Implementing new strategies, new directions, new objectives, is introducing change, major change, into the organisation. As such it is essential that the implementation is approached, managed, in a similar fashion to that adopted when major changes are being made. The implementation of the changes must be planned, implemented as smoothly as possible, and then be monitored and evaluated for progress and performance against the desired outcomes, objectives, that were the drivers of the change. The leader must ensure that all aspects of the changes, the new strategic plan, are managed successfully. 

The leader is the change strategist, whose role is to lead, to champion the changes, to promote the vision, to keep the organisation travelling in the chosen direction, and to ensure that all those involved in implementing the changes, the strategies, perform to the best of their ability. There are a range of leadership styles that could be drawn on. Some would argue that certain changes need an autocratic, aggressive style of leadership, and, whilst there may be the need for an element of this approach, if used as a single style it rarely results in a positive post-change environment. This is the flaw in this approach, for, after the changes have been implemented, and the strategies are in place, the managers, specialists, operational employees, and all contributing stakeholders, must work together in a harmonious, positive, manner to make the desired progress and achieve the objectives. If the leadership style during the change has been harsh, unforgiving, and aggressive, it may take many months, even years, to re-establish a positive environment, a healthy, goals focused, teamwork driven culture. The only logical choice of leadership style in any major change is one that combines all the styles, but leans heavily to those which focus on a team approach. The leader adopts a flexible, responsive style, that is a blend of the consultative, participative, and democratic, leaving room for an occasional, sparing touch of the autocratic to be employed if absolutely necessary. This style will then be the foundation on which the new, changed, organisation is built on.

Performance at the strategic, corporate level must be monitored by the leader. Changing strategic direction, no matter how thorough the preparation and planning, entails taking the organisation into uncharted territory. The leader is the guide, the expert, the most high profile member of the team embarking on this journey, and as such must be constantly aware of how much progress is being made and, when required, able to adjust the pace of progress and degree of activity to ensure that progress is satisfactory. To be successful in this the leader must carry out monitoring and evaluation activity on a regular basis, demanding timely and accurate information with which to make the assessment. In turn, the senior management team must show that they are successfully cascading this review and evaluation process down into the operational activity areas. The leader must set evidence of achievement of this task as one of the performance appraisal criteria for the senior managers, and they in turn must apply this approach to the operational managers and teams, as discussed below.

The senior managers are the change implementers at corporate level. Their role in implementing and  managing the strategies and ensuring that the objectives are met, is crucial. It is these managers that will be leading and managing the operational managers and specialists, and monitoring performance and progress made. One of their roles will be to inform and manage the operational managers, and to appraise their performance. In all of these activities the leader(s) must provide the senior managers with encouragement and the necessary support to carry out their work, but must also appraise their performance and demand improvements where necessary.

At the operational levels the middle and functional managers must assist in making the changes and then achieving the objectives. This includes in hard areas of activity such as the achievement of targets, goals, deadlines, outcomes, objectives, in managing budgets, controlling costs, maintaining quality standards, producing goods or delivering services. It also includes the effective management of soft areas of activity such as in communications, coaching, training and development, managing resistance, and providing support for those negatively affected by the changes. The leader cannot manage at this level, but should regularly ask for evidence from the senior managers that the strategic objectives have been successfully translated into operational targets, deadlines, and goals, and that operational performance is satisfactory.

In all but the smallest organisation the leader will have little regular contact with the operational employees. However, that does not mean that the leader should not be known to them, or that their feelings should not be known by the leader. The role and style adopted by the leader should ensure that the operational employees are aware of the leader, and of the style of leadership being adopted. This is achieved partly through the communication of the mission, or vision, or simply the strategic direction being taken by the organisation, partly through the cascading down of the strategic plans, becoming visible as operational objectives, and partly by the visibility of the leader in channels such as newsletters, the corporate website, and local or national media. Visibility by physical presence, for example in the leader visiting operational activity areas, could be helpful, but is not always possible and must always be carefully handled. The only realistic way for the leader to communicate the strategic plan and direction is through the operational managers, themselves responding to the messages from their more senior managers. However, the importance of the operational employees in helping to achieve the strategic objectives, through their performance at the operational activity level, cannot be overestimated. The leader must ensure that they receive the support, the training, the resources, the quality of management, that they need in order to achieve the operational objectives. Without success at this level, the strategies will fail.

Most organisations have a number of important external stakeholders. The leader must inform and liaise with these, as they are important to the success of the strategies. Shareholders must continue to support the changes, and the leader; lenders will need constant reassurance that their funds are being used wisely and repayments are not under threat; business partners will need reassurance of positive progress being made; suppliers will need reassurance that they will be paid; local authorities and other agencies will be required to provide services; the media will want to report on positive progress but will also be watching for negative news to report; families of employees will need reassurance that their providers are not at risk; and customers will continue to demand that the products or services that they purchase will meet their needs. The leader must be aware of, and respond to, all these demands.

The leader is, without doubt, the most important person in the process of implementing a change of strategic direction. The analogy with the captain of a ship is an apt one. It is the responsibility of the captain (the leader) to ensure that the officers (the senior and middle managers), the engineers and mechanics (the specialists in finance, marketing, quality, etc), and the crew (the operational employees), are all working to the best of their abilities in maintaining all areas of the ship. With this under control, the leader can then focus on the primary role of maintaining the course that has been set and forecasting and taking corrective action against threats that may lie ahead.

One aspect of managing change, relevant here in implementing a new strategic plan, or direction, is that of celebrating success. Mechanisms should be in place, at senior management, middle and operational management, and operational employee levels, to visibly reward success. Success here could mean many things, including: achieving important milestones or targets; overcoming resistance to change; removing barriers; settling conflict; taking opportunity; defending against threats; removing or reducing weaknesses; making unexpected improvements; raising quality standards; improving the plan. Morale and motivation will be raised significantly if success is rewarded. The leader should ensure that reward for success is a high profile aspect of the way in which change is managed.

In leading the strategic activity that is required to implement the strategic plan, to change the strategic direction of the organisation, the leader is managing, leading, a major change. The majority of the change activity will, by necessity, be technically, operationally, managed by others. With this in mind, the leader must focus on ensuring that the organisation is following the direction laid down in the strategic plan, whilst at the same time managing those who are operationally implementing the plan. It is a dual role that requires great skill and a high level of effort and energy. Effective leaders will have prepared for this by equipping the organisation with appropriate physical, financial, and human resources, and by equipping themselves with the necessary knowledge and understanding of strategic change management. With these in place, the leader will be successful in managing the change and the strategic objectives will be achieved.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

Maintaining High Standards Of Personal Behaviour, by: maintaining high standards of personal beliefs; behaving with integrity and fairness; behaving ethically; showing respect and sensitivity for the views of others; ensuring that all relevant people are kept informed of plans, decisions, and progress; pro-actively seeking positive relationships; accepting criticism and feedback positively. The rationale is that the leader must aspire to be a role model for high standards of personal behaviour, be ethical, be honest, be genuine, so that they are ultimately trusted by colleagues and stakeholders. Even if the leader is required to carry out actions that have an unpalatable impact, such as when redundancies are necessary, the aim is to carry out such actions in as honest, open, and sympathetic manner as possible, so that observers, even those most negatively affected, will not be able to accuse the leader of unacceptable personal behaviour.

Establishing Supportive Communication Systems, by: establishing training programmes that develop individual and team communication skills; establishing systems that support collaboration and cooperation between internal and external individuals and groups; implementing information management systems that ensure key information reaches appropriate people in a timely manner;  encouraging consultative and participative decision making at all levels. Systems and approaches described here are essential foundation blocks on which positive relationships can be built and developed. Without this underlying framework in place, information will be dissipated and misinterpreted, decisions will be based on inadequate information, and relationships will deteriorate.

Promoting Values and Standards, by: consulting with specialists, individuals, teams, and legislative bodies, to identify and establish appropriate values and standards for the organisation; providing guidance on values and standards that is understood at all levels; ensuring that all external partners are made aware of the organisation’s values and standards; implementing policies and procedures that manage, monitor, and improve the quality of values and standards, at all levels; taking prompt and visible action when established values and standards have not been maintained. The objective here is to ensure that all working relationships are built and developed against a background of known values and standards, and that all parties are made aware that the quality of internal and external relationships is an important aspect of the organisation’s approach to these. 

Gaining The Trust of Colleagues, by: consulting with colleagues in an open and honest manner; keeping colleagues appropriately informed about decisions, plans, actions, and progress;  providing colleagues with sufficient personal support; honouring commitments made to colleagues; treating colleagues with respect and with appropriate confidentiality. Leaders should work with colleagues in a way which demonstrates the leader’s commitment to the values and standards of the organisation, and in a manner which demonstrates to colleagues that they have the respect and support of their leader. This is vital in enabling the leader to draw the best performance from colleagues, and for those colleagues to achieve their personal performance targets. Gaining The Trust Of External Stakeholders, by: striving to understand the viewpoint and the objectives of the stakeholder; consulting with stakeholders in an open and honest manner; keeping stakeholders appropriately informed about the organisation’s decisions, plans, actions, and progress; demonstrating personal commitment to agreements and arrangements; honouring commitments made to stakeholders; treating stakeholders with respect and with appropriate confidentiality. The aim here is to behave with stakeholder in an honest, open, and positive manner. For the relationship between the organisation and the stakeholder to be successful, there must be mutual understanding, mutual respect, and a desire to develop a relationship that is beneficial to both parties. This is essential in all external relationships, and particularly critical when the relationship is intended to be long term.

Evaluate Relationship Performance, by: laying down clear quality criteria for the assessment of the condition of relationships; establishing monitoring procedures which include scheduled evaluation review points; insisting that evaluation reviews are carried out even though the relationship appears to be healthy; taking appropriate corrective action to address problems; adopting a continuous improvement approach to all internal and external relationships; ensuring that the quality of relationships is high on the quality assurance agenda of the organisation. Regular and thorough assessments of the condition of relationships is vital. Without these evaluations, and appropriate corrective action, many relationships will deteriorate. Some will linger in a poor condition, causing a constant flow of minor difficulties, some will implode and cause major problems. These problems can be avoided by a regular health-check on each set of relationships followed by appropriate action. 

In Summary: just as the organisation’s leaders must maintain, develop, and continuously improve the quality of its physical resources, its marketing performance, its financial health, and so on, the leaders must also take the same approach to working relationships between themselves and others, and between all other internal and external partners in the organisation.  For the organisation to achieve its operational targets and strategic objectives, it is essential that all working relationships are healthy and productive and continuously improving. The leaders of the organisation must ensure that this is the case.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

Leadership is all about being yourself and demonstrating personal authenticity rather than learning some formula from a text book.  Aspiring leaders therefore need to be true to themselves; not slavishly following other’s ideas. Role models can be powerful and it doesn’t hurt to model excellence when found; executive coaching is based on this premise.

Real leaders are prepared to reveal their weakness, because they know they are not super-human.  Obviously this doesn’t mean technical weaknesses or functional failings; this would fatally flaw their performance.  Instead, what is meant is that leaders should reveal their personality quirks – maybe they are bad tempered in the morning, are somewhat shy with new people or a little disorganized. Such admissions show they are human and this resonates with others confirming that the leader is a person – not merely a role-holder. 

Revealing their true selves, leaders can allow others to know and help them and this makes for better teamwork; followers can also feel better if they’ve got something to complain about. Thus by sharing at least some of their weaknesses, leaders can prevent others from inventing damaging problems.

True leadership is therefore much more than a demonstration of strengths. Real leaders acknowledge their shortcomings and may even make them work for them. 

Good leaders always rely on their ability to read situations. They develop a ‘feel’ for an environment, and interpret soft data without having to be told. They know when team morale is patchy or when complacency needs shaking up. There are three levels of situational sensitivity, each of which has its own specific skills.

Effective leaders are continually learning about the motives, attributes and skills of their important subordinates. They get to know their people through formal and, often better, informal contact such as when travelling together.

Effective leaders read their teams. They analyze the compound balance between team members, the tension between the tasks and processes, and how the team builds its competencies.

Finally, they are concerned with defining the cultural characteristics of their organizations and keep their finger on the pulse of the organisation’s climate. 

It sounds tongue-in-cheek to say that leaders care for their people. Ever noticed the cynicism in the workforce upon seeing a manager return from a people-skills training course with new concern for others. Effective leaders don’t need a training programme to convince their employees that they really care. They clearly empathize with their people and care intensely about their work.

Genuine concern is difficult because it always involves some personal risk – showing some part of yourself and your most strongly held values can seem quite scary. It may also take some detachment – the ability to stand back, see the whole picture and sometimes take tough decisions. Leadership never was a popularity contest.

Effective leaders use their differences and move on to distinguish themselves through personal qualities such as sincerity, loyalty, creativity, or sheer expertise.

Using these differences is a critical leadership skill. But, as always, there is a danger – too much distance makes it impossible to sense situations properly or to communicate effectively.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

Leadership is a word we come across quite regularly on radios, television and newspaper. We have now also made it accessible in article markets.

If you are planning to build a wonderful career, maybe you should first go through some preliminary training. Nowadays, there are very successful leadership programs being developed. Leadership programs will help you to acquire some very necessary skills. Leadership programs will give you the needed power to achieve the best both in your career as well as in your personal life. Leadership programs will be the management-training program you are looking for. As well as good professional training, they will help you gain self-confidence and self-respect, things that are very helpful in your private life. These programs are undoubtedly a very effective way to gain the assurances that you will need to be ready for a prosperous career and life.

Writing an article on leadership was our foremost priority while thinking of a topic to write on. This is because leadership are interesting parts of our lives, and are needed by us.

We have included some fresh and interesting information on leadership. In this way, you are updated on the developments of leadership.

I know from experience that a leadership program can easily improve and perfect a person because I have been teaching leadership courses for years. If you go to a leadership program with the right attitude, confident that you desire success, you will become a perfectly changed person. Naturally, there are people who challenge the necessity of the leadership programs. The success of the leadership programs depends usually on the way they are taught. As people who teach leadership programs are different, as different are the profits you can take from leadership programs. From young people to older, all of them make the best use of any type of leadership programs. You can choose between practically different leadership programs, although almost all of them have some fundamental elements in common.

As the information we produce in our writing on leadership may be utilized by the reader for informative purposes, it is very important that the information we provide be true. We have indeed maintained this.

One of the key components of all leadership programs is that they are aiming to build up abilities to work in a team. Some leadership programs even acquire this building of team-working abilities as the center of the whole leadership program. As an example, I will tell you that I have heard about leadership programs which center on the fulfilling of physical tasks as lifting every member of the group over a wall.

Of course, the point of this is not to gain muscle mass but to learn how to work as a team. This part of the leadership programs will teach you how to seek each member’s strengths and weaknesses. Leadership programs will teach you how to leave behind the egotism you have and to put all your strengths into the group work. This is probably the most important lesson that the future leader will learn from the leadership program.

We do not mean to show some implication that leadership have to rule the world or something like that. We only mean to let you know the actual meaning of leadership!

The second fundamental component of leadership programs is that leadership programs usually tend to emphasize on self-confidence and self-esteem. A leader should be first of all self-confident. A leadership program has to teach you how to be convinced that everything you say is important. The leaders have not become leaders because they are more capable, or more intelligent than other people are. Surprisingly, it may turn out exactly the opposite thing. The leaders have become leaders because they more confidence than the other people to contend that what they say is important.

We hope that with this article, we have covered more than just a fragment of the available information of leadership. The world of leadership is too vast to be covered in a single article.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

For years businesses worked hard to beef up their security systems in order to protect employees and information. Today a shift in leadership among various types of businesses has resulted in the issue of trust management coming to the forefront. While some people think this is an absolutely crazy idea, it really seems to be working quite well in many types of industries.

There are plenty of elements that encompass the concepts of trust management. It doesn’t give employees or consumers free reign. Instead it offers a set of principles and policies that are in place to provide a framework structure. In most instances the trust management aspect pertains more to the ideas of decisions being made based on the best possible information that is offered.

The more information a person has about a specific principle the more likely they will feel comfortable trusting in it. Therefore it is important for these issues to be completed defined and outlined by the owner of the business. Many of them have common features including protecting the data for the business that could help their competitors.

In many instances the decision to believe this information depends on the amount of credibility that the business has. Those that have been in place for some period of time are generally more credible because the assumption is that they would have gone out of business if they weren’t providing an excellent service.

The policies that are in place relating to trust management still result in some individuals being limited from accessing particular information. For example some sites only have one person with the authority to access the screens for completing refunds when the consumers request them. The policies that are set for trust management really depend on the structure of the business, what your role is in the business, and what skills you have to perform the various tasks.

One of the main issues when it comes to online businesses is the security of documents that pertain to the business. Those that are offered access to such documentation are under the influence of trust management not to pass on that information to those that are outside of the business. 

With trust management the business owner isn’t investing as much money in security issues. Yet they aren’t finding any more of their information being compromised than before. In fact studies show that in many instances it has dropped. This is because employees are happy about the level of trust that has been placed with them. They don’t want to jeopardize it. This is very similar to the importance of the trust you have in your personal relationships. 

Many businesses have found that placing too tight of a restraint on various aspects of their business makes it impossible to have happy employees. As a result they deal with a high volume of turn over and people not working as hard as they should. However, with trust management employees feel like they are an important part of the business. They embrace it and work hard to protect it.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

Establishing An Appropriate Organisational Structure, by: considering the strategic direction and objectives of the organisation; considering the desired organisational culture; identifying the critical activity areas of the organisation; deciding on an appropriate organisational structure. This is an essential first step. Before any changes or new directions can be taken the leaders must decide on an organisational structure that will support the strategic direction being taken, and an organisational culture that they will be aiming to create. The management teams network that is then put in place will be compatible with the structure and contribute to developing the desired culture.

Deciding On A Management Teams Structure, by; planning a network of management teams to match the requirements identified in the previous activity; agreeing individual team structure; agreeing individual team objectives, roles, responsibilities, size, location, resource needs; identifying team member and team leader profiles for each management team. The planning undertaken here will provide the template for the new structure, when implemented. This planning is best carried out as a factual, needs based, exercise. The role of the team, and its objectives, should be allowed to dictate size, location, team leader and team member profiles. Resource implications should be dealt with after the structure has been agreed. Existing and potential personnel should be assessed against these only at the next stage, when the teams are populated. Option 1:  Assessing Existing Teams, by: identifying existing management teams; analysing the objectives of existing teams; evaluating the performance of existing teams; evaluating the performance of individual team leaders; comparing each management team profile with the newly defined requirements. In many, if not most, organisations this will be necessary due to legislative constraints and-or ethical considerations. However, the existing teams are unlikely to be appropriate, other than in part, and the outcomes of this action will simply identify what are likely to be major gaps and changes that will need to be made, in order to match the new requirements. Option 2: Removing Existing Teams, by: removing the old structure completely. This option is the most effective, a total reengineering, but the most radical. If possible, this is the better option, as the organisation can make the changes required to most appropriately match the new strategic direction, and move  forward unhindered by partially or wholly unsuitable management teams.

Implementing The New Management Teams Network, by: providing information about the changes to all affected – in most organisations this will mean at all levels and both internally and externally; selecting team leaders and team members; establishing the teams in their locations; training each team in its new role, responsibilities, objectives, and operational activities; providing appropriate resources for each team; launching the new network into active service . A critical stage, this needs to be managed as a major change activity, and as a major project. An executive level manager should be appointed to oversee the changes. Communication with all stakeholders, who will be many, at many levels, and both internal and external to the organisation, will need to be managed carefully. 

Implementing A Management Team Performance System, by: designing a rigorous teams performance appraisal system; monitoring the performance of individual teams; taking appropriate corrective action where when necessary. Many organisations operate an effective employee appraisal system, but this usually only applies to operational employees and junior managers. Middle and Senior managers must also be appraised on a regular basis, ideally more frequently than operational employees, as the managers’ actions usually have greater negative or positive impact. This line of thinking must also be applied to management teams, because of the degree of influence and impact of the team collective decisions and actions. The leaders of the organisation must be continuously aware of the performance levels of their management teams, and take action to maintain or raise that performance level as necessary. Implementing a performance appraisal and continuous improvement approach to the network of management teams is vital. In the early stages of the life of the teams the focus will be on awareness and understanding of the objectives of the team, and identifying training and development needs to support new or adjusted roles. As the team grows and matures, the monitoring will focus firstly on consistency of performance, and then on supporting a continuous improvement in that performance. At all stages in the life cycle of each team, performance appraisal must be a regular and visible process.

Network Review And Refresh, by: arranging regular reviews of the appropriateness of the management teams network; assessing the suitability of each part of the network against newer versions of the strategic  objectives; assessing the structure of the network against the current organisational structure and culture; making appropriate changes to individual components and-or the overall structure of the network. A major review should be held every year, as a key part of the review and adjustment of strategies and objectives in the annual strategic planning process. At this review point minor or major changes should be agreed, to adjust the network so that it continues to match the requirements dictated by the refreshed strategic and operational objectives. In addition, the condition of the management teams network should be an agenda item on at least quarterly executive level meetings, where corrective action can be decided on where necessary.

In Summary: establishing a compatible management teams structure is an essential first step in ensuring that the organisation’s strategies are implemented successfully. Without a robust network of management teams, appropriate to the size and complexity of the organisation and its strategic objectives, the strategic and operational objectives will not be achieved. Effective management teams are the driving force behind the achievement of objectives. This network cannot be successful if it is weak or flawed. It is the role of the leaders of the organisation to ensure that the management teams network is strong, dynamic, and focused on achieving its objectives, in its individual parts and collectively.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

Strong, positive teamwork is defined by a leader who has a vision and the ability to inspire his or her team to work toward the realization of that vision. 

The leader is not threatened in the least by the expertise and diversity of his or her team. Rather, a good team leader engages his or her teammates in a discussion about what quality looks like, what is needed to perform and complete the job, and empowers the team members to always strive for quality improvement.

Let’s break all that down into its component parts. The first is a clearly defined leader. I believe every team must have a leader. There must be someone who is in charge and makes the ultimate decisions. 

Team members may take turns being the leader as long as everyone is clear who the leader is on any given day. Another variation of that theme is to have certain people be the leader for projects that are in their area of expertise. However, in every event, there can be no question among teammates who is the leader for that day or project.

The leader needs to have a vision. This is similar to Covey’s second habit, “Begin with the end in mind.” A true leader creates the end product twice—once mentality and then in its actual form. It is impossible to lead toward a fuzzy vision. People are simply not inspired to follow uncertainty.

Having the vision is not enough to inspire teammates to strive toward the same goal. A good team leader knows how to help each teammate see how the end product or service will be useful and what, exactly, their individual contribution is toward that end. 

How does the janitor contribute to fans’ enjoyment at a professional baseball game? By providing a clean, neat bathroom experience—that’s how. If the janitor sees himself as a critical cog in the big picture goal and he receives positive recognition for it, then he is more likely to perform his job with enthusiasm.

Another component of being able to inspire one’s teammates is having a clearly defined mission that everyone, preferably, has had a part in developing, but if not, then at least team members can agree to the previously established team mission. 

This becomes important in times of conflict between team members. When there is a dispute to be solved, it is helpful to have an already established way to measure the solution. Solutions are always held up against the mission and whether or not it will move the team closer or further from the ultimate goal. 

The other advantage of having a mission that has been agreed upon by all team members is that it can enhance cooperation. One of the most difficult things to manage on a team is an individual ego. There can be petty jealousies and a competitive spirit that can kill the cooperation of the best team. The mission statement is a way to minimize this potential for disaster. 

The mission remains the focus that everything else is compared to. An individual’s action is either helpful or hurtful to the mission and dealt with accordingly. The group’s goal must always be placed above any individual’s desires or ego. Jealousy and backstabbing have no useful place on a team.

A good leader is in no way threatened by the expertise and diversity of his or her team. The best leaders are always seeking information from the front line people who are doing the actual work. Without information from team members, the leader’s hands are tied behind his or her back. 

It is also critical to use team members in their areas of expertise. Leaders can’t know everything about everything. There will be team members who have skills and abilities that surpass those of the leader in certain areas. A good leader will ask for help when it is prudent.

This is also a time to value diversity. Having a team made up of people who all do the same jobs in pretty much the same way really has no value. One person could more easily do the job than assembling a homogenous team. 

The value of a team comes from its heterogeneity. Getting feedback and suggestions from people who do things differently is what will spark the creativity and the genius of the team. This is what masterminding is all about. Tap into the wealth that is already there.

Finally, a good leader holds the bar high. He or she does not ask his team to be average or mediocre. Average and mediocre can be easily replaced. The leader asks his or her team to collectively do their very best and when they are done, the leader asks them to always strive for continuous improvement. The work is never done. The team should always be evaluating what has been implemented and be comfortable making suggestions for ways to do it even better.

Previously, I mentioned that a good leader empowers his or her teammates. Creating a need-satisfying environment does this. Team members must get along and know that the leader and the company have their best interests at heart. They must feel important, listened to and respected. They must have the freedom to make choices within the context of their assignments and they must have some fun in their work. 

It is also critical for team members to feel safe. This means that they are not fearful in any way. The team leader is critical in fostering this environment for the empowerment of the entire team.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

You’ve made an unusual discovery – there’s not enough time left at the end of the day. The corollary, of course, is your list of important things to do never gets smaller. In any company, the CEO’s to-do list has the potential to grow infinitely.

What’s a senior executive to do?

This is not simply a personal problem. Your company’s future depends on what you do next. As you drive your organization beyond its current plateau, you must change the way you relate to your work. There are three stages to making the transition from chief-cook-and-bottle-washer (CC&BW) to CEO (source of the management and direction of the business). They are:

* Understanding your highest value contribution to your company and focusing on that role.

* Recognizing your position as a leader and owning the job.

* Delegating everything else, and holding others accountable.

Previous articles, Time Well Spent, deals with transition one; Visions of Leadership addresses transition two. This article examines the problem of delegation – giving the work away.

The Issue

You have doubtlessly concluded your next level of company performance requires a managerial change. And hopefully, you have realized the changes necessary are with you. As CEO (or, on a divisional or departmental level – senior executive) your jobs include holding the vision; inspiring your senior management and your staff; fostering key relationships with customers, vendors, investors and the public, etc.

You now need to let go of some cherished things like product design, hiring, perhaps day-to-day sales – many things you handled in the past, often out of necessity – and focus yourself on your role as CEO. What about all these things you used to do? Delegate them. Assign the job to someone else. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, why write a whole article on it?

Do you delegate? Of course you do. But do you delegate the important things? The things you “know” you could do better? The things you are “best” at? Probably not. The question is, should you?

Your highest value contribution

Think about your highest value contribution to your company. Which of your activities generate the most revenue, profit, market share, etc.? Where do you get the most bang for the buck? Like most chief executives, your greatest leverage is in mobilizing the forces around you – your senior staff and your employees, plus key customers, prospects and vendors. Everything else becomes secondary to that in terms of impact.

So the answer is yes. You should give away even the things you are “best” at. And then make sure they are done right. Make sure they are up to spec and delivered on time.

The cost of holding on

Now, the thorny part. Many executives refrain from delegating responsibilities they’ve labeled “critical”. They fear the job won’t be done correctly. Or no one else can do it as quickly, and it won’t get done on time. Or the right attention won’t be paid. Or something. Or something else.

Give it up! The growth of your organization will be stifled to the extent that you hold on to critical functions. Your company will suffer in the exact areas where you think you are the expert!

Product design? You hold up the development of a key component, because you are the expert, yet you are away at a customer meeting. Staffing? Two engineers can’t be hired because you haven’t signed off and are out of town at a meeting with investment bankers. Sales? Negotiations on an important deal are held up because you are in Asia meeting with a vendor.

You become the choke point on each of these vital functions. And you feel – of course – “I have to be involved.” No you don’t. To the exact degree you have not developed your staff to assume these functions, the growth of your company will be retarded.

Aside from fear the job won’t be done as well, there is another, more insidious reason senior executives (particularly entrepreneurs) do not delegate. If you aren’t doing the “important” stuff, you become redundant. Dead weight. Overhead. If you have a great VP of Sales, or a Chief Technologist, what will you do?

You feel this way because you haven’t completed transitions one and two: you haven’t taken the trouble of understanding how you personally create value in your company, and you haven’t fully assumed the role of leader. Once you make these transitions, you won’t have time for the rest. Delegation, not abdication.

Many executives delegate like this. They say, “John, would you take on this project? It has to be done by next Thursday. Thanks.” That’s it. Then, when the job comes back incomplete, they are infuriated. What happened? They left out accountability. They neglected the structure for making sure things happened according to plan.

There are five components to successful delegation.

1. Give the job to someone who can get it done.

This doesn’t mean that person has all the skills for execution, but that they are able to martial the right resources. Sometimes the first step in the project will be education. Maybe your delegate has to attend a seminar or take a course to get up to speed.

2. Communicate precise conditions of satisfaction.

Timeframe, outcomes, budget constraints, etc.; all must be spelled out. Anything less creates conditions for failure. It’s like the old story about basketball – without nets the players don’t know where to shoot the ball.

3. Work out a plan.

Depending on the project’s complexity, the first step may be creation of a plan. The plan should include resources, approach or methodology, timeline, measures and milestones. Even simple projects require a plan.

4. Set up a structure for accountability.

If the project is to take place over the next six weeks, schedule an interim meeting two weeks from now. Or establish a weekly conference call, or an e-mailed status report. Provide some mechanism where you can jointly evaluate progress and make mid-course corrections. This helps keep the project, and the people, on track.

5. Get buy in.

Often timeframes are dictated by external circumstances. Still, your delegate must sign on for the task at hand. If you say, “This must be done by next Tuesday,” they have to agree that it is possible. Ask instead. “Can you have this by Tuesday?” To you this may seem a bit remedial, but the step is often overlooked. Whenever possible, have your delegate set the timeline and create the plan. You need only provide guidance and sign off. As General Patton said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

If you skip any one of the above steps, you dramatically reduce the likelihood things will turn out the way you want them to. On the other hand, if you rigorously follow the steps, you greatly increase the odds in your favor. Isn’t this more work than doing it myself, you ask. No – it isn’t.

The time it takes to

1) establish the goals,

2) review the plan, and

3) monitor the progress,

is not equal to the time it takes to execute. That is how you gain leverage. This is how you multiply your efforts.

(Occasionally it does take longer to communicate something than to do it yourself. Delegate it anyway. The next time will be easier.)

Above, I’ve referred to projects. This is not to say delegation is reserved for discrete tasks and problems. You also delegate ongoing functions. The process is the same in each case.

As an exercise, ask yourself, what am I unwilling to delegate? Make a list of the reasons why not. Identify the best person in your organization – not you – to take on this project or function. Then call a meeting. Begin the meeting with step one, above.

If there is no one to whom you can give away key functions, you have to look carefully at your staff situation. It may be time to hire the right people. If you don’t have the revenues to support the staff additions, consider what is restraining your growth.

Review your relationship with your assistant or secretary. Have you let them take on there fair share of the workload? Are you giving them sufficiently sophisticated work to do? Are they ready to upgrade?

Some situations call for you to dive back in. Perhaps you are the only one in your company with some particular technical knowledge, or your insight will accelerate the design process, or you have the long-standing relationship with a vendor or customer. Go ahead, dive. Do your thing – briefly, complete the project and resume your leadership position.

Oh, one more thing.

The only point to delegating something is if it frees you for things which create greater value for your company. Don’t give away the hiring function if you are spending your time fiddling with the corporate web site. Don’t hire a Sales VP, if you are spending your time on purchasing. The greatest leverage you have is in leading your company. Lavish your time on that.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

For the leaders of organisation there are two levels at which workplace stress must be addressed. Firstly at corporate, strategic level, where a degree of stress is inevitable, given the pace and frequency of change that businesses of all kinds are experiencing today. Political, economic, environmental, social, and technological changes combine to make it essential that the organisation is equipped to respond to or, better, to forecast and prepare for change. The need to manage change successfully adds to the complexities and pressures facing the leaders of the organisation. Secondly, at the operational levels stress which affects the managers and operational staff can be caused by many factors, not least the behaviour of the operational managers themselves.

However, the leaders of the organisation are responsible for the way in which the organisation responds to the threat of negative stress, at both strategic and operational levels. In fact, it is often the behaviour, the actions, the style of the leader(s) that causes the stress. Some of the most common areas in which the negative behaviour of the leader(s) can cause stress are described below.

Successful leaders ensure that their organisations are appropriately resourced. The needs of the organisation’s strategic objectives are assessed and funds are allocated and activity planned to deliver the necessary resources as and when required. Human resources, physical resources, technological resources,  funds, systems, should all be in place or planned for. A monitoring and control process should be in place to respond to the need for changes to the plans. If these processed are not followed, then wherever the plans reach a point where the necessary resources are missing, or incomplete, the stress levels of managers and their teams will rise, as they attempt to achieve the set objectives with inadequate resources. As in most situations where the actions of the leader(s) have lead to problems or difficulties, it is the operational level people who are the first to suffer. However, ultimately it is the organisation that is damaged, through the direct repercussions of the initial mistakes causing problems in areas such as sales or customer  satisfaction,  and then again from the problems caused by the increase in negative stress levels.

In any organisation one of the most common sources of conflict, dispute, and ensuing personal distress, are the related issues of equality of opportunity, diversity, and discrimination. The leader(s) of the organisation must ensure that the culture of the organisation and the actions of individuals supports equality of opportunity and diversity and prevents discrimination of any kind. Effective leaders do this by: making equality, diversity, and prevention of discrimination an essential, high profile element of the organisation’s strategies and objectives; ensuring that all staff are familiar with the organisation’s policies in this area and that they understand their personal responsibilities in complying with the policy; ensuring that the organisational structure and processes are receptive to the different needs and abilities of a diverse workforce; implementing a rigorous monitoring and control process to identify and deal with any breaches of the policies; dealing ruthlessly with any employee, of any status, should they act in an unfair of discriminatory manner. Leaders who do not give strong, visible, leadership in these areas will be risking considerable damage being done. Without strong leadership there is a grave danger of discrimination and unfairness happening, not just at operational levels but also at the executive level. Managers behaving unfairly or in a discriminatory way, or not dealing with such behaviour in others, are the cause of considerable negative stress. The repercussions of these unacceptable actions can include personal distress, the break-up of teams, the collapse of projects, internal disciplinary action, industrial tribunals or civil court action, and leave a climate of hostility, blame, conflict, and unhappiness. The impact in terms of negative stress being generated is enormous. Effective leaders prevent such disastrous repercussions, by ensuring that promote, support, and insist on fairness and equality towards all. 

One of the key responsibilities of the leaders of organisations, indeed in some cases a legal requirement in itself, is to ensure that the organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulations. Effective leaders do this by: monitoring the legal and regulatory environment to identify where the organisation must comply; developing, implementing and maintaining effective policies and procedures to ensure that the organisation meets all legal and regulatory requirements; making certain that relevant people are aware of the policies and procedures and their responsibilities in maintaining them; implementing a monitoring, control, and corrective action system to maintain compliance; providing appropriate resources for operational managers to carry out the policies effectively. Leaders who do not take this responsibility seriously will create opportunities for inadvertent and deliberate non-compliance. The pressures caused by this flawed approach will be felt most by individual operational managers. It is these managers who will be faced with the repercussions of non-compliance, particularly in areas such as health and safety, recruitment and selection, accounting and finance, equal opportunities and discrimination. For these managers, and by default the operational staff, one of the results will be increased negative stress levels. 

The most visible role of the leader(s) is, by default, to lead the organisation into the future. This means planning and managing desired changes, whilst also responding to external forces of change. The manner in which the leader approaches this can influence the response to the changes by the organisation’s managers and employees, which in turn affects the levels of stress caused by the changes. Ways in which to lead change successfully are well documented. To lead change in a manner that will lead to negative stress being generated would need the leader(s) to: not communicate their vision of the future (or worse, not to have a vision); to actively of passively discourage consultation and participation in the change planning process; not give individuals clear information on their roles and responsibilities in implementing changes; denying individuals the influence and authority they need to successfully implement and manage change in their area; set objectives which are unachievable; make no effort to provide resources and support for the removal of barriers to change; not provide information on the progress of change activity; not to reward successful change implementation. The result of such negative behaviour would be to create delays, misunderstanding, tension, uncertainty, and conflicts, and would seriously damage the chances of the change being implemented successfully. The change process raise the negative stress levels of those implementing, or directly affected by the change. Unsuccessful change would inevitably have other negative impacts on the organisation, which in turn would potentially cause more stress.

Effective leaders cultivate and develop a culture that is positive, ethical, and value driven, in order to support the organisation’s strategies. The personal actions and behaviour of the leader(s) and the management of the organisation should reinforce this. Agreed values are communicated across the organisation and people are encouraged to pursue these cultural objectives as rigorously as the operational objectives. The condition of the organisation’s culture is monitored and corrected as required to maintain the set values. Poor leaders do not view developing a positive culture as important, pursuing instead only the profit-related objectives. Under such leadership the organisation will deteriorate, and managers and staff will have no guidance as to how to behave professionally and ethically. One by product of this will be that unethical practices will flourish and levels of trust and openness will diminish. Conflict and disagreement will grow. In such a climate it is inevitable that an increase in negative stress will occur, as motivation and morale levels fall.

The role of the leader is, of course, to lead, but to lead in a way which represents the values and mission of the organisation. In areas such as ethics, equality of opportunity, non-discrimination, fairness and openness, the leader(s) must also take on the mantle of acting as a role model for others in the organisation. Positive leaders will ensure that managers throughout the organisation are properly trained in management skills and undertake continuous development, that innovation and creativity is encouraged. Strong leaders will ensure that managers or staff who behave inappropriately in contradiction of the values of the organisation will be removed. Leaders who do not lead in these ways will confuse and dismay others in the organisation. Without strong, value driven leadership, the organisation is as a ship without a captain, drifting at sea, at the mercy of the winds and the tides. The chances of the organisation not running into difficulties will be slim. In such an organisation stress levels will rise and the ensuing damage will add to the organisation’s difficulties.

It is clear that the leader(s) of organisations have enormous influence on the culture, the values, the behaviour, of individuals, teams, managers, and the corporate body itself. It is also the case that poor or inappropriate leadership behaviour will damage the organisation. Until now this has not been linked to the amount of negative stress that is generated within an organisation. But it is equally clear that poor, unfocused, unethical, or weak leadership will cause serious damage to the organisation, both directly in terms of the consequences of poor decision making, or indirectly due to the repercussions of increases in negative stress levels in individuals within the organisation. It is no longer sufficient to assess the success of a leader by evaluating visible success factors only. The effect on stress levels, caused by the style of leadership and the actions of the leader, should also be taken into consideration. The behaviour and actions of an effective leader will reduce stress levels and generate a positive, productive, healthy workplace. The behaviour and actions of a poor leader will do the opposite and increase negative stress levels and create an unhealthy and unproductive workplace. Those with responsibility for the success of the organisation must ensure that the leader is one that produces a positive, healthy, productive organisation. Without such a leader the organisation will fail to achieve its objectives, decline, and die.

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

“The miracle power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance, under the promptings of a brave determined spirit.” – Mark Twain

Many motivational experts like to say that leaders are made, not born. I would argue the exact opposite. I believe we are all natural born leaders, but have been deprogrammed along the way. As children, we were natural leaders – curious and humble, always hungry and thirsty for knowledge, with an incredibly vivid imagination; we knew exactly what we wanted, were persistent and determined in getting what we wanted, and had the ability to motivate, inspire, and influence everyone around us to help us in accomplishing our mission. So why is this so difficult to do as adults? What happened?

As children, over time, we got used to hearing, No, Don’t, and Can’t. No! Don’t do this. Don’t do that. You can’t do this. You can’t do that. No! Many of our parents told us to keep quiet and not disturb the adults by asking silly questions. This pattern continued into high school with our teachers telling us what we could do and couldn’t do and what was possible. Then many of us got hit with the big one institutionalized formal education known as college or university. Unfortunately, the traditional educational system doesn’t teach students how to become leaders; it teaches students how to become polite order takers for the corporate world. Instead of learning to become creative, independent, self-reliant, and think for themselves, most people learn how to obey and intelligently follow rules to keep the corporate machine humming.

Developing the Leader in you to live your highest life, then, requires a process of unlearning by self-remembering and self-honoring. Being an effective leader again will require you to be brave and unlock the door to your inner attic, where your childhood dreams lie, going inside to the heart. Based on my over ten years research in the area of human development and leadership, here are ten easy steps you can take to awaken the Leader in you and rekindle your passion for greatness.

1. Humility. Leadership starts with humility. To be a highly successful leader, you must first humble yourself like a little child and be willing to serve others. Nobody wants to follow someone who is arrogant. Be humble as a child, always curious, always hungry and thirsty for knowledge. For what is excellence but knowledge plus knowledge plus knowledge – always wanting to better yourself, always improving, always growing. When you are humble, you become genuinely interested in people because you want to learn from them. And because you want to learn and grow, you will be a far more effective listener, which is the #1 leadership communication tool. When people sense you are genuinely interested in them, and listening to them, they will naturally be interested in you and listen to what you have to say.
2. SWOT Yourself. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Although it’s a strategic management tool taught at Stanford and Harvard Business Schools and used by large multinationals, it can just as effectively be used in your own professional development as a leader. This is a useful key to gain access to self-knowledge, self-remembering, and self-honoring. Start by listing all your Strengths including your accomplishments. Then write down all your Weaknesses and what needs to be improved. Make sure to include any doubts, anxieties, fears, and worries that you may have. These are the demons and dragons guarding the door to your inner attic. By bringing them to conscious awareness you can begin to slay them. Then proceed by listing all the Opportunities you see available to you for using your strengths. Finally, write down all the Threats or obstacles that are currently blocking you or that you think you will encounter along the way to achieving your dreams.
3. Follow Your Bliss. Regardless of how busy you are, always take time to do what you love doing. Being an alive and vital person vitalizes others. When you are pursuing your passions, people around you cannot help but feel impassioned by your presence. This will make you a charismatic leader. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, be it writing, acting, painting, drawing, photography, sports, reading, dancing, networking, or working on entrepreneurial ventures, set aside time every week, ideally two or three hours a day, to pursue these activities. Believe me, you’ll find the time. If you were to video tape yourself for a day, you would be shocked to see how much time goes to waste!
4. Dream Big. If you want to be larger than life, you need a dream that’s larger than life. Small dreams won’t serve you or anyone else. It takes the same amount of time to dream small than it does to dream big. So be Big and be Bold! Write down your One Biggest Dream. The one that excites you the most. Remember, don’t be small and realistic; be bold and unrealistic! Go for the Gold, the Pulitzer, the Nobel, the Oscar, the highest you can possibly achieve in your field. After you ve written down your dream, list every single reason why you CAN achieve your dream instead of worrying about why you can’t.
5. Vision. Without a vision, we perish. If you can’t see yourself winning that award and feel the tears of triumph streaming down your face, it’s unlikely you will be able to lead yourself or others to victory. Visualize what it would be like accomplishing your dream. See it, smell it, taste it, hear it, feel it in your gut.
6. Perseverance. Victory belongs to those who want it the most and stay in it the longest. Now that you have a dream, make sure you take consistent action every day. I recommend doing at least 5 things every day that will move you closer to your dream.
7. Honor Your Word. Every time you break your word, you lose power. Successful leaders keep their word and their promises. You can accumulate all the toys and riches in the world, but you only have one reputation in life. Your word is gold. Honor it.
8. Get a Mentor. Find yourself a mentor. Preferably someone who has already achieved a high degree of success in your field. Don’t be afraid to ask. You’ve got nothing to lose. Mentors.ca is an excellent mentoring website and a great resource for finding local mentoring programs. They even have a free personal profile you can fill out in order to potentially find you a suitable mentor. In addition to mentors, take time to study autobiographies of great leaders that you admire. Learn everything you can from their lives and model some of their successful behaviors.
9. Be Yourself. Use your relationships with mentors and your research on great leaders as models or reference points to work from, but never copy or imitate them like a parrot. Everyone has vastly different leadership styles. History books are filled with leaders who are soft-spoken, introverted, and quiet, all the way to the other extreme of being out- spoken, extroverted, and loud, and everything in between. A quiet and simple Gandhi or a soft-spoken peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter, who became president of the United States and won a Nobel Peace Prize, have been just as effective world leaders as a loud and flamboyant Churchill, or the tough leadership style employed by The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher. I admire Hemingway as a writer. But if I copy Hemingway, I’d be a second or third rate Hemingway, at best, instead of a first rate Sharif. Be yourself, your best self, always competing against yourself and bettering yourself, and you will become a first rate YOU instead of a second rate somebody else.
10. Give. Finally, be a giver. Leaders are givers. By giving, you activate a universal law as sound as gravity life gives to the giver, and takes from the taker. The more you give, the more you get. If you want more love, respect, support, and compassion, give love, give respect, give support, and give compassion. Be a mentor to others. Give back to your community. As a leader, the only way to get what you want, is by helping enough people get what they want first. As Sir Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”

Tim Hoiseth

Tim has background as is business psychologist and work sociologist with expertise in building organisations and teams to solve problems for the future. Tim has expertise in technology and the symbiosis between human interaction and technology in operational processes.

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