Leadership Case

Until recently, there was a common belief that leaders are born, and from early childhood it was believed that a child would stand out among the group as he/she almost always would take charge. In more recent studies the belief has shifted to the theory that leadership can be learned through proper teaching of skills and knowledge, along with the beliefs, values and ethics they already possess. Stressing the later theory it can be proven that almost anyone can become an effective leader with proper training and motivational skills. Northouse (2007, p3) states the definition of "leadership to be a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal". What are the responsibilities of a leader? What are some of the key traits or qualities that an effective leader would demonstrate?

Realizing that people do things for their own reasons not yours makes it imperative that a leader motivates, not bullies with demands. As an old adage says, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". This adage gives us our first insight that a great leader must inspire his followers by creating mental visuals of the rewards that await both the organization and the individual upon accomplishment of the goal. The leader will communicate to his followers both through verbal and nonverbal communication. The nonverbal communication can be very important for earning the power of persuasion, respect and trust that the leader needs. To be given the title of leader gives you the authority to accomplish

certain things within your organization but not the respect needed to be a convincing leader. A

good leader will earn respect from his followers by always acting respectful to everyone in the group and conveying a clear sense of direction for the future of the organization and the individual. Individuals need to know that they are important to the success of the organization and to the obtaining of the goal. I had a supervisor, Jim Stephens at the City of Tampa Building Services. Jim was just a great guy. Everyone had a tremendous amount of respect for Jim, from those of us in the field to the managers in our building, you just wanted to be around him and hear what he thought about any issue. He had a way of explaining situations so they did not seem so bad. One saying that he used quite often whenever a big project would start and we would wonder where or how to start he would say, "You know how a lion eats an elephant? Then pause, one bite at a time." Then he would clarify it with that the task may seem overwhelming but if you break it down into smaller parts then you can prioritize the steps needed. What needs to happen first, then second, are you sure that is how it needs to happen? He would encourage us to ask fellow inspectors that had experienced the situation or like situations before how they did it and what if anything they would change. He said we should always end with an open question so that the other guy might be triggered to add information that we had not even thought of.

People will meet your expectations, so encourage upward growth by setting high goals. "A modest view of your future brings modest results and rewards. Think big and give people the opportunity to win big" (Stahl, 2007, p.7). Let them know that you have confidence in their abilities and talents and that they will have no trouble in meeting the goal on time. A workforce will completely follow a leader that they trust and respect. Convey to your followers that there are parameters to follow but that you encourage creative input and feedback along the way. If someone feels they have a better way to accomplish a task you want them to share that. A part of communication is praise. When a worker has performed well, met a goal or provided an alternate well conceived path, an effective leader will verbally recognize the efforts. This one act will provide positive affects in two ways; it will make the individual feel good about himself and encouraged and then others that see or hear of the praising will have additional support for why they respect the leader. When acknowledgement is given for a deed well done it makes a lasting positive impression. On the other end of the spectrum, a leader in title only may find joy in the failure or missed attempts by a follower. This type of "gotcha" leadership will never find the followers performing to their full potential, growing in skill for the betterment of the group or holding respect for their leader. There is nothing more defeating to an organization than a "gotcha" approach to management.

A gotcha style leader will also most likely be a self-serving leader. Self-serving leaders will misuse their power and use the hard work of the group to make themselves look better to management without giving recognition to those who have earned it. This makes me think of another supervisor who is at the other end of the spectrum from Jim Stephens we will call him Lee. Lee is what is referred to as a self-serving leader. He rarely recognizes any outstanding jobs that anyone in the group does. Our job descriptions have increased more than four fold over the last five years and during the last three of those five years there has been a pay freeze in place. Initially, no one minded the pay freeze and increase in duties, we understand that the economy is tough now but early in this trying time we had Jim Stephens