The Leader, The Led, The Situation

There are three things that influence how a leader should act.  First the leader.  That may be you.  The leader must recognize his own abilities and how he can use his own personality to his advantage to influence a situation.  Second is the led.  The leader must know who he is leading, their personality and what motivates them.  He must determine what strategies to use to influence the led.  Third is the situation.  No leadership style works in all situations.  There is no magic formula that used in all situations works.  So, the leader must be able to recognize the situation and determine what type of influence they will use.

A leader must know themselves and educate themselves on their followers.  And determine what strategies will work in a certain situation.

Leadership Theories

It is good to know why people act the way they do so that you can influence them to do the right thing.  People at different stages in their career may act differently from others in their careers.

• 15 to 25 years old is Exploratory, they go from job to job trying different careers.
• 25 to 45 is the establishment age.  People in this age group are getting established and advancing in your careers.
• 45 to 65 is the maintenance age.  People are comfortable in their careers and more established.
• 65 –> is the decline age.  Most people have had their careers and are on the decline in their careers.

The Attribution Theory says that a person that has external attribution blames everything on someone else.  It is always someone else’s fault.  Internal attribution says that a person puts blame on themselves.  They take the blame when things go wrong and look inward.

As a leader it helps to know what your subordinates are going through and what struggles they may have.  These are just a couple of theories to familiarize yourself with your subordinates.

Leadership

It has been awhile since I have posted.  It has been a busy time, but I am glad I am back.

I have been studying leadership that last few months.  It is an interesting study.  Leadership can be defined in many different ways and all could be right.  I will give one meaning that works, but it is not the only meaning.

Leadership is the ability to influence people to word together and toward a common goal.

Leaders must build trust so that people will follow.  Remember – Lead people and manage things - Some of the traits a good leader needs to have are:

1. Integrity
2. Knowledge
3. Courage
4. Decisiveness
5. Dependability
6. Initiative
7. Tact
8. Justice
9. Enthusiasm
10. Bearing
11. Endurance
12. Unselfishness
13. Loyalty
14. Judgement

Leadership Principles

1. Take responsibility for your actions of your team.
2. Know yourself and seek self improvement.
3. Set the example.
4. Develop your subordinates.
5. Ensure that the job is understood, then supervise it and carry it through to completion.
6. Know your team and look after their welfare.
7. Set goals you can reach.
8. Make sound timely decisions.
9. Know your job.
10. Teamwork

“The needs of the many, out weigh the needs of the few, or the one.”