Leadership

Jon Nakapalau

Perhaps the most important question a leader should ask about leadership is…

…why do I want to lead?

Followers should ask…

…why do I want to follow?

Often these questions are never asked…

Leaders are leaders because…

Followers are followers because…

But both questions are important because they will become critical…

If a leader leads by title only then it will soon become apparent to followers that the title is more important than actual leadership…

When leaders fail to lead followers adapt ways to survive in the group…

Followers will adapt their roles to try to survive in a group were there is little or no leadership…they will try different ways to “form” leadership were there is none.

Will followers become frustrated due to the fact that the title of leader is used only to assign blame?

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Often leaderless groups “cannibalize” members…

Weaker members will start to fall prey to the agenda set by stronger members…

Book Recommendation #1:William Golding’s Lord of the Flies should be required reading for all managers…

Leadership is a mirror…

…that reflects group expectations…

Leaderless groups fail to innovate…

Lack of innovation often leads to problems that could have been anticipated… Book Recommendation #2:

Pigs is Pigs by Ellis Parker Butler examines what happens when a leaderless organization can’t answer questions in a timely manner.

Leadless groups will start to fragment…

• The fragmentation of a group will occur in proportion to the tension between formal and informal authority.

• This fragmentation occurs when there is a disconnect between the leader of the group and his/her followers as to what the goal ‘was, is and will be’ in scale and application to the rest of the organization.

• Once a leader is no longer able to articulate the goal that the group is working towards the goal will start to become agendized based on the perception of the individuals in the group. It should not be a surprise that the individual goals that are followed are far from what is best for the group.

• As individuals follow their fragmented view of what the goal ‘is’ the amount of tension between individuals increases.

• This tension makes it hard for any leadership to be reintroduced into the group; the fact that the group has functioned without leadership is de facto proof to individuals that no leadership is needed.

Insular management occurs when a leader manages from outside the group…

The more a leader fails to interact with a group the more likely it is that the message and vision (and thereby the goal) of the organization will be distorted…

When does a team become a group?

Every team is a group…but every group is not a team; when does the transition from one to the other start to define what can/will be accomplished if the definition is not clarified?

Book Recommendation #3:Our Iceberg is Melting is a very good example of the difference between teams and groups…

Innovation and timing…

A true leader understands that s/he must put themselves between questions and expectations of performance by team members:

Why do YOU want to be a Leader?

The End