Analysing Leadership Styles - Essay Example

and number] 14 Jan 2006 Leadership Analysis Perhaps the most influential motivational speakers of this century is Stephen Covey where in, according to the official Franklin Covey website, "1996, Stephen R. Covey was recognized as one of Time magazine's 25 most influential Americans and one of Sales and Marketing Management's top 25 power brokers." (Franklin Covey, 2005) One of the more influential bestsellers that continues to be used by many groups and individuals worldwide is Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The focus of this paper will discuss each of the habits outlined in the book, how each of these habits would be effectively implemented within a company or corporation, and, finally how these habits are being implemented within a manager's department along with possible changes to the current status quo. The Seven Habits Any effectual manager will no doubt advise that the road to success has many pitfalls and danger signs for the team in an effort to be happy and productive. By incorporating Stephen R. Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" the path to such fortune can be paved in either gold or quicksand. The first segment of this paper will outline what these habits are as described by Stephen R. Covey to understand why these habits have actually been so effectual in anyone that takes on a leadership role. The following outlines what the seven habits are and a brief description as provided by Stephen Covey: Habit 1: Be Proactive "Are my actions based upon self-chosen values or upon my moods, feelings, and circumstances" (Stephen R. Covey) Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind "Have I written a personal mission statement which provides meaning, purpose, and direction in my life Do my actions flow from my mission" (Stephen R. Covey) Habit 3: Put First Things First "Am I able to say no to the unimportant, no matter how urgent, and yes tot the important" (Stephen R. Covey) Habit 4: Think Win-Win "Do I seek mutual benefit in all interdependent relationships" (Stephen R. Covey) Habit 5: Seek first to understand, and then Seek to be understood "Do I avoid autobiographical responses and instead faithfully reflect my understanding of the other person before seeking to be understood" (Stephen R. Covey) Habit 6: Synergize "Do I value different opinions, viewpoints, and perspectives of others when seeking solutions" (Stephen R. Covey) Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw "Am I engaged in continuous improvement in the physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional dimensions of my life" (Stephen R. Covey) As these seven habits are taken into the context of the business organization, the importance of how these habits transform into the business entity are best described by the Franklin Covey website as follows: The Habit Results Received from the 7 Habits Training Be Proactive Fosters courage to take risks and accept new challenges to achieve goals Begin with the End in Mind Brings projects to completion and unites teams and organizations under a shared vision, mission, and purpose Put First Things First Promotes getting the most important things done first and encourages direct effectiveness Think Win-Win Encourages conflict resolution and helps individuals seek mutual benefit, increasing group momentum Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood Helps people understand problems, resulting in targeted solutions; and promotes better communications, leading to successful problem-solving Synergize Ensures greater "buy-in" from team members and leverages the diversity of individuals to increase levels of success Sharpen the Saw Promotes continuous improvements and safeguards against "burn-out" and subsequent non-productivity How to Effectively Implement the Seven Habits Today's managers and business leaders tend to find themselves less apt at making a cohesive team of employees continue to be productive than at making business deals. The following is a table outlining how each of these habits can effectively be implemented as an up and coming leader of our organization: The Habit The Resulting Implementation of 7 Habits in the Organization Be Proactive Take on projects that will seem risky at first in an effort to increase company revenue. Keep an open mind when it comes to many possible ways of increasing revenue through exploitation of current resources. Begin with the End in Mind Envision the project as completed as opposed to thinking of the project only from the standpoint of where we are in the project cycle. By envisioning the project as completed, accurate timelines and project resources can be properly maintained and not brought to an askew ending where resources used are pushed to the limit and ends up fostering resentment and less zeal for committing to other future projects. Put First Things First By using project planning software we can keep our project timelines and milestones on track and ensure that the important tasks are implemented accurately. Think Win-Win Keep the project group on the same page and engage in resolving conflicts within the group to keep the group dynamic working together and at peak efficiency Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood One of the main problems within an organization is the fostering of communication with each group member. This also means that in some situations some group members choose to be instigators of problems or inconclusive directives without concern for other group members and their ideas. It is important to promote the fine line between being communicator and being the communicated and the group needs to be made aware of this. Synergize Through encouraging group communication it is important to gather further information about what each member can bring to the table with respect to additional improvements of the group dynamics themselves. Through encouraging the group's overall feeling of competence with respect to their own accomplishments and that their opinions are respected, it is easier to then garner their opinions about other projects. This also translates to the leader having their opinions respected as there is an overall feeling of trust and communication. Sharpen the Saw An often overlooked situation within teams, especially those who are continually driven by short deadlines and the need to excel with the product they are promoting/selling is employee burn-out. By providing some bonus structures where rewards are in place that could either be spa day trips, or weekend retreats it will provide a much needed rest to ensure productivity levels stay high. There is also a need to engage in company retreats to re-energize employees and make them feel as if they are being recognized for their hard work and expertise. How Are the Seven Habits Used in the Organization The opportunity to interview a manager at ABB Automation in Calgary, Alberta was extremely beneficial in that much was learned about how this particular leader of his division handled daily functionalities of both the group dynamic and customer situations. This particular leader manages a small group of developers within ABB that did not always start out managing. Many of the principles of the 7 Habits have filtered down into the group dynamic and has proven to be beneficial in motivating his group into providing software in a short schedule that tends to be constantly revised and changed. By utilizing two extremely important habits: being proactive and putting first things first, this leader has produced software that is the envy of other businesses within the same type of product and has in fact won large contracts through prioritizing many of the aspects of a project prior to a bid being put forth by account executives. As mentioned, one of the seven habits employed at ABB by this leader is being proactive and this must be the number one habit that is constantly revisited and reused on a consistent basis as prior to this manager relocating from another office in the country, the division he now manages was not winning many contracts and was not considered an entirely viable part of the company. Now, through the constant proactive attitude and putting first things first, he has in fact revamped the entire division in just under two years and has won many contracts away from even larger companies than ABB. The only possible suggestion for change would be the implementation of a reward system that is lacking at the present time. This may be due in part to the lack of resources that are required by the team to complete projects on time. Upon discussing this with the manager it was found that due to the recent winning of large projects there is a hiring process currently underway to bolster the current team so that there will not be a burn-out factor imminent. One of the discussion items that the manager is in agreement with is that there has been a lack of a reward system in place for all the hard work that has been currently completed. One of the other suggestions that could be made in implementing the seven habits is the lack of seeing the end result of the project. This is a problem generally relative in the software industry where each group does not necessarily see where the other teams are going with their project and thus control of the project management is sometimes out of their hands, so to speak. As a result, it may be important to have the leaders who in fact commit resources and project milestones privy to the project scope as a whole. In a large company such as ABB sometimes this is impossible, as I found out, due to the fact that perhaps the person, who is in charge of scheduling and putting the project scope together for that particular project, may in fact, be in an entirely different country. Works Cited Franklin Covey (2006). "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Training Information". Retrieved 14 Jan 2006 from https://cert.franklincovey.com/register/moreinfo_7habits.cgiprogram_id=7&source=WEB5500 Read More