I was at a dinner party recently and I started a discussion about Leadership, just for something different. The friend that I was talking to raised his concern around the way that many Leaders often expect their team members to adapt their overall identity and behavior to align with their own expectations.
Communication – Yes that’s right I am talking to you!
It is amazing how often people approach me and ask for assistance due to the fact that their teams are breaking apart and their business is suffering the consequences of what is often categorized as negative team member behavior.
According to James McGregor Burns as quoted in Jean Lipman-Blumen's book "Connective Leadership", there is an important distinction to be made between different leadership styles. My understanding is that the key difference between transactional and transformational leadership is one of vision and forethought.
I went to a primary school parent teacher meeting last night for my daughter. I was particularly interested in the rating my daughter received for her behaviour in class. Every school report until now she received an 'Excellent' rating. This term she received a 'Good'. Curious, I enquired about this 'drop' in rating.
I worked for a large corporate for almost 20 years, and when I became a Manager in my mid twenties, I had a very blinkered view in regards to how to manage people. My basic philosophy was that I simply had to tell people what to do and they would do it. If they did not do what I asked, then all I had to do was get really angry with them and this would basically fix the problems I was experiencing. I really had a problem understanding why this approach would not work, as my instructions were clear and I was being very upfront in relation to what I wanted.
