Powerful Leadership How to Unleash the Potential in Others and Simplify Your Own Life

by Stephan, Eric; Pace, R. Wayne

• ISBN13: 9780130668363
• ISBN10: 0130668362
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-08
• Publisher: Ft Pr

Summary

The more you manage your employees, the more dependent they become-and the tougher your life becomes. It's the key paradox of management-andPowerful Leadershiphelps you cut right through it. This book distills seven powerful leadership principles into a natural, efficient, complete approach to unleashing your employees' potential - and your own. These principles simplify your life, reduce your stress, and transform management into an opportunity for unprecedented personal growth.

Author Biography

ERIC STEPHAN is Professor of Organizational Leadership and Strategy in the Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. He has researched, taught, and consulted on effective leadership techniques for over 20 years. His books include The Complete Speaker and The Perfect Leader. Dr. Stephan holds a Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

R. WAYNE PACE is Professor Emeritus of Organizational Leadership in the Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, and adjunct scholar in the Workplace Research, Learning, and Development (WoRLD) Institute of the School of Social and Workplace Development, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia. A specialist in human resource development, organizational communication, and individual and organizational change, his Prentice Hall books include Organizational Communication, Third Edition and Human Resource Development: The Field. He serves as corporate advisor to QuicKnowledge.com and Anchor Point Institute, leading firms in the training and development industry. Dr. Pace holds a Ph.D. from Purdue University and an MS from Brigham Young University.

Table of Contents

Preface	xv
Acknowledgments	xvii
Proclamation on Leadership	xix
Houston, We Have a Problem!	1	(18)
Out-of-Sync Systems	2	(1)
Living in a Quandary	2	(3)
Confusion at Work	3	(1)
Adding Misery to Confusion at Work	4	(1)
Ripping Faces Off People	5	(1)
Managers Have Huge Blind Spots	5	(3)
Jaundiced Eyes	6	(1)
Old Management Logic	7	(1)
An Old View Restated	8	(1)
Teams: the Panacea?	9	(1)
A New View Restated	9	(3)
Synergistic Ignorance	11	(1)
Cheer Up!	11	(1)
Yes, Houston, We Do Have a Problem	12	(2)
Houston, We Have a Solution	14	(5)
The First Essential Change: Free People to Take the Lead	19	(24)
Let Them Take the Lead	20	(4)
Stop Strangling People	21	(3)
Avoid Sheep Dog Management	24	(14)
The Work System Is a Major Constraint!	25	(7)
Creating a Topless Paradigm	32	(1)
Everyone Is a Genius at Something	33	(1)
The Road to Freedom is Filled with Potholes	34	(2)
Take a Deep Swig for a Violent Jolt	36	(1)
The Two-Million-Dollar Listener	37	(1)
Freedom First	38	(1)
I Hate This Place	39	(1)
I Love Working Here	40	(2)
What Comes Next?	42	(1)
The Second Essential Change: Promote Creativity, Innovation, and Fun at Work	43	(28)
What Is Creativity?	45	(1)
Does Creativity Lead to More Fun at Work?	46	(1)
Helping Others Find Joy in Their Work	47	(2)
It's Okay to Laugh at Work!	49	(1)
Jump Out of the Box; Pop a Cork	50	(1)
How Does a Leader Support Creativity, Innovation, and Fun?	51	(2)
Everyone Has a Million-Dollar Idea	53	(1)
Three Alternatives for Identifying Innovations	54	(1)
Stimulating Creativity in the Workplace	55	(2)
Buying a Hotel in 15 Minutes!	57	(1)
Rules 23 and 24	58	(1)
Toyota's Approach to Creativity	59	(1)
Two Magical Questions	60	(1)
Left Brain, Right Brain, Broccoli Brain	61	(1)
Test Your Creativity	62	(1)
Improving Overall Organizational Creativity	63	(1)
Fostering a Creative Climate	63	(1)
Using Creativity in Business Processes	64	(1)
Five Great Creativity Suggestions	65	(2)
Unlocking Your Own Creativity	67	(1)
One Final Word about Creative Thinking	68	(1)
A Look Ahead	69	(2)
The Thrid Essential Change: Switch from Boss to Cohort	71	(24)
A Cohort	73	(2)
Cohorts in Education	74	(1)
User-Friendly Managers	75	(2)
I Return to Die	77	(1)
Treating Others as Cohorts Is Natural	77	(2)
Others Include Suppliers, Customers, and Your Boss!	78	(1)
The Customer Is Cohort	79	(1)
How to Manage Your Boss	80	(1)
I Don't Want to Be Your Parent Anymore	81	(1)
If You Push Hard, They Will Push Back	82	(1)
A Cohort Walks Around and Inquires	83	(2)
A Less Complex From of Leading People	85	(1)
Cohort Leadership	86	(1)
How to Buil Cohorts in Organizations	87	(3)
Cohort Relationships Are Adult to Adult	90	(1)
From Boss to Cohort	91	(1)
A Look Ahead	92	(3)
The Fourth Essential Change: Master the 4E's of Involvement	95	(22)
Why Master the 4E's of Involvement?	96	(1)
The Meaning of Performance	97	(2)
Firms Spend Billions to Fire Up Workers---With Little Luck	97	(1)
The Involvement Formula	98	(1)
E 1 = Envisioning	99	(4)
E 2 = Enabling	103	(3)
Empowerment Is Out, Enabling Is In	103	(1)
Leaders Enable Workers, Managers Empower Them	104	(2)
An Old Oriental Parable	106	(1)
E 3 = Energizing	106	(6)
Leading with Commitment	108	(1)
Leading with Compassion	109	(1)
Leading with Encouragement	110	(2)
E 4 = Ensuring Results	112	(2)
The Return and Report Meeting	112	(2)
Intergrating the Four E's of Involvement	114	(1)
Why Inviting People to Be Involved Is Important	115	(1)
A Look Ahead	116	(1)
The Fifth Essential Change: Stop Criticizing and Start Applauding	117	(24)
The Process of Redirection	120	(5)
When Do You Think You Can Have It Fixed?	121	(3)
Stop Punishing People	124	(1)
Will Someone Please Authenticate Me!	124	(1)
From Redirecting to Applause in Four Easy Steps	125	(1)
Reality Therapy	126	(1)
Avoid Undermining Employees and Cohorts	127	(1)
Confrontational Anticipation Scares the Heck Out of People	128	(1)
Praising Is Good, but Applauding Is Better	129	(2)
What Is the Most Powerful Workplace Motivator?	131	(3)
End the Everyday Put-down	134	(5)
A Look Ahead	139	(2)
The Sixth Essential Change: Take the High Road	141	(24)
What Are Best Policies?	142	(1)
Where Do Ethical Standards and Guidelines Come From?	143	(1)
Require Everyone to Violate the Principle	144	(1)
Why Have Explicit Ethical Principles?	145	(2)
Manipulation Is Unethical	147	(1)
What Ethical Principles Should be Included in Your Code?	148	(3)
Testing Your Decisions	151	(1)
Ethics and the Peaceful Mind	152	(3)
Does Ethical Behavior Pay?	155	(1)
Take the Highest Road	155	(7)
Five Traits of a Good Person	157	(5)
An Ethical Bill of Rights	162	(2)
A Look Ahead	164	(1)
The Seventh Essential Change: Stay on the Peaceful Path	165	(22)
Getting Hit at Work	167	(1)
Can You Survive?	168	(1)
How Do You Take a Hit and Feel Calm?	168	(1)
Six Strategies for Staying on the Peaceful Path	169	(15)
Start the Morning Peacefully	169	(1)
Control the Way You React to People	170	(6)
Avoid Allowing Things to Control You	176	(1)
Choose To Do Only Important Things	176	(1)
Strengthen Yourself Each Day	177	(4)
Create Balance in Your Life	181	(3)
Are You on the Peaceful Path?	184	(2)
Ask Yourself These Questions	185	(1)
A Look Ahead	186	(1)
Where Are You as a Powerful Leader?	187	(22)
How Are You Doing as a Powerful Leader?	192	(4)
A Simple Quiz	192	(4)
Scoring Instruction	196	(1)
How to Change	196	(6)
A Short Planning Exercise	202	(1)
What Do You Really Need to Change?	203	(1)
Using Mental Practice and Idealization	204	(1)
Encouraging Change in Others	204	(1)
Fast Forward to the Basics	205	(4)
Return and Report	206	(3)
Powerful Leaders on Powerful Leadership	209	(24)
Essential Insights and Selected References	233	(16)
Index	249

Excerpts

Preface Powerful Leadershipembodies a new paradigm of leadership that respects and unleashes the potential of people. This is anything but a Pollyanna approach to a serious issue in organizations around the world. The development of more powerful leadership has been and continues to be one of the most concrete goals of society. In fact, having powerful leaders is a must for the survival of companies, institutions, governments, and even countries. Leadership development is a global issue. This book identifies seven essential changes that elevate leadership and unleashes the latent potential of people in organizations. Leading people in new and invigorating ways must be the paramount objective in fulfilling the vision of the new economy. We do not intend to survey all the literature on leadership or incorporate all of the current perspectives on leadership in this book. We have, however, included references and insights derived from the extant literature that supplements our perspective in a special section at the end of the book. Please study through those insights for additional ways of thinking about powerful leadership principles. The speeches in Appendix A are primarily examples of the thinking of contemporary individuals who have succeeded in leadership positions, and they deserve your careful reading. We have avoided putting traditional reference symbols in the body of the book, such as names with dates in parentheses, but we have included publication data in the section on references. We have included some sayings and observations between paragraphs to provide further insights and to occasionally provide humorous interludes. In some cases the sayings are part of the folklore of the American culture and do not have specific authors. This book was written to be read by individuals who serve in leadership positions at all levels in the organization, from chief executives to supervisors, as well as by leaders in the community who serve as administrators and board members of volunteer groups and organizations. Government leaders, business leaders, religious leaders, community leaders, educational leaders, and leaders in sports and entertainment will all find a new way to work with their cohorts if they follow the essentials described in this book. Although the chapters of this book tend to follow in a logical sequence, the basic themes appear in every chapter. Themes like free people to take the lead, enable them to contribute more to the organization, help them grow and develop as well as enjoy their work, and keep yourself strong enough to withstand some of the frustrations and anxieties that come as you serve in leadership roles can be found in variations throughout the book. The content overlaps in certain ways, resulting in positive repetition of the ideas right when you need the reinforcement. Though each chapter can be studied separately and will assist you in making some improvements in the way you lead, the full impact of these seven essential changes occurs when all of the topics are implemented simultaneously. Consider how difficult it is to encourage trust, risk taking, creativity, and innovation when you appear cool and aloof to workers. An awful clash occurs when you try to free people to take the lead but come down on them with criticism and fail to applaud their accomplishments. Occasional standing ovations thrill even the most staid workers and support them in making changes to improve the workplace or work process. Leaders who free their cohorts to look at processes and systems more innovatively increase the effectiveness of their quality improvement programs. At the same time, working with fewer restrictions, cohorts implement quality improvement efforts more smoothly. When the structure of a work system is changed to introduce teams, cohorts will work more collaboratively and energetically. Tensions in all parts of the