How to Become a Great Leader

I would contend with this article and agree with the points outlined. Capabilities of an organisation’s management team Great Capable Mediocre Poor Awful Most Managers Stop Working on Themselves; Hill and Lineback believe through their extensive research with various managers, most organisations will have managers in each of the above 5 categories. However it is my contention if you want your organisation to become successful, buoyant and to be around for the long term you will have to strive to have all managers in the Capable to Great sectors.

I believe the Barry Group is interested in developing the management team as we are presently completing a programme in Leadership. This article focuses on the manager themselves and how it is the goal of each manager to develop personally and to take responsibility. Personally I have not asked myself “How good am I? ” or “Do I need to better? ” As managers we are expected to deliver short terms goals and very little time to reflect on how good a manager you are. Hill and Lineback believe that many managers stop making progress because they simply “don’t know how to”.

This article has highlighted the importance to reflect on my manager capabilities. Do you understand what’s required to become truly effective? Leadership is using you as an instrument to get things done in the organisation, which is about self –development. However this process can be long and very reflective. As the start of each financial year we all agree goals and objectives which impact the financial side of the business. We also look at career planning on how this could help benefit us in the achievement of our goals. As a company we don’t review the capabilities of each manager.

I believe like the authors of this article that this cannot be taught or trained but this can only be achieved by continuous review, seeking feedback and reflection. Do you understand what you’re trying to attain? As mentioned by the authors it is a fact that most managers are disorganised, fragmented and even chaotic. I would agree with this statement and I would find my role to be more reactive than proactive because of the business environment we operate within. As a manager it is important to know where you and your team are going and want to be in the future.

On reflecting this point I found that as individuals we all have goals and objectives and knew what we needed to achieve. As a manager you are responsible for the performance of the team so you must ensure that your team can trust you and that you can influence them with your actions and capabilities. As per Hill and Lineback state to influence others you must make a difference not only in what you say but also the thoughts and feelings that drive these actions. To achieve the authors suggest an integrated way of thinking using the following approach which they call the three imperatives: Manage yourself.

Manage your network. Manage the team. Manage Yourself Leaders have followers so therefore management begins with the manager as each subordinate will be influenced by their manager’s actions, believes and values and trust. When reflecting on this I asked myself am I somebody who can influence others productively I would agree I have the capacity to influence others. However I would need to be aware of how I act in different situations as this may influence others. It is my contention that it is possible to have a dual relationship such as friend / boss with subordinates but you need to be self aware of boundaries.

It is important to empathise with subordinates and to interact with them on social aspects but then also be able to exert authority when required without the heavy hand approach. Trust has two components: belief in your competence and belief in your character. Manage Your Network During the process of trying to become a great boss it is essential to be able to communicate and work within networks. These networks could include subordinates, peers and supervisors. As per the article it is important to solicit opinions / suggestions etc from networks before launching into a new project.

A network can be deemed very political and it is important to understand how these changes would affect other members of any group. To achieve this I believe regular communication within this sector is vital. Manage Your Team I would believe the Team has to be the most important factor of the three imperatives, because without a committed, energised and focused team you are going to fail. It is clearly understood that Teams need to have a clear goals and objectives. This can be cascaded individually and collectively.

As per my personal goals towards the Accounts Receivable Team I would meet each team member individually and as a group but always with the same goal in mind. I am presently adopting a Balance Score Card within the Accounts Receivable Team to monitor current position and improvements / areas for concern etc. As a manager I believe in allowing members of the team some levels of autonomy but always stress that I am available if required for advice / ideas etc. However it is my contention that to have a team working as a collective unit there needs to be team goals and key performance indicators hat can be clearly realigned to the overall company goals. It is also very important to know how each of you team work as individuals so that any weaknesses can be indentified and plans put in place to help them in overcoming these issues. Be clear on How You’re Doing The three imperatives can be a very useful tool when developing yourself as a boss. As per the Authors having a road map is very important on this journey. As stated you need to know where you are now, where you want to be and what you need to get there.

Again is this section feedback becomes very important and also this is also about the team as much as me. While reading this article I included the three imperatives assessment model into my learning log and have taken the assessment. On reflection I found that there are areas that I need to improve on. I feel that my strongest area is Managing Team but I would need to improve on both Managing Networks and Managing Yourself. I believe this model will be a very useful assessment tool for my future development as a leader and intend assessing myself using this model on a regular basis.

On completion of the review, you can use the areas that need to be improved as part of your personal goals. What You Can Do Right Now It is important to understand that you are responsible for your own development. According to Hill and Lineback they have adopted a method to help you to develop you’re learning such as Prep, Do and Review. This method will allow you to use your daily routines into learning experiences. You also need to remember that successful learning will come from being outside your comfort zone.

Prep, you should begin by previewing you daily events and use them to identify opportunities to develop as a manager. It is important to challenge yourself. Do take whatever action needed using the new methods indentified. Review and examine what you did and document its outcome. It is at this stage that you learning will develop using reflection where possible. It is important to set time aside to carry out this process, preferable at the end of the day. Conclusion I found this article to be interesting as it includes not just “what to do” but also “how to do”.

It has a practical approach and very useful when indentifying your own capability. However I believe myself to be a capable boss but would strive be a great boss, I believe I could achieve this with the introduction of the techniques outlined in this article into my learning log. I would agree with Hill and Lineback that you must take personal responsibility for mastering the three imperatives and assessing where you are now with regular self assessment as essential in the future. It is important to remember that the standards you set for yourself need to higher than the ones others set for you.