Leadership & Styles

Authentic leadership is all about standing up and taking responsibility by being true to oneself as well as others. Authentic leadership is about guiding others with sincerity and setting directions with integrity. An authentic leader takes the lead while being open to others.

The leader's actions are based on values and convictions. An autherntic leader doesn't crave for status or other personal rewards.

As a leader, one needs to remain calm during a storm.

What makes Great Leader today in 21st Century world which is more global, digitally enabled, transparent with faster speed of information & innovation, nothing big gets done with out complex matrix. Relying on traditional development practices will stop your growth as leader.

What are successful leaders doing? How to bridge leadership gap which is widening now a days.

• Where are you looking to anticipate next change in your business model or your life. Anwer is your calendar. Whom you are talkiing with and on what topics. What are you reading. How are you distinguishing in underestanding potential discontinuities. Taking decision to do something rightnow so you are prepared and ready. Vision/being ahead of your time - moves that you make to prepare for the same.This will help shaping your future rather than reacting.
• What is the diversity measure of your network? 
• Capacity to develop relation with others who are very different than you.(social, ecnomical, political and so). This will help is solutions as well
• Courage to unlearn/abandon a practice that makes you successful in past. Great leaders dare to be different. They don't talk about risk taking rather they do it. One should have emotional stamina to withstand people telling you that your new idea is naive, reckless or just stupid.

With out above, High potential super star leaders can fail when moves to new unit and destroy unrecoverable value.

Effective & ineffective leadership practices.
What makes people to grow to their potential

 Leadership Styles:

There is a time and place for every leadership style. An effective leader is able to understand the strengths of each style and adopt the best approach for different situations.
 

• Pace Setting Leader - Do as I do now.

1. Works when you have highly motivated and skilled team, and need fast results.
2. May not be productive, when it is used all the time with everytype of employee. It can cause you micro manage, trigger demotivation & low morale
3. How to improve: Develop people-centered leadership skills. Ask more questions, listen and give people autonomy to make their choices to support their long-term growth.

•  Commanding Leader
• When it works: During Crisis OR to deal with extremely problematic employees(where other approaches haven't worked)
• When its not productive:In non-crisis situations, the commanding style can erode morale and can lead to low job satisfaction and high staff turnover.
• How to improve: Label each situation as "Crisis" or"non-Crisis" In non-crisis situations, try a new approach. What would a Coach or Visionary do.
• Visionary Leader 
• When it works: When an organization requires a new and clear direction. It helps to motivate people to achieve great things by clearly seeing the big picture and what there roles are within it.
• When its not productive:If the vision is too far from reality, it can easily become forgotten and low team morale can develop.
• How to improve: Ensure vision is clear. Use metaphors and stories to share your picture for the future. Share what's in it for them.
• Democratic Leader 
• When it works: When your team works together to find best possible solution, those involved are more likely to buy into the final decision by being part of the process.
• When its not productive:If people don't have knowledge to make informed decisions, collective decision-making won't work.
• How to improve: Hire and coach an effective decision making team. Focus on fostering effective speaking and listening skills as well as honesty and commitment.
  
• Affiliative Leader 
  • When it works: If team is suffering from low morale or going through upsetting organizational challenge, and effective leader can work on building team bonds through positive reinforcement.
  • When its not productive: Solely nurturing and praising can bring about a lack of direction and mediocre performance.
  • How to improve: Adopt a visionary style. Complementing your friendly style with a clear vision can really support your team as they use their positive approach to dirve outcomes 
  Coaching Leader 
  • When it works: Coached employees are open to improving themselves. They take responsibility for their own professional development.
  • When its not productive: If you need quick results on a project, coaching will not have a significant improvement
  • How to improve: Use other styles if coaching doesn't work. Coaching is a 2-way commitment, and if employee isn't committed, you need to be flexible to try other leadership styles.
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