Leadership Style: Fit Your Style to Your Group

If your actions inspire more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

—John Quincy Adams

As leaders, you juggle many roles: You are the leader of a group, but you are also a member of your manager's team; you are a peer to others, sometimes across different geographies, departments, or functions. You may have a role to play with vendors or partners in other companies. Customers have expectations of you and create another role for you to balance. Of course, there are the many roles you play outside of work. When style is the topic, leaders wear many different hats. Consider your home life and the various styles you use with your children. (Even if you don't have children, think back to when you were the child.) As a parent, the way you treat a 4-year-old in your family and the way you treat a teen are decidedly different. Parents of twins comment that they need to treat each child differently. The point is that you are already using a variety of styles for different people, depending on what each one needs in order to get the results you want. In this chapter, a structure will surround those choices you make when working with your various groups.

A basic premise is that you and your group have tasks that you must get done. It turns out that groups mature or develop through predictable stages and that effective leaders shift their styles depending on the developmental stage the group is in, just like parents shift their styles with children of differing stages of development. Sue Wheelan, the author of many books and research studies on group development, provides an excellent way to view groups.¹ The role of the leader in guiding groups through stages of development is not often taught to leaders. You will increase your effectiveness if you recognize the stage of your group and then match your style to their stage.

How Leaders Lead in Each Stage of Group Development

Stage One Leaders

Stage one of the development process is that the group or individual doesn't know much about how to be competent. If someone in your group wants to make a clay pot, you will need someone to demonstrate and actually teach that individual how to work with the wheel and the clay. In stage one of group development, members need leaders who are clear about goals and deliverables and who assign roles and responsibilities to each person in the group. Leaders are more directive than participative, and decision making is controlled by the leader. Visually, a picture might look like Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Stage one leader.

The leader is central. He or she directs the action and decision making because the individuals in the group are not capable of doing either one themselves. In a business setting, it might be described as the “training” stage for a new group. Group members need the leader to direct them because they do not yet know the ins and outs of the work or the corporate culture. Their experience is not at a stage where they can participate at the same level as the leader in making decisions or assigning tasks. The leader should encourage questions at this stage of development because that will help the individual or group progress to the next level more quickly. The leader monitors and gives feedback with the goal of moving the group to stage two of development.

Stage Two Leaders

This stage is often similar to adolescence in human development where group members want more independence than they had in stage one, but they may not be quite ready. Roles and decision making, power, status, and communications structures are clarified in this stage. Efforts to redistribute power begin to occur as well. These are all necessary for development to occur. This can feel like conflict (just like parenting a teenager); however, it is actually a positive sign of growth and independence. Leaders can experience this stage as a real challenge; often, they perceive conflict as resistance to their authority and therefore interpret it as negative. The leader may respond by creating rules, policies, and procedures to help enforce his or her way of doing things. Some leaders withdraw from the conflict. Much of the conflict, however, is about things that go beyond the role of the leader. In essence, the conflict with and about the leader is a way for the group to discuss who can have input into decisions. Figure 2.2 shows this graphically.

The leader's role in this stage is critical. If the leader avoids the direct reports or engages in debate without resolutions that work for everyone, the group will remain in stage two. If an individual is critical of the leader's decision, and the leader does not address these comments in a constructive way, the leader misses the chance to move the group on to stage three.

No leader wants everyone coming to her for every decision or action. Moving individuals to a developmental level where other options are possible is the goal. So what is the right response to a group in stage two? Group members have some skills, but they aren't ready for total independence. They may lack the confidence to take on total responsibility for the work they need to do. Here are some choices to consider:

Figure 2.2 Stage two leader.

1. Continue to provide direction.
2. Try their ideas.
3. Encourage them to keep trying; offer a lot of support.
4. Help them see what needs to be done to get the best results.

You are likely to do all of the above. Think of your role as consultative. You do want teams to move through this stage. However, it's not uncommon to experience conflict about readiness. Sometimes leaders personalize stage two differences in opinions. The result is defensiveness or attacks from members of the group that only escalate conflict. Just remember: Conflict can be a good thing. Bruce Avolio, a leading researcher in the field of leadership, comments that conflict is the “highest form of human communication.”² Working through conflict increases group cohesion and trust, which makes it possible for the group to focus on strategies to achieve shared goals. For inexperienced leaders this can be a daunting task. Even experienced leaders find that delays in conflict resolution result in more problems and keep the team permanently in stage two.

Organizations that get stuck in stage two are terrible places to work, with lots of unresolved conflicts and “gotcha” behaviors. Individuals stuck in stage two find ways to avoid helping one another even at the cost of customer service or profitability goals.

Stage Three Leaders

In stage three, leaders are participative with teams in accomplishing tasks. Since managers cannot perform every task, delegation and power sharing is necessary and indicative of an effective leadership style. Goals and roles are clear, so the leader's role is less prominent. While the leader is still necessary for coordination, that coordination function is now shared among members and the leader. By this time, members facilitate meetings or portions of meetings. They give reports about subgroup meetings and about tasks that have been accomplished between meetings. Whether working individually or as a group, the members are involved in the decision making and conflict resolution as well as looking for new business opportunities, negotiation, buffering conflicts, and image management within the larger organization. See Figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3 Stage three leader.

In short, members assume many of the functions performed solely by the leader in stages one and two. The leader operates in more egalitarian ways as all members of the team share responsibility. Leaders who support, compliment, and praise members’ efforts to share in leadership will increase the likelihood of group and individual success.

Stage Four Leaders

Leaders now think about delegation as a development tool, not just as a way to get work off their desk. Leaders continue to act as consultants, as needed. In general, however, they participate along with members to achieve objectives and team success. They continue to monitor team processes, especially for signs of regression, and they continue to build relationships with stakeholders outside of their immediate group and get resources the team needs to do its work. According to Sue Wheelan, leading group development expert, stage four leaders “get to relax a bit.”³ Things should run smoothly; when conflict occurs, the group resolves it quickly. Team members have taken on responsibilities and are actively pursuing group goal achievement. Leaders find a key challenge in this stage is to keep employees motivated and engaged. Figure 2.4 represents this graphically.

Figure 2.4 Stage four leader.

To summarize, you will use different approaches with different groups depending on the stage of development the group is in. In the beginning (stage one group), provide lots of structure, knowing that as the team grows it will come to a point in its journey when it will push back and want more autonomy. Begin to empower at that stage, building to a place where they are not so heavily relying on you as a leader. Over time, increase your consultative role.

Keep your checklist of leadership behaviors from Chapter 1 clearly in mind and demonstrate those behaviors. Another way to view this is that your approach will move from mostly telling to increasing amounts of asking, listening, or empowering (see Figure 2.5). Remember that your approach needs to change based on the level and assignment of the team.

Figure 2.5 Leadership continuum.

 

Leaders as Members of a Group or Team

Effective group members support the leader's efforts to coordinate and facilitate the group. Effective team members volunteer to perform tasks that need to be done. They are actively engaged with the leader to do the best work for the team and the organization. Remember that leadership requires relationships with the others in the group. As members of a group, you have the ability to make the leader highly successful; as a leader you can put the group in the position of doing its best work through your support, feedback, and encouragement. As a team member, use all of the same behaviors you utilized as the team leader to create a high-performing team.

Managing Up

Part of your challenge as a leader is not only to lead your group but also to “manage up.” The people above you have expectations of you as well as the people you lead. You may have experienced being pulled in both directions—those above you have different goals than those below. The following scene will offer some insights.

There are many ways to communicate that you support your boss. Some suggestions include the following:

• Work diligently to support the organizational goals.
• Take responsibility for your projects—the successes and the failures.
• Tackle problems head on.
• Handle crises rapidly.
• Overcome resistance to change.

Look at the following checklist to see where you fall as an effective member of the teams at your organization.

EFFECTIVE MEMBER CHECKLIST

Please read the statements below. Circle the number that most accurately describes your response to the statement. Use the following key to respond to each statement.

Section I

1. I avoid blaming others for group problems.

2. I assume that every group member is trying to do a good job.

3. I treat people as individuals and don't make assumptions about them based on my preconceived notions about people like them.

4. I do not get bogged down in interpersonal issues or personality conflicts.

Section I Score______

Section II

5. I encourage the process of goal, role, and task clarification.

6. I encourage the use of effective problem-solving and decision-making procedures.

7. I encourage the group to outline, in advance, the strategies that will be used to solve problems and make decisions.

8. I work to ensure that decisions and solutions are implemented and evaluated.

9. I encourage norms that support productivity, innovation, and freedom of expression.

10. I encourage the use of effective conflict management strategies.

11. I support division of labor necessary to accomplish goals.

Section II Score:______

Section III

12. I work to ensure that the input and feedback of every member is heard.

13. I work to ensure that we all have a chance to demonstrate our competence and skills in the group.

14. I discourage any group tendency to adopt excessive or unnecessary norms.

15. I am, and encourage others to be, cooperative.

16. In conflict situations, I communicate my views clearly and explicitly.

17. I respond cooperatively to others who are behaving competitively.

Section III Score______

Section IV

18. I act, and encourage others to act, in the best interests of the group.

19. When members contribute good ideas, I express my appreciation.

20. I encourage and work to achieve mutually agreeable solutions to conflict.

21. I support the leader's efforts to coordinate and facilitate group goal achievement.

22. I offer advice to the leader when I think the advice will be helpful.

Section IV Score______

Section V

23. I have negotiated, or would be willing to negotiate, with other groups and individuals to help my group obtain needed resources.

24. I share information and impressions I have about other parts of the organization with the group.

25. I encourage the group not to overwhelm itself with too much external information or demands.

26. I talk positively about my group with outsiders.

27. I keep other members of the organization informed about what my group is doing.

Section V Score______

Section VI

28. When members stray off the task, I diplomatically try to bring the discussion back to the task.

29. I go along with norms that promote group effectiveness and productivity.

30. I encourage high performance standards.

31. I expect the group to be successful and productive.

32. I encourage innovative ideas.

33. I use what I have learned about group development and productivity to help my group become effective.

34. I encourage the group to frequently assess and alter its functioning, if necessary.

35. I volunteer to perform tasks that need to be done.

Section VI Score______

Total Minimum Score: 35
Total Maximum Score: 140

My Score:______________

What's Your Overall Membership Quotient?

Total Score	Your Membership Grade
126+	A
112–125	B
98–111	C

What Are Your Section Scores?

Section I: Attitudes and Feelings

Total Score	Your Grade
14+	A
12–13	B
10–11	C

Section II: Processes and Procedures

Total Score	Your Grade
25+	A
22–24	B
20–21	C

Section III: Communication and Participation

Total Score	Your Grade
22+	A
19–21	B
16–20	C

Section IV: Support and Encouragement

Total Score	Your Grade
18+	A
16–17	B
14–15	C

Section V: Intergroup Relations

Total Score	Your Grade
18+	A
16–17	B
14–15	C

Section VI: Work and Productivity

Total Score	Your Grade
29+	A
25–28	B
22–24	C

Source: From Creating Effective Teams, by Sue Wheelan, © 2005, Sage Publications. Reproduced with permission of Sage Publications via Copyright Clearance Center.

Note what your strengths and development needs are. This is an exercise you might want to share with your own teams. Helping them learn how to be good group members will, in the end, make your job much easier and move the team to higher performance more quickly.

How Leaders Talk

Effective Communication

Even with the right style of leadership, managers are not guaranteed success. Clear communication will help all your interactions.

Consider that in any interaction you have the opportunity to be effective or ineffective (or somewhere in between) (see Figure 2.6). If you learn to select effective speech patterns, your message will be more successful.

For example, Figure 2.7 shows effective communication patterns, followed by ineffective patterns in Figure 2.8.

Figure 2.6 Communication effectiveness continuum.

Figure 2.7 Effective communication.

Figure 2.8 Ineffective communication.

Tone of voice, body language, and the words you choose all contribute to the final message you send and your effectiveness as a leader. Effective communication patterns affirm and include as they help to build a positive relationship and allow you to influence and guide behavior of others. If you inadvertently choose an ineffective communication style, the result is that you exclude and create negative aspects in the relationship, which has consequences for your ability to lead. Increasing communication effectiveness is an ongoing challenge to leaders. There are times when special care needs to be taken to really do it well.

Challenges and Threats

If the organization faces threats or challenges, leaders talk realistically about problems, obstacles, and mistakes. But they do so in a way that promotes growth and improvement. Often employees can contribute to solutions and reframe the problem into an opportunity. When leaders withhold information, they create a workforce that is dependent rather than accountable. Many times someone closest to the problem sees the threat and can offer a solution that will open up new opportunities, for example, with customers.

Change

The goal of change requires leaders to discuss what needs to be altered, why it must be changed, how things will change, and who will be affected. Creating and managing change is one of the ways businesses grow. If there is no growth, eventually there is decline and death. To avoid negative changes, leaders should be proactive in soliciting ideas from their groups for change, listening to customer feedback, and driving change. In the long run this creates healthy organizations. Whether it is small changes to continuously improve or breakthrough changes to reframe the way business is done, leaders need to be effective change leaders.

When leaders talk about their vision, mission, or values, it is particularly important to make this communication as effective as possible. The leader is the compass for the group. As a leader, you are responsible for setting the direction and the goals of the group. Talk about the vision, mission, values, and goals should follow some specific guidelines.

Vision

Vision is future oriented. It's the leader's picture of the organization some time in the future. Most visions are three to five years out, but they can be less or more depending on the situation. Here leaders paint clear, concise, vivid, and inspiring pictures of what the organization can be and what steps they will take to get that picture.

Mission

A mission is the organization or group's basic purpose, its reason for being. Leaders describe what the organization must do day in and day out. They also show people how their work supports the attainment of the mission.

Values

Values are the things the leader believes and what is most important to a group or person. Leaders discuss the core principles that form the foundation for their actions, and they get followers to buy into and share values. They also recruit new people to the organization who are aligned to the company's values.

Goals

Goals are concrete steps to accomplish a group's mission. Some leaders refer to SMART goals—the Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound objectives they need to achieve. They talk about goals at the organizational, departmental, team, and individual level.

This following case will take you through one company's work to communicate its vision, mission, and values. This is taken directly from its website⁴ and shows a nice example of the work a corporation needs to do to make its communications clear.

Using Vision, Mission, and Values to Lead Others

While the example presented is for an entire organization, it is quite appropriate for divisions, departments, and even individuals to craft their own visions, missions, and values. Use the steps that follow to create a vision either for yourself or for the team you lead. The steps are a guide, not a recipe, so make the section serve your needs.

1. Create a vision of what you want to achieve.

• What would you like to see in the future?
• How can you improve or change the way things are done? What could be done better?
• How would people be working together?
• What kind of revenue would you generate (if you are in a revenue generating function)?
• What would your relationships with customers look like?
• What about service levels with customers?

Dream big at this stage. Later you can decide what's longer term and what is short term. You might want to mind map your first draft of a vision; some people prefer to talk it out with a colleague or friend, or just write ideas in a notebook. A mind map (see Figure 2.9) is a diagram used to represent ideas you have about the vision of the group or function. It is arranged with a radial around a central key word or idea, in this case “vision for…” Once you have the central idea, then you add ideas or concepts. Say you have a revenue target for the year that will go on a radial line; another line might be the word “teamwork,” another, “work-family balance.” As each radial line is added, other subtopics can be added underneath the main line. An example in Figure 2.9 is under “revenue target”—“outside the U.S. [number]” and “inside the U.S. [number]” have been included as lines branching from the main line.

Figure 2.9 Mind map.

2. Once you have the first draft, look for things that you really want to accomplish over the next year or two. Save the other ideas for later.

3. Try it out on a friend. Use metaphors or visual language to help convey what you want the future to be. Refine it after your trial.

4. Communicate the vision to your team. When you are confident that you have the vision focused on what's important to you, think about how best to get the message out to your team. Be positive, use affirmative forms of expression, and talk about what you see happening. Experienced managers have learned that it takes saying things more than once to get the message out. Some leaders discuss goals in a meeting then send an email to recap those same goals; later, the manager might refer to the goals in a phone conversation or text message. In this way, the leader reinforces the message over and over until it takes hold.

5. Reevaluate your company's views and policies and write a final draft. In order to write a good vision and mission statement, begin with knowing what you and your organization stand for, understanding your values, what your customers want. Take some time to reflect and write a final draft of your vision, mission and values.

YOUR VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES

Use the space below to begin to work on your own vision statement. Start with your values.

Values:

Mission: The purpose of my team/function/group is to...

Vision: What I want for my team/function in the future is...

Remember that visions, goals, and mission can change, but a leader's values should remain constant to help develop a cohesive, trusting group.

Career Enhancement Tool Scenario Planning

As a leader you must stay tuned to the changes in your world and make adjustments to them. One of the ways this can be done is through a process called scenario planning. This process involves looking at possible future scenarios for your business or group. Leaders need to anticipate and make adjustments for changes in the workplace, with customers, regulators, and the like. Scenario planning explores the impact that various drivers, such as societal changes, technology, economics, environmental changes, and political or regulatory forces have on your group or organization.

One of the hardest parts of the process is to play the role of facilitator rather than leader. This means you do not take a position in the discussion; rather, you gather information and record the ideas of others. During facilitation you should ask open-ended questions and monitor time and objectives of the meeting. Often it works to develop three scenarios: One suggests more of the same but better, one describes a worse outcome, and one suggests different fundamental changes to the scenario. This will require you to look at business trends and other data.

What do you know about the factors driving your group? As a leader you might note that interest rates are rising or that the workplace is more global. Once you identify the forces at work, it is time to compose your story. To develop a good story, look at what you actually believe. What you have overlooked? Is there something happening in your industry that could gain importance in the coming days or months? Scenario planning will help you prepare for the future. Leaders that practice this method are less often caught by surprise by changes in the markets.