Software For Management

In today’s market, many leaders recognize their team is a vital, required component for gaining a competitive edge. Unfortunately they often sincerely have little idea how to create an environment to nurture an effective team.  Sometimes the formal leader wonders how an informal leader got so much power within the group, seemingly at the formal leader’s expense.  The leader’s natural reaction might be to try to undermine the informal leader’s influence, treating him or her as an enemy rather than as a potential ally.  Assuming the informal leader is an asset to the organization in terms of skills, experience, and so forth, it will be much more productive to find a way to cultivate the informal leader’s support and together build a cohesive unit for the organization’s best interest. 

Try some of the following to build collaboration between the formal and informal leaders. 

• Observe the informal leader. What does he do differently?  Is she a listener? Is he a doer? Is she quiet? Does he have charisma?  Does she have the people’s best interest at heart?

• Meet with the informal leader on neutral ground.  Get to know each other. 

• Use a facilitator to work with all vested parties to identify leadership skills needed in the organization. 

• Decide if you have these skills, and if not, are you teachable?

• Can the informal leader balance out your leadership style?

• Work with team members to identify the desired culture.  What will it take to be the group that can gain a competitive edge?

The hardest part of this process is getting started.  You have to make the decision to build a better environment.  You as the formal leader will determine the climate in which your team works toward its strategic goals.  Have a strong facilitator that can create the synergy that you want your team to have for that unique competitive edge. Use the influence of informal leaders to assist in accomplishing the overall goals of the organization.  Assess yourself as a leader and determine if you reflect the leadership skills that a follower desires. 

Sometimes strategic thinking isn’t as much about developing the organization as it is about developing your leadership. As we see the consequences of the recession taking its toll on businesses, it is those leaders who have been open to new ideas, developed new skills, and learned to be creative within the ranks who have survived, flourished, and are ready for the next phase of business.  Relying on teamwork, building intentional and deliberate strategies, and adapting to detours when life throws the inevitable curve, strong leaders will lead their organization to the finish line.  It is up to you to become a leader who will be followed.

 

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at 3:16 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.