Search results for 'Vern Konwin'

By Vern Konwin on 1 Jan, 1987

Today’s economy is … challenging. On top of that, some organizations are still adapting to the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, like distributed teams, remote meetings, and hybrid offices. The need for strong leaders is more significant than ever in light of those obstacles.Strong leadership skills are essential for managers to build and lead engaged, innovative teams prepared to handle today’s challenges. And the key to being a strong leader might be different from what you think. In an ELB Learning webinar, Kristie DeLoreto, SVP, Client Solutions, and Laura Doerr, VP, Operations at ELB Learning, demonstrated why empathy matters in leadership.Empathy in leadership is the ability to relate to and connect with people to inspire and empower their lives. However, it’s important for leaders to understand the difference between empathy and sympathy. “It’s a very gray line,” said DeLoreto. “I think you either kind of understand it, or you need to practice to get better at being more empathetic or knowing the difference between those two.”Lack of Empathy vs. EmpathyYou may have worked in environments where the first second somebody has performance problems at work, the automatic response is to say, “You’re out.”That is an example of a lack of empathy. Unfortunately, this can be fairly standard in our business world. Someone walks into your office and says, “Your numbers have been down for the third quarter in a row. You have to pick up your numbers. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what the future will look like.”How inspired is that person going to be at work the next day? On the flip side, here’s the empathetic approach.Someone walks into your office and says, “Your numbers are down for the third quarter in a row. Are you okay? I’m worried about you. What’s going on?”We all have performance issues. Maybe someone’s kid is sick. Maybe they’re having problems in their marriage. We don’t know what’s going on in their lives, which will affect their performance at work. Empathy means being concerned about the human being, not just their output. Most people don’t want to be bad performers; they want to do a good job. Leaders must remember this.Exercising empathy can help leaders build teams, hire employees, and work with clients.Building teams. According to a 2022 Gallup report, employee engagement has dropped over the last several years to 32 percent, and 17 percent of employees are actively disengaged. Recognizing and respecting your employees’ emotions—even the negative ones—is a powerful way to connect with them. Empathy lays the groundwork for mature leadership and connecting with your workers as people.Hiring employees. Empathy is also important in the hiring process. It gives insight into another person’s motivations and helps you judge whether a candidate is right for a position. “If you look at your candidate with empathy, you can see the person and the human they are. And if they’re going to bring that to the table and bring those right skills and the right fit culturally, and all those other pieces just by thinking about that,” said DeLoreto. Working with clients. By employing empathy in your conversations with clients or subject matter experts, you can better understand their pain points and get on the same page. Having an open, thoughtful, empathetic conversation—especially with difficult clients—where you align and get on the same page will improve your relationship. In addition, empathy allows you to understand how another person is likely to behave, which can be powerful in negotiations.Why Leadership Training Can HelpDuring the webinar, DeLoreto polled the audience, asking who had worked for a leader who lacked empathy at any point in their career. The response was a resounding 95 percent “YES.”Effective leadership training needs to include soft skills training such as empathy. While there will always be a demand for training on hard skills, at ELB Learning, we’re seeing more and more clients come to us for manager and leadership development.

By Stephanie Ivec on 4 Sep, 2024

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A company DDI worked with had a CTO who thought he needed to leave to continue growing his career. The company’s CEO thought there may be value in providing the CTO with a leadership skills assessment to see if he could be a potential COO successor.The CTO performed well on the assessment and quickly developed in the areas where the assessment showed there were gaps. Soon, he became COO and thrived in the role.This CTO was a hidden talent who, without assessment, would not have been a contender for COO. And what happened next shows the combined power of assessment and development.This is just one example of the benefits of combining assessment with development. The combination is also key to boosting an organization’s bench strength. For example, DDI’s Leadership Transitions Report 2021 shows that nearly 40 percent of organizations with high-quality development and assessment had a strong bench of leaders ready for critical roles.Why Use Leadership Skills Assessments?So why should companies use leadership skills assessments? Imagine going to visit a doctor who says as soon as you walk into the office, “I know what’s wrong with you. Here’s what we are going to do.” I am certain you wouldn’t trust the accuracy of their diagnosis or the suggested treatment. For you to have confidence in a doctor, they need data to make informed decisions.Similarly, individuals deserve to have data about their strengths and development areas at work. This knowledge greatly helps them make informed decisions about their career goals. It also helps temper their ambitions. Additionally, this is a major contributor to employee engagement and retention.Why else do companies use leadership skills assessments? Companies manage their inventories of raw materials, components, and finished products. Assessment enables them to inventory their talent.They need to know their leaders’ strengths, growth areas, potential, and personal attributes. This information enables them to decide who to invest in. And then for the people they choose to invest in, companies want to know what they need and when, and then how to provide the best development.Further, according to the Leadership Transitions Report 2021, companies with a strong formal assessment program say they can fill 56 percent of critical leadership roles, compared to only 43 percent for companies without a strong formal assessment program. However, 86 percent of organizations report using formal leadership development programs, but only 57 percent say they use assessment.Using my visit to the doctor analogy, this means 29 percent of patients are taking the prescribed treatment at face value without knowing what is wrong. They also likely don’t understand why they have the prescription or even if the treatment is going to make them better.Types of Leadership AssessmentThere are many different types of leadership assessment, so it’s important to know which one is the most appropriate based on what is needed. But first, what does it mean to use high-quality assessment?According to our Leadership Transitions Report 2021, high-quality assessment should:Be competency-based.Offer an objective view of strengths and development areas.Pinpoint the exact behavior within the competency that a leader needs to focus on.Give insights about readiness for future roles.Provide resources to support development post-assessment.For example, simulations are a type of assessment typically used during the hiring or development process. Unlike many general tests, simulations focus on tasks that would be required in the job or role.In addition, leadership tests are often used to gauge the abilities, skills, and motivations of employees and job applicants. And another example is a 360. This assessment tool that solicits feedback about an employee from all directions: their managers, co-workers, and direct reports.Each tool can be very helpful when used appropriately. For a complete guide on all the different leadership assessments, check out our Ultimate Guide to Leadership Assessment.So, when should you use a leadership skills assessment? And how can these assessments transform development? Find out in DDI’s blog.

Published on 4 Aug, 2021

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Tamara Furman will share some highlights of what you can do during an interview (whether you are hiring or trying to get hired) to ensure a more successful outcome. She believes it all starts with our expectations, and that either is or is not showcased in our dialogue. Interviews are your opportunity to connect with another person and imagine yourself working with them day in and day out. The connection window is typically very small, so how do you best capitalize on that precious time? To improve our interviewing outcomes, you need to know yourself on a deeper level. Knowing yourself and utilizing that knowledge allows you a stronger possibility of ensuring the best fit for everyone involved. In this webcast, you will: Understand how to determine your expectations prior to stepping into the interview process. Learn how the expectations of the interviewer and interviewee can support an improved interview outcome. Understand how impactful your inner and outer dialogue are to interviewing success.  

17 Sep, 2018

We work in a time when job burnout is common. In fact, according to The American Institute of Stress, nearly half of all American workers suffer from symptoms of burnout.  I am an expert on job burnout—self-taught and well-practiced. More than once, I worked so hard at a job I loved that ultimately I didn’t love it at all. I allowed myself to be consumed by my work. Even when I wasn’t at work, I was working. And I was at work a lot. I took work home. I went in early and stayed late. I worked through lunchtime. I went in on weekends and holidays and vacations. Eventually I was exhausted. I lost my edge. I lost confidence in my ability to do my job, so I felt I had to work all the time just to try to keep up. I was stressed. I was irritable. I had what seemed to be continual headaches and stomach aches. I was burned out. What is job burnout? The Mayo Clinic explains job burnout as “a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work.” Symptoms of burnout as listed in Psychology Today include: • chronic fatigue• insomnia• forgetfulness/impaired concentration and attention • physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath,   gastrointestinal pain, dizziness, fainting, and headaches• increased illness• loss of appetite• anxiety• depression• anger• cynicism and detachment• loss of enjoyment in work but also in life outside work• ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.What causes these symptoms? What causes burnout? Several factors get credit. • Pressure. Sometime pressure is a factor of the amount of work a person is expected to do, in what may be too short a time period. Other times, as in my situation, the pressure is self-imposed. A person dedicates extensive time to work, at the expense of family and friends and other important aspects of life, because she just really loves her work. She wants to be working. • Bosses. Working for a demanding, insensitive, controlling boss can be a big factor in burnout. Another related factor contributing to burnout is having minimal control on the job. What you do, when you do it, and how you do it is determined by someone else, generally your boss.• Co-workers. The other people you work with may contribute to your job burnout. You may not get along. You may not like them; they may not like you. The result may be conflict in your workplace. If you’re a person with little tolerance for conflict, and are in a situation in which you are expected to deal effectively with conflict, job burnout may definitely be a result.  • Change. We all know change can be stressful. Sometimes too much happens too fast. Ongoing change or excessive change in a short period of time can be a factor in job burnout. • Threats. We live in a time of turnover, management changes, buyouts, mergers and takeovers. All those things bring with them the threat of losing a job. And, the threat of working for someone new and different—and unknown. • Lack of Meaning in Your Work. The feeling your work isn’t important, or that anyone could do your job, can be a factor contributing to job burnout. Another spin on this is knowing the end result of your work is important, but feeling nonetheless that what you yourself do isn’t important.How to Prevent or Recover from BurnoutLooking back, I realize I could have prevented my job burnout.  What could I have done? If you’re in a similar situation, what can you do?  Here are four good ways to avoid burnout.1. Socialize. Spend time with family and friends. Make sure this includes friends away from work, not just co-workers.  2. Develop other interests. Take up a hobby. Go to the movies. Read a book. Make jewelry. Learn archery. The possibilities are endless.3. Exercise. Join a gym. Take up running or walking. Here’s an idea: take a walk during your lunch hour. 4. Chill. Learn to relax. Do yoga, Get a massage. Meditate. Practice deep breathing or mindfulness techniques. Job burnout isn’t a personal problem that affects only the individual. It’s not enough for an employer to tell an employee to “get over it.” In fact, job stress costs U.S. industry $300 billion annually, according to The American Institute of Stress, which defines burnout as "a disabling reaction to stress on the job" and measures absenteeism, decreased productivity, employee turnover, and direct medical, legal, and insurance fees. A change of attitude is in order—for individuals and for organizations. Job burnout is negatively impacting our lives and our pocketbooks.  Perhaps that change of attitude can begin with you as you become an example of a healthy commitment to one’s work. No doubt work is very important in our lives, but our lives don’t have to be all about work. Think about it…For more help on avoiding burnout and succeeding in your career, check out the TD at Work Career Management Collection. For instance, what strategies can you use to begin to fill gaps that you might have in your professional portfolio? Or, how can you assess what you have to offer employers, and better manage work-life balance? This 2015 TD at Work collection will guide you through answering these questions, help you showcase your professional skills, and align your personality and interests with your career.

By Jan Mead on 2 Sep, 2015

Part 1 of this blog series asserted that the healthcare literacy challenge is akin to the language and communications challenges faced by every industry. Indeed, every market, company, and every project has its own lingo.Although the healthcare industry attempts to educate its patients and caregivers, it is teaching exactly opposite to how people actually learn language. Perhaps it is time to adjust the learning process to improve healthcare literacy. Current Approach Cannot Be Sustained According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 90 percent of Americans need help understanding healthcare instructions. Dumbing down the language is not the best solution because the lingo and the language actually have meaning. A better approach is to smarten up the patients.  Research in linguistics, language acquisition, and neuroscience has uncovered the means by which adults learn new English terms and words.  That’s good; the path is known. (You can check out a summary in Part 1 of this series or review a detailed summary in another ATD blog series, “The Language of the Workplace.” In fact, adding words to patients’ vocabularies makes it easier to add even a few more words, thus building up a literacy capability.  Maybe words like “modality,” “asymptomatic,” and “lesion” simply need to be treated as new vocabulary words. The specific words that any one individual needs to learn will be hard to gauge. Language is a moving target, ranging from basic healthcare to disease-specific terminology to health and wellness. The good news: People are learning new terms all the time. Each new product introduction, television program, job, or neighborhood, and so on requires a new vocabulary. It stands to reason that, as a population, we can learn the language of healthcare—what we need and when we need it. If the language is continually stripped of its nuance and complexity, by presenting everything at the 6th grade level, then we are doomed to remain challenged by the vocabulary. Yet, the very definition of literacy is about the ability to comprehend complex vocabulary and concepts, and that includes medical terms or probability and risk.  The English language is rich in words and meanings. The greatest challenge to the healthcare community is that there is no way of knowing, in advance, which words and concepts are already in the vocabulary of its patients and caregivers. Let’s describe the complexity of the challenge with some data points:  There are 2400 words in the “kernel lexicon,” or those words needed for readers to understand 75 percent of what they read. Second language speakers are considered “fluent” with a vocabulary of 3000 words. The size of the vocabulary of a native English speaker depends on age, education, and experience, but it ranges from 10,000 to 25,000 words. For reference, the Oxford English Dictionary has 250,000 entries, including 50,000 obsolete words. There are 1 million words in the English language. People Want to Learn Is it possible for someone with a large vocabulary to not know the meaning of COBRA or NSAID?  Absolutely. Just as members of the medical community might not be comfortable talking about five-year ARMS or semi-definite positives. Patients and caregivers want to learn. According to Pew Research, 59 percent of U.S. adults looked up medical information on the Internet in 2013. Healthcare providers can help with this learning and educational challenge. Enter language learning tools. The way out of healthcare illiteracy isn’t to give in to it and talk to people in simplistic terms. Instead, let’s provide support and tools that enable patients and caregivers to grow their vocabularies and understanding. For example, while glossaries are considered “old school,” there are 21st century options. Healthcare provider can become the curator of language, identifying terms, abbreviations, and acronyms that will be valuable and useful to a specific patient and caregiver population. Imagine giving the newly diagnosed patient a complete collection of terms, with usage and meaning, that covers the entire topic of their care, including hospital locations and labs, medical terms, testing and monitoring lingo , as well as frequently used acronyms, phone numbers, and more. This information could be made available for reference on their smartphone—while they’re talking to family and friends, reading on the web, or looking at directions.  Bottom line: Rather than hoping patients took good notes, caregivers could take advantage of modern technology to support the language learning needs of healthcare consumers.

By Carol Heiberger on 22 May, 2015

Three years ago, I left my job as a high school English teacher to return to the corporate arena. I accepted a position as a trainer for a technology company supporting the financial services industry. During my first few weeks on the job, I kept hearing my teammates discussing studying for the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) credential. When I asked about it, however, my manager told me I didn’t have to worry about the CPLP because it was for senior team members only. Yet a year later, I decided to obtain my certification as part of my professional development goals. Although I was excited to start this journey, I was also apprehensive—no one else on my team had successfully completed the Knowledge Exam or submitted a Work Product. I thought that if the veterans on my team had not been able to complete their CPLP certification, then my chances were slim at best.Nevertheless, I still wanted to give it a try. I wanted the distinction that comes with this industry-recognized certification. Additionally, obtaining this certification would complement my master’s degree in adult education and training, and really make my credentials stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, I knew I would not be able to handle preparing for the CPLP while taking grad school classes, so I decided to take a four-month break from school and focus solely on the certification.I consider myself a good test taker, so I was fairly certain I would be able to pass the Knowledge Exam with the right amount of preparation. I studied for about two months, setting aside one to two hours a day, and I used a combination of resources. One of the most essential was the CPLP Certification Handbook. I wanted to make sure I was focusing my attention on the right things as I studied, so the handbook was a constant reference. I used the ATD Learning System as well, along with the flash cards. I also took the practice CPLP exam to gauge my comfort level with the test structure and content. I must admit, I did not do as well as I expected to on my first try.On testing day I felt pretty confident, but was still nervous. As I progressed through the test, I began to relax a little because I was familiar with most of the content. When I pressed enter to submit my last response, I said a little prayer and waited anxiously for my results. I almost jumped out of my seat and let out a squeal of joy when I saw the word pass on the screen!With the Knowledge Exam under my belt, I turned my attention to the Work Product. My first thought was to focus on training delivery because it seemed to be the natural choice—I am a trainer, after all. After some internal deliberation, however, I realized I enjoyed instructional design more.My first Work Product submission did not score high enough to earn me certification, unfortunately. I was very disappointed, but determined to see this journey to a successful completion. As I prepared my second submission, I went back the handbook numerous times to see where I had erred in my first attempt. I discovered I had failed to include a thorough needs analysis, communication documents, and a sustainable evaluation plan, among other key elements.Knowing I had time before the August 22 deadline to review and finalize my Work Product, the procrastinator in me waited until the last minute to mail my submission. This proved to be a big mistake. I had a last-minute client training request that required me to be on-site in a different state. Preparing for the training session and finalizing my Work Product at the same time pushed my stress level to an all-time high. For a brief moment I considered not sending in my submission because I didn’t feel confident in my final product. I brushed that thought away and got to the UPS store just in time for the final pick-up of the day. After handing over my package to the clerk, I let out a sigh of relief and began the waiting period until the scores were emailed.When the email came, I hesitated before opening it. I didn’t think I could handle another disappointing score, but to my relief I had passed! I was officially CPLP certified. This time I did jump out of my seat and let out a squeal of happiness. It was one of the best feelings I have experienced in my career. I am proud and honored to be part of the distinguished community of CPLP credential holders.Learn more about the CPLP Certification.

By Yolanda Ellis on 6 May, 2015

Often when we’re frustrated at work, it’s not so much because of the company we work for, but rather the specific role we’re in. Personality type, as described by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® instrument (MBTI®), offers insight into certain preferences—particularly for how we take in information and make decisions,  which heavily contribute to on-the-job satisfaction. The more we work within our preferences, the more energized and less drained we’ll feel. As discussed in my previous post, your current job may not map well to your preferences. However, if the broader company culture is more in line with who you are and your personality, pursuing a new role within the organization might be preferable to looking elsewhere for employment. Just as personality types describe human beings, you can in fact “type” a company, department, or role by observing how information is gathered and decisions are made.. Use personality type as a guide for determining a better fitting role—looking at what is not only required of an individual, but also what skills and attributes are most sought after in various departments. Identifying What You Really Want to Do Children are often asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In seeking a new role within your company, a better question to ask yourself is: “What do you want to do?” By discovering the kinds of tasks and responsibilities that line up with your core motivators, you can more accurately identify a more satisfying role within your current company. According Allen L. Hammer in “Introduction to Type® and Careers,” you can begin by asking yourself:What do I want to do on a day-to-day basis?Where do I want to be in one, five or ten years?What kind of people do I want to work with?What kind of working environment do I find most comfortable?What kind of working environment allows me to be most productive?What motivates me to do my best? Regarding this last point, while preferences for Thinking (T) or Feeling (F) describe how we make decisions, Sensing (S) and Intuition (N) describe the types of information that we base those decisions on, and the combination of these indicates what will most motivate us at work:ST:  achieving bottom line resultsSF: offering practical serviceNF: making a meaningful differenceNT: improving the system. Research shows that people actually self-select into occupations that coincide with these middle letter preferences. For example, if you have an F preference, you may experience great satisfaction in a role where you get to help or support other people. This can manifest itself in a number of ways—helping customers, mentoring, serving on an advisory board, improving society, or making the world a better place. Additionally, for those with a preference for Feeling, keep in mind that the overall result of your work can also affect your ultimate level of job satisfaction. For instance, you may find that even though you’re not spending as much time performing “helping-type” tasks in your day-to-day activities, you could still be energized by a job that ultimately contributes to a greater good for people. If you work for Habitat for Humanity or at a university, even though your day-to-day activities might not involve direct “helping” activities, knowing you’re a cog in the wheel that makes a difference in peoples’ lives may be enough to keep you energized. Molding Your Own Role If you have a preference for Sensing and Thinking, yet find yourself in a position that requires a lot of one-on-one counseling, you may want to seek out a position that allows you to conduct data analysis with an emphasis on the here and now, or even seek out these types of responsibilities within your current job. For example, I often work with career counselors who have preferences for ST, but their profession requires them to frequently use their non-preferred Intuition and Feeling functions. Although they usually report that they like their jobs overall, they also say their jobs are very draining and frustrating when they spend too many hours in a direct helping role. However, if they’re able to seek out activities that allow them to work within their natural preferences, such as analyzing career assessments, critiquing resumes, running the office operations or managing departmental technology, they can achieve a renewed enthusiasm for their roles. In general, if you can cherry pick enough activities that match your own preferences and integrate them into your daily role, you will be much more satisfied and energized in your current position.  Having the Patience to Work Your Way Up Sometimes there’s not an immediate solution because developing the skills and expertise to operate in certain roles takes time. If you have a preference for Thinking, for example, you may enjoy logical objective decision making, and like to look for what is wrong with the system so you can fix it. The question is, are you far along enough in your career to initiate and implement change? Let’s face it, most teams don’t take well to junior-level employees telling them what’s wrong with what they’re doing, regardless of how on-point their advice may be. In some cases, you may have to stick it out for a while, building your level of expertise and influence before you are able to take on more of a “fixer” role. You may experience frustration along the way, as you’ll likely witness incompetence in both leaders and peers that you would like to “fix,” but don’t have the power to do anything about it, yet. Instead, use your current position to gain the expertise and, eventually, the level of authority to implement change, so you can grow into a role that you’ll find very satisfying and allows you to do what comes most naturally.

By Catherine Rains on 2 Feb, 2015

This is the first post in a three-part series examining leadership. (See post 2 and post 3.)  “With each new day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest lion or perish. At the same time, a lion stirs and stretches, knowing it must outrun the fastest gazelle or starve. It is no different for the human race. Whether you consider yourself a gazelle or a lion, you simply have to run faster than others.”— from “My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence”by His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai There is little argument that leadership is comprised of many facets. For many, leadership is the key aspect of a manager’s job—as well as a critical component of any directing function. More importantly, many agree that a main role of leaders is to empower others to work toward specific objectives. Accordingly, leadership is a constant process, rather than a “product” that happens overnight. In addition, leadership is focused on making other people feel more energetic and determined to work. In other words, leadership is a “contact sport” that routinely occurs via positive social modeling and continuous learning and development. Apart from this “relationship” dimension of leadership, there is an emphasis on accomplishing purposeful tasks, improving performance, and achieving results. What the Research Tells Us International research consistently shows that investing in leadership development and management capabilities is the key to achieving sustainable organizational growth and success. Indeed, the evidence touting the value of leadership development is compelling. A major case-based European HRD research project examined learning and development (L&D) practice in nearly 200 “learning-oriented” enterprises (most employing between 500 to +1,000 employees) in seven European countries: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The study found that it takes a learning culture to produce a learning culture, and its development could be traced to such factors as organizational leadership, a strong push for innovation in the workplace, and future learning capacity development (Tjepkema et al., 2002).According to research, led by Birkbeck, University of London, about management training and development approaches in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Norway, and Romania, there is strong statistical corroboration for management development leading to superior organizational performance across companies of all sizes, sectors, and national location (Mabey and Ramirez, 2004).Research into National Vocational Education and Training (NVET) systems in the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan found that NVET strategies impact both workforce upscaling and re-skilling, and are the foundation of success in the knowledge-based global economy of the 21st century (Harrison and Kessels, 2004).A Harvard Business School/Hay Group research project that examined more than 100 senior teams around the globe revealed that effective teams can significantly contribute to their enterprises, yet only one in five are extremely good, while one-third are mediocre, and 42 percent are poor. The study identified “a clearly defined senior leadership team” as one of the conditions for effective operations—rather than a heroic CEO (Wageman et al., 2008).Another study found that ineffective management is estimated to cost, for example, UK businesses more than £19billion per year in lost working hours. More importantly, the data showed that bad management by company directors is the source of 56 percent of all corporate failures (BIS, 2012). Clearly, leadership is one of the most loaded, not to mention well-established, issues in management today—whether we are dealing with a global corporation, government institution or a start-up in Abu Dhabi, London, Minneapolis, Moscow, Mumbai, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, or Toronto. And even though we have been studying “leadership” since the time of Plato, the same questions emerge: Are leaders born or made?How are we doing as leaders?   How we thought about leadership and its development, though, has changed over the years. Let’s now explore the journey of leadership. Trait Approaches to Leadership Trait approaches seek to uncover what makes a leader_—_in contrast to those who are not leaders. The typical assumption is that that some people simply possess the “right stuff” to be leaders, while others do not. The implication is that good leaders are, in fact, “born to lead.” These "born leaders" possess unique traits that are not equally present in all individuals. For example, Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) researched the regularity of certain traits in leaders, such as:energypersonalized vs. socialized leadership motivationhonesty and integrityself-confidence (including emotional stability)cognitive abilityknowledge of the business. The study found weaker support for other traits commonly touted as necessary leadership traits, including charisma, creativity/originality, and flexibility. Meanwhile, Daniel Goleman (1998) produced a meta-analysis of leadership competency frameworks in 188 different enterprises. He found that it is the “emotional” competencies—a combo of traits and abilities enabling people to work with others and lead positive change—that make an effective leader. His research found that five emotional intelligence (EQ) competencies (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill) were twice as significant as other capabilities, specifically: technical skills (accounting or business planning) and cognitive skills (big-picture thinking or analytical reasoning). Research, however, has demonstrated little consistency in these “bundles” of personal capabilities among power leaders who drive organizational performance far above the norm. Leadership Behaviors and Styles for Different Situations Along a different vein, other leadership analysts have shifted the emphasis of study from “what the leader is” to “how leaders behave.” For example, McGregor (1960) held that the leader determines the style they manage staff, and thereby, successively determines how the staff behaves. Leaders who buy into “Theory X” believe that people are naturally irresponsible and uncooperative, and must be rewarded or punished to add value. Leaders who subscribe to “Theory Y” believe that followers are naturally energetic, growth-oriented, and interested in being utilitarian. Though the model admittedly plays up and groups leadership behaviors along an orientation toward employees, it offers little concrete basis for action. Furthermore, Blake and Mouton (1964) created the “Managerial Grid,” which is based on two facets of leadership behavior: people and production. This grid then produces four leadership styles:Authority-Compliance (High on Production, Low on People)Country Club (High on People, Low on Production)Impoverished Management (Low on People, Low on Productivity)Team Leadership (High on People, High on Productivity). However, although this framework is significantly more inclusive (the assumption being that leadership involves learning leadership behavior) and numerous leadership development interventions have been built on it, it fails to account for events and circumstances that cannot be predicted with certainty. Finally, situational leadership, a contingency model by Hersey & Blanchard (1988) provides a remedy for adapting the leadership style to fit the demands of the environment. Having diagnosed the developmental level of the followers, as well as their needs, this model contends that the leader works through the four styles:Directing (telling)Coaching (selling)Supportive (participating)Delegation (empowering). Again, many current leadership development solutions are being designed around this model of leadership. Perhaps, though, it is time to move onto a post-heroic view of leadership that offers an L&D orientation of leaders. This will be the focus of my next post in this series on leadership. Stay tuned...

By Bart Tkaczyk on 28 Jan, 2015