Posts Tagged ‘different styles of leadership’

The Myth of Choosing Different Styles of Leadership

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

I thought about this blog post the other day when I was preparing to teach my MBA students.

The received wisdom, among academics, is that leaders are such rational people that, in the heat of battle, they will objectively consider from among the many different styles of leadership, choose the most appropriate one, and then put it into practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes. You read that correctly. You and I both know that that’s not what happens in the real world.

In practice, leaders are no more or less rational than anyone else. All of us prefer to do things in one way or another. But, when leaders come under pressure, they not only don’t consider the different styles of leadership available to them, or even what the situation demands: Instead, they revert to what is comfortable for them. This is not a blanket condemnation of leaders, but rather of the assumptions made about the application of these different styles of leadership.

Some leaders are more task-oriented and “don’t have time to be touchy-feely.” Others prefer to develop relationships, believing that the tasks will largely take care of themselves if there is good communication, honesty, and trust between leaders and those they lead.

Most will recognize that some sort of balance probably needs to be found; but that’s not on the agenda when the economy is weak, sales are declining, or profits are down. In my experience, task-focused leadership is applied when things are the most difficult, and relationship-emphasized leadership is used only when things are going pretty well.

Of course, there are exceptions. I hope that you work somewhere where that’s the case.

Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol
Work Psychologist

http://www.p-advantage.com

Tags: different styles of leadership, interpersonal communication skills
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Don’t Bank On It

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Fox News reported recently that banks having been routinely fiddling their books for the past 40 years. Dick Bove, of Rochdale Securities, said he wasn’t bothered by it because it had been going on for such a long time; but the reporter suggested that the average person might be unwilling to invest in bank stocks in view of the recent fiasco involving the behavior of those in this industry.

Notwithstanding the complexity involved in analyzing the financial health of banks, I find it remarkable that “tweaking” the accounts in their favor at critical investment times is legal. It says much about those who passed the laws governing banks in the first place.

Einstein said famously that “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” But, isn’t that precisely what’s happening? More than 80% of the bank executives who promised to quit have decided to stay, and the CEOs of others have actually received raises.

I’ve felt compelled to write about this because the use of different styles of leadership, for example, are no substitute for stupid decisions made by selfish people. If CEOs are behaving unethically, then the answer to the problem is to replace them. Unfortunately, the largest blocks of stocks (shares) are held generally by these same senior executives, and the contact details for all of the other stockholders are protected by the Privacy Act. So even if you wanted to call a special meeting to oust the current ones, you’d have to know enough of the others to fulfill the rules for doing so under the bank’s charter.

So, where does that leave us? Let me ask you something? Do you know the simplest way to drive down a stock price? By selling your stocks. I appreciate that your investment may have taken such a beating that this is not an option. It maybe that you have to wait until you recover your investment.

Pundits are predicting the banks stocks could double or quadruple in the next few years; so it will be tempting to surf to the top of the crest. But, if enough people lose faith in the appalling behavior of banks and fail to invest in them, or sell their investments, then the stock price will go down; and because many CEOs are evaluated against stock price, there’s a real chance that you could influence their future at your bank.

It’s a tragedy when an entire industry becomes corrupt. It’s not as if we can just change banks, since they all seem to be in it together, though credit unions seem to be a safer bet. Boycotts of companies have worked in the past. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t work in this case as well.

Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol

Tags: bailout, banks, different styles of leadership, Einstein, FoxNews
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Central Reservations Don’t Work on the Weekends

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Yup. You read the title of this blog post correctly.

I’m teaching some MBA students a couple of hours away from where I live on Wednesday evenings beginning on the 31st, and I just telephoned my usual place for an overnight stay. After dialling the number, the recording told me that if I want Central Reservations, I needed to dial a further four digits. Upon doing this, the recording also told me that that number was not in service. I knew then that I was in for an interesting night.

I dialled ’0′ and got the main desk. After being told that they were full on the night I needed them, I mentioned my experience with the recording. The receptionist, a Mr Bag o’ Doughnuts, proudly told me that Central Reservations was closed on the weekends. I chuckled and suggested that a different recording ought to be used when that was the case. I was met with stony silence. For a moment, I didn’t know what to say when he didn’t say anything. (Figure that one out!)

So, I thanked him, and hung up.

What’s wrong with this picture? How hard is it to just redirect all calls to Central Reservations on the weekends to the main desk? Whatever happened to, “Yea. That’s a good idea. I’ll mention it to my supervisor on Monday”?

You’d think I was trying to rock the boat!

Tags: different styles of leadership, manager traits
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Are You Part of the Problem, or Part of the Solution?

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Let me ask you something. In business, who’s the enemy? . . . I’ll give you a hint. It’s not those who work for you, those who work with you, or those you work for. . . .

In this gameshow, your time’s up. Who’s the enemy? If there is one, it’s your competitor. That being the case, why do so many companies treat those who work for them as if they’re on different sides? Why do managers think that their employees are the enemies?

I’ll give you an example. I know of a company (who will remain nameless on this occasion) who believes that it needs to change the way it does business in order to remain competitive. But, it also believes that the one thing that’s holding it back is its employees.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “It’s true. I’ve got the same problem!”

Perhaps; but, I also happen to know that a bright spark at this company went to the powers that be and said something like, “You’re absolutely right. There are people who are holding you back. But, what about those of us who want to help you change the company? How can we help you to do that?”

Guess what the answer was. “I don’t know.”

You see, it’s a lot easier to point the finger away from ourselves than it is to admit we may be part of the problem. If all of the employees are categorized as “the problem,” then managers are free to identify themselves as “the solution.”

When their bluff is called, however, and employees say, “I want to be part of the solution,” then it makes at least some of the managers part of the problem.

Which are you? Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?

Tags: different styles of leadership, difficult bosses, leadership traits, manager traits
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If You Scratch My Back . . .

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Ever notice how often Christmas brings out the worst in people? Let’s be honest. There are a number of businesses out there that only contact you for three reasons during the year: One is to sell you something, another is to send you an invoice or give you a receipt, and the last one is to send you a Christmas card or email telling you to have a Happy Whatever. So, during this time of year, you can expect to receive about one-third of their correspondence, which probably explains at least part of the reason why it’s so fancy: you’ve paid for it with a different third.

Personally, I get rather annoyed when companies who have only sold me something or have managed to take money off me the rest of the year in some other way (think utilities) then have the nerve to send me a Christmas card. I feel like saying, “No thanks, chum. Just take it off my bill.” I’m sure that none of you behave like this, so let’s just shake our collective heads and heave a big sigh.

There will be critics out there who say I’m just being cynical, but that’s not the way I see it. Yes, it’s good to be kind to people, but there’s no reason to confine it to one week on either side of Christmas, nor is it necessary to wait for the other person to blink first. Showing consideration for our suppliers and our customers (including the ones in our organizations) is a gift we can give them all year long; after all, it’s not just for Christmas.

Tags: Christmas, different styles of leadership, employability, interpersonal communication skills
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