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Four Competencies Evident in Effective Leadership

© Ask the Fundraiser.com 2005

Leadership expert Warren Bennis has spent years researching leadership traits and practices. While conducting research for one of his books, he spent nearly five years with 90 of the most effective leaders in the country. His goal was to identify common traits among these leaders. He discovered four competencies evident to some degree in each of these leaders.

These competencies are:

• Management of Attention
• Management of Meaning
• Management of Trust
• Management of Self

Management of Attention - Leaders draw others to them because they have vision, dreams, intentions, agendas, and commitment. Leaders enroll others in their vision. Good leaders enable people to feel significant, resulting in the belief that everyone truly can make a difference.

Management of Meaning - Leaders must communicate their vision in order to make them apparent to others and to align people with them. Communication and alignment must work together and effective leaders can communicate ideas in any environment.

Management of Trust - Studies show that people would much rather follow individuals they can count on who demonstrate reliability and constancy. Trust is essential to all organizations. When individuals know that they can trust their leader's reliability - even if disagreeing with his or her viewpoints - they are much more likely to follow.

Management of Self - True leaders know their own skills and how to deploy them effectively. Without the ability to manage one's self, leaders can do more harm than good. Good leaders know themselves, their strengths, and how to nurture them. Good leaders value learning and mastery.

Can you provide a few Resources on Ethical Leadership?

© Ask the Fundraiser.com 2005

Maintaining an ethical climate within any organization requires strong ethical leadership from the top down. This is perhaps more important in nonprofit organizations, where stewardship of philanthropic gifts, vulnerability of clients in need, and issues of confidentiality are a part of every day business. The following resources will provide insights on how best to create an environment where ethical behavior is a priority.

Ethical Leadership (Jossey-Bass Leadership Library in Education)
Ethical Leadership
Moral Intelligence : Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success
Winners Never Cheat : Everyday Values We Learned as Children
The Servant : A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership
The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle : How to Become a Servant Leader
The Moral Imperative of School Leadership
Leading with Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit, New & Revised
Leadership, Ethics and Policing: Challenges for the 21st Century
Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership : Casting Light or Shadow
Capturing the Heart of Leadership

Here are a few institutes worth checking out.

Institute  for Ethical Leadership
Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership
Character Counts
www.josephsoninstitute.org

What are Some Characteristics of A Good Leader?

© Ask the Fundraiser.com 2005

Barbara White, from Living Beyond Better, provides some thought-provoking points.

Seven Personal Characteristics Of A Good Leader

How often have you heard the comment, “He or she is a born leader?” There are certain characteristics found in some people that seem to naturally put them in a position where they’re looked up to as a leader.

Whether in fact a person is born a leader or develops skills and abilities to become a leader is open for debate. There are some clear characteristics that are found in good leaders. These qualities can be developed or may be naturally part of their personality. Let us explore them further.

Seven Personal Qualities Found In A Good Leader

1. A good leader has an exemplary character. It is of utmost importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader “walks the talk” and in doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others. True authority is born from respect for the good character and trustworthiness of the person who leads.

2. A good leader is enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. People will respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication. Leaders need to be able to be a source of inspiration, and be a motivator towards the required action or cause. Although the responsibilities and roles of a leader may be different, the leader needs to be seen to be part of the team working towards the goal. This kind of leader will not be afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty.

3. A good leader is confident. In order to lead and set direction a leader needs to appear confident as a person and in the leadership role. Such a person inspires confidence in others and draws out the trust and best efforts of the team to complete the task well. A leader who conveys confidence towards the proposed objective inspires the best effort from team members.

4. A leader also needs to function in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. People look to the leader during times of uncertainty and unfamiliarity and find reassurance and security when the leader portrays confidence and a positive demeanor.

5. Good leaders are tolerant of ambiguity and remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose. Storms, emotions, and crises come and go and a good leader takes these as part of the journey and keeps a cool head.

6. A good leader as well as keeping the main goal in focus is able to think analytically. Not only does a good leader view a situation as a whole, but is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. Not only is the goal in view but a good leader can break it down into manageable steps and make progress towards it.

7. A good leader is committed to excellence. Second best does not lead to success. The good leader not only maintains high standards, but also is proactive in raising the bar in order to achieve excellence in all areas.

These seven personal characteristics are foundational to good leadership. Some characteristics may be more naturally present in the personality of a leader. However, each of these characteristics can also be developed and strengthened. A good leader whether they naturally possess these qualities or not, will be diligent to consistently develop and strengthen them in their leadership role.

About the Author: Barbara White President of Beyond Better Development has over twenty years experience in leadership. Beyond Better Development works with organizations who want their leaders to develop towards their potential and stay on the cutting edge. More about Leadership Development http://www.livingbeyondbetter.com

Source: isnare

How do I get my staff to do what I want? Are there special reward systems?

© Ask the Fundraiser.com 2005

Wow. If hypnotism doesn't work perhaps you should look at your current reward systems to make sure everything is in check. Sometimes you may simply be punishing good behavior and rewarding bad behavior without even recognizing it. Think I'm crazy? Read on.

About 30 years ago, Steve Kerr wrote an article in the Academy of Management Journal titled On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B. In this article, Kerr suggested that people (or monkeys, or rats, etc.) tend to seek out activities that are being rewarded and then do those activities (or at the very least pretend to). Sometimes this happens at the virtual exclusion of activities not rewarded. In any event, there are plenty of examples in our day to day lives where behaviors which are being rewarded are the very behaviors the rewarder is trying to discourage.

I'll give you one of Kerr's examples then one of my own. At many universities there is the hope that faculty will not neglect their teaching responsibilities but rewards them almost entirely for research and publications. Faculty members are often confronted with having to choose between teaching and research-oriented activities when allocating their time. The universities typically reward faculty for research and publications and punish them for failure to accomplish these. When faculty members go looking for other jobs, publication-oriented resumes are usually much more well received than the difficult to document and quantify "teaching credentials." What is the message here?

Now here's my example. Has this ever happened to you? Or worse, have you done this?

Imagine a development office within a nonprofit organization, university, or hospital - you pick. The Director of Development, Vice President, or Executive Director (whatever the chief development officer's title is) peeks around the corner and notices an empty office or cubicle. Expecting to find his staff fundraiser, the director thinks to himself or makes a comment regarding the gift officer "never being in the office." At the weekly meeting or worse, annual review, the fundraiser is admonished for coming in late, leaving early, or never being in the office. The irony is, it is also these same chief development officers who remind fundraising staff that money doesn't simply come in, it has to be sought out. After all, a fundraiser belongs in the field with donors, not sitting behind the desk waiting for the phone to ring. Right? What conflicting messages are being sent here? In this case, the fundraiser is being punished for being out in the field and he is rewarded for being in the office.

There is a deeper question here that I'll address at some other time regarding getting staff to do what "you" want. But for now, let me leave you with this message. Positive reinforcement works. Reward the behaviors you want and punish the behaviors you don't want. Not vice versa. Don't send conflicting messages or contradict yourself. And by all means, treat your staff with dignity and respect. It will go a long way in helping you get what you want. And, you might just help your employee retention rate. Good luck.