learn to lead 11

One definition of command is

The authority to direct subordinates to perform duties toward the attainment of organizational objectives.

Basic guidelines for a new commander are

-Stay away until you officially assume command
-Make a clean break with your old job
-Prepare for new responsibilities

Six priorities for the first 90 days of command are

1. Understand your new position

2. Become technically proficient

3. Get to know your people

4. Ascertain the health of the unit

5. Learn how your team fits in the big picture

6. Determine the direction you want the unit to take

Three challenges a new commander may face when assuming command are

1. Be yourself
2. You're not one of the guys anymore
3. Beware the temptations of ego

Being in charge means you are responsible for

Helping subordinates excel; you serve their needs.

Steps included in developing a command intent are

1. Review your commander's intent
2. Provide the "why," the context for the mission
3. Address the scope of authority that troops have

The three components of a command intent are

1. Developing command intent
2. Communicating a command intent
3. Cooperate & imagine an intent

Three approaches for communicating command intent are

1. A carefully prepared speech or written document
2. Informal discussion/remarks
3. The passage of time……….

The components of a mission statements are

-An overarching reason for being
-Human connection
-Logical sequencing
-Measurable goals

The three steps to developing a mission statement are

1. Involve the troops
2. Consider the stakeholders' perspectives
3. Reflect upon questions that get to your inner core

Human capital conveys a belief that

Good people are like gold, and that having good people on your team is more important than having money in the bank.

job description

is simply a clear, concise depiction of a job's duties and requirements

The questions that a good job description must answer are

1. Why does this job exist?
2. What does the job accomplish
3. How does this job related to other jobs in the organization

The basic principles to follow when writing a job description are

-Joint authorship
-Job function
-Performance standards

Leaders should revisit job descriptions periodically because

Circumstances change as the team grows and pursues new goals.

The servant leaders role in setting performance standards for a job is

To ensure that high-speed team members do not set unrealistically high goals for themselves, and that timid folks learn that they will be expected to produce a bit more than they would if they set their own pace.

Some challenges that a job interviewer must overcome are

-Inauthenticity
-Encourage two way dialogue
-Stick to questions that directly relate to the job

Practical tips for conducting an interview are

-Read the resume before the interview, highlight items you want to know more about
-Warmly greet candidate, set them at ease
-Compliment candidate by recognizing that simply being on the interview is good
-Listen actively
-Go beyond canned answers, ask why
-Ask open ended questions
-Ask situational questions
-Take notes during conversation
-Give candidate final opportunity to make remark
-Shake hands and thank them for their time
-Immediately evaluate based off criteria

For the sake of holding every applicant to the same standards___

Interviewers should rate candidates against the same scorecard

Four hazards a hiring manager must overcome with new hires are

1. The halo effect
2. Attraction bias
3. Impressive references
4. Nepotism

Interviewers should not attempt to_

find the perfect candidate. Rarely, if ever, does that person exist. Interviewers must understand the necessity of trade-offs.

Principles of dismissing with dignity are

-It should be a last resort
-Respect the individual

Laissez-faire as described by the FRLM means

The absence of leadership.

Managment by exception as described by the FRLM means

You do something, I react. Or vice versa. It is a form of transactional leadership. Passive

The most impoverished view of leadership according to the FRLM is

Laissez-faire (LF is a boss
who plays hooky from work)

Contingent reward as described by the FRLM means

The leader uses incentives to encourage people to do the right things, but the relationship might be seen as cold. It is a form of transactional leadership

Who synthesized what they knew about leadership to create the FRLM

Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio

What is the FRLM?

It is a full spectrum of leadership. It is used in visualizing relationships between multiple leadership approaches. It is NOT a situational approach, rather, different approaches are considered more effective.

The four I's in the transformational range are

1. Individual consideration
2. Intellectual Stimulation
3. Inspirational Motivation
4. Idealized Influence

Individual Consideration

is where the leader develops people. He or she listens to, coaches, and teaches the individual members. Put another way, IC means to mentor someone on a one-on one basis

Intellectual Stimulation

requires the leader to challenge team members to really think. Instead of the leader viewing himself or herself as the all-knowing source of all wisdom, he turns to the team members and engages their brainpower

Inspirational Motivation

calls on the leader to express confidence in the team and encourage its members to become better than they think they can be. Put another way, an IM leader is a visionary who is not only able to articulate "headlines of tomorrow," but also to make the team believe those awesome accomplishments are within their reach

Idealized Influence

is another way to say "leadership by example." The II leader is a role model. He or she exemplifies, through consistent, everyday behaviors, what each individual team member should become. Moreover, the followers know that the leader is having a deep effect upon them, and they attribute exhibited behaviors and attitudes to their leader/role model.

What is delegation?

Delegation is a leadership skill which involves the development of an understanding between a leader and a follower about how they'll share authority. It involves turning over authority and responsibility for a specific task to a subordinate.

The term "vital shift" means

As people move up the management ladder, they should shift from "doers" to "managers."

Some benefits of delegation are

-It allows you more time to plan
-More opportunities to evaluate subordinates
-More chances to grow for the person delegated
-Person delegated will earn respect, as it shows trust between the supervisor and junior supervisor
-It helps the organization run smoother long term

Three important terms relating to effective delegation are

1. Authority(must be delegated for success)
2. Responsibility
3. Accountability(Shared/transferred accountability)

Authority

Let's discuss the first concept in the delegation process— authority. A good definition of authority is, "that influence one possesses at any point in time, which will cause someone to do what the authoritative individual wants them to do at that time.

Responsibility

The next concept of delegation is responsibility. Just what's responsibility? Responsibility consists of the obligation to undertake a specific duty or task within the organization

Accountability

Accountability consists of assessing what and how a person did on a particular job (that is, were goals accomplished?). If a person has failed to do a job, that person has failed to develop and/or use the necessary authority, or that person hasn't shouldered the responsibility for accomplishing the job.

Four steps for effective delegation are

1. Define the task
2. Assign the task
3. Grant authority
4. Follow up

Common mistakes in delegation

-Unclear delegation
-Supervise too closely
-Helps too much
-Rushed delegation
-Improper selection of subordinates

Define organizational culture

Organizational culture is the commonly held values within a group of people.

The three phases in leading organizational culture changes are

1. Unfreezing(creating motivation)
2. Learning new concepts(help people learn)
3. Internalization(own the new culture personally)

Unfreezing

Phase one in the process of cultural change is called unfreezing because the organization is letting go of hard traditions and experiencing a motivation to change

Survival Anxiety

Within this phase, the first step is the experience of "survival anxiety." Unless the team changes, something awful will happen.

Unlearning

To unfreeze or get the team unstuck will require unlearning. Bad habits must die.

Learning New Concepts

Now that the organization is motivated to change, phase two begins. Here, the organization's leaders help people learn the new concepts that will bring the desired culture into effect. (clear articulation, psyschological safety, etc.)

Two challenges that occur during the unfreezing phase of culture change are

1. The organization must see reality
2. The organization must unlearn bad habits

8 principles of the learning phase of culture changes are

1. Clear articulation of vision
2. Psychological safety
3. The right metrics and rewards
4. Symbols & physical environment
5. Training & safety nets
6. Stories to communicate culture
7. Teachable moments
8. Leadership by example

Clear Articulation of Vision

Although the organization experienced survival anxiety, senior leaders must describe the organization's predicament with clarity and precision. What exactly is the threat? What is our current situation? Articulating that reality provides a context for change and ensures that everyone is aware of the threat.

The Right Metrics & Rewards

What's measured tends to be what gets done. To effect cultural change, leaders rethink how they measure success in their organization, and they ensure the reward systems (pay, awards, promotions, atta-boys) are aligned with those new metrics

Symbols & Physical Environment

Effective symbols are visual representations of reality

Training & Safety Nets

Although they have worked hard to unlearn the old, bad behaviors, team members still must learn the new behaviors, skills, and attitudes that the new culture demands. Therefore, leaders have to commit resources to training people so that they can make the change

Stories to Communicate Culture

Anecdotes have power. Stories help people learn

Teachable Moments

A teachable moment is simply an unplanned opportunity enabling a leader to emphasize a principle that someone (or a group of people) have been trying to learn

Leadership By Example

Leaders must model those behaviors they wish to see in others.

Four challenges to overcome during the internalization phase of organizational culture change are

1. Making a lasting commitment
2. Out with the old behavior
3. Need for success
4. Adversaries of change

The nuclear option for organizational change is

An order: termination or involuntary reassignment of those who attempt to sabotage the effort or steadfastly refuse to change.

Four pillars of safety leadership are

1. Safety must be integrated
2. Safety is a right
3. Everyone is responsible for safety
4. Safety is a value

Safety Must Be Integrated

Likewise, safety also must be integrated into everything an organization does

Safety is a Right

Everyone in the organization has to buy into the understanding that safety is a basic right. Sure, there will always be risks in any job, but they must be managed responsibly

Everyone is Responsible for Safety

The price of admission to a safety-minded team is a willingness to accept responsibility for protecting one's own and the team's safety.

Safety is a Value

Leaders who declare that safety is a value, and explain what that idea really means, send a message that safety is important and can't be compromised

Practical ways of developing a safety culture are

-Incentives
-Trait theory

The definition of performance appraisals

A performance appraisal is the process of measuring how well and individual has fulfilled assigned duties and responsibilities. (one benefit may be people know where they stand)

What are some of the drawbacks of performance appraisals

-Encourages negative criticism and "hammering"
-Single person's opinion of individual's performance
-Can reflect the rater's intentions as much as the rated's performance at times

Some characteristics of 360 degree feedback include

-Multiple perspectives
-Skill & competency focus
-Self improvement
-Boss relationship

Criticisms of 360 degree feedback are

-It can be time consuming
-It must find a way for feedback to be anonymous
-It depends on a highly trained coach
-It can have no consequences

Philosophies used to measure organizational performance include

-Continuous improvement
-A system of moving targets
-Processes vs. Outputs
-Benchmarking

What are the differences between processes and outputs?

1. We measure success by the output
2. Improperly focus on processes and you fail to recognize outcomes, and vice versa

Management by objective is

A respected process for setting goals that cascade down into objectives, which, in turn, become the metrics for the team's overall success.

Some factors in the process of management by objective are

-Strategic goals
-Objectives
-Action plans

Describe the order for the cascade of goals, objectives & action plans

1. Strategic goals: The team's highest aspirations.
2. Objectives: Complete these items and the team will naturally achieve the strategic goals.
3. Action plans: Finish this nitty-gritty work and the team can check off one of the objectives higher up

Some criticisms of MBO are

-It's not "fad" or new
-You can spend too much time doing writing reports instead of doing the job
-Individuals responsible for doing jobs may feel pressure to finish jobs on time and fudge reports
-If an objective is incomplete, MBO doesn't tell leaders what they should do next

Why you should watch out if you're in command just to get promoted

Because your troops will sense that in 8 seconds an make life hell for you