‘The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.’ (Kenneth Blanchard, author and expert on leadership development and management)
The biggest difference between leaders and managers is that leaders inspire people who work with them. Leaders have followers while managers have subordinates
In the light of these statements have you ever worked with someone who inspired you to achieve great results? Do you lead your team by inspiring and influencing them? The essence of great leadership is the ability to inspire others to follow you rather than demand or issue commands.
Transactional leaders are those who provide guidance or motivation to achieve goals by providing rewards in exchange for productivity. Typically focused on solely completing the tasks/projects.
Transformational leaders on the other hand, inspire others to move beyond their own self-interests to achieve the vision and goals of the organisation. Examples of transformational leaders include Anita Roddick The Body Shop, Richard Branson Virgin, and Gail Kelly CEO Westpac.
Today’s manager needs to be skilled at developing teams and helping them to perform well. They need to know how to mould and empower teams so they can direct themselves, with reduced input from management, and achieve the results their organisations need from them. This is achieved through Transformational Leadership.
Performance focused teams, regardless of their role, position and status within the organisation, will deliver results well beyond what individuals acting alone and working in a non-team situation could achieve.
By adopting a team approach and utilising consultation and involvement with all stakeholders to facilitate genuine commitment, organisations can substantially increase total effectiveness.
Team members should understand that their roles must take into account that they are responsible and accountable for their own performance and for achieving the organisations’ (and teams) goals and objectives.
This is achieved by:
- supporting and assisting each other on a daily basis
- communicating relevant information to each other, accurately and timely
- discussing the work problems with each other
- coming together to set priorities, and
- jointly problem solving to overcome difficulties.
In other words there needs to be ongoing consultation between team members and leaders so that everyone has an understanding of team purpose, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.
Take your steps to your next career journey. Are your ready to change your thinking in leadership development? Contact ACWE for more information.
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