The skills of leadership need to address each of the key elements which make up the ‘problem space’ of leadership: (a) oneself, (b) one’s relationship with one’s collaborators, (c) the system in which one is acting and (d) the goals to be achieved by oneself and one’s collaborators in that system. This entry will cover a numerous skills addressing these various elements of leadership: self skills, relational skills, strategic thinking skills, and systemic thinking skills.

Self skills are how the leader handles himself or herself in a particular situation. Self skills allow the leader to choose the most appropriate attitude, state-of-mind, focus, etc., with which to enter a situation. In a way, self skills are the steps by which the leader leads himself or herself.

Relational skills have to do with the ability to recognize, encourage, and communicate with other people. They result in the ability to enter another person’s model of the perceived world or perceptual space, establish rapport and guide that person to recognize problems and objectives. Since leaders must reach their dreams and accomplish their goals through their influence upon others, relational skills are one of the most important aspects of leadership.

Strategic thinking skills are necessary in order to define and achieve specific goals and objectives. Strategic thinking involves the ability to identify a relevant desired state, assess the starting state, and then establish and navigate the appropriate path of transition states required to reach the desired state. A key element of effective strategic thinking is determining which team members and tasks will most efficiently and effectively influence and move the present state in the direction of the desired state.

Systemic thinking skills are used by the leader to identify and understand the problem space in which the leader, his or her collaborators and the organization is operating. Systemic thinking is at the root of effective “solution creation” and the ability to create functional teams. The ability to think systemically in a practical and firm way is probably the most definitive sign of maturity in a leader.

Groups of people have been around since the as long as I’ve been around… and then some; human nature draws people to one another. Group behavior ranges from encouraging to chaotic, from adversity to success. Many managers are fine with group performance. For me, though, it is increasingly obvious that groups that experience the highest output are those that have bonded into a team.

I believe that the main determining factor between a group and a team is their point of reference to one another. A group is two or more people working in proximity, each doing his or her own thing to accomplish a goal.

A team shares the same goal. Its work is dependent upon each team member for the final results. Take for example some of the curriculum at the International Leadership Conference. While it’s a group of people with different accountabilities… one laying out materials, one proofing, another editing, another administering tasks… none is successful without the other. The final product, whether it’s a book, a CD or a slide presentation, cannot be completed without the team’s integration of talent.

A leader’s job is all about getting results. You do that by building your team, individual talent upon individual talent. You balance the multiple needs, recognizing one and minimizing another to incorporate them into a unit. Taking care of your associates with an organic focus is what makes the team strong.

Developing individual team members so they compensate for and support one another makes them a team. As individuals improve, the team improves. The result of moving among your roles of coaching, mentoring and counseling is what your team produces… productivity and job satisfaction.

Ask people today what motivates them to join one organization over another and a top response is to be able to work with the team. Integrating your individual associates into the team requires the same skilled approaches for me. Shared values, common goals, constant rewards and satisfaction take a group and shape it into a top-performing team.

Today, it seems that many processes that are related to organizational development, management, and leadership are undergoing an insightful change for a number of great reasons. History shows us that in the past several decades, companies have continued to become more and more complex. This complexity is a function of changes in both the internal organization of companies, as well as their external environment. This greater than ever complexity has given rise to a generation of problems that were not present in the customary organization of the past.

The changes in technology, production methods, the workplace over the past several decades, and the optional space of people working within corporate organizations has grown larger and larger. Especially in technologically intensive areas, people have become highly trained experts who must use their own judgment to make technical decisions (which managers themselves are not always qualified to make). Employees can no longer be viewed as ‘laborers’ doing a specific behavioral task who need to be controlled and watched over. As a result, the skills and demands of valuable management and leadership have also become more complex and refined.

Managers and leaders can no longer be successful by mere decision making or delegating orders based on their title or rank in the corporate hierarchy, rather they must recruit the ‘co-operation ‘ and willing involvement of their collaborators in order to most proficiently and successfully accomplish jobs and tasks. In order to avoid conflicts and assure peak performance, managers must rely more on such processes as persuasion and negotiation as opposed to the processes of command or directives. In other words, as the ‘discretionary space’ of employees increases, the focus of the manager shifts from managing time, tasks and situations, to managing relationships, policy and procedure. Thus, the primary focus in effective leadership and management is moving from the content aspect to the process aspect. Additionally, the increasing globalization of business requires a whole different concept of management and organizational learning.

The world is the company arena. Differences in cultural belief, behavior patterns and values must be respected and incorporated into the daily thinking and activity of managers at all levels.

I’ve always hated bureaucracy.  To me, bureaucracy is the enemy. Bureaucracy means waste, slow decision making, unnecessary approvals, and all the other things that kill an organization’s competitive spirit.  I’ve spent many years battling bureaucracy, trying to rid any company I’ve worked with of anything that would make it less competitive.

I feel that ridding any company of bureaucracy is everybody’s job. Over the years, I’ve urged all of my co-workers and employees to “fight it, kick it.”  That’s why “disdaining bureaucracy” became such an important part of my first organization’s shared values (the list of behaviors that were expected of all SFS /Alloy Software employees).

When a young intern asked me what he should do when he encounters bureaucracy in a large corporation, with a smile, I advised him to “get a hand grenade…and blow it up” (figuratively, of course).  Again, I feel that it is everyone’s job to at least try to rid any organization of wasteful bureaucracy.

But isn’t that easier said than done?  Yes, even organizations that do a good job of eliminating this cancerous element can’t kill it permanently.  That’s why I’ve referred to bureaucracy as “the Dracula of institutional behavior,” because it had a way of rising from the dead every few years and sucking the life out of what ever is left.

Anything that you can do to simplify, remove complexity and formality, and make the organization more responsive and agile, will reduce bureaucracy:

Drop unnecessary work: Most organizations have far too manyrules, approvals, and forms. Work with colleagues to figure out whichof these old ways of doing things can be either eliminated orimproved.

Work with colleagues to streamline decision making: If it takes an organization a week to make a decision, the process needs to be simplified. If no one can remember why your organization does something a certain way, chances are that it is more complicated than it needs to be.

Make your workplace more informal: Send handwritten notes instead of memos (I love handwritten notes, and it is “Geoff,” not“Mr. Snyder”), keep meetings conversational (rather than formal and rigid), and encourage dialogue up and down and the entire organization.

Leaders who attract quality people, know that the key is to become a person of quality themselves.  Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as a parent, as a manager, as a business owner. I’m going to go ahead and call leadership the great challenge of life.  It seems that what is important in leadership is refining your skills.  All great leaders keep working on themselves continuously until they become effective.  And once they become effective, they continue to grow in all aspects of life.

Here are some specifics that the late Jim Rohn showed us during his journey into the leadership horizon.

1) Learn to be strong but not rude. It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach.  Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not even a good substitute.

2) Learn to be kind but not weak.  We must not mistake kindness for weakness.  Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength.  We must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth.  We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line.  We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.

3) Learn to be bold but not a bully.  It takes boldness to win the day.  To build your influence, you’ve got to walk in front of your group.  You’ve got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble.

4) You’ve got to learn to be humble, but not timid.  You can’t get to the high life by being timid.  Some people mistake timidity for humility.  Humility is almost a Godlike word.  A sense of awe…a sense of wonder.  An awareness of the human soul and spirit.  An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life.  Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we’re part of the stars.  So humility is a virtue; but timidity is a disease.  Timidity is an affliction.  It can be cured, but it is a problem.

5) Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to win the day.  It takes pride to build your ambition.  It takes pride in community, it takes pride in cause, in accomplishment.  But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant.  In fact, I believe the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance.  It’s when you don’t know that you don’t know!  Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable.  If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that’s just too much to take.

6) Develop humor without folly.  That’s important for a leader.  In leadership, we learn that it’s okay to be witty, but not silly.  It’s okay to be fun, but not foolish.

After studying a leadership model called “The Ego Factor”, I noticed it pointed out that torpid growth, lost market share, and panic response management are more likely to occur if growth objectives are Ego driven vs. Profit driven.  This often leads to personal needs getting ahead of business needs and is a common symptom of the lack of leadership within an organization.

A servant leader makes a conscious choice to lead by being a servant first.  He or she is noticeably different from the person who is leading first, because of the need to alleviate an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.

Good managers get employees to respect them, effective leaders get employees to not only respect them but more importantly they get them to respect themselves.

It has been shown that effective leaders go through a never ending development process that includes education, self study, training, experience and coaching and mentoring from one or several individuals that have a very positive influence on their personal development.  Leadership is the ability to influence, inspire and motivate others to accomplish specific objectives.  It includes creating a culture that helps direct the organization in such a way that it makes it consistent and coherent keeping short term goals and objectives in alignment with long term strategic initiatives.  The success of leadership in this process is directly influenced by the individual leaders’ beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and skills.

Position and title may give one power but power in itself does not make one an effective leader.  To become an effective leader there are specific skill sets that one must understand and master.  This does not come naturally. It takes dedication, passion and commitment to the process.  That commitment, dedication and passion includes a tireless effort to improve on specific skills and the development of a personal leadership methodology.  This is referred to as your personal leadership model.

Here is an interesting article about some former Google employees leaving to build social networking sites.   This was found on the Mashable and it offers an insight into the importance of building your brand or products community.  This continues to be the secret success for online companies as well as traditional companies.  As Seth Godin describes in his book Tribes, once you have a loyal “Tribe” following you and your product there is nothing you can’t achieve.  But how do you do this?  In my opinion, it starts with being authentic.  Second, have to build trust.  Finally, you have to provide a product or service that can go viral.  Are your customers proud to talk about your product and promote it to their friends and family?  If you can answer yes to all three you are well on your way to having a smashing success on your hands.

About a year ago, I was given the opportunity to sit down and have coffee with Tim Marks.  Tim had shared some of his past experiences with me and we had a great talk about what we as people and a country of character are really all about.  Several months after, he stopped by for a visit with one of his business partners to give an intimate presentation to a small group of close friends.  With everything he went over, such as: education, finances , family values, and business building…there is one simple thing that sticks out in my head every single day.  ”Define, Learn, Do”.  With that, I pulled an article I found while I was researching some team building  theory.  Here is one that I’d like to share.

The six step outline below was created and written by Napoleon Hill.

Forming and Maintaining a Mastermind Group

Instructions by Napoleon Hill

FIRST:

The first step is to adopt a Definite Purpose as an objective to be attained bythe alliance, choosing individual members whose education, experience and influence are such as to make them of the greatest value in achieving that purpose. There isn’t any use in forming a Master Mind Alliance just to have someone to chat with. It will soon play out if you don’t have a strong motive behind it, and it’s up to you to plant that motive in the minds of the group members.

Your allies for this group should be chosen for their ability to help you get to where you are going. Do not choose people simply because you know them and like them. I have found out by experience that merely because you like a person is no reason whatsoever to have him as a member of your economic Master Mind Alliance. It is all right to have such a person in your social or purely personal alliance, where his contribution may simply be this very friendship you appreciate.

You should make a careful analysis of your purpose and list the items you will need for its attainment and then systematically go about supplying the links with which to forge the chain. Each member of the alliance should make some definite, distinctive, unique contribution to the overall picture. In making your selection of allies for this economic group, you may have to be a little “cold blooded” at first. It is no easy job to select the right members.

You may have to choose and eliminate until you get the right ones. This is costly in time and money. You should be guided in your choice by the things you need which you do not already have. If it is money you need to finance the deal, you must find a person who has the money to invest. No matter what nice people you know who would like to work with you, if they don’t have any money they cannot really make the particular contribution to the alliance you need. No-you must find a person with the money and cultivate his willingness to cooperate, by showing him the opportunities to make a profit from the investment.

Of course, you don’t take the first person who answers the major requirement, unless he also possesses the other necessary attributes. The qualifications of membership in a Master Mind Alliance are very exacting. Consider each candidate for membership in the light of his ability, his personality, and his willingness to cooperate with you. I cannot overemphasize the necessity for harmony, if it is going to be a successful organization.

SECOND:

Determine what appropriate benefit each member may receive in return for his cooperation in the alliance. At this point review the nine basic motives which I termed the alphabet of success. Base your appeals for cooperation on one or more of these motives. I can tell you ahead of time which motive will have the greatest appeal and I’ll bet you can guess it yourself.

You’re right! It’s the desire for material wealth, or profit. If you make a profit, be willing to divide it with those who help you. Be not only fair, but generous with them, and the more generous you are with them, the more help you will get from them. Remember the principle of going the extra mile. What a pity that not all businessmen know about that! One of my purposes in life is to see that they learn about it.

THIRD:

Establish a definite place where the members of the alliance will meet, have a definite plan, and arrange a definite time for the mutual discussion of the plan.

You will recall the importance of a plan in connection with your Definite Major Purpose. Well, this is the time and place to reveal that plan to those who are your friends and harmonious associates, who will have a community of interest in the success of the venture. You may think your plan is very good, but before you get through discussing it with your allies you will undoubtedly modify it until you hit upon the perfect plan.

When you have established rapport between your mind ant he minds of others in your Master Mind Alliance, you will find that ideas will flow into the minds of each of the members and likewise into your own mind. When the Master Mind is in effect, it produces ideas that would not come to your mind alone. I have had that experience many times when sitting in on the many groups of which I am a member on a consulting basis.

The Round Table discussion will be the place where everyone meets, and where each member may speak with confidence. They all see what’s on the table. You have no secrets in such a group, which results from the care with which you select members.

It is important that frequent and regular contacts be made between the members. Indefiniteness on this point, or utter neglect, will bring defeat. You must keep in almost continuous contact with the other minds of the group if you are to get the full benefit of them. Meetings should be scheduled often, and telephone numbers exchanged, so that it is possible within a few minutes to discuss any sudden development with the group.

FOURTH:

It is the burden of the leader of the alliance to see that harmony among all the members is maintained and that action is continuous in the pursuance of the Definite Major Objective. Action or work is the connecting link between desire, plan, and fulfillment.

FIFTH:

The watchword of the alliance should be Definiteness of Purpose, Positiveness of Plan, backed by continuous perfect harmony. The major strength of such an alliance consists in the perfect blending of the mind of all members. Jealousy, envy or friction, as well as lagging of interest on the part of any member, will bring defeat unless he is removed at once.

SIXTH:

The number of Individuals in an alliance should be governed entirely by the nature and magnitude of the purpose to be attained. If you are going after a purpose comparable to that of Mr. Edison’s you will require a large number of persons with special talents and training. A lesser undertaking will call for a correspondingly smaller group. In general, it is better to have as few members as possible, because it will be that much easier to maintain harmony among them. Quite often a man will need only a really cooperative alliance with his wife in order to achieve the purpose he feels inspired to achieve.

If a man cannot find that harmony which I have mentioned as being desirable between man and wife, it is possible for a man to form a purely economic alliance with a woman other than a wife.

A leader set up a team to look at the way an organization responded to public requests and concerns. The team consisted of mentors involved in various functions of customer service. The leader studied the way his team worked and decided that the average time to handle feedback requests could be reduced from 72 to 24 hours by eliminating certain steps. At the first team meeting, he outlined the purpose and goal of the team, then presented his findings and asked the team to come up with a plan to reduce the turnaround time on requests and concerns.

The team responded by saying, “What do you need us for? It looks like you’ve done it all yourself.”

Maintaining results is about getting commitment, everyone’s commitment. Involving people at the end of a process isn’t going to impact much on buy-in. In order to manage continued job performance, get the team involved fast and often. The extent of their contribution might rest on their experience and insight, which you can develop and facilitate. Start fast, do always and you are leading in a team effort way. To get to commitment, flex your approach in contributing, collaborating, communicating and challenging within each of the roles of the leader.

There are many ways to learn. We learn from theory, observation, and our own practical experience. Regularly, emotions deepen learning, especially when a comment or an experience hurts or pleases, offering new insights and generating new ways of coping with a challenge. Lessons that fit one’s character may be easier to understand, but in the end the ones that surprise us, that don’t fit our usual patterns, are more likely to be remembered. Of course I learned from every supervisor I’ve had…through positive and negative examples. I can’t, however, really say that I learned this or learned that directly from the advice of a boss.

Good advice, I think, often emerges from discussions, particularly ones that are more reflective or relaxed than normal. During these kinds of conversations, learning occurs in an osmotic way. In fact, later on you find it difficult to recall the exact context or details of the conversation itself, but from it you absorb a piece of wisdom that stays with you for a lifetime.

I’ve had several experiences like this at very different periods in my life. Let me share one example. This incident occurred during a time I had spent working in quality control for an aeronautical engineering company. Every morning our team began with a short meeting, what we called the ‘morning roundup’. We programmers and operators coming on duty were briefed about what had happened at our plant overnight, and we heard about the new blueprints and materials. We figured out what needed to be done that day and who should be responsible for what. The meeting was conducted in a highly disciplined manner; my boss disliked it profoundly when people came in late. In fact, being tardy was unacceptable. One winter morning, however, the weather was horrible, and the roads were covered with ice and snow. As I drove to work, I realized I hadn’t left enough time. Arriving at the meeting 15, maybe 20, minutes late, I was embarrassed and began apologizing as I sat down in the conference room. But my boss interrupted me. “On a day like today,” he responded, “only stupid people are on time.” That one remark had a deep impact on me. It made me realize that sometimes the generally accepted, traditional rule is the worst possible one to follow. When we’re setting priorities in any situation, we have to look at their relative importance and at the circumstances. And we have to be willing to change our own rules.

My boss was offering an opinion and, the insight I gained came not in the moment itself or from what was said but from stepping back, from thinking about what had happened, from pondering what I had been told and how I had reacted emotionally. Situations like this continue to affect me practically…to influence how I act while working, how I evaluate options and alternatives, and how I analyze myself and my actions. My experience being late that morning years ago has given me a lifelong tolerance for mistakes…my own and others…as what may appear at first to be a mistake might sometimes be the only right way forward. It also has made me empathetic toward employees when, for example, they are conscientious and make an effort but, for whatever reason, don’t manage to get a task or project done. It has taught me to reconsider the appropriateness of my own rules from time to time and to review them in the light of changing circumstances.

As any entrepreneur, we are keenly aware of the limits of your knowledge and expertise. We can never master every situation or specialty; we constantly have to seek help from experts in other fields. We admit our lack of knowledge to anybody we think can help us. But when we’ve gotten the facts and know what’s wrong with the system, we must be confident enough to go ahead and take appropriate action…even if others doubt us or express divergent views…because decisive and rapid action can mean life or death for an opportunity. In business, the stakes may not be life or death, but clear, disciplined thinking and prompt action are often vital to success.