|
Below, you'll find extensive information on leading
what is goal setting in counseling articles and products to help you on your way
to success.
Why Leadership Matters In Professional Practices
By Graham Yemm, Sat Dec 10th
i>"A leader has two important characteristics; first he isgoing somewhere; second he is able to persuade others to go withhim." Robespierre How many of the people who run professional firms have achievedtheir positions as a result of planned career development? Orthrough assessment centres, or their ability as leaders andmanagers? I wonder whether a large number are still therebecause of some family connection, who they know and bring tothe firm as clients, length of service or revenues generated?This does not mean that there has to be a problem with those atthe top as some will be capable and some will be naturalleaders. However, how many could be better? When I have workedwith groups in professional firms, the senior people havegenerally admitted to having no real training in leadership andoften admit to lacking the skills. Those at lower levelscommented about a lack of leadership, direction or support. Why does it matter? Fundamentally, all businesses need clearleadership from the top. There needs to be clear strategy anddirection. The top leaders will set the culture of theorganisation too. Too many organisations are "over-managed andunder-led" to quote Warren Bennis. There is a difference betweenleadership and management. Managers get things done, operatingwithin the culture and the rules. Leaders create the direction,developing the culture and rules and taking the people withthem. This article will raise some questions about what happensif you do not address the leadership challenge for your firm andshares some ideas for how prevent them. As your markets change,the competitive forces become even more threatening a lack ofexecutive and strategic leadership might prove to be terminal!!However, if you start to apply the principles you can create amore robust and resilient business and, if you wish to, achieveeven greater things.
Leadership itself is a word which can trigger a wide-rangingdebate if you want to reach a consensus about what it means orwhat it is. There are hundreds of definitions within thebusiness press alone. To add to the complication, it isgenerally accepted that there are different levels ofleadership, from that required for a team leader or first linesupervisor to that of a CEO of a major blue chip! If we thinkabout leadership at the top of an organisation, there are somekey elements they need attention: - having an eye on the futureand the horizon - taking a medium and long-range view - looking outside and inside the organisation - challenging the status quo - setting objectives - inspiring trust - asks questions and listens - develops others If you had to look at the leadership you, or others, areproviding in your firm, how many of these aspects to theydemonstrate consistently. My experience is that too many"leaders" in professional firms are too hands-on. This leads toa lack of clear strategy and direction compounded by a lack ofthorough market awareness. There is often a reluctance to changeand little is done in a proactive way. The senior people mayprovide sound professional guidance and mentoring, but theyrarely focus on developing the staff throughout the firm. Theactual people-management skills are not necessarily good either.These problems are not the fault of the individuals, they areeffectively sins of omission. There has been little, or no,formal or structured training or development in management orleadership skills - sometimes reinforced by the "I didn't getwhere I am with training" mindset!! "Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader."Tacitus There are a number of qualities which good leaders can beexpected to possess and demonstrate. These would include: ability to articulate the vision for the organisation,department or function problem-solving and making decisions, especially difficult ones! effecting
change acting with honesty and integrity leading by example (ie the way they behave and act, not doingthe other jobs self-management communication and influencing skills. How would you assess yourself, or other leaders in your firm? Ifthere was to be a 360° assessment, what would the others say?Reading the list the qualities do not seem to be highly complexwhen expressed like this. To demonstrate them requires theunderpinning skills and knowledge which will give the confidenceto use them. Most professional firms, regardless of your discipline, have ahuge amount of technical expertise and experience and many ofyou will have some form of CPD (Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment). All of this is acquired over time and throughtraining in the technical aspects of the role. However, when itcomes to running and leading the firm, or a key part of it, howmuch is invested in developing the skills and expertise in thatarea? Experience suggests that for many of you, it is verylittle. How do you develop leadership, and management, skills?Well, some can come from experience, but that is both timeconsuming and can be expensive if it means learning frommistakes! If you want your firm to survive, thrive and grow, it willalmost certainly pay to think about improving leadership andmanagement skills - and to think of it as an investment. Thereis evidence that more successful organisations are those whichare well led and well managed. The bigger firms will have someform of management or leadership development programme in placein order to improve these skills and to ready people for futureresponsibility. Where existing teams need to improve, trainingprogrammes can be designed to address their specific issues,building their skills and competencies and improving overallperformance. I know that even where we have just done simpleinterventions on some basics around time management, delegationand it has helped clients see an improvement inproductivity and reduced the amount of work being done inevenings or at weekends. This has enabled senior people to spendmore time doing what they should be doing - leading anddirecting the business. For some firms, the preferred option,especially for senior people, is to tackle these areas on a moreindividual basis and use executive coaching as the way forward.This can give significant returns in performance and also areassuch as staff retention and productivity. These options are notmutually exclusive either, you may consider combining individualsupport and development with some team training. I have foundthat this can be particularly effective, especially when some ofthe people involved have a high degree of technical expertiseand need to work on their "soft" skills and strategic thinkingtoo. Leadership is something which is needed in all businesses and bymost groups. As the quotation said at the beginning, the leaderhas to provide the direction for the organisation or group. Theyneed to believe in this for themselves and now how they can getthere. The second stage is to persuade others to go along. Thisneeds a combination of skills and the right attitudes. These arenot necessarily innate qualities which everyone possesses. Theycan be learned along with the underpinning skills. Without goodleadership the firm is likely to have a lack of direction, whichmight mean that the people down the line are not fully engagedor motivated. In this competitive age, can you afford not to beinvesting in improving your leadership capability? Remember - Manage the business - lead your people! About the author:Graham Yemm has over 20 experience as a consultant. He runs a UKbased consultancy, Solutions 4 Training Ltd and works both inthe UK and internationally with organizations developing theirleadership capability. He can be contacted at http://www.solutions4training.com/>Solutions 4 Training or +44 1483 480656
|
