Eberhard von Löneisen Article written specifically for the McKinsey Bulletin
Published with the consent of the editors of the McKinsey Bulletin.
The article was published in the sixth issue of the journal.
The full issue can be read on the website www.vestnikmckinsey.ru
In the world's most successful companies, leadership development means a systematic activity to which company leaders devote a lot of time. For Russian business, this is still a novelty, although most Russian companies have reached a stage of development at which weak leadership potential becomes a serious obstacle to further growth and improve efficiency. Russian businessmen will have to realize the importance of the broad development of leadership in the modern interpretation of this concept, analyze the state of affairs in their organizations from the point of view of the conditions for cultivating talented and enterprising employees, and, it is possible, carry out very significant, one might say, “ideological” reforms.
The theme of leadership is becoming more and more popular all over the world. And this is understandable: more and more companies are realizing that the effectiveness and success of their activities depends on how strong their leadership potential is. The "classic" functional approach, which considers strategy, organization, and operations as self-sustaining functions, is adjusted taking into account the importance of leadership as a key factor in their successful implementation.
For Russian companies, the topic of leadership is of particular importance. From our experience with our Russian clients, we know that the essence of functional changes, such as adjustments to strategy or organizational structure, are often quite obvious or easily identifiable: the structural competitive advantages as well as the weaknesses of Russian companies are well known.
Large Russian companies so far rarely set themselves such unique tasks as a fundamental change in strategy or the development of new products; The most demanded changes by Russian business include improving operational activities and building new businesses - and here you can rely on the rich experience of many companies and countries, developed and developing. At the same time, Russian companies have the same problems: how to achieve their goals, where to look for people who, thanks to their knowledge and leadership qualities, will be able to determine the direction of change and achieve the implementation of the tasks set.
The problem of leadership becomes especially important because Russian companies are increasingly faced with foreign competitors both in the Russian and foreign markets. At the same time, international companies not only have an advantage in the field of functional management - they also have many years of experience in understanding and developing leadership potential. The moment has come when Russian enterprises, wishing to maintain and strengthen their competitiveness, need to start systematically working on the development of leadership.
But what is "leadership"? And how to develop it? Now there is no shortage of literature on this issue, as well as leadership specialists, but in our article we would like to briefly consider the very concept of "leadership" and concentrate on practical issues of leadership development in Russian companies, taking into account the inherent in them and everything Russian society features. In this article, we have tried to use the international experience of leadership development, as well as the knowledge and impressions received by McKinsey while working with Russian clients over the past 10 years.
LEADERSHIP PARADIGM
“Leadership is the art of getting others to do what you want, so that they think they want to do it themselves,” said Dwight Eisenhower, a famous military leader and US president, referring to the leader’s ability to influence his followers. “Management is the art of getting what is needed, and leadership is the art of determining what needs to be achieved,” said Peter Drucker, the classic of management, implying the difference between managing within a given system and the ability to change the system itself. The same idea was emphasized by entrepreneur Ross Perot. He believed that “people cannot be controlled. Inventories can be managed, but people need to be led.”
Our experience of working with the leaders of the most successful corporations allows us to talk about several qualities and characteristics as key to understanding leadership.
It is important to understand the difference between leadership and management, administration. In general, management is leadership within a given area of responsibility and within established procedures, and not the creation of a new one. Leaders, on the contrary, form the context and tasks themselves, create something new. The founders and leaders of many successful high-growth companies had a vision that helped them successfully bring new products and services to market (as in the case of Microsoft, Apple, Compaq and Dell), transform industries through innovation or radical transformation (as in the case of Home Depot, Aldi or Outback Steak House). People who simply manage and implement the plans developed by others could not create such innovative products and services. But do not think that leaders can realize their potential only in new industries. And in traditional industries, the most successful business leaders who formulate new goals and create new products and services have a messianic vision. Jack Welch, ex-head of General Electric, who became famous not only for the amazing financial results that the company achieved under his leadership, but also for the fact that he turned it into a world-renowned forge of leaders, demonstrated this most clearly.
Some experts note that the main requirements that apply to a manager and a leader partly contradict each other. In his classic 1977 Harvard Business Review article, "Managers and Leaders: How Are They Different?" Harvard University professor Abraham Zaleznik pointed out that business leaders have more in common with artists, scientists, and other creative professionals than with managers. The differences between managers and leaders, he wrote, are at the level of their subconscious conceptual representations of chaos and order. Managers prefer order, they seek stability and control, they prefer to solve a problem faster - often without fully learning the lesson it teaches. Leaders, on the other hand, are willing to tolerate chaos and lack of order and may delay resolving an issue until it is properly sorted out. Managers' goals are driven more by necessity than by their desires; they are excellent at smoothing out conflicts between employees and even entire departments - it is important for them that both parties are satisfied and the organization continues to successfully perform its daily functions. Leaders, on the other hand, have an active, very personal attitude towards goals. They work for the long term, inspiring subordinates with their personal energy and stimulating creativity in their work. Their relationships with subordinates and colleagues are often very emotional and their work environment is chaotic.
Zaleznik believes that companies need both managers and leaders to survive, and even more so, to succeed. However, in the large American corporations of the 1970s, an atmosphere prevailed that predetermined the formation of people who relied on and supported formal procedures. The ethic of the "order of managers" encourages collective responsibility and the desire to avoid risk - and it often hinders the development of leaders. How can an entrepreneurial spirit develop in a highly formalized environment and in the absence of personal approach? In large bureaucratic organizations, mentoring is also not welcome, and it is also very important for the development of leadership qualities.
Time has shown how right Zaleznik was. Today's companies increasingly require flexibility and the ability to innovate, so they must encourage and nurture leaders. Only companies that develop both leadership and managerial qualities at the same time easily adapt to a changing environment. This, in turn, requires a new, less formal and hierarchical approach to organizational structure.
LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION
The problem of developing leadership in a corporation - or rather, in any organization - is not limited to the development of selected individuals. Outstanding leaders who can lead an entire organization are rare, and the experience of many companies shows that, in the end, success is determined by the breadth and depth of leadership in the organization and its leadership potential as a whole.
As the Wharton Business School experts wrote for The McKinsey Herald, “Not Just at the Top,” leadership qualities can manifest themselves at any level of an organization. Although a significant part of the specialized literature is devoted to the analysis of the mechanisms for the nomination of outstanding individuals, in recent times Increasing attention is paid to the development of leadership skills in middle and lower level because companies understand that success really depends on leadership potential in the broadest sense. After all, not only top managers, but also ordinary employees can and should form their own point of view, propose improvements, involve others in the work, and achieve the implementation of what was planned.
Here are a few examples where a broad leadership potential determines the success of a particular undertaking or the functioning of the company as a whole.
To remain globally competitive, large steel companies must continuously improve their operations. Our experience shows that the quality of these improvements depends on the initiative of the rank-and-file employees who know their narrow area well and find even small opportunities for improvement, no less than from larger changes carried out by higher-ranking employees. Enormous potential for improving operational efficiency exists in many Russian industrial companies, and it is thanks to the leadership qualities of middle and lower-level employees that “rationalization” proposals can be effectively implemented.
Building a sales system in a financial company requires leadership qualities from lower-level employees, such as insurance agents. The success of each individual transaction and the overall image of the company in the market depend on their ingenuity, responsible and interested attitude to business.
Many professional organizations - legal or consulting companies - do not have a rigid formal structure, and therefore a hierarchy, and therefore they are especially dependent on the leadership qualities and initiative of all employees in the process of continuous learning and development of new creative approaches.
LEADERSHIP: INDIRECT OR BENEFICIAL
For many Russian entrepreneurs of the first wave, the problem of developing leadership qualities seems far-fetched. In their opinion, leadership is a gift given to a person by nature, and either he is, or he is not and never will be. However, they can raise at least three objections. First, Western companies have been successfully developing and educating leaders for decades. Second, no one is born a leader. There are people with such inclinations, but in order to become real leaders, they need to develop their potential, and this cannot be done without special knowledge and skills. And thirdly: if you look at the biography of successful Russian entrepreneurs, it will become clear that many of them went through a certain school of leadership in Komsomol or party work.
Having recognized the very possibility of developing leadership in a company, you need to understand what leadership qualities need to be developed, how to rebuild the personnel development system, the culture of the company as a whole, in order to identify future leaders in time, educate them, promote them and keep them in the company. Some of the most successful international companies are famous not only for their great leaders, but also for the ability to develop people at all levels of the organization and turn them into leaders. Jack Welch, the already mentioned head of General Electric, understood that this was the only way to ensure the effective management of a huge company. As a result, General Electric has developed a distinct leadership culture focused on developing and promoting talented employees.
Of course, at different stages of a career, different leadership qualities are required from people. At the bottom - leadership implies the ability and desire to take responsibility, attitude to the assigned work as if it were one's own business, readiness to go beyond the task. As you move "up" the requirements change: with an increase in the level of responsibility, the ability to develop the necessary qualities in other employees becomes an increasingly important feature. At the top rungs of the career ladder, vision for the future of the company and the ability to lead others become decisive qualities.
RUSSIAN CONDITIONS FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
AT last years Russian companies paid more and more attention to improving the efficiency of their activities. Many of the most obvious changes have already been made, and judging by the experience of the evolution of companies in other countries, in the near future one of the key tasks of Russian business will be the development of leadership potential at all levels of the organization. Already now, in many companies, shareholders and top managers attract specialists from outside, so that they not only bring with them the missing knowledge and skills, but also contribute to the creation of an appropriate corporate culture, the restructuring of the company and the development of leadership.
At the same time, when planning measures to develop a broad leadership potential, one cannot but take into account some features of the Russian business environment. The considerations below do not pretend to be scientific, but they are based on many years of observation of the activities of Russian companies and the comparison of some Russian features with "how it is done in the West."
Even a cursory glance at the history of the development of Russian business is enough to understand that the country has a powerful leadership potential - the necessary "raw material" for growing leaders. It is impossible not to be amazed that the spirit of entrepreneurship has not perished in the country during the decades of the planned economy. The time that has passed since the collapse of the USSR has shown that there are business leaders in Russia who can form, develop and reform large companies that can compete in the global market.
Russian businessmen are distinguished not only by an amazing will to win and a willingness to achieve it by any means, but also by a more pronounced belief in their own strength and a desire to act than many of their Western colleagues. Giving up, retreating from difficulties, or admitting that “it can’t be done” is not in character. Russian businessmen. Unlike many Western business leaders, Russians are often the main shareholders of the companies they lead and therefore are sincerely interested in initiatives to increase the value of the business, in all sorts of changes, improvements and experiments.
There are, however, a number of Russian features that complicate the development of leadership qualities in a wide range of managers, and they cannot be ignored when developing related programs. Some of these features are explained by the cultural specifics of the country, others are rather structural in nature and are due to the recent past of Russian organizations and enterprises, and others are associated with the youth of Russian business. Among key features the following can be distinguished:
- Dominance of personal relationships over professional ones. Personal relationships play a much more important role in Russia than in a typical Western organization. This situation could be considered quite normal at a stage when companies were just being formed and loyalty was more important than professionalism, but the nature of personal relationships with decision makers, and not professionalism or leadership qualities, remains in many companies to this day. the most important factor promotion on career ladder. In many Russian organizations, an alternative hierarchy has actually developed, built on personal connections and often contradicting the professional requirements of the organization.
- Inability to work in a team. For decades, the Soviet management system was based on a strict hierarchy, and therefore many Russian business leaders, despite their individual merits, do not know how to work in a team and establish a team approach in the organization as a whole. At the same time, Western companies are increasingly aware of the importance of creating a team environment in which all managers work together and on an equal footing, making their special contribution to the overall success of the company. Teamwork and horizontal communication are especially important in organizations such as law firms and consulting firms, but manufacturing companies some issues can only be solved by a team - especially those that require the expertise of specialists different profile. For example, the management of an oil field involves the management of a reservoir, a well stock, and surface infrastructure, and one professional, even of the highest class, cannot always make a qualified decision, which is why Western oil companies have cross-functional teams that manage the field. In Russia, this practice takes root slowly.
- Excessive control and unclear distribution of responsibilities. For many Russian companies, the problem of embezzlement and corruption at various levels is still relevant, so the management is introducing total control mechanisms. At the same time, such measures often hinder the decentralization and delegation of authority needed for leadership development. The most successful international companies, in order to stimulate the development of entrepreneurial spirit and leadership qualities, give middle managers more freedom and at the same time give them more responsibility for the work of their departments. In this case, only pre-agreed key parameters are controlled. As a result, many companies have significantly reduced the number of levels in their structures, increased their efficiency, and become more responsive to external changes. Russian companies, on the contrary, often do not have clearly defined areas of responsibility and effective decision-making procedures, since their leaders believe that thanks to such a structure of organizations, they will be able to control the work of all departments and fight theft.
- Lack of experience and culture of personnel development. Many Russian companies do not yet have a broad view of the problem of personnel development, and their managers do not have modern knowledge and skills in this area. For example, Russian companies focus on financial ways to stimulate employees (which are really important), but do not always pay enough attention to other, no less effective motivation factors - involvement in a common vision, emotional attachment to work or a team, education, etc. .d.
Russian businessmen did not have the opportunity to accumulate significant experience in the development of corporate culture and the development of corporate leadership - they faced other tasks. Now, in order to master the tools for creating and customizing a system for developing leadership potential, they will have to learn a lot, reconsider their views, and make significant changes. And the sooner Russian business recognizes the main barriers to leadership development, the sooner this process can begin.
- Honesty. Leadership experts believe that honesty is the most important virtue of a leader. The truth is worth telling if only because it is easier. As ex-DuPont CEO Richard Heckert taught, “If you always tell the truth, you don’t need to memorize all your words.” I noticed that the leaders I trusted the most were honest about the little things, not to mention more serious things. Therefore, for example, they carefully verified even those statements to the press that, it would seem, did not have much significance. Honesty in all things is a good way to build trust within and outside the organization.
- Restraint and ease. A person who is arrogant, arrogant and narcissistic cannot be a leader by definition. But the leader should not be shy either. Real leaders think not about themselves, but about the company and subordinates, behave informally and naturally, and therefore form an informal environment around them. You can show restraint and informality in different ways, for example, do not get yourself chic offices. I know leaders large companies who, like everyone else, stand in line at the canteen and eat at the same table with colleagues.
- The ability to listen. It may not sound like a big deal, but I've seen the opposite many times, even though most executives in hierarchical companies don't have this skill. At the meeting, they interrupt subordinates - the second time these people most likely will not want to speak, no matter how important the issue is. Such leaders are so bad at listening that they turn into leaders in the eyes of their subordinates simply by stopping talking and starting to listen. Employees perceive such metamorphoses well, and the bosses themselves are amazed at how much important they learn.
- Susceptibility. The almighty boss sits upstairs and rarely comes down. They don’t argue with him, they don’t ask him “unnecessary” questions and try not to upset him with bad news. So the leader becomes self-confident and self-sufficient, loses receptivity. As a result, the quality of decision making suffers. A receptive leader is better informed and has more productive relationships with colleagues and subordinates. He never says “no” right away, but leaves himself time to think and, whatever his decision, does not forget to inform those concerned about it.
- Ability to enter into the position of another. To convince others, you need to know what they think. Of course, employees will not be frank with the boss all the time, but he can develop the ability to feel what is happening to them. Once a colleague convinced me to move from command to persuasion in communicating with subordinates. I understood that it would be easier for me to convince a person if I knew about his feelings and experiences. I had to take a fresh look at my colleagues, rely on insight, intuition, empathy, to get into their position. In the end, I learned to do it quite tolerably and I think that any leader can do it. You just need to show tact, sensitivity and be careful in expressions. I don't think I said anything new, although such simple things are often forgotten.
- Initiative. This most important quality of any leader is easy to develop in oneself. Just do not waste time: think, soberly assess the situation and start acting. Hierarchical systems are known to stifle initiative, especially at its lower levels. But if the company is run by leaders, they will not miss new opportunities and realize them. Along with managers, ordinary employees can also take the initiative here. And it is on this that the competitiveness of the company depends. The ability to motivate. Today, motivation too often comes down to command-and-control monetary incentives or promises of promotions. But in leadership-based companies, people are much more motivated by the results of their work, the feeling that they contribute to the development of the company, that they are adequately appreciated and respected. In addition, in such companies, the employees themselves are often interested in improving the financial results of the company, so financial incentives work better.
ATTRIBUTES OF LEADERSHIP
In The Will to Lead, Marvin Bauer, one of the founders of McKinsey and its director from 1950-1967, urges leaders to abandon hierarchical structures and develop leadership, first of all in themselves.
Hierarchical systems don't fit modern requirements- in the face of growing competition, companies need to become more flexible. According to Bauer, the command system cannot simply be improved, it must be replaced by a new one, leadership must replace absolute power; the company must be managed by a network of leaders who work at all levels of the organization.
The most common definition of a leader is something like this: a person who sets a goal and is able to attract others to achieve it. Anyone who wants to become a leader must have certain qualities and character traits. But if it is difficult to change character traits given by nature, then qualities have more in common with skills, and therefore it is easier to acquire them. Here is what Marvin Bauer has to say about some of the essential qualities of a true leader.
DEVELOPMENT OF LEADERSHIP IN RUSSIAN COMPANIES
What needs to be done to develop leadership potential in a Russian company? Identifying the problems that prevent this is only the first step in the right direction. Companies must create conditions for the development of leadership potential at all levels of the organization and contribute to this development in every possible way.
One of the most important conditions is the decentralization and delegation of powers, the rejection of traditional Russian methods of increasing the responsibility of employees, such as hierarchical control, in favor of an entrepreneurial attitude to work. Experience shows that the distribution of powers and responsibilities has a strong motivating effect on employees and increases the efficiency of their work. It is no coincidence that most successful large Western corporations are built on the principles of decentralization and entrepreneurial stimulation: they have realized that bureaucratic hierarchy is incompatible with the development of leadership potential.
Second required condition- A bet on the development of key employees, and therefore leadership potential, at all levels of the company. McKinsey research shows that the total return to shareholders of companies that are leaders in the field of personnel development is almost 20% higher than the industry average. Such a result, of course, is explained not only by success in the development of people, but the importance of this factor cannot be underestimated. It is therefore very important to build a comprehensive system that would stimulate the development of leadership potential in the organization. In fact, many elements of such a system are quite obvious and "mechanistic", which, however, does not detract from their importance. This includes continuous practical training for all today's and tomorrow's leaders, and involvement of leaders at all levels of the organization in the recruitment, evaluation and career promotion of employees, and not only their functional units. All this not only increases the efficiency of work, but also helps employees to better understand the most highly valued leadership qualities and abilities in the company and try to develop them in themselves.
Thirdly, the development of human potential and the education of future leaders should be a task of paramount importance for the first person of the company. The leaders of the most successful companies devote a significant portion of their time (as well as company resources) to the development of employees at all levels of the organization. "His main task I consider the development of our human potential, so I perceive every conversation, every meeting as an opportunity to talk about people. This is how we manage GE,” said Jack Welch. In the most successful companies, top managers often participate in appointments to even the most ordinary positions, which top managers of less successful companies do not honor with their attention.
Finally, top managers should try to work more on themselves, develop their leadership skills, for example by applying different styles management depending on the situation. It is important to remember that the management style and behavior of the first person, as a rule, is reproduced in the company - copied by direct subordinates, and then repeated at all levels of the organization. Demonstrating openness and restraint, showing that he appreciates initiative and responsibility, the leader evokes a response from the team. We witnessed a rare "incident": a worker was not afraid to tell the first person of the company, who was inspecting the new control system in the shop, about how they "bypassed" this system. Prior to this, the manager believed that the system was working efficiently, moreover, he gave workers a bonus for excellent work. How high must be the confidence of an ordinary employee in the head of the company in order to come out with such recognition! Such behavior is largely the merit of the leader. Having shown himself to be an open and receptive person, he created an atmosphere of trust in the company so that people were not afraid to talk about failures, he was able to involve employees in solving serious production problems, improving operations, and thereby made them leaders.
Russian businessmen need to decentralize their companies, delegate authority to leaders at all levels of the organization, and focus on building a development system and leadership potential. In this way, Russian enterprises will be able to overcome cultural barriers to leadership development and close the gap that separates them from the most competitive companies in the world.
Footnotes
More about various styles leadership, see the article "Many Faces of Leadership" in this issue of the McKinsey Review.
Leadership as a phenomenon has aroused the interest of people since ancient times. However, a systematic, focused and widespread study of leadership did not begin until the early 20th century, with the writings of Frederick Taylor. A lot of research has been done, many hypotheses have been put forward. But despite this, there is still no complete agreement on what leadership is.
The phenomenon of leadership and its study
In the course of studying the phenomenon of leadership, scientists have proposed many different definitions.As J. Terry stated:
“Leadership is the impact on groups of people that encourages them to achieve a common goal.
R. Tannenbaum, I. Weschler and F. Massaryk:
"Leadership as an interpersonal interaction, manifested in a certain situation with the help of a communicative process and aimed at achieving a specific goal."
G. Kunz and S. O "Donnell:
"Leadership is about influencing people to achieve a common goal."
“Leadership is a mysterious, elusive quality. Its existence is easy to recognize, difficult to describe, even more difficult to put into practice, and it is no longer possible to create this quality in others.- wrote a well-known American specialist in the field of management, director of the Center for Creative Leadership D. Campbell
“A leader is a member of a group who, in significant situations, is able to exert a significant influence on the behavior of other participants.”
An analysis of the published psychological literature (most textbooks for universities) showed that leadership is classified as a phenomenon - that is, an observable phenomenon in life, but not explainable. Most researchers agree that the leader influences the group and the people around him, is able to organize others to achieve a common goal. However, no one can explain in which people this property is manifested and why.
So how do you explain the phenomenon of leadership? Are there reasons for the appearance of leaders in society and how to explain the fact that certain people always strive to prove themselves (have ambitions), and some do not tend to be leaders at all?
Leadership is an explicable phenomenon that has a specific reason for its appearance.
A complete, intelligible and logical explanation for the phenomenon of leadership is given by Yuri Burlan's System-Vector Psychology, which just shows what the roots of leadership are and explains why some people are not endowed with these qualities.
The study of the psyche from the very first moments of its appearance, observation throughout the entire path of development and evolution of mental phenomena allow system-vector psychology to specifically indicate the cause of the emergence of leadership, not considering it as a phenomenon, but explaining the process of laying and forming leadership abilities in a person.
Leadership is a natural trait
Ambition, as well as a tendency to leadership, are properties inherent in representatives of the skin vector. Why? Since the appearance of mankind as a species, the development of the psyche has been progressive. The laws of communication and interaction between the first people who lived in a pack made it possible to preserve and increase humanity as a species. After all, each performed its specific role for the good of the flock, helped the flock to survive.The main motives that moved people of that time were to satisfy hunger and continue themselves in time, that is, reproduction. Then there was a desire not only to get food, but also to save it for the future, so that it would be enough for a long time. This led to the emergence of such mental properties as rational use resources, as well as the ability to limit oneself and others for the sake of economy.
Bibliography:
1. Organizational psychology: Proc. allowance / E.N. Vikentieva, T.P. Emelyanova, I.V. Zemlyanskaya, E.D. Korotkina, I.G. Sizov; Under. ed. T.P. Emelyanova. - Tver: Tver. state un-t, 2004. - 203 p. (p. 70)
2. Psychological dictionary. M.: Pedagogy. 1983, p. 176.
3. Campbell, 1984, p. 13
The theme of leadership is key to many areas of human life: business, politics, sports. According to various definitions, leadership is a way of influencing and controlling. For many, a leader is a leader who looks ahead, guides people and moves towards the goal.
Life is like a dog sled: as long as you are not the leader, the landscape does not change. About leadership.
Leadership is the ability to get someone to do something, so much so that he also wants it.
In general, the word leadership (leadership) comes from English verb"lead", which means "to lead". “I give driving lessons,” as the biblical prophet Moses, the leader of the great exodus of the Israeli people from Egypt, described in the Old Testament, said. If the concept of leadership is rooted in leading, then there is, in fact, a leader, that is, a leader, and there are followers - those who follow the leader. It is easy to agree that a true leader must have followers. Then leadership can be assessed by the presence of the followers themselves or the team following him. Let's say the leader leads, therefore, he has a goal. Indeed, what is a leader without a goal? An idol surrounded by a crowd of admirers? If a leader cannot tell his followers in which direction to move, where will they follow him? Then leadership is determined by the presence of a goal, and the leader is determined by the ability to choose and direct people towards this goal. So that it does not work out, as in the next joke. A flock of eagles circles over the mountains. Suddenly, the leader of the eagles (the old eagle) turns his head to the north and with a wise look says: “There!” Eagles soar into the sky and fly north. A day later, a handful of shabby proud birds return and one of them asks the old leader: “What is there?” To which the leader replies: "Where?" But after all, people will not follow any person who knows where to go. The leader must have inner strength, if you want attractiveness (charisma). The leader must be drawn to. A leader gives people faith, hope, momentum. People simply will not follow a leader who cannot give it. And of course, in order to determine the goal for his followers, the leader must be able to motivate, be able to convey thoughts and ideas to others. To be able to create around yourself a space in which you would like to be, and a future in which you would like to get into. In our opinion, in the modern world it is useful for a leader to have a number of important skills: not only to see goals and set them, but also to have the ability to see. Vision is some kind of super-goal, if you like, the ability to look into the distant future. The future that the leader begins to shape is here and now. Vision is going beyond our system. What tendencies and metamorphoses will take place over time? Which people, communities and companies around us can become our allies, and which ones our competitors? What information will be material in the future, and what will not? What product will be promising in the future? The leader must be able to answer these questions.
As another definition: leadership is the creation of a world that people want to belong to.
Gilles Page
Any widely known leader in history has visionary skills. For example, Walt Disney, who created the entertainment industry, set the tone for the development of animation and entertainment business for decades to come. Henry Ford, who gave a new impetus to mechanical engineering and introduced the idea of conveyor production. Or Tsiolkovsky, the founder of the theory of jet propulsion and interplanetary communications, one of the theorists of aviation and aeronautics, the founder of astronautics. The leader knows how to shape events based on his vision, and at the same time is an attraction for other people for whom these events become significant.
And of course, for a modern leader, it is simply necessary to know the world that surrounds us, with its laws and frameworks. He must have the necessary information, since only a person with sufficient information can be a leader in the modern world - the world of information flows and crazy speeds. But just having information is not enough - it is important to be able to filter information flows, highlight the main thing, track the necessary connections, highlight key elements and calculate desired points supports and influences, as well as be able to see the boundaries various systems and be able to go beyond them. That is, to have the skills of systems thinking.
AT general view The leadership model can be represented as follows:
The leader forms a vision, sets goals and objectives. The leader must not only be aware of this vision for himself, but also be able to motivate people to achieve goals, be able to explain why this is important, why it is needed and what it will give in the future.
The leader is always in the field of the system: environment and information. The ability to manage this field is one of the most important leadership skills. Live in a non-fictional reality and dream only of dreams, but also objectively measure your ideas, plans, thoughts with the surrounding reality. Be able to distinguish from a continuous flow of information necessary information, recognize useful signals and transform them into goals. Do not catch your chance, but methodically form all the conditions for its appearance.
The very core of leadership is, first of all, defined by the leader as a person. But in order to attract people to him, the leader must have charisma. As mentioned above, a charismatic leader is in itself an attraction for others. Such a leader wants to imitate and follow him. It's hard not to notice him in a crowd. Therefore, charisma is an integral part of a true leader. It is not for nothing that this phenomenon is given such great importance in politics, where charisma is formed with the help of special political technologies.
In addition to charisma, the leader must broadcast right beliefs and inspirational ideas. This gives others food for thought, fills the leader like a vessel from the inside, creates an inner core, a support. People understand that behind the words and the outer shell is a specific deed, a specific thought, an inner conviction. In the language of psychology, this is the inner evenness of a person.
Finally, the leader must have a certain set of qualities and skills, which allow him to expand his field of influence. Entire phenomenological theories are built on the characteristics and qualities of a real leader. Allocate a huge number of traits that are necessary for a leader. In different studies, there are dozens or even hundreds of them. I would like to highlight 4 important leadership skills that the leader of the global NLP community, Robert Dilts, highlights in his book "Alpha Leadership":
Key qualities of a modern leader.
Vision.
A true leader must be able to look ahead. He must be able to foresee the future and, based on his vision, guide his team forward towards the goal.
Motivation. A leader must be able to stimulate himself and his team. In any, even the most hopeless situation, the leader believes that there is a way out. A leader must be able to inspire and motivate others to action.Recognition of weak signals (sensitivity).
The modern world is a world of change. The leader must be attentive to the changes taking place in the outside world, in his team. Ability to receive feedback and to react quickly, to anticipate - means to be half a step ahead of everyone.
Flexibility in behavior.
The leader must be able to respond not only quickly, but also to have different strategies of behavior. Each person should have his own approach, it is important not only to find him, but also to interact with him, taking into account your own and his interests, to act from a win-win position, where both parties receive mutual benefit. In addition, below is a list of what I think are the most important leadership qualities:
purposefulness
internal integrity
systematic thinking
curiosity
activity, initiative
wanting more
organization
subsequence
sociability
building trust
composure
courage
speaking, persuading
the ability to hear and listen.
And, of course, one of the most important characteristics leader can serve as the implementation of all these skills and abilities in behavior. Any word should be embodied in actions and deeds. If a leader talks a lot and does little, his credibility plummets.
As we have already determined, one of the criteria that determines a leader is the presence of followers or a cohesive team capable of supporting the leader in his aspirations and undertakings. Tell me who your team is, who are the people who follow you, and I will tell you who you are. A leader cannot exist without support and command. The ability to find a real team and people to rely on characterizes a true leader.
Leadership steps.
Leaders are not born, leaders are made. According to modern research Everyone has leadership potential - the question is how it can be developed and to what extent. Generally speaking, there are leaders of completely different formats. And the growth of a leader can take place in several stages, depending on the competencies and scale of leadership. Here are the stages of leadership growth:
- Internal leadership. This is a basic stage in the development of leadership competence. Prerequisites for the emergence and development of leadership. A person must first of all be able to lead himself. Know how to motivate and set yourself up for work. Take responsibility for your actions and keep the situation under control.
- Situational or contextual leadership (microleadership). It manifests itself when a person takes on the role of a leader depending on the current situation and in a particular context. He is temporarily responsible for what is happening. More often than not, such leaders are motivated by necessity rather than opportunity. For example, in an extreme situation, when the context itself dictates the need for the emergence of leadership qualities. If not me, then who? When the urgency of the situation subsides, the person takes off his leadership role and returns to everyday activities.
- Command or tactical leadership (macro leadership). The leader constantly leads his team. Is her inspiration. Takes the initiative in his own hands for a long period of time. Responsible for his team and its members. Usually sets tactical goals and strives to achieve them.
- Systemic or strategic leadership (metal leadership). The leader manages the entire system as a whole. This is the leader of leaders. That is, he leads the leaders. Sets strategic goals, forms the vision of the company, defines far-reaching plans and development prospects. He doesn't even motivate, he inspires.
Thus, the evolution of leadership can take place according to the following scheme:
At the first stage, the ability to manage oneself develops: to work with one's states, the ability to set and achieve goals, to motivate oneself to work and achieve the highest achievements. At the next stage, take the lead in some specific situations. Learn to seize the initiative, communicate and communicate with people and move together with them towards the fulfillment of tasks and goals. At the third stage, form your own team, motivate it, serve as an attraction for people. Make sure you want to follow. In parallel, develop other leadership skills: the ability to coordinate the actions of your team, the ability to speak, convince, inner courage, determination, perseverance, communication skills. And, finally, at the fourth stage, create your own leadership school, where followers-leaders would appear and leadership would be carried out whole system teams and businesses. At this stage, you just need the ability to manage large systems and structures. Develop vision and foresight, because only by imagining distant alluring vistas will people follow you on and on, on and on.
Leadership and guidance.
If we transfer the theory of leadership to the sphere of business, then, generally speaking, a leader is not always a leader and vice versa. A leader is often a formal position that performs controlling and coordinating functions, and leadership is rather a psychological phenomenon. It's good when the leader takes a leading position and is the inspirer and motivator of the team, who wants to follow to achieve new goals and take new heights. But often this is not the case. The leader occupies an exclusively managerial position, while the leader in the team is a completely different person.
So why is it good for a leader to be a leader? Well, firstly, the leader is an authority in the team, and therefore, he spends much less effort to manage and delegate. The leader is trusted and his example is followed. This means that most of the internal information in the team passes through it, and therefore, it has much more feedback. He is aware of what is happening in the team, and is more likely to foresee various situations and predict their decision in advance.
Generally speaking, back in 1992, Harvard Business School professor Abraham Zaleznik characterized the difference between leaders and managers (managers). He argued that leaders tolerate chaos, lack of structure and uncertainty, managers seek order and control and seek to get rid of the problem even before they themselves understand its meaning. Below are comparative characteristics of managers and leaders based on the works of A. Zaleznik:
|
Managers / managers |
Leaders |
| Get their position Accept and maintain the status quo Strive for predictability and order Achieve goals Organize cases for the implementation of the event Act within the rules, regulations, strategies, procedures adopted by the organization Motivate staff Avoid risks Develop order, stages of actions and deadlines Monitor compliance with criteria Emphasis on tactics, structure Organize staff Interested in performance | Take leadership Challenge the status quo Strive for change Build the Vision Create events Go beyond the organization’s rules, regulations, strategies, procedures Inspire people Take risks Develop visions and strategies Develop criteria, set limits Focus on fundamental values, common goals Rally like-minded people Interested in efficiency |
Managers do things right, leaders do right things. Managers do things right - leaders do the right things.
Who would you like to see in your workforce: managers or leaders? In what position is it more comfortable and useful for you to be, where to grow? You decide.
Relationships and goals.
The question is often asked: “What should a leader-leader focus on first of all: on people or on achieving results?” This is the dilemma that Fred Fiedler identified in his work on the theory of situational leadership. Orientation to achieve results makes it possible to move faster towards the goal, to exercise control and planning. At the same time, focusing on people allows you to create a trusting relationship in the team, the involvement of all team members, taking into account their personal characteristics and the formation of individual motivation. In practice, we often encounter leaders of both types. In the pursuit of fulfilling the plan and achieving goals, one often forgets about the needs of the team. Others, focusing only on the human factor, lose sight of the goals. It is good when a leader knows how to maintain a balance between relationships and goals. After all, if you focus only on tasks, team relationships become strictly formal and dry. There is a high probability of internal tensions in the team, friction and conflicts. On the contrary, an exclusive focus on people loses sight of the goal, and the work turns into a nice hangout with a warm emotional climate and friendships, but with a very small coefficient useful action and low functionality. Therefore, it is important to remember these components of management, to find golden mean and take them into account in long-term teamwork.
Leadership styles.
AT modern theory management accepted various classifications management styles. But from experience, I consider it appropriate to single out the two most common and most accurately describing the situation of style: democratic and authoritarian. For a democratic leadership style, delegation of authority and partial transfer of responsibility for decision-making to a team can be considered characteristic. For an authoritarian - complete control over the situation, the final decision-making remains with the leader, management is centralized. In order to understand which style is more effective, it is useful to compare their characteristics.
|
Democratic leadership |
|
|
Communication, interaction |
|
| More trust within the team | Less trust within the team |
| Discussion on an equal footing, there is an opportunity to openly express your own point of view | High dependence on the leader, silence |
| High-quality and freely voiced feedback | Lack of feedback, strong criticality |
| Too much information different quality | Lack of information |
| Feedback to management is available | Difficulty communicating from employees to management |
|
Decision-making |
|
| The leader shares decision-making responsibility with the team | All responsibility lies with the leader |
| unpredictability decision | Predictive Decision Making |
| Possibility of joint decision-making | Sole Decision Making |
| Decision making can be lengthy | High decision speed |
|
Motivation |
|
| High team spirit, high motivation | Lack of proper motivation in the team |
| Independence, initiative, self-motivation of employees | Lack of initiative |
| More motivation "K", for achievements | More "OT" motivation, avoiding failure |
|
Goals, planning |
|
| Vision of a common goal by all team members | Frequent lack of a visible common goal among team members |
| There may be a lack of a unified tactic and strategy for achieving results | A leader-driven strategy for achieving results |
| Possible frequent changes in the purpose and course of the company | Rapid movement towards the goal set by the leader |
| Flexibility in approaches, multiple points of view | Lack of flexibility, leader's point of view, conservatism |
|
Borders, control |
|
| No rigid hierarchy | Rigid hierarchy |
| High creative activity | Lack of creativity |
| No clear lines of authority | Clear distribution of powers |
| Lack of team coordination | Clarity and coherence in the work of the team |
| Possible lack of discipline, chaos in work | High discipline in the team |
| Delegation, internal self-control | High degree of centralized control |
As you can see from the table, each leadership style has its pros and cons. The democratic style of leadership allows you to improve communication and feedback in the team, makes the work creative, promotes multiple analysis of the situation and better motivates employees, but at the same time slows down the decision-making process, especially in conditions of severe time pressure, and creates additional chaos. On the contrary, authoritarian leadership makes it possible to better coordinate actions, more clearly delineate responsibilities and manage employees, and also facilitates the decision-making process, but at the same time it is fraught with lack of initiative among employees, lack of proper creativity and flexibility in the company. As practice shows, a true leader knows how to use the advantages of both leadership styles. His flexibility as a leader is manifested in the ability to use different approaches in leadership, combining a democratic style with an authoritarian one, depending on the context.
Summing up, we can say that leadership is an integral part of modern business. It is leaders and innovators who develop new business approaches, expand horizons and create a vision of modern business for decades to come. At the same time, modern psychotechnologies make it possible not only to identify leaders in our environment, but also to train and nurture a new generation of leaders in various areas of business and modern science, because exactly a real LEADER makes our future real!
It originates in the 1920s, when interest in management as a science first began to appear. The first thing that the researchers drew attention to was the possible presence of common character traits among various well-known leaders. This is how the theory of traits, or the "Theory of great people", appeared. Unfortunately, the theory was not successful. It turned out to be very difficult to identify common features. Of course, there were many similarities. Traits such as high intelligence, a large store of knowledge, bright appearance, self-confidence and so on. But it was not possible to create a general portrait of the leader. People who did not have the above qualities were also outstanding leaders.
The next step of the researchers was the situational theory of leadership. According to her, the leader is generated by the current situation. Depending on the task, the leader may change. The leader can focus on solving a problem or on relationships in a team. F. Fidder conducted a number of studies on this issue and revealed the dependence of leadership style on the situation in the team. If there is a favorable situation in the team, friendly relations and employees perceive the leader, respect and listen to him, the task-oriented leader will be effective. He will be able to set precise goals and be demanding. A well-coordinated team works faster. The same scheme works in an unfavorable situation, where the leader is not perceived and respected. A task-oriented leader will also be effective.
In the medium degree of favorableness, where there are problems in the team and employees do not know how to perceive the leader, the leader who is relationship-oriented will be more successful. To create a favorable situation, to improve relations in the team is the primary task of the leader.
The third step of the researchers is the systems theory of leadership. Here leadership and the leader are considered from the point of view of group dynamics. The group is considered as a system, leadership is the organization of relations in the group, the leader is the subject of managing this process.
Types and styles of leadership
K. Levin, in terms of style and methods of work, singled out the following types leaders: authoritarian, democratic, permissive.
Authoritarian leadership style.
A person endowed with power, he makes all decisions, gives orders. Such a boss is a "despot". The problems of his employees are of little concern to him, the workflow, the solution of the tasks set are important to him. He is the sole ruler.
Democratic style of leadership.
The boss works closely with subordinates. The team takes part in the discussion of tasks and decision-making. This style simplifies the solution of problems, maintains warmer relations in the team. But tasks are not completed as quickly as under an authoritarian leadership style.
Permissive leadership style.
There is a leader, but he is not visible. The group works independently. She discusses and makes decisions. The leader has almost no influence on the work of the group. With this leadership style, the group can work effectively, but spends a lot of time organizing the workflow.
We encounter leadership throughout our lives. School prefect, captain football team, boss at work. The question of which leader or leadership style will be most effective remains open. It is necessary to take into account a huge number of factors, such as the size of the group, the degree of trust in the group and in the leader, communication in the group, tasks set, deadlines, the nature of the leader, and so on. In each specific situation, a specific leader is needed.
In experimental practice, several types of leaders have been identified: leader-organizer, leader-initiator, leader-erudite, leader-handyman.
We can say for sure that a group without a leader does not exist. The leader organizes, directs, motivates the group.
Elena Lubovinkina - consultant, psychologist
| - | ||
| - | How does it feel to manage people, to lead, to be a leader? How to manage people so that others realize your idea and idea, enjoy the work and bring profit to the common cause? The people that you have to manage are so different - they have different characters and values, different levels of professionalism and a desire to grow and develop professionally, how to find an individual approach? How to work with everyone and work with a team - to motivate, find effective solutions, achieve high results? Our training "Situational Leadership" will answer these questions! You can take it at any convenient time, |
True leadership is...
Today there is a huge variety of examples of leadership. Successful and unsuccessful, positive and negative, effective and ineffective. Below we present an attempt to reflect on the topic of what true leadership is.
True leadership is activity, it is taking the initiative in something and taking responsibility for something. This is the acquisition of the ability and doing something better, faster, better, more efficiently.
True leadership is progress! It's definitely an evolution. Only the one who leads people to development can be considered a leader.
True leadership is service, caring for those in need of your care, protecting those in need of your protection, helping those in need of your help.
True leadership is cooperation for the common welfare and prosperity. Not war and struggle, as a result of which someone wins and someone loses, but cooperation and co-creation. After all, the very word "victory" contains almost its opposite - the word "trouble."
True leadership is all about solving the problems people face, whether it's solving problems or seizing new opportunities.
True leadership is loyalty to the chosen path, it is courage and courage in overcoming the obstacles that have arisen along the way.
True leadership is not the persecution of people, but leading them to freedom, equality, brotherhood, and the acquisition of the highest universal values.
True leadership is necessarily a balance between mercy and compassion on the one hand and justice and rigor on the other.
True leadership is an impulse, a spark, a push, a motive that encourages people to become better, kinder, more efficient.
True leadership is the energy and power of God pouring out onto the Earth through the most capable and willing individual.
In our Leadership Glory Gallery (see top to bottom) images and portraits of such amazing legendary and even mythological leaders-heroes as Hercules, Jason, Odysseus, Atlas, Odin, Ilya Muromets, Merlin, King Arthur, Mikula Selyaninovich
VS-leadership, or Realize the difference
2 types of leadership
Brian Tracy, in his book The 100 Absolute Laws of Business Success, identifies two types of leaders:
1. Transformational leader, or leader-transformer. This leader blazes new trails, is a dreamer and a visionary. Such leadership qualities motivate, inspire people to act far beyond the level at which they acted before.
2. The transactional leader, or implementer leader, is the most important and fundamental. The Implementing Leader achieves results by organizing the work of others.
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From the book Rise Above the Vanity by Allen James From the book It's never too late to become successful author Butler-Bowdon Tom From the book Do not retreat and do not give up. My incredible story by Rensin David From the book The Wisdom of a Leader the author Zhalevich AndreyIs it leadership? A fragment of the famous painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder "The Tower of Babel" very well symbolizes the issue of leadership, which is relevant today more than ever before in the history of mankind. This picture is based on a plot from the First Book of Moses about
From the book Capital Growing Guide by Joseph Murphy, Dale Carnegie, Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Barbara Sher, Neil Walsh the author Stern ValentinTrue leadership is... Today there is a huge variety of examples of leadership. Successful and unsuccessful, positive and negative, effective and ineffective. Below we present an attempt to reflect on the topic of what is true
From The Gift of Midas author Kiyosaki Robert ToruWWW Leadership Gary Hamel in his book The Leader's Manifesto. What really matters today" writes that the World Wide Web provides many opportunities for the realization of passion, because in it: no one can destroy good idea; anyone can
From the book The Magic of Network Business. Master class for beginners author Rashidovna Osinskaya IrinaThe true purpose of a leader is... Here are some of the basic ideas about the true purpose of a true leader. Serve, protect, care for, help and support. To shine, to be the sun for others - to be a transmitter of the will from Above. Find the clear
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