. They need to be real people with names that people know. That type of ministry looks very different than the typical church ministry looks today. “Who is God calling you to reach that no around you is reaching?”
They break rules.
We don’t break away from the Truth of Jesus Christ. We need to do less “preaching” and more “listening.” Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. Martin Luther put the Bible in the hands of the common man. John Wesley preached outside the church walls. Bill Hybels combined the passion of parachurch with the power of the local church. “We have to care more about reaching people than following man’s rules.” Sometimes you have to stop watching what others are doing to hear from God. It’s your turn. Break some rules. “What is God calling you to try that hasn’t been done before?”
They offend Pharisees.
“When you do something new, the Pharisees will attack you like you never dreamed possible.” The things that are accepted today in the Church world, were hated ten years ago. When they do criticize, you must handle their criticism with grace. A lot of you are angry, and you
have to get over your anger. Don’t shoot back. “What new thing is God calling you to create that will be hated today and embraced tomorrow?”
They redefine success.
John 3:30. Less of me and more of God. We have to do that…in everything we do. For example, a 2,000-person church in a metro area like Washington, D.C. is a “microchurch.” We can’t be impressed with ourselves. Craig explained for him: Success is going to be if my children know Jesus. Success is going to be when my wife gets the best of me and not the leftovers. Success is going to be spending time with God…just me and God. Success is getting people out of our building and out impacting the world. Instead of counting the number of people that are showing up, what if we started counting the number of people who we lost?
Reflections:
I like this article because in this author describes the four major characteristics of an innovative leader. According to him if a person have these characheristics he can be a good innovative leader.
An innovative leader heal the sickness he like to fight with the challanges. He always accept challanges. He give courage to others for doing new things in an eefective way..
He did not care any rules. If he follow the rule the he can not be an innovative leader. Some times rules become a barrier for innovation. He work according to his thinking.He do the things in new way.Thats why he break the rules for some times.
He define the ways a success by participating in it for a project.He not only give courage to the others but also actively participate in the activities for setting an example of effctively doing the things..
I agree with the author without following or without these characteristics a person can not be an innovative leader.
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