GenXmanager: Leadership for the Generation X Manager

This video discusses how a leader can strengthen a diverse team. Diversity is a reality in today’s workplace and teams will continue to become more diverse. This video explains what a manager needs to know about building great team cohesions for today’s diverse office environment.

from telegraph.co.uk

I was astounded by the disqualification of Netherland speed skater, Sven Kramer. Kramer was going to win the gold medal but his coach, Gerard Kemkers, signaled him to switch lanes. Kramer followed his coach’s instructions; which were wrong. Kramer was disqualified for being in the wrong lane and lost the gold medal. You can read the full story or watch the video. 

What leadership lessons could possibly be gleemed from this situation? Here are a few. 

1. As a leader, you must be ready for others to follow
   Being a leader is an incredible responsibility. People count on you. They have expectations. They follow instructions. They trust.Kramer, the speed skater, trusted his coach, Kemkers, implicitly. If you watch the video Kramer doesn’t even hesitate when his coach signals him to switch lanes. He trusted his coach’s direction.

   As a leader, you hold a tremendous weight of responsibility. Make decisions carefully. Be ready for others to follow you.

2. As a follower, question your leader
   In this speed skating incident there was no way for Kramer to question or consult his coach. But in the workplace where decisions don’t need to be made in thousandths of a second, question your leader’s direction. Do it with respect but don’t simply follow a leader because he or she possess the title of ‘manager’, ‘director’, ‘vice president’, or ‘president’. Ask questions. Probe. Listen. Make suggestions. Being a follower is about being part of the leadership process; not following blindly.
3. Forgive
   I was wondering what was going to happen to the coach. The talking head shows on CNN, Foxnews, and MSNBC all said the coach should get his resume ready. He was going to get fired. Right?

   As it turns out, the athlete and the coach make peace. There was forgiveness. In an article in the Washington Post, Kramer says, “The past years were simply too good to drop someone just like that.” Kramer focused on the positive. His coach helped him to become a three time world champion, four time European champion, and many World Cups and Olympic gold in the 5,000 meters.

   Mistakes will be made. Trust will be broken. In these instances, the power of forgiveness can help mend the pain and move forward. My guess is that Kramer and Kemkers are focusing on their next race in the Olympics; aiming for gold.

These are simple leadership lessons from a single lost opportunity for gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

Have you heard of Social Identity Theory? It’s a big challenge to diversity in the workplace. Let me explain.

I never heard of it prior to starting my doctoral degree in leadership. Basically, social identity theory (SIT) is our natural tendency to identify ourselves with those similar to us. We often define ourselves by the emotional attachment we have to groups in which we belong. Here is an amazing, yet simple, example of social identity theory (SIT) in action from the ABC series Better Off Ted.

See how that played out? The cat people and the space people sit at different tables in the cafeteria. One employee decides to break ranks with the cat people and is chastised by another “cat person” for doing so.

What does this have to do with diversity? We identify ourselves with groups and those groups include our gender, ethnicity, age, and social class or status. This can lead to stereotyping and perhaps a variety of “isms” (i.e. sexism, racism) which may ultimately lead to discrimination in the workplace.

My next post will discuss the 10 ways to strengthen a highly diverse team. Instead of letting SIT create an environment that builds various “isms” and an ineffective workplace, I’ll give you ways to use SIT to enhance diverse teams and make them amazingly effective.

You can Twitter and Facebook all you want and establish an incredible online brand for yourself. However, if you fail to deliver value, your brand is worthless. This may seem pretty self-explanatory but don’t get so caught up in the promotion part of personal branding that you forget to deliver value. This is true for entrepreneurs, cube warriors, managers, and executives.

While you are establishing your brand using social media and other tools, make sure you are also doing the following to deliver value.

Do what you say you’re going to do.

If you tell someone you’re going to do something, do it. Don’t be full of promises and never deliver.

Over deliver.

I wrote an entire article on this called ‘How to be valuable at work‘. Read that article and do more than what is expected.

Serve others.

The irony of personal branding is that it’s not about you at all. You really don’t matter much. It’s your customers and everyone else that matters. Serve your boss, clients, and employees and watch your brand take-off.

Be an expert.

Whether you are a zoo keeper, a computer programmer, a stay-at-home mom, or a store owner, be an expert in your field. Learn everything you can about your area. Stay current on the latest trends. Experiment and try new approaches. Be someone people turn to for information.

Focus on quality.

Be certain that whatever you do you do it correctly and with the utmost quality. Don’t be known for delivering junk.

Work with integrity.

 Be ethical, honest, trustworthy and moral in all that you do.

Read Authentic Leadership: A Primer (Part I)

Last time I left you with a definition of Authentic Leadership. Here it is again:
 
“leadership behavior that draws upon and promotes positive both positive psychological capacities and a positive ethical climate, to foster greater self-awareness, an internalized moral perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency on the part of leaders working with followers, fostering positive self-development (Walumbwa et al. 2008).”

Let’s delve a bit deeper.

Positive psychological capacities

I won’t go into the nuts and bolts of positive psychology here but you can read a 2005 article from Time magazine that covers the topic well. The four capacities of positive psychology are confidence, hope, optimism, and resilience (Luthans & Avolio 2003). These factors directly influence an individual’s ability to be an authentic leader. Northouse (2009) states that these factors predispose and enhance a leader’s capacity to become an authentic leader. One could argue that these are possible antecedent traits of authentic leadership.

Positive ethical climate / Moral reasoning
Authentic leaders have a finely tuned moral compass and ethics and socially responsible behavior are critical factors for the authentic leader. 

Self-awareness
Authentic leaders know their core values and understand their strengths and weaknesses. They are comfortable in their own skin and have clear goals and motives. They adhere to the message posted above the door to the Oracle’s kitchen (from the Matrix), “Temet Nosce” or “Know thyself”.

Internalized Moral Perspective
This is where the authentic leader uses his/her moral reasoning to guide their behavior. A leader may have a finely tuned moral compass but ignore it. This internalized moral perspective is about making prudent decisions in an ethical and moral manner.

Balanced processing
This is the leader’s ability to analyze information objectively. An authentic leader will want different perspectives and explore options before making a decision. The leader is also unbiased. The authentic leader will ultimately decide on a course of action based on what appears to be the best decision based on objective facts and not based on favoritism.

Relational Transparency
This is about being open and honest in communication. The authentic leader always presents his or her true self. There is no façade or hidden agenda. The authentic leader will be open about positive and negative qualities. It is about being real in all relationships.

Authentic leadership is an emerging theory and in my opinion, will be a hot leadership topic in the years to come. There is a lot of anxiety and uncertainty today. Many have lost their faith in organizational and political leaders. Perhaps one way to regain that trust is for those in leadership positions to become authentic leaders.