SOFT LEADERSHIP - A NEW DIRECTION TO
LEADERSHIP - NEW BOOK OF PROFESSOR M.S RAO
Small Note:
BEFORE
GOING TO READ THE SAMPLE CHAPTERS – I MYSELF HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO
STUDENTS TO REFER IT FOR EXAMS FOR MBA, PHD thesis, CBSE.
MAINLY
FOR STUDENTS I ADVISE YOU TO BUY THIS BOOK ALSO START PREPARING FOR UGC NET EXAMS.
Sample
Chapters
Soft
Leadership: A New Direction to Leadership - Foreword by PHILIP KOTLER which is dedicated to PETER DRUCKER
Whether
you are in a leadership position in government, industry, or everyday affairs, this
book by Professor M.S. Rao will stimulate your ideas on how to effectively use
soft leadership skills to build win-win outcomes.
–
PHILIP KOTLER (Kellogg School of
Management)
1. Leadership
Styles and Perspectives
2. Emotional
Intelligence and Soft Leadership
3. Soft
Leadership and Engaged Leadership
4. Soft
Leadership for Millennials
6. Action
Steps to Overcome Organizational Crisis
Appendix
A
Peter
Drucker’s Principles, Philosophies, and
Practices
1.
LEADERSHIP STYLES AND PERSPECTIVES
Leaders
aren't born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard
work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.
— VINCE LOMBARDI
Leadership
is widely discussed but least understood globally. There is a huge interest in leadership
in search engines. Leadership is more of an action than preaching. Leadership
is the ability to lead from the front despite several setbacks with passion and
conviction. It is taking responsibility and becoming a role model for others.
Leadership
involves ‘we’, not ‘I’. Whenever there is a success the leader ascribes it to
his team and whenever there is a failure the leader takes responsibility.
Precisely, leaders take the blame during their failures and spread fame during their
successes. There are many dimensions and definitions of leadership. Let us look
at various leadership styles in this regard.
LEADERSHIP
STYLES
There
are various leadership styles but we will discuss three styles of leadership mainly—Dictatorial
or Autocratic leadership, Democratic or Participative leadership, and Delegative
or Free-reign leadership. In autocratic leadership, leaders make decisions based
on their gut feeling and intuition and instruct their followers to execute. The
followers execute them. There are no consultations or discussions with
subordinates in this style. If there is any debacle, leaders are held solely
responsible for their actions and instructions. That is why it is also known as
dictatorial style. It is widely practiced in military organizations. This style
is appropriate when there is a paucity of time and a need to maintain
confidentiality.
In
democratic leadership, leaders take their subordinates into confidence and consult
the issues. They build consensus after weighing the pros and cons. The entire
team is responsible either for the success or failure of the decision-making.
Since people are involved in discussions, it is called the democratic style of
leadership. This style is appropriate when the issue is highly complex in
nature and there is adequate time for discussions.
In the
delegative leadership, leaders delegate their decision-making powers to their subordinates.
If there is any failure, the leaders are held responsible because they delegated
the decision-making power to their subordinates. It is also known as freereign leadership.
This style is appropriate when the subordinates are competent to make routine
decisions. Leaders apply these leadership styles as per the situation. It is not
prudent to conclude that a specific leadership style is wrong.
QUALITIES
OF GOOD LEADERS
The
first and foremost quality of any leader is to be passionate about serving the people.
Passion is nothing but a burning desire to contribute their best to the people without
expecting any returns. Only when the leaders are passionate can they ignite passion
in their followers. Leaders should have the vision and realistic goals to
enable people to come forward to accomplish them. Only when the vision is
strong the mission can be strong. Leaders know ‘where to go' and direct their
followers by demonstrating to them ‘how to go'. Leaders must be
self-motivators. Only self-motivators can become self-starters.
Leaders
live in the effective zone and love to encounter challenges. They shift from
one orbit to another orbit easily. Leaders look for excellence, not for
perfection. They look at things positively and are firm optimists. They
experiment a lot, make mistakes and learn lessons.
Leaders
know that higher the fall, the higher the rise. They rise like Phoenix. Robert
Francis Kennedy rightly quoted, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can
ever achieve greatly.” They are good networkers and thrive on the network. Even
if they fail and fall, they rise because of their networking skills. They are
of high integrity and strong character. They are very firm in their commitments
and convictions. They have higher tolerance levels and have a positive frame of
mind toward other people’s sentiments and cultures.
They
maintain stoic silence and display mental and emotional stability in extreme
provocations or failures. They are good listeners and listen to different
people with different perspectives and yet maintain independent thinking in arriving
at solutions. Good leaders talk about positive things and make positive statements
like ‘you can do it’, ‘it is possible’, and ‘you will achieve big’ to name a
few.
They
never make negative remarks such as ‘it is impossible’, ‘it is doubtful’, and
‘you can never improve.’ They are open to change and understand very well that
change is always constant. They become the champions of change and embrace
change effectively.
Leaders
radiate positive energy and are experts at visualizing opportunities from threats.
They know how to capitalize on their strengths, how to overcome their weaknesses,
manage the internal and external threats effectively and are experts in identifying
the opportunities. They believe in others and trust their subordinates and followers.
As trust begets trust, the leaders are trusted by their followers. They look at
the big picture. A layperson thinks about the repercussions, implications, and complications
of decision-making a single step ahead whereas leaders think, imagine and
anticipate several steps ahead of others.
Leaders
are masters in communication. They mesmerize their followers with their oratorical
skills and abilities and ignite and excite their followers to accomplish their goals.
John F. Kennedy remarked,
“Leadership and learning are indispensable
to each other.” They learn and grow continuously. They regularly update their
skills and abilities.
Most
leaders are great readers. Books provide ideas and insights apart from becoming
a source of inspiration. Leaders create team advisers and consult them whenever
they are confronted with complicated situations. Their team offers comments and
provides feedback. Leaders make decisions accordingly. Leaders identify the
unexplored and unexploited areas and build the mindset, skills set, and tools
set to excel accordingly.
People
follow them as they are specialists in those areas. They rarely follow the road
of others. Instead, they make a road for their followers and leave a mark
behind. Leaders are neither dominant nor submissive. In contrast, they are flexible
and assertive in their dealings. They respect people and love people and do not
hesitate to go the extra mile to please their people. Leaders are socially
adept with social intelligence and know the value of people and relations.
Leaders
are sound at the judgment. They know the strengths and weaknesses of their subordinates
and utilize them according to their skills and abilities to accomplish the desired
objectives. They are smart in converting ordinary people into extraordinary people.
They know how to balance their lives, and are experts in leading a balanced
life.
They
have self-discipline and are proactive. They move like a clock in a systematic
and organized manner and are competent time managers. They know how to motivate
their followers and understand the knack of unlocking the hidden potential in
their people. It is aptly said,
“A
leader is someone who helps others do and become more than they ever thought
possible. Leadership is about unlocking potential, whether individual potential
or that of a group, company, or organization. It is not about telling people
what to do, but inspiring them to see what they are capable of, then, helping
them gets there.”
Good
leaders are effective motivators and understand the gravity of the situation.
They don the hat as per the situation and give their best to provide a win-win
situation for all.
They
are experts in persuasive skills, goal setting, and soft skills.
MANAGERIAL
LEADERSHIP
Managerial
and leadership skills are complementary and there is no substitute in the current
corporate world where competition is cutthroat. Managerial leadership fills the
existing gaps and vacuum by developing strong management and leadership skills among
the professionals so that they can face the challenges squarely with confidence
and mettle in this high-tech world. As a result, there is a growing emphasis on
managerial leadership. Managerial leaders will lead the future business world.
Hence, there is a huge potential for managerial leaders.
2.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND SOFT LEADERSHIP
No
one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.
—THEODORE ROOSEVELT
There
is an increasing awareness and importance about emotional intelligence ever since
Daniel Goleman authored the book Emotional Intelligence in 1995. This concept was
based on the works of Howard Gardner (Harvard), Peter Salovey (Yale) and John D.
Mayer (New Hampshire). The phrase, 'emotional intelligence' was coined by Dr. Jack
Mayer and Peter Salovey. Salovey & Mayer define emotional intelligence as follows:
Emotional Intelligence, also called EI and
often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), describes an
ability, capacity, or skill to assess, and manage the emotions of one's self,
of others, and of groups. A form of social intelligence that involves the
ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate
among them, and to use this information to guide one's thinking and action.
Research
shows that emotional intelligence is the key component to achieve leadership effectiveness.
Before we discuss emotional intelligence and its connection with leadership, it
is essential to explore the research findings and observations by several experts
on emotional intelligence.
It
is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite
of intelligence; it is not the triumph of heart over head―it is the unique
intersection of both. ―DAVID CARUSO
The
ability to process emotional information, particularly as it involves the
perception, assimilation, understanding, and management of emotion.
―MAYER & COBB
An
emotion occurs when there are certain biological, certain experiential, and
certain cognitive states which all occur simultaneously.
― JOHN D. MAYER
Based
on these observations, emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) can be defined as the process
of identifying your emotions, managing your emotions, motivating your emotions,
identifying the emotions of others and aligning their emotions to achieve the desired
objectives. It involves self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation,
social awareness, and social skills. Emotional intelligence is essential to
succeed in your personal, professional and social life. Most successful leaders
are emotionally intelligent. It helps them enhance self-awareness, minimize
conflicts and enhance fraternity. It helps them fast-track careers.
Empathy
is a key element of emotional intelligence. Empathy is the ability to step into
the shoes of others and see things from others' perspectives. When you observe leaders,
they listen more and speak less to empathize with their followers. If followers
display sympathy the leaders demonstrate empathy and that makes the fine
difference between the followers and the leaders.
3.
SOFT LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGED LEADERSHIP
There
are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know
about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer
satisfaction, and cash flow. It goes without saying that no company, small or
large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the
mission and understand how to achieve it. —Jack
Welch, former CEO of GE
Employee
engagement has become a major challenge globally. Research shows strange
findings. Gallup Management Journal’s semiannual Employee Engagement Index
shows that only 29 percent of employees are actively engaged in their jobs,
while 54 percent are not engaged and 17 percent are actively disengaged. Right Management
found similar results with only 34 percent of employees fully engaged while 50
percent are completely disengaged. A recent Global Workforce Survey1 of 85,000
full-time employees of large and mid-sized firms revealed abysmal statistics.
Only
14% of the employees surveyed worldwide were highly engaged in their jobs. 62% percent
were moderately engaged at best. A disturbing 24% revealed that they were actively
disengaged. Everyone accepts that human resources are the key to economic growth
and prosperity. The leaders at all levels find it challenging to engage their employees
effectively in the workplace. Employees are either overly engaged or poorly engaged
within the organizations. Engaging employees effectively as per the organizational
goals and objectives improves the bottom lines.
4.
SOFT LEADERSHIP FOR MILLENNIALS
Globally
the population of the millennials is growing rapidly. A study shows that by
2020, millennials will be approximately 50 percent of the U.S. workforce, and
by 2030, 75 percent of the global workforce. It throws challenges and opportunities
for organizations globally. The opportunities outnumber the challenges because
millennials are responsible and committed to advance their professional
careers. They have an open mind to learn and grow and add value to their
organizations and society as a whole.
WHO
ARE MILLENNIALS?
Millennials
are the people born between 1980 and 2000. They are also known as Generation Y,
Generation Me, Nexters, Baby Boom Echo Generation, Echo Boomers, Digital Natives,
and Generation Next. They are the demographic cohort following Generation X.
They are ambitious, smart, brilliant and technologically savvy. They belong to
a different school of thought, unlike older generations. Their mindset is unique,
the toolset is rapid, and the skill set is advanced. Precisely, they are a
different breed. They bring unique ideas and insights irrespective of the
industry and area they enter into. They are often criticized as impatient and
are overambitious to make money. They are also criticized for being indifferent
to the older generations in the workplace.
6.
ACTION STEPS TO OVERCOME ORGANIZATIONAL CRISIS
When
I think of organizations, I think of the capabilities an organization has more
than its morphology or structure. The ability of an organization to have a
shared purpose and the ability for employees to be productive are critical
capabilities for most organizations today. ―DAVE ULRICH
With
increased volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) globally, organizations
must take appropriate measures to avert crises and act swiftly to overcome
crises. Crises are the unpredicted and unpleasant chronology of events that come
in battalions. Leaders must have a unique mindset, toolset, and skill set to overcome
crises and the method of handling crises effectively is known as crisis management.
Crises
occur for individuals and organizations. If handled effectively, crises bring
out the best in the individuals thus unlocking their hidden potential. Similarly,
crises expose the organizational strengths and weaknesses thus enabling
organizations to take appropriate action steps to achieve organizational
excellence and effectiveness.
Don’t
React, Act
“Nothing
can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal;
nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
―THOMAS JEFFERSON
Many
conflicts arise when people react rather than act to the situation. Most
problems could be resolved when people endeavor with a positive attitude. Here
act comes with a positive attitude while react comes with a negative attitude.
You can easily assess individuals the way they approach crises. If they
approach with a positive attitude the crises could be overcome easily. Stay
Calm in the Eye of the Storm
Be like
a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.
— MICHAEL CAINE
When
you look at leaders like Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Boris Yeltsin, and
Rudy Giuliani, the common thread connecting them is that they led with a cool
and calm demeanor and handled crises effectively. Winston Churchill was a
wartime hero who led his country to victory during the Second World War.
Abraham Lincoln was the President at a crucial time in American history, when
he had to work for the unity of the country, and also against slavery at the
same time. Boris Yeltsin handled an army coup successfully by facing it
head-on. Rudy Giuliani, as the Mayor of New York, handled the aftermath of the
9/11 attacks. These leaders remained calm during the crisis and set an example
for others to follow. They were cool, composed and charismatic in their leadership.
Appendix
A
Peter
Drucker’s Principles, Philosophies, and Practices
Management
is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint Performance,
to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.
―PETER
F. DRUCKER (The Essential Drucker)
I am an
ardent follower of Peter Drucker and it is an honor to share his management ideas
and insights. I have been sharing his wisdom with my students and audiences during my leadership development training
programs regularly for many years, and most of my books contain his knowledge
and quotes.
I have
been influenced by Peter Drucker when I joined an MBA degree in 1990 while serving
in the Indian Air Force. I became more enthusiastic and curious whenever I read
about him. I realized that I was being influenced and inspired by his
management principles, philosophies, and practices. I read his books and a few
books about him written by others. It is a coincidence that some of my passions
including writing, teaching and consulting; and hobbies are including swimming
and mountain hiking have matched with him especially the work-life balance. I am
also a family-oriented person the way he was. He was an avid user of libraries
the way I used to invest most of my time in libraries. Becoming a management
educator was my second career the way it became for him. He taught people the
art of catching fish and showed the location of fish the way I do. He was
passionate about his students the way I am passionate about my students and
keep in contact with them telephonically.
Peter
Drucker was an imaginative thought leader who predicted the birth of the knowledge
economy and knowledge workers long ago. He coined several concepts including
management by objectives (MBO) and knowledge workers. He encouraged nonprofits
to build better communities and societies. He remarked on nonprofits in his award-winning
book, Managing the Non-Profit Organization:
Principles
and Practices as follows: "The "non-profit" institution neither
supplies goods or services, not controls. Its "product" is neither a
pair of shoes nor an effective regulation. Its product is a changed human
being. The non-profit institutions are human-change agents. Their
"product" is a cured patient, a child that learns, a young man or
woman has grown into a self-respecting adult; a changed human life altogether."
He added immense value to the discipline of management and is known as the
father of "modern management." He authored 39 books including the
award-winning The Practice of Management, The Effective Executive, The
Essential Drucker and Management Challenges for the 21st Century. He
authored books in diversified genres including social, political, business and
management. He had the uncanny ability to interlink knowledge from different disciplines.
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