Qualities of a Leader

Leadership means the ability to influence the behaviour of others hence a leader should have certain traits to be able to exert his influence on the group around him. Leadership qualities can be divided into two classes.

1.     Personal traits

2.     Managerial traits

Personal Traits

            A successful leader should have the following personal qualities.

Dynamic Personality

            A leader should possess a charismatic, charming, cheerful and bubbling personality. He should have vitality. He should be strong, have good health, and have a cool temperament and an optimistic outlook. His behaviour should be decent and he should be able to communicate clearly.

Intellectual Capacity

            A leader should be able to think scientifically and logically. He should be able to analyse a situation. He should be able to interpret both data and human behaviour clearly and concisely. He should have an insight into business problems.

Initiative

            A successful leader must be able to visualize and take a correct sequence of actions. He should have a good sense of timing. He should be able to apply intrinsic ideas. He should be able to develop new ideas and formulate new methods of doing things. He should have great creative ability and initiative. He should be able to inspire teach and guide people. Only then will he get the voluntary co-operation of the employees around him.

Foresight

            A successful leader should be imaginative. He should be able to visualize potential trends and on the basis of these develop polices and programs logically.

Emotional Stability

            A leader should have a balanced temperament. He should be emotionally stable. He should be able to overcome his own personal disappointments. He should also be able to correct his won inconsistencies.

Flexibility

            A leader should be flexible and have an open mind. But the final decision should be his and should be based on various inputs, which should reach a balance in the final decision. He must always try to accommodate as many points of view as possible.

Sense of Responsibility

            A leader must always be responsible for his actions. He should bear the burden of his decisions. He should not try to escape by putting them on somebody else. He should always remember,

1. That he derives his authority from his followers and
2. Authority and responsibility are inter linked.

Character

            A leader should be a man of great character. He should always remember that he is a symbol for his followers hence he must carefully consider the effects of his actions on grounds of morality and efficiency.

Managerial Traits

            A successful leader should possess the following managerial trait.

Technical Knowledge

            A leader should know the technical details necessary in his field. He should know them minutely and be able to apply them in hands on situation. Only then will his followers respect him. A leader who instructs but cannot do will never be respected.

Organizing ability

            The main aim of every leader is to organize what others are doing. To be able to do this he should be able to divide the organisation into segments and use his technical knowledge and knowledge of his followers’ capacity to divide work, allocate responsibility, direct the action, set goals and produce results. He should be able to bring together the money, materials, men and machines.

Ability to deal with people

            A leader should be able to deal with the behaviour of his followers under normal conditions and in emotionally stressed conditions. He has to inspire and motivate people in both the situations

Ability to judge and decide promptly

            A leader should use all the abilities mentioned above to judge both people and situations. He should also be able to act decisively promptly and effectively so that the organization benefits from his decision with the minimum amount of effort for his followers.

How Hiring Process Impacts Performance

One Fine Day.....

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight,built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, " Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.

Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!"

The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, " And why not?"

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, " Big John has a bus pass."

Management Lesson: "Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one."

Competencies/Skills Essential for Managers

Management Skills

Managers need certain skills in order to perform the duties and activities associated with various functions. Katz found that managers need three essential skills or competencies. They are technical sills, interpersonal skills and conceptual skills. It is reported that the relative importance of these skills varied according to the managers level with in the organization. As managers’ progresses from lower level to senior level, he is expected to acquire more of human relations and conceptual skills.

Managerial Skills

Technical skills

This refers to acquisition of knowledge and proficiency in a certain specialized fields. For example, mechanics work with tools, and their supervisors should have the ability to teach them how to use these tools. Similarly accountants apply specific techniques in doing their job.

First line manger, as well as middle level managers, is required to acquire mastery over the technical aspects of the organizational work operations. Technical skills include knowledge of and proficiency incertain specialized fields, such as engineering, computers, finance, manufacturing etc. Kanz proposed that technical skills becomes less important as manager moves into higher level of management, but even top managers need some proficiency in the organization’s specialty. For example, senior executives with an IT background are required to know the different types of operating systems and the current developments in the software industry to use their IT skills frequently in their position as managers when it comes to handling new projects.

Interpersonal Skills

It is ability to work with people; it is cooperative effort; it is team work; it is the creation of an environment in which people feel secure and free to express their opinions

Human or interpersonal skills represent the ability to work well with and understand others to build cooperative effort within a team to motivate and to manage conflict. These skills are important for manages at all levels. Managers need to be aware of their own attitudes, assumption and beliefs as well as being sensitive to their subordinate’s perceptions needs, and motivations.

It is important to note that theses skills are called as soft skills and it is proved that the organizations nurturing those soft skills within the organization are so successful in their business operations. Some of the important soft skills include communicating, motivating, and leading, delegating and negotiating skills. As managers deal directly with people within as well outside the organization, such types of interpersonal skills are crucial in maintaining effective interpersonal relations. Manager with good interpersonal skills are to get the best out of their people. They know how to communicate, motivate, lead and inspire enthusiasms and trust.

Conceptual Skills

It is the ability to see the ‘big picture’ to recognize significant elements in a situation to understand the relationships among the elements

Managers must also have the ability to conceptualize and to think about abstract situations. They must be able to see the organization as whole with holistic approach and able to see the big picture of he organization. The manager must understand the relationships among various subunits and to visualize how organizations fit into this broader environment. These abilities are essential to effective decision-making, and all managers must involve in making decisions. All managers at all levels need conceptual skills. Katz proposed that these skills become more important in top management positions. The reason for this is that the top management managers often deals with abstract ideas, where as lower-level manager normally spend more time dealing with observable technical day-to-day operational activities.

One Fine Day...

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight,built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, " Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.

Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!"

The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, " And why not?"

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, " Big John has a bus pass."

Management Lesson: "Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one."

Are you a Micromanager ?- Take this Quiz

Definitions of Organizational Development (OD)

Definitions 

The nature and needs of organizations are changing dramatically. Correspondingly, the profession of organization development (OD) has been changing to meet the changing needs of organizations. Therefore, it may be most useful to consider several definitions of organization development.

 “Organization Development is an effort planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization's 'processes,' using behavioral-science knowledge.” 
-- Beckhard, “Organization development: Strategies and Models”, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1969, p. 9.

"OD is a planned process of developing an organization to be more effective in accomplishing its desired goals."   Human Resources Management & Development Handbook

"OD is a planned intervention aimed at improving individual and organizational health and effectiveness."  Jac Fitz-Enz

"Organization development practitioners help companies manage change and align people, process and practices or success.,, In its simplest form, OD work aims to be a catalyst that helps the organization get from where it is today (point A) to its desired state (Point B)" - ASTD American Society for Training and Development

            "Organizational development is a long-term effort led and supported by top management, to improve an organization's visioning, empowerment, learning, and problem-solving processes, through an ongoing, collaborative management of organizational culture-with special emphasis on the consultant-facilitator role and the theory and technology of applied behavioral science, including participant action research."  Organization Development, [French & Bell, 1999] 

"Organizational development is the application of behavioral scientific principles and methods to increase an organization's effectiveness".  US Government Office of Personnel Management

"Organizational development is a management field that focuses on helping organizations to develop their full potential".  University of Massachusetts

"Organization Development (OD) is the process of improving organizations".  Chicago OD Network

"Organizational development is an effort, planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization's processes, using behavioral-science knowledge" Richard F. Beckert

"Organizational Development is the field of study and practice that focuses on various aspects of organizational life, aspects that include culture, values, systems and behavior. The goal of O.D. is to increase organizational effectiveness and organizational health, through planned interventions in the organization’s processes or operations. Most often, O.D. Services are requested when an organization (or a unit within an organization) is undergoing a process of change".   University of California

"Our purpose as professionals is to facilitate processes by which human beings and human systems live and work together for their mutual benefit and mutual well-being".   The OD Network

“Organization Development is the attempt to influence the members of an organization to expand their candidness with each other about their views of the organization and their experience in it, and to take greater responsibility for their own actions as organization members. The assumption behind OD is that when people pursue both of these objectives simultaneously, they are likely to discover new ways of working together that they experience as more effective for achieving their own and their shared (organizational) goals. And that when this does not happen, such activity helps them to understand why and to make meaningful choices about what to do in light of this understanding.” -- Neilsen, “Becoming an OD Practitioner”, Englewood Cliffs, CA: Prentice-Hall, 1984, pp. 2-3.

"Organization development is a system-wide application of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for improving an organization's effectiveness."
-- Cummings and Worley, "Organization Development and Change", Sixth Edition, South-Western Publishing, 1997, p.2.

"Organization Development is a body of knowledge and practice that enhances organizational performance and individual development, viewing the organization as a complex system of systems that exist within a larger system, each of which has its own attributes and degrees of alignment. OD interventions in these systems are inclusive methodologies and approaches to strategic planning, organization design, leadership development, change management, performance management, coaching, diversity, and work/life balance."
-- Matt Minahan, MM & Associates, Silver Spring, Maryland

"OD is a field directed at interventions in the processes of human systems (formal and informal groups, organizations, communities, and societies) in order to increase their effectiveness and health using a variety of disciplines, principally applied behavioral sciences. OD requires practitioners to be conscious about the values guiding their practice and focuses on achieving its results through people."- Arnold Minors, Arnold Minors & Associates, Toronto, Canada

Source:

1.      http://www.odnetwork.org/?page=whatisod

2.     http://www.odportal.com/OD/whatisod.htm

3.     http://managementhelp.org/organizationdevelopment/od-defined.htm