Leadership Styles

Leadership is thought of as a single skill. Is it really so?

Many feel that leadership skill is something which you either have or don’t have, but in reality leadership skill is something that can be acquired and developed.

When we look at some of the great leaders from history, sport, and our own lives; we see some strategists, others visionaries, and a few others who are great motivators.

What about our parent as a leader – their role as multi-tasking, nursing, peace making, admonishing; several facets of leadership, each suited to different situations.

Let’s look at our work arena as a focus.

At the starting point...

Three styles of leadership are required at the outset of a project. The visionary must set the vision and encourage his followers to stop what they are doing and focus on the new vision. The entrepreneur will have the determination to give the project momentum and turn the idea into reality, ideally with the help of the strategist who will have already broken the big picture down into manageable chunks.

As we go along...

Along the way as critical decisions need to be made, it will be the directional leader who decides with certainty what is it that is to be done. It is not just change for the sake of change, in the hope that something will work and that the team will come out looking good.

The team maker who will instinctively gather all the people with the necessary skills, and move forward on the project, plays a critical role. This leader is a good judge of character, and will also have an intuitive understanding of the strengths that already exist within the team, ensuring that imbalances are compensated by suitable new additions. Keeping the program on track will be the monitor, all too often this skill is overlooked because those that possess it don't have the charismatic approach associated with leadership. They play a key role in setting milestones and ensuring that everyone is moving in the same direction and at the same pace.

Keeping the team energized is the role of the motivator and the guide. The motivator sets goals, gives incentives and celebrates achievement while the guide focuses on the individual's welfare. In this results based world the guide is often seen as a hindrance to getting the job done but ask those who work for these leaders and there you will see their motivation to achieve the task on time and to standard is way higher than others.

When the chips are down...

We all know of stories where a leader has taken on a failing organization and turned it around. These change leaders thrive on taking teams apart and putting them back together again. With the benefit of experience elsewhere they can see where an organization is going wrong and know exactly how to put it right. Once this is achieved though they may not have the skills to maintain the momentum and cast a vision for the future, like the entrepreneur they will be hungry to start a new challenge.

When you are on a roll...

The vision has become reality and brought with it several new visions. Now, the danger is that each will follow its own course rather than supporting the others. The consolidator will have spotted this and will know how to listen, arbitrate, negotiate, compromise and relate to a large cross section of people to steer each of them towards a common goal without detracting from their individual missions.

Now, think back to past leaders you have served and identify which of the ten styles they demonstrated and in what environment. Compare them to your own situation and consider which aspect of your leadership style you need to develop.

Let us “evolve the path” ourselves and build the team by the vision and strategy that our work needs.

Soft Skills, Competencies and Skills Softer than Soft Skills

For the last decade now HR Professionals have been harping on the importance of soft skills within organisations and all for a good cause or so it appears. Probe a little further on the topic and ask them what these so called ‘Soft Skills’ mean, how do they measure them, can they be quantified into monetary terms to determine the ROI and you will draw a blank.

Go to the next level and ask this very learned group the difference between Soft Skills and Competencies (if there is a difference at all) and the silence would speak for itself. The latest buzz in this fraternity today is talk about ‘Skills Softer than Soft Skills’. Wow, now that would be truly amazing, if one only knew exactly what that meant.

In order to get clarity on these popular nuances I embarked upon a study, which involved a series of interviews with Subject Matter Experts (SME) – OD consultants, Behavioural Analysts, Trainers / Facilitators / Coaches and even Academicians. Their views have been capsulated and presented here to help the HR Fraternity talk the same language and mean the same thing.

Difference between Soft Skills and Behavioural Competencies

Soft skills are primarily personality traits that can be groomed, enhanced or even repressed with the help of behavioural interventions (training). These skills develop gradually over time and are hugely influenced by cultural overtones. Knowledge, thus resulting from these varied experiences becomes the defining characteristic of the individual.

When the element of intent or attitude is added to knowledge and skills it becomes a competency. The distinction between the two is subtle but one that cannot be ignored.

A behavioural trait can be a soft skill as well as a competency the distinguishing criteria is attitude or intent.

For e.g. Presentation Skills can be both a competency and a soft skill. The individual might possess the relevant knowledge to make an effective presentation; he might also have the necessary skills due to past experience but if he does not have the right attitude (i.e. he does not like making presentations) then he lacks the competency though he possess the soft skills.

Having a clear understanding of these two intriguing concepts can help HR professionals in not just profiling employees within their organisation but also determining the kind of intervention different employees might need.

The Pentra Model ^© depicted below clearly spells out how employees can be profiled based on their knowledge, skills and attitude and the interventions they might require.

Can Soft Skills and Competencies be measured?

Traits can be defined but never measured; their effect however, on personal and professional life can most definitely be measured to a large extent. Soft skills and competencies can be quantified and reported in monetary terms (which is of considerable value to organisations) by using a combination of parametric and non-parametric techniques. These techniques could range from psychometric instruments to structured observation to shadowing to behavioural event interviews to 360 degree feedbacks. ROI in qualitative and quantitative terms become a yardstick of organisation development.

However, due to time constraints and large investments required most organisations do not go through the rigor involved before and after a training intervention. Gap Analysis, organisation benchmarks, employee baseline prior to the intervention and post intervention measures are seldom carried out. What organisations often fail to realise is this investment would go a long way in organisation development and becomes a key factor of measuring ‘Organisation Maturity.’

Skills Softer than Soft Skills

Having understood the difference between soft skills and competencies it now becomes imperative to determine the true meaning of ‘skills softer than soft skills’. These are qualities imbibed in an individual from early childhood and have very strong societal, religious and cultural influences. These then should be aptly termed as ‘core skills’ as they define the very being of an individual. Examples of these core skills would be values, beliefs, principles, concepts of transpersonal wellbeing and actualization.

Today organisations are attempting to mould values and belief systems of employees through a variety of interventions to match the organisation’s vision and mission. I cannot stop myself from asking if this is ethically and morally correct? And would they ever be successful in achieving this? If the answer is yes, then organisations are no longer building human capital but have got into the business of human cloning, which is the first step in the rapid downward spiral. Serious cause for concern, I would think.

Of course this is a hugely debatable topic and there are a variety of opinions, and yes each has its merits, but just imagine through behavioural intervention if everyone miraculously had the same values, principles, belief systems etc then there would be no difference of opinion, no clashes as we would have successfully managed to annihilate the very uniqueness that defines us. Paradoxical isn’t it?