LEARN A LITTLE:
Five Dimensions of Leadership
There are hundreds of definitions of leadership – what most have in common is the dynamic of influence between leaders and their followers as they work toward a common goal, accomplished in a positive manner.
Many have written about and discussed how to get things done, address the bottom line, and navigate the relationship between management and leadership responsibilities. Other popular topics or themes emphasize certain human relationship skills, culture, decision making, etc.
Today, most people would agree that effective leadership is essential to the success of any organization or endeavor. Leadership is not confined to a title, job or office.
All of the elements mentioned above are vital aspects of successful leadership. In this thought piece, however, I would like to explore the importance of leadership role behavior across five dimensions: being a goal leader, values leader, communication leader, cheer leader and energy leader. While all of these dimensions are important to successful leadership, that doesn’t mean that they are all in play—to the same extent—all of the time. Thoughtful, reflective leaders who are well aware of their work sphere, including knowledge of employee engagement and productivity, will know when to emphasize one of the dimensions over another.
Let’s briefly discuss each of the dimensions.
Goal leadership: In this application, the responsibility includes activities, such as having a clear sense of mission, purpose, unambiguous priorities and proper focus.
There are times, however, when employees (followers) may have, in fact, drifted from the stated goals. Sometimes this may occur because competing goals have arisen and side tracked the original intent. It is in these moments that the leaders need to work more directly with their employees, and either reset or clarify the goal priorities and perhaps the pathway to achieving them. It is also important to ask and answer any questions that employees may have about goal issues.
It is also important to remember the reality that just because goals are written down and tracked doesn’t mean that they are being achieved in the manner originally envisioned.
Values leadership: I have often contended that people “leak and stray.” We all do; it’s part of being human. Leaking and straying also happens when we are dealing with organizational values. Hopefully, these values are familiar to the employees and discussed rather than just being displayed as wall posters.
As noted, it is easy for values to erode. This is especially true in challenging times that include staffing shortages, economic disruptions or operational setbacks. Value erosion can occur in any operating management system but is much more problematic in human systems—who is hired or promoted, how clients or customers are treated, and when insufficient time is given to key activities or processes such as training.
Leaders must be sufficiently aware of events or occurrences related to leaking or straying so that their “radar screen” picks up any concerning issues in everyday performance, communications and even staff meetings. When such value slippage occurs, it must be addressed quickly before the behavior becomes an organizational bad habit.
Communications leader: It is perhaps obvious that goal displacement or value erosion must be dealt with effectively. That is why it is so important for a leader to be a good communicator. In addition, how communications take place with staff in the instances mentioned above is very significant. If done inappropriately, a bad situation could easily become worse. Communication between leaders and their followers is the heartbeat of any organization.
Moreover, employees want to know that they matter. One of the ways they know this is a function of the openness and climate of the organization. This is especially true in difficult times. It is not good for employees to guess what’s going on since they seem to guess wrong most of the time.
Included in the broad area of positive communication is employee feedback, effective performance appraisal, meaningful team and staff meetings and the presence of leaders in the operational settings of the organization—the places where the work is getting done.
Cheer leader: Whether they like it or not, leaders are always being observed. That is one of the reasons why employee appreciation and recognition efforts are so important. I also believe the best leaders are positive, persuasive, trustworthy and predictable—everyone wants to know what to expect. No one wants to work for a negative person or work in a negative environment.
The old R.E.M. song “Everybody Hurts” should probably be listened to on a regular basis. Everyone has a story and “hurts sometimes,” and many of those people may work for you.
Cheer leading in this context is why having a positive outlook and attitude is so important. It also includes asking the question, “How can I help?” It’s noticing when an employee or a team, for that matter, is down and addressing the situation in the best way possible.
As a cheer leader you are not standing on the sidelines; you are in the game. As an organizational cheer leader, you carry the purpose of the organization around with you; therefore, “cheering in the game” is about enthusiasm, positivity, sharing positive stories, and interacting with and “being good with people.”
Energy leader: In many ways being an energy leader works collaterally with being a cheer leader. It’s not talked about a lot but being a committed leader takes a lot of energy and requires just as much attention as time management.
Once again no one wants to follow or work for a leader who is anergic, despondent, depressed, sighing all of the time, talking about being overwhelmed, falling asleep in meetings, or always anxious or prone to withdrawing. In my experience, leaders of this sort damage employee morale and productivity.
While we must recognize the above in ourselves, we also need to recognize such behavior in those who work for us. That’s why it’s important to spend time with our employees and notice their level of vitality. How much fuel do they have in their tank? In fact, it’s another factor you can pay attention to in team or staff meetings.
In addition, leaders, by definition, go first. Think about that. What are the consequences when a leader is shuffling in a situation that requires running? How are emergent or urgent matters addressed, and with what level of engagement? Furthermore, energetic leaders are able to “problem find” not just problem solve, an essential skill of diligent leadership.
Without energy it is difficult for leaders to improve themselves through reading and learning, or networking. And they certainly can’t improve a department or organization either.
In my experience, the lack of energy results from minimal sleep and exercise along with unmanaged stress for most people, including leaders. Of course, my statement above is based on the assumption that there are no major medical conditions at work.
Finally, these five leadership dimensions cannot be delegated or outsourced. Leaders must be personally involved.
To stay on top of the five leadership role dimensions, one practical suggestion is to place them more in the forefront of your conscious behavior. Jot the five roles down on the front page of your monthly calendar. Let it serve as a reminder. That practice helped me. I especially needed to work on the cheerleading area—and I still do.
LAUGH A LITTLE:
REFLECT A LITTLE:
Proverbs 6:6
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
READ A LITTLE:
Leaderology
Oleg Konovalov, Ph.D. (Wildblue Press, 2019)
Oleg Konovalov, author of Leaderology, is a business educator, well known author, keynote speaker and consultant in matters of leadership and culture. It is a book primarily directed to larger business firms and enterprises, but it is incredibly relevant to human service organizations as well. While it is easy to read, the book causes you to reflect on your role as a leader.
Leaderology’s 13 chapters are divided into four parts: Organization, Corporate Culture, Leadership and Leaderology. Chapter 11 is noteworthy and worth sharing with others. Entitled “30 Lessons I Learned About Leadership,” it includes so much excellent information, a serious reader could easily underline the entire chapter.
What follows are some key thoughts and ideas I found interesting, sometimes provocative and very helpful. I have omitted references to chapter 11. It’s yours to harvest.
A thought on risk taking is reflected in an observation made by Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, “The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm is terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” There are no successful, significant accomplishments without risk.
“Culture is the inner energy of an organization formed from the work of employees and their qualities combined to achieve a company’s goals.”
“Culture is responsible for the development of people. Mistakes in how people are treated are costlier than any technological or process mistake.”
“Your passion should show in the details.”
“A business represents a trinity consisting of the organization, its culture and its leadership.”
“According to the Dunning-Kruger effect, the less we know about something the more likely we are to assume we know a lot about it.”
“Effort is important but in what direction it is applied makes a difference.”
“The greater the problems we face, the more simplicity and clarity we demand.”
“Don’t look for the organization’s limits, look for its potentials.”
“Culture is the soul and spirit of an organization.”
“Culture connects people’s hearts and minds in their actions.”
“Values are the stars the company uses to navigate the rough seas of business and everyday challenges without losing itself.”
“If you want people to smile today, then be positive yesterday.”
“Negative or artificial cultures never care for anyone except bosses.”
“Negative culture is the culture of thousands of “no’s” where positive culture aims to respond with “yes” to new ideas.”
“Vision is a concentration of desires, dreams, potentials, and possibilities. A vision pushes people not just to do more but to do more than they think they are capable of.”
“Vision is what attracts the people needed to make it a reality.”
One last encouraging quote, “We tend to forget that every success story begins with solving a problem.”
As you can see, there is a lot to think about in the pages of Leaderology.
Until next time,
Art Dykstra
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