Not My Style!
Not My Style!
How many times have you heard someone use that phrase?
The challenge of course for anyone who is a ‘Leader’ is to realise the impact that ‘their style’ has on the workplace environment and individual members of their team.
The impact is huge!
The style of the leader has a positive and negative impact on:
• Workplace environment.
• The performance of the team and individuals in the team.
Yet it is surprising how often people in junior and senior management roles don’t think about how they could improve results, motivate their teams and retain key staff – by developing their Leadership Styles.
When I ask business leaders - from Managing Director to First Line Manager - to describe their ‘Leadership Style’ common answers are:
• ‘Firm but Fair’
• ‘Coach’
• ‘Do as I do’
• ‘I lead by example’.
There is nothing wrong with any of these, but the common factor is that most people describe only one or perhaps two leadership styles. It is not enough if the leader is going to get optimum performance from the team.
Think - how many in a team of say 10 people are likely to react positively to the same leadership style? The answer is probably two or three – leaving the rest of the team working for a leader who:
• Has a style they either don’t react positively to – or it doesn’t bring out the best in them. Have you ever wondered why someone who is an ‘average’ performer in one team becomes an ‘outstanding’ performer in another – and vice versa? Could it be anything to do with the style of the Leader?
• Is likely to create a workplace environment in which they will feel motivated and valued – the consequence is that they don’t deliver optimum performance.
Many things make an outstanding leader, but two key steps are:
First – the leader must understand and know how to implement different leadership styles.
Second – the leader must understand which styles will get the best performance from each member of the team.
My belief is that there are seven leadership styles that anyone who is responsible for leading a team of people should know:
1. Directive – a leader who is prepared to give orders, a style that is based on ‘Do as I instruct you!’
2. Visionary – a leader who knows where the team is going and plans to get there. Visionaries live the vision on a day by day basis.
3. Coach – a leader who believes that goals and objectives are achieved through the skills of the team. This leader makes developing those skills a priority.
4. People – a leader who thinks happy and motivated people are the key to success!
5. Mutual – the inclusive leader. An individual who involves everyone in determining strategy, setting direction and making decisions.
6. Role Model – sets the standard, this is the individual who likes to ‘lead by example’.
7. Mentor – a leader who helps people ‘find their own way’.
The fact is that for most leaders one or two of these styles will be ‘natural’ – essentially due to a combination of the leaders who have been influences in their careers and their personal characteristics. However if leaders don’t develop the styles that are not natural, they limit their own – and their people’s – potential and results.
As an example, I recently worked with a very experienced second line manager, a good performer who was well respected in her organisation – especially for her skills in developing new first line managers. For the purpose of this article I will call her Jane.
When we started out we agreed that Jane’s leadership style was predominantly ‘Directive, and ‘Visionary’. The team knew what she wanted to achieve and she was very good at giving directions. Jane was somewhat defensive when I suggested that she could be a better leader and drive better team performance if she consciously started to develop the other leadership styles. The defensiveness was purely because her team was ‘performing’ so why should she change– however she wasn’t asking ‘What could be?’
To start we divided the team into three groups:
• Enthusiastic Beginners – people who were new in their role and on steep learning curves. This group reacted superbly to Jane, they revelled in the clear direction and the vision of where they were going. It was not surprising that Jane had developed a great reputation with people new to the first line management role – her leadership style was a perfect match for their needs.
• High Performers – this was a group that were established in their roles and leading ‘performing’ teams. This group reacted well to Jane’s ‘visionary’ approach – they liked knowing where they were going and communicated this to their own teams. However the ‘Directive’ side of Jane was causing frustration and dissatisfaction – to the extent that there was a serious threat of losing good people. The High Performers didn’t want to be told what to do, they were more than prepared to listen but wanted to be consulted and they wanted to contribute – especially to the vision in which they believed. They needed what Jane wasn’t providing - leadership based on the People: Mutual and Mentor approach.
• Skilled but Cautious – a group that were established in the role and were best described as ‘doing enough to get the job done’. Jane found this group frustrating to lead, their performance was OK but she knew it could be significantly improved and it the overall team performance was to grow it had to come from this group.
The real issue with this group was that over a period of time they had slowly separated from Jane over a period of time – Jane’s ‘Vision’ appeared beyond them and the ‘Direction’ to do different things was something that the group ran away from rather than action. They understood ‘what‘Jane wanted them to do – they didn’t understand ‘how’.
This group was desperate for leadership based around the styles of Visionary, Coach and People. Instead they were getting Visionary and Directive – a mismatch that was creating the wrong work place environment, having a negative impact on the performance of this group and subsequently the performance of their teams.
The message to Jane was simple, she had to do three things:
First – keep doing what works. Jane’s leadership style fitted perfectly with the ‘Enthusiastic Beginner’ group – it was important that Jane continued to use and develop the leadership styles that were natural to her.
Second – consult with the ‘High Performers’. Jane began to apply the ‘People’ and ‘Mutual’ styles with this group – encouraging them to contribute ideas on how the team could achieve the vision Jane had set. Additionally on a one to one basis Jane adopted the ‘mentor’ style – helping this group to decide what their goals really were and encouraging them to explore how to achieve them.
Subsequent temperature checks showed an overall improvement in workplace environment and staff satisfaction scores. This is crucial – companies do not want to lose their high performers.
Third – develop the ‘Skilled but Cautious’. This was a key change, clearly the visionary style was still needed but Jane needed to use the styles of ‘Coach’ and ‘People’. Showing this group how to develop team performance and giving them the self belief that it could be done.
Once again subsequent temperature checks showed improvement in workplace environment, staff motivation and most importantly performance.
Clearly it would be wrong to say that the solution to getting optimum performance from a team is just about ‘Leadership Styles’ – but make no mistake, it has a major part to play.
So if you are a Leader – what can you do? Try this action plan:
1. Identify your Leadership Style - ask you colleagues, your own leader even your own team – how would they describe your Leadership Style? Just be open minded – you don’t always hear what you want to hear.
2. Use What You Already Have - think about the leadership styles that come naturally to you – use them where they fit and develop them!
3. Analyse your Team - think about the people you lead and identify which leadership styles will generate the best results and create the right workplace environment for them.
4. Develop - identify the leadership styles you need to develop and prioritise them based on the needs of your team. Then think about new behaviours and skills you can use to implement these styles.
Remember – the next time you say ‘Not my Style’ – if you are talking about Leadership just ask yourself ‘Should it be?’
Brett Lyons is a Senior Account Director with The Leadership & Sales Academy Ltd – who specialises in the ‘people’ and ‘strategic’ aspects of business leadership.
Tel 0845 600 1556:
e-mail: brett@tlsa.co.uk
www.tlsa.co.uk
Not My Style - To learn more about this author, visit Brett Lyons's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Not My Style!
How many times have you heard someone use that phrase?
The challenge of course for anyone who is a ‘Leader’ is to realise the impact that ‘their style’ has on the workplace environment and individual members of their team.
The impact is huge!
The style of the leader has a positive and negative impact on:
• Workplace environment.
• The performance of the team and individuals in the team.
Yet it is surprising how often people in junior and senior management roles don’t think about how they could improve results, motivate their teams and retain key staff – by developing their Leadership Styles.
When I ask business leaders - from Managing Director to First Line Manager - to describe their ‘Leadership Style’ common answers are:
• ‘Firm but Fair’
• ‘Coach’
• ‘Do as I do’
• ‘I lead by example’.
There is nothing wrong with any of these, but the common factor is that most people describe only one or perhaps two leadership styles. It is not enough if the leader is going to get optimum performance from the team.
Think - how many in a team of say 10 people are likely to react positively to the same leadership style? The answer is probably two or three – leaving the rest of the team working for a leader who:
• Has a style they either don’t react positively to – or it doesn’t bring out the best in them. Have you ever wondered why someone who is an ‘average’ performer in one team becomes an ‘outstanding’ performer in another – and vice versa? Could it be anything to do with the style of the Leader?
• Is likely to create a workplace environment in which they will feel motivated and valued – the consequence is that they don’t deliver optimum performance.
Many things make an outstanding leader, but two key steps are:
First – the leader must understand and know how to implement different leadership styles.
Second – the leader must understand which styles will get the best performance from each member of the team.
My belief is that there are seven leadership styles that anyone who is responsible for leading a team of people should know:
1. Directive – a leader who is prepared to give orders, a style that is based on ‘Do as I instruct you!’
2. Visionary – a leader who knows where the team is going and plans to get there. Visionaries live the vision on a day by day basis.
3. Coach – a leader who believes that goals and objectives are achieved through the skills of the team. This leader makes developing those skills a priority.
4. People – a leader who thinks happy and motivated people are the key to success!
5. Mutual – the inclusive leader. An individual who involves everyone in determining strategy, setting direction and making decisions.
6. Role Model – sets the standard, this is the individual who likes to ‘lead by example’.
7. Mentor – a leader who helps people ‘find their own way’.
The fact is that for most leaders one or two of these styles will be ‘natural’ – essentially due to a combination of the leaders who have been influences in their careers and their personal characteristics. However if leaders don’t develop the styles that are not natural, they limit their own – and their people’s – potential and results.
As an example, I recently worked with a very experienced second line manager, a good performer who was well respected in her organisation – especially for her skills in developing new first line managers. For the purpose of this article I will call her Jane.
When we started out we agreed that Jane’s leadership style was predominantly ‘Directive, and ‘Visionary’. The team knew what she wanted to achieve and she was very good at giving directions. Jane was somewhat defensive when I suggested that she could be a better leader and drive better team performance if she consciously started to develop the other leadership styles. The defensiveness was purely because her team was ‘performing’ so why should she change– however she wasn’t asking ‘What could be?’
To start we divided the team into three groups:
• Enthusiastic Beginners – people who were new in their role and on steep learning curves. This group reacted superbly to Jane, they revelled in the clear direction and the vision of where they were going. It was not surprising that Jane had developed a great reputation with people new to the first line management role – her leadership style was a perfect match for their needs.
• High Performers – this was a group that were established in their roles and leading ‘performing’ teams. This group reacted well to Jane’s ‘visionary’ approach – they liked knowing where they were going and communicated this to their own teams. However the ‘Directive’ side of Jane was causing frustration and dissatisfaction – to the extent that there was a serious threat of losing good people. The High Performers didn’t want to be told what to do, they were more than prepared to listen but wanted to be consulted and they wanted to contribute – especially to the vision in which they believed. They needed what Jane wasn’t providing - leadership based on the People: Mutual and Mentor approach.
• Skilled but Cautious – a group that were established in the role and were best described as ‘doing enough to get the job done’. Jane found this group frustrating to lead, their performance was OK but she knew it could be significantly improved and it the overall team performance was to grow it had to come from this group.
The real issue with this group was that over a period of time they had slowly separated from Jane over a period of time – Jane’s ‘Vision’ appeared beyond them and the ‘Direction’ to do different things was something that the group ran away from rather than action. They understood ‘what‘Jane wanted them to do – they didn’t understand ‘how’.
This group was desperate for leadership based around the styles of Visionary, Coach and People. Instead they were getting Visionary and Directive – a mismatch that was creating the wrong work place environment, having a negative impact on the performance of this group and subsequently the performance of their teams.
The message to Jane was simple, she had to do three things:
First – keep doing what works. Jane’s leadership style fitted perfectly with the ‘Enthusiastic Beginner’ group – it was important that Jane continued to use and develop the leadership styles that were natural to her.
Second – consult with the ‘High Performers’. Jane began to apply the ‘People’ and ‘Mutual’ styles with this group – encouraging them to contribute ideas on how the team could achieve the vision Jane had set. Additionally on a one to one basis Jane adopted the ‘mentor’ style – helping this group to decide what their goals really were and encouraging them to explore how to achieve them.
Subsequent temperature checks showed an overall improvement in workplace environment and staff satisfaction scores. This is crucial – companies do not want to lose their high performers.
Third – develop the ‘Skilled but Cautious’. This was a key change, clearly the visionary style was still needed but Jane needed to use the styles of ‘Coach’ and ‘People’. Showing this group how to develop team performance and giving them the self belief that it could be done.
Once again subsequent temperature checks showed improvement in workplace environment, staff motivation and most importantly performance.
Clearly it would be wrong to say that the solution to getting optimum performance from a team is just about ‘Leadership Styles’ – but make no mistake, it has a major part to play.
So if you are a Leader – what can you do? Try this action plan:
1. Identify your Leadership Style - ask you colleagues, your own leader even your own team – how would they describe your Leadership Style? Just be open minded – you don’t always hear what you want to hear.
2. Use What You Already Have - think about the leadership styles that come naturally to you – use them where they fit and develop them!
3. Analyse your Team - think about the people you lead and identify which leadership styles will generate the best results and create the right workplace environment for them.
4. Develop - identify the leadership styles you need to develop and prioritise them based on the needs of your team. Then think about new behaviours and skills you can use to implement these styles.
Remember – the next time you say ‘Not my Style’ – if you are talking about Leadership just ask yourself ‘Should it be?’
Brett Lyons is a Senior Account Director with The Leadership & Sales Academy Ltd – who specialises in the ‘people’ and ‘strategic’ aspects of business leadership.
Tel 0845 600 1556:
e-mail: brett@tlsa.co.uk
www.tlsa.co.uk
Not My Style - To learn more about this author, visit Brett Lyons's Website.
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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