is it that makes a leader, and what separates the good from the great? This class will explore different leadership theories and examine what makes a great leader.
Influence is subtle yet incredibly powerful. You can order someone to do a task, but you cannot order them to do their best. It simply does not work and usually has the opposite effect. You can influence people to do their best by providing a powerful, motivating example in addition to positive reinforcement. Leadership addresses tasks, while influence addresses attitudes and awareness. Influence is the soul of leadership.
Situational Leadership
In Module Two, you will learn that the definitive leadership style research comes from Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard, which they expressed in their Situational Leadership Model. The Hersey-Blanchard model addresses the key to practical leadership development: the attributes and styles of the followers.
Not everyone is on the same intellectual, maturity, compliance, or motivational level. Different people are motivated by different things, and this must be taken into account if one is to be a great leader. Communications experts consider it critical to tailor your message to your target audience. It is the followers you want to motivate, and you cannot do that if you do not know who you are trying to motivate or influence.
Motivation
The importance of psychology in achieving and maintaining employee motivation is essential. A message can be repeated to a group of employees, but the words are empty unless they believe it and believe in it. In Module Three, you will learn some of the fundamental psychological theories that help employers produce a motivated workforce.
A Personal Inventory
In 2002, Jossey Bass published a book by James Kouzes and Barry Posner called The Leadership Challenge. Building upon the Hersey-Blanchard model and other transformational leadership models, they went to the heart of what skills are required by the leader to stimulate such a transformation. In Module Four, you will learn how to influence your team and bring them to accept the leader’s vision as their own.
Modeling the Way
Remember, the best leaders exemplify what they want their team to be. George Washington rode into battle with his troops. You cannot lead from the rear, and sending your team out to take the heat and face the challenges while you remain in an ivory tower will eliminate any possibility of respect.
In Module Five, you will learn a leader is in the lead, right up front, ready to take the heat if something goes wrong. If something goes wrong, a true leader never blames his team even if they failed. A true leader takes the blame and then addresses how to correct the problems.
Inspiring a Shared Vision
In Module Six, you will learn the key to true leadership is to inspire a shared vision among your team. Before you can convey a vision, you have to develop it. You must be clear in your vision, live it before others can see it, and model it from your behavior.
Challenging the Process
Far too often, we cling to what is familiar, even if what we cling to is known to be inadequate. The law of inertia governs most large groups: nothing will change if it takes effort to change something. In Module Seven, you will learn to search out opportunities to change, grow, innovate, and improve.
However, there is no reward without risk, so you must be willing to experiment, take risks, and learn from mistakes. Ask questions, even if you fear the answers. Start with the question, “Why?” Why are things the way they are? Why do we do things the way we do?
Enabling Others to Act
You cannot do your team’s work for them as mentioned before. Besides, if you do their work, why are they getting paid? You have your work to do. The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership model’s ultimate goal is to develop your team to the point where you can delegate tasks without a lot of oversight.
In Module Eight, you will learn to be a true leader; you must enable others to act responsibly and not encourage bad worker habits by compensating or overlooking them. Simultaneously, you cannot criticize a follower for trying hard but making an honest mistake.