Leadership Training

What are the basics of leadership? In my book “The Human Way” I present a tetrahedron or ”pyramid” as I often wrongly call it. This pyramid was created when I put Edward Deci’s triangle describing the fundamentals of extrinsic motivation together with Sven Kylén’s triangle describing the characteristics of high performing teams. Deci’s triangle describes motivation in individuals but does not address the groups need to achieve a purpose or results. Kylén’s triangle on the other hand describes the groups need for balance between autonomy, belonging and the need to strive toward its purpose or goals but doesn’t consider the individuals need for a sense of competence in order to maximize their own intrinsic motivation. By combining these two models I identified 4 fundamental elements from both an individual and group perspective that are crucial for the success of all leaders. Leaders who want to succeed must focus on supporting the individual’s intrinsic motivation by increasing their autonomy, belonging and competence while providing clarity and unity around the group’s purpose and/or goals. Purpose In many of our work places we find weak or non-existing understanding of the purpose or the goals of the group. It is worth noting that in order to create unity around common goals or purpose we must first share certain core values. Our goals and our purpose must always be aligned with these common core values. Our goals and purpose should of course always lead towards improvement and creating a better world. But if we do not agree on what needs to be improved or what ”better” looks like, we will not be able to stand behind the goals or initiatives required to achieve those improvements. If the group doesn’t share at least some basic common values they will never be able to agree on a common direction or common goals. Competence An additional challenge is that creating common values and agreeing on a common purpose often requires new competencies. If an individual has no knowledge or the wrong knowledge about business issues facing them (or political issues for that matter) they will invariably come to the wrong conclusions. It falls on leaders to communicate skillfully and factually to the people in their organizations about the challenges confronting the organization. Leaders must also provide education in order for employees gain the necessary competencies in order to understand and successfully address these challenges. Relatedness If individuals don’t feel a sense of belonging with the group they won’t be motivated for the goals of the group. Similarly, if an individual doesn’t buy into the goals and purpose of the group they will not feel a sense of belonging to the group. In short, without a shared sense of belonging between individuals and unity around a common purpose there will be no group. Autonomy Lastly, we come to the concept of autonomy. In the strictest sense autonomy means having control over your own life. In the context of a group, autonomy means involvement, influence and participation. In order for an individual to maintain a sense of autonomy in a group they must feel that their needs, ideas and desires are respected. The individual must feel that they can participate in and influence the life of the group. Without a true sense of involvement the individual will feel alienated because their autonomy is threatened and will intellectually and emotionally leave the group even if they may remain in the group in a physical sense. In other words, an employee who does not feel that they are provided with an opportunity to impact the direction and decisions in their company may well remain in the company in order to get their paycheck but their productivity will fall to the minimum level necessary to maintain employment or they will simply search for another employer where they feel a greater sense of autonomy and participation. Individuals in the group who become alienated tend to either abdicate or they move to another group. People who feel marginalized in a group may gather in new groups where they feel they have a greater influence. This is evident both in the new and sometimes frightening voices in many countries’ politics as well as in the often informal groups that evolve within a business. Tips for getting back to the basics of leadership. Work consistently over a long period of time with leadership training and communication. Uniformed people will always make uninformed decisions. Leaders need to be less focused on driving their own agendas and instead learn to listen to people and take their ideas, dreams and concerns seriously. Create as much opportunity for individual involvement as possible. Delegate everything you can. Don’t ask why should I delegate this, ask why not? This will be difficult but it’s much better than failing. Experiment with new decision processes: Technology has made it possible for large groups to participate in the decision process. Sometimes the group can make decisions; other times they can at least have an opportunity to influence decisions. (I have often felt that I wouldn’t want to work somewhere where they didn’t listen to what I had to say. But, if they listen to what I have to say I can usually live with the organization not always doing what I want.) In other words, being listened to is much more important than getting our way! Be visible and present. There is a strong correlation between visibility and confidence. It is difficult to have confidence in managers who are distant and invisible. Leaders need to be out among their followers. Many times what you actually say or do is less important than the fact that you are present. A cup of coffee with a group of employees can have a significantly greater impact for your leadership than a kickoff at the best hotel. [caption id="attachment_913" align="alignleft" width="175"] Kelly Odell, expert on people management and author of the book "The Human Way"[/caption]