Adaptive leaders

In this dynamic environment, adaptive leaders are the critical need.  At multiple structural levels there is an enhanced potential for diminishing effectiveness and efficiency within the organization.  Therefore adaptive leadership abilities and qualities in which they are able to establish a delicate balance between the positive outcome associated with in stress.   An adaptive leader must have employees felt the need to change and having them feel overwhelmed by change.  Leadership in a change driven business environment is a “Razor’s Edge”.  Adaptive leaders successfully implement change in a work environment by providing direction, protection, orientation, conflict control and shaping of norms.  Adaptive leaders take pro-active steps to help mitigate the resistance to change by maintaining disciplined attention to the various all organizational constituents, giving the work back to the people as manageable, incremental tasks, re-scaling the voice of management to protect employees and practicing leadership as learning in order to maintain an edge.  Adaptive leader acts as a buffer to create a work environment conducive for change and understands the potential of his or her work force.

Adaptive leader strives to create an adaption work environment based on:

1. Adaptive leader obtains an understanding of how change influences, affects and impacts his or her employees.
2. Adaptive leaders embraces a multi-dimensional perspective that is based on both a systems and an  actors approach.
3. Adaptive leader observes, classifies and analyses the organization change within a four level framework of change type: professional, functional, cultural and power.
4. Adaptive leaders make critical decision during the change management that requires a delicate balance between having employees feel that the need to change and ensure that they are not overwhelmed by changes

These provide adaptive leaders with an enhanced ability to understand and implement organization change; work environment operates more effective and efficiently and it is essential for adaptive leaders to exist at all organizational levels.

Source: Tim Lowder .B. – “Adaptive leaders needed throughout the organization” editors message.  Advances in Management, Vol.4 (), June 2011 – page 5-6

Classic quotes

“Doing the right things, when required, is a calling from on high.  Do it boldly, do as you believe, do as you are”.

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander – Aristotle

He that would be a leader must also a bridge – Welsh proverb

Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach ……… Rosabeth Moss Kautor

Living Leadership

Leadership is the ability to see ahead, 
take courageous stands and inspire others, magical ability to persuade and inspire others.   

Leadership happens between people in a particular situation or moment, it is a social process; leaders play  roles for and with others, sometimes as hero or scapegoat, looking for opportunities amidst their dynamics.  Leaders have to connect with people to become effective.

Leadership is context specific i.e. context within which people are working.  Leaders cannot transfer in their business environment, organizational culture, people and group dynamics in the way they hoped.  Leadership is subtle and situational.  Leaders are real, not wearing masks or preteen; uses all their humanity, intelligence, their emotions and intuitions.  They play a role that suited them.  Coming alive to the moment is also another ability i.e. focusing on the people in front of the other pressures. 

 “Leaders command respect because they are real, passionate, hardworking and committed but not perfect”

Source:“Living Leadership” – George Binney, Gerhard Wilke, Colin Williams, Peason Education Ltd.

MULTIPLIERS

Avaricious Materialism is an Hindrance to Spiritual Seeker..
By: Manoj Kumar on Jun 22, 2012 




A Snake Charmer once caught a venomous snake and kept it in a basket. With an intention to subdue it completely and get it under his control he did not feed the snake for a few days. The poor thing was starving in the basket and its energy had almost drained out. It so happened that the Snake Charmer had left his hut and there was a rat which was happily playing on the basket. The Snake which heard the rat jumping on the basket playfully requested the rat to help it come out of the basket. The rat which knew that once the snake is out of the basket it would kill and swallow it so was reluctant to help the snake. The snake mesmerized the rat by luring it with its hypnotizing words of praise. At last the rat fell for the sweet words of the snake and began to bit the basket to make a hole so that the snake can slip out of it. Even before the hole could be completed the snake which was hungry sprang out of the basket and stung the rat with its poisonous flanges and swallowed it. Then it crawled out of the hut and on the way it spotted the Snake Charmer returning back to the hut and bit him too killing him instantaneously. 

This is a story told to kids at kindergarten giving a moral to it saying never help a wicked person as he is sure to cause harm to you. Well, for those tiny kids this moral is so sufficient but as a spiritual seeker it gives me a different perception to look at what the story has to offer me to learn from it.

Here the Snake Charmer is the Spiritual Seeker who always carries a basket, the Sadhana Prakriya (Spiritual Practice). The Snake Charmer finds the snake in the form of unfulfilled desires and wantons. He wants it to have it under his control and puts it in the basket without feeding it with the Vishayaasakthi (excessive attraction to materialism). This snake which even though has lost its energy uses the rat (mind). The materialism praise the mind saying it is capable of achieving anything and it hypnotizes it by using words like will-power, self-confidence and instigates it to run after materialism to fulfill all its sense gratification. If the self inspiration and self motivation was to achieve something to elevate it would be a worth appreciating venture but unfortunately it is with the avaricious intent and not to excel in life hence it is to bind theJivatma (individual self) to Samsara (cycles of birth and death) and entrap it.         

When the Spiritual Seeker is diverted a little bit just like our Snake Charmer who walked away from the hut for a short while. The unfulfilled desires and wantons approach the mind and lure it to break away from the Sadhana Prakriya. The mind falls for the always changing and charming materialism and starts to make a dent to the Sadhana Prakriya by cutting through it. The unfulfilled desires and wantons once out of the Sadhana Prakriya start to devour the mind. Then once it has fed satisfactorily upon the mind, it will then finish of the Spiritual Seeker also.         

So beware of Avaricious Materialism in the form of the snake which will swallow the mind in the form of rat and subsequently finish the Spiritual Seeker in you ….!


http://www.speakingtree.in

DIMINISHERS

Liz  Wiseman and Grey McKeown says:

The Empire Builder – Hoards resources and underutilizes talent

The Tyrant – Creates a tense environment that suppresses people’s thinking and capabilities

The Know-it-all – Gives directives that demonstrate how much he or she knows

The Decision Maker – Makes centralized, abrupt decisions that confuse the organization

The Micro-manager – Drives results through his or her personal involvement.

Signs of accidental diminishers:-

You are a Visionary – You lay out a compelling vision of the future and evangelise to your team.  You think you are being a good leader, but you have not left enough space for employees to think through the challenges themselves.

You have got the gift of gab – You are passionate and articulate and you consume a lot of space in a meeting. You think your passion is infectious; in reality, it’s stifling.

You are a creative person – You are continually spouting ideas.  You think you are sparking the creative process; in reality, you are causing organizational whiplash as people scurry to keep up with each new idea.

Adjust the leadership styles to benefit everyone

Source: www.multipliersbook.com

Liz  Wiseman and Grey McKeown, “Bringing out the best in your people”, www.hbr.org; Business Today – 10^th July, 2011, p.122 – p.126.