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- Jan 3, 2009
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There are a lot of power freaks out there who refuse to see the changes. They still think they are the boss - hence they order, you obey.
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10 Dec, 2010, 03.13AM
Command-and-control leadership is history
Leadership is changing! Modern companies are discovering that the command-and-control leadership methods of the previous century are extremely inefficient in the current fast-changing world.
To attract and retain employees, today’s work environment must focus on inspiring their capabilities in a much more open manner, compared to the earlier closed leadership model centered on the capabilities of a single leader.
In the command-and-control leadership style, the leader was set apart by his position and was the sole authority for decision-making, while the group members just followed the orders with no specific authority or responsibility. This worked well in a factory kind of environment where more importance was on control. However, in the new age of technology this resulted in lack of innovation, creativity and accountability.
Companies slowly started leaning towards leaders who saw themselves more as partners, supporters, coaches and facilitators. This helped the group members to make decisions along with the top management about how to do their jobs, helping these companies to perform better than their rivals on employee retention and morale, and other measures like innovation, profitability and market leadership.
Southwest Airlines in the US is an excellent example of such an open style of leadership, where more group members down the ladder are encouraged to take up responsibilities. Ann McGee-Cooper and Gary Looper in their book on leadership say Southwest encourages its leaders to lift
their group members to new levels of possibility to accomplish as a team much more than what one leader might accomplish alone. This has helped the company to be highly profitable in the cutthroat airline industry.
How can leaders embrace such an open style of leadership?
Empower to challenge and develop people: Open system leaders make it a point to let go of their authority to encourage others to make decisions about work. They do this by involving others in their work, providing a clear understanding of their responsibility, amount of authority, expectations, and constraints.
Mentor and coach to ensure success: In an open system, leaders practice techniques for supporting others, such as coaching, reinforcing, preparing for resistance and gaining others' commitment. They not only coach group members about tasks, but also help in discovering their hidden potential by building on their strengths and improving their weak spots.
Encourage risk taking: Open system leaders actively empower their group members to implement ideas — especially those that involve some risk. At the same time they also remain cautious to resist any temptation to take over the authority when things are going wrong.
Leaders make sure that they are patient enough, to allow group members to learn from their mistakes. They also extend support during the rough spots of a new assignment instead of punishing them for mistakes.
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10 Dec, 2010, 03.13AM
Command-and-control leadership is history
Leadership is changing! Modern companies are discovering that the command-and-control leadership methods of the previous century are extremely inefficient in the current fast-changing world.
To attract and retain employees, today’s work environment must focus on inspiring their capabilities in a much more open manner, compared to the earlier closed leadership model centered on the capabilities of a single leader.
In the command-and-control leadership style, the leader was set apart by his position and was the sole authority for decision-making, while the group members just followed the orders with no specific authority or responsibility. This worked well in a factory kind of environment where more importance was on control. However, in the new age of technology this resulted in lack of innovation, creativity and accountability.
Companies slowly started leaning towards leaders who saw themselves more as partners, supporters, coaches and facilitators. This helped the group members to make decisions along with the top management about how to do their jobs, helping these companies to perform better than their rivals on employee retention and morale, and other measures like innovation, profitability and market leadership.
Southwest Airlines in the US is an excellent example of such an open style of leadership, where more group members down the ladder are encouraged to take up responsibilities. Ann McGee-Cooper and Gary Looper in their book on leadership say Southwest encourages its leaders to lift
their group members to new levels of possibility to accomplish as a team much more than what one leader might accomplish alone. This has helped the company to be highly profitable in the cutthroat airline industry.
How can leaders embrace such an open style of leadership?
Empower to challenge and develop people: Open system leaders make it a point to let go of their authority to encourage others to make decisions about work. They do this by involving others in their work, providing a clear understanding of their responsibility, amount of authority, expectations, and constraints.
Mentor and coach to ensure success: In an open system, leaders practice techniques for supporting others, such as coaching, reinforcing, preparing for resistance and gaining others' commitment. They not only coach group members about tasks, but also help in discovering their hidden potential by building on their strengths and improving their weak spots.
Encourage risk taking: Open system leaders actively empower their group members to implement ideas — especially those that involve some risk. At the same time they also remain cautious to resist any temptation to take over the authority when things are going wrong.
Leaders make sure that they are patient enough, to allow group members to learn from their mistakes. They also extend support during the rough spots of a new assignment instead of punishing them for mistakes.
