Tinelli on Leadership )
Ideas you can use today Issue 34 - October 31, 2007
In This Issue
  • Leadership Style Differences.
  • Oscar Wilde and Leadership.
  • The Red Sox, Renewal, and Leadership.
  • It's fall, the leaves are turning, the weather's cooler, and, if you're like me, you're looking forward to the time with family and friends during the upcoming holidays.

    Enjoy the family, food, friends, and gentle time.


    Archie Tinelli, Ph.D.

    Leadership Style Differences.

    One of my current clients is an executive who has run into difficulties because of his leadership style. What happened?

    Having come from the military, he has a directive, concise, and forthright style of leadership that rubs many of his direct reports the wrong way. They resist and resent the fact that he is, in their minds, abrupt, insensitive, and unwilling to take others' ideas into consideration. He, on the other hand, thinks they're overly sensitive, unable to understand, accept, and embrace the decisions he's made, and more concerned about what they want, individually, than what is right for the group, as he and his bosses see it.

    The problem is not a question of who is right and who is wrong - that only obscures and confuses the nature of the problem. The crux of the problem is a matter of leadership style differences.

    What do I mean by that?

    Every leader has his or her own style of leadership - a set of practices that reflect, among other things, the degree to which s/he holds onto or lets go of power. The point on the continuum of power, from holding on to it and making all the decisions alone to seeking consensus and letting others share power equally, is different for each leader.

    The problem I see repeated time and time again is that there is a big difference between his leadership style and the expectations of his direct reports as to the style they prefer. The difference between the leader's style and the expectations of the direct reports is the source of the problem - and it's not because one is right and the other is wrong.

    The problem would still exist if the positions were reversed; that is, if the boss were highly collaborative and facilitative and the direct reports wanted someone who was more direct and decisive.

    Differences in leadership style become a recurring and continual problem because every time there is decision to be made, the leader and his/her direct reports always begin with different perspectives, always assume that the style they use/prefer should be used, and always fail to accept the relevance and importance of the others' practices and preferences for leadership style.

    As a result, the differences lead repeatedly to various forms of resistance, misunderstanding, disagreement, tension, and conflict - not stemming from differences in policy, or operations, or tactics, or goals - but purely from differences is style. The problem is about style, not substance.

    The differences in style, between the leader and his direct reports, loom in the background of every conversation and email interaction, erupting at both expected and unpredictable times to disrupt and sidetrack their efforts to work together.

    Unfortunately, one common response, for both leaders and their direct reports, is to blame the other person(s) for not communicating or deciding in the way they believe is most appropriate.

    Other responses are to ignore the other person's communication, avoid them, complain, or develop approaches that work around the issue.

    Needless to say, none of these responses works for long since they allow the problem to persist.

    A first step in breaking the logjam and making progress is to address the issue head on by talking directly to the other person(s) about what you believe to be a difference in style. With my client, I have started by having each of the parties involved identify their individual styles of leadership, share it with the rest of the leadership team, and talk about how their differences in style contribute to some of their communications glitches.

    What about you? What else would you do or have you done to address differences in leadership style?

    Oscar Wilde and Leadership.

    Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes."

    Everyone makes mistakes, even (or especially) leaders. Unfortunately, many leaders cover them up, deny them, or pretend they didn't happen.

    Good leaders openly acknowledge and address their mistakes. When leaders have the courage to recognize, accept, and deal with their mistakes, they learn to become better leaders and send a persuasive message to others that experience can (and should) be a good teacher.

    What have you done, recently, to make the most of your mistakes?

    The Red Sox, Renewal, and Leadership.

    The Boston Red Sox, who just won their second World Series in four years, had only six players who began the season in 2004 on the roster for the 2007 World Series. The leaders of the Red Sox decided that, in order to continue to compete at the highest levels, they had to renew the talent.

    The same lesson applies to leaders in business who have to decide what talent to keep, what talent to develop, and what talent to replace. Effective organizations, like effective teams, can't stand still.

    Some leaders fail to renew talent, especially at the senior levels, by holding on to those who are no longer productive or who are not adjusting to the new demands on the business.

    What about your team? Is it ready to compete at the highest levels? Or do you, like the Boston Red Sox, need to renew your talent?

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