Today's characteristic is Leadership.
There are many debates about leadership especially with its link to management. Leadership and management are treated as separate roles e.g. those on the Board of Directors are treated as leaders and lower management as, well, managers.
At FullEmploy all employees are treated as managers and are expected to learn and show leadership. Because of the hierarchical structure of FullEmploy, a manager is a participant in a higher team and a leader / manager of a lower team. For example, a Ward Manager is a participant in the Area team but a leader of the Ward team. The Client Managers have to show initiative in the way they carry out their duties. They also manage people with whom they build relationships; except that these people don't report to them, it's the other way round.
At FullEmploy managers are duty bound to show leadership by laying down the law which their subordinates must follow. However, everyone has to show flexibility within certain parameters that don't compromise the core values. FullEmploy's view of leadership is that it must be done by example and that all the other characteristics must support that leadership. In fact all the characteristics of an entrepreneur must be adhered to by all staff.
This gives an insight into how higher level managers should lead their teams i.e. show them what FullEmploy wants to achieve and that teams are duty bound to achieve them. These higher levels have external responsibilities i.e. external organisations/people.
Leadership is best shaped by taking into account all the other characteristics in an integrated way:
A leader must be organised; communicates clearly and confidently; is decisive yet flexible; works by delegating tasks to subordinates and has the drive to see them through. A leader must be focused not only on the task at hand but also on what it contributes to the overall aims and objectives of FullEmploy. Leaders at FullEmploy are expected to take an interest in the Health and Fitness of their staff so that they can carry out their duties; and adhere to Health and Safety regulations.
A leader must be optimistic when delegating tasks and open-minded when involving staff in the planning phase but mustn't compromise core values e.g. the general direction of FullEmploy as it's solving problems not just making money.
When communicating, a leader must not only ensure understanding by actively seeking feedback but also by being perceptive to their nuances and body language. This is also a prerequisite when involving staff in the planning phase. A leader must also perceive the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological impact on FullEmploy as explained in the SWOTPEST document.
The most enduring characteristic of a leader is persistence in the face of many setbacks and subordinates tend to look to the leader for guidance on the way forward. But they don't have to be alone. If the setback is minor, they can take the initiative to ameliorate it but still report the incident and the plan to circumvent it. If its a major setback, then they should seek guidance from a higher authority.
This recognises the fact that some projects do fail. In FullEmploy's case, the project is to reduce unemployment and, to do this, the skills shortage must also be reduced. Failure in the methods of solution can be tolerated as new ones will be created. When creating an action plan, a brainstorming session is held where methods of solution are created. The best one is used in the action plan and the rest are used in the contingency plan as alternative methods of solution. This is repeated for each task in the action plan.
Risk Taking is more associated with entrepreneurs than leaders who must take calculated risks. One entrepreneur who became successful and hence CEO of the eventual company, admitted that he doesn't know much about leadership and management in the conventional sense. I tend to agree with that notion because people seem to define what leadership and management is and people are obliged to conform with that definition.
Steve Jobs was a technical boffin and yet he found what his customers wanted and built products that satisfied those wants and became exceedingly successful. This proves that he didn't need any training in leadership and management in order to be successful.
I'm studying a course about Business Organisations and one of their conclusions is that the biggest enemy of creativity is conformity. One example is that a Business School concluded that the biggest characteristic of leaders is charisma; so that's what they taught. Industry ended up with a lot of charismatic leaders who were short on delivery. Remember that knowing the problem is half the solution.
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