Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

Copyright Aliene S. Linwood, D.P.A & Carol A. Petrucelli, M.H.S.A, 2001. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request. ISBN 1-930586-66-3 Linwood, Aliene S. & Petrucelli, Carol A., Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs ________________________________________ Special Sales
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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

By Aliene S. Linwood, D.P.A & Carol A. Petrucelli, M.H.S.A

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the friendship and business commitments that Aliene S. Linwood and Carol Petrucelli have made for The Center of Intellectual and Emotional Synergy and the willingness to share our knowledge and experience with a new generation of leaders. This book is dedicated to all of the leaders and entrepreneurs who gave us the unique opportunities to coach and mentor their careers, providing us with the adventures we need to continue our work. We want to dedicate this book to our friends and families, Regis Coustillac, Darrell and Eric Samuel, Natalie Neal and Monecia Barry. We sincerely thank you for your encouragement and support for this project.

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Preface

Leadership for Entrepreneurs is a reference guide of management strategies and problem-solving activities that will help inexperienced leaders develop essential leadership skills for the twenty-first century. Senior executives with established leadership styles will also appreciate the guidelines offered in this publication as they work with an entrepreneurial workforce. In Part I, traditional and distinctive processes pertinent to leadership skills development are discussed. The entrepreneur is encouraged to value the learning that takes place through the trials and errors of on- the-job experiences; to value opportunities to follow the leadership directives of an experienced and effective leader; to understand the relationship between formal and informal education and training and applications of leadership theories and principles; and the value of coaching and mentoring.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs in leadership positions have had a rapid ascension to power. Many lack strong educational backgrounds in management and, because of few opportunities to work with effective leaders, they have not been coached or mentored. This generation of entrepreneurs is programmed to fail as leaders. Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs does not address the entrepreneurs talents in starting a company. Instead, we point out that the same talents, skills and behaviors needed to start a company are not the same talents, skills and behaviors required to keep the company going. Essential elements of effective leadership are presented in a simple, straightforward, and powerful manner. A leadership focus based on relationships and behaviors, rather than authority and control, becomes important in dealing with problems of quality, performance, character and personal conduct. Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs will help entrepreneurial leaders find new dimensions of leadership in this age of changing expectations. With the knowledge and skills acquired by reading this book, they will develop a leadership vision and will learn how to communicate this vision at all levels in the organization. Effective leaders provide freedom for creativity, innovation and risk-taking. They will reward bold,

Preface individual, and team initiatives and learn to manage conflict as a benefit, rather than a liability. One of the topics covered in Part I is how to select the right employees and how to stimulate growth and promote self-discipline to retain high-performance work teams In Part II, Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs will focus on dimensions of effective leadership, which include individual and organizational performance, survival and shared responsibilities. There are several key leadership obligations that require expert skills and knowledge. The entrepreneur will become competent at vision creation, management, politics, and organizational behaviors, and understand the interrelationship of these tasks. In Part III, the dimensions of diversity and how culture influences leadership effectiveness are discussed. Entrepreneurs will be carefully led through a pathway from self-denial to the enjoyment of leadership through the success of others by employing a variety of leadership styles. They will develop an appreciation for diversity and will learn the keys to managing culturally diverse employees as individuals and as members of high-performance work teams. Throughout the United States, leaders are confronting situations in which culture and diversity shape the understanding and loyalty of employees, as

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs well as leaders response to employee concerns. The authors present several factors that affect behaviors and pitfalls for dealing with challenging situations. An action plan for creative leadership, coaching and mentoring diverse employee behaviors and essential components is offered. This section continues with a carefully developed discussion of conflict management as a daily reality. The personalities, value systems, perspectives, goals and cultural beliefs of leaders and employees may result in conflicts. These same factors, when correctly managed, will lead to the successful resolution of conflicting issues. Conflict is recognized as a catalyst for change. Several models and management tools are available to the entrepreneur. Finally, communication competencies and the ability to communicate well at all levels in the organization and community become important. The leaders for the new age will be encouraged to maintain a positive reputation in the business community and society by recognizing humanitarian elements as good business. The Toolbox in Part IV provides leadership tools that work. Attention is given to the dynamic leadership roles. The new wave of leaders will create a game plan for being on the cutting edge with a focus on the future. They will learn to select people, and coordinate their activities while keeping everything in balance. Leaders

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Preface learn to set strategies, motivate, create missions and build company cultures. Leadership styles that are common practice to experienced leaders are explored. This section deals with the Art of Listening. Leaders are reminded that business activities are tied together by systems of communication that depend more on the spoken word than on written communication. Consequently, effective listening skills become paramount. Leaders are coached and mentored in business writing, emphasizing that sequencing of written ideas takes precedence over the writing style or clever language. Written communication is a hard copy of the leaders thoughts. A leaders reputation, status or employment depends on the success or failure of his or her written messages. The importance and function of business meetings are discussed. Entrepreneurs are given guidelines for dealing with the people, paper and time management of business meetings without wasting time. Leaders are encouraged to think realistically by using the creative and critical thinking processes. Ultimately, leaders are challenged to think strategically. The strategic thinking process sets the stage for developing proactive strategies for the future rather

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs than reflections on the past. This is a mark of true leadership. The final topic in Part IV is about living the life of an entrepreneur and liking it. All leaders need to have a balanced lifestyle and make a conscientious attempt to control a workaholic personality. To sustain leadership effectiveness, entrepreneurs need to be physically fit, and should develop a sense of health, wealth and wisdom (mind and spirit). There is more to life than work. Leaders need to get a life worth living. Synergy of the intellectual and emotional properties adds authenticity to the entrepreneurial leadership style. Synergistic teams of highly productive people can create their own offensive and defensive strategies, reducing the need for middle management as we know it today. In the end, the entrepreneurial leader will be able to develop a leadership profile and adapt to leadership styles that are flexible in responding to various situations.

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Table Of Contents
Part I: Leaders Myth of the Well-Educated Manager Surviving Continuous Change Movies to Manage By Definition of Leadership Leadership Game Power and Career Part II: Diversity Diversity Profile Leadership Diversity Management Assessment Tool Pitfalls in Leadership Behavior Creative Leadership and Diversity Coaching Behaviors Mentoring Behaviors Part III: Conflict Management Contributors to Conflict Organizational Conflict Triggers Communication Models for Resolving Conflicts Communication Competency Problems in Intercultural Communication Feedback Variables in the Communication Process 15 17 31 39 43 55 63 77 79 83 89 91 97 99 101 111 113 117 123 129 133 137 141

Effective Team Communication Part IV: Toolbox Leadership That Works The Art of Listening Essential Behaviors How to Stay on Top of the Job Business Writing How to Run a Meeting Living the Life and Liking It Afterword Appendix Bibliography Formal Educational Programs In Entrepreneurial Studies Acknowledgment About The Authors

143 147 149 175 191 203 209 213 245 253 257 261 273 277 279

Part I: Leaders

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Myth Of The Well-Educated Manager

In 1972, shortly after earning a masters degree in public administration, I read a publication by J. Sterling Livingston, Myth of the Well-educated Manager. He contends that there is no direct relationship between performance in school or formal training programs and records of success in leadership position. He discusses the inability of formal education programs in both universities and industry to develop the traits, knowledge, and skills that are essential to career success and leadership. Academic achievement is not a valid measurement of leadership potential. Thus the well-educated manager is a myth (Livingston, 1970).

Fast learners in the classroom are often slow learners in the executive suite.
This hard-hitting approach to education and management brings us face to face with the facts of life about learning in the classroom versus learning on the

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs job. The number of degrees held, the grades received in school, or formal management programs one attends do not predict how leaders will perform on the job. Unless leadership skills are acquired through the leaders own experiences, they will not gain the knowledge that is vital to their success and are not likely to advance far up the corporate ladder. This doesnt mean that those of us who have been fortunate enough to master the rigorous requirement of formal education have wasted time or have not benefited from the educational processes. It means that textbook pictures of leadership and case management are distorted representations of real-life experiences. On- the-job leadership experience is different on any given day; with different people who think, feel and behave differently than the way they thought, felt or behaved the day before. Therefore a leaders response to each encounter is consequently different. When confronted with a leadership situation, we dont recall the theories and principles taught in the classroom, but we remember our experience with things that work or dont work in getting the best results. In this sense, effective leadership training for entrepreneurs takes place on the job.

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Myth Of The Well-Educated Manager

Career Consequences
People who hold advanced degrees in management were once among those most sought after. Measured in terms of starting salaries, they were among the elite. Companies offered high-risk, high-reward programs because their executives believed that abilities demonstrated by academic achievement were transferable to achievement in the business environment. They also wanted to provide an appropriate challenge to outstanding college graduates, particularly since many management experts contend that lack of challenge is a major cause of turnover among promising young professionals. Graduates participating in these programs were assured promotion at twice the normal rate, provided they performed successfully during their first two years. Since they were to be terminated if they failed to qualify for promotion, the employment status was indeed risky. Closely monitored studies found that after five years, 65 to 67 percent of the outstanding graduates who participated in high-risk, high-reward programs either terminated voluntarily, or had been terminated because they had failed to perform as expected. They were judged incapable of meeting the employers objectives. This was a serious career consequence. But what was even more devastating was the fact that many of these bright young people pre-judged their own performance and resigned to avoid being labeled a failure. They

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs became victims of arrested progress and turnover without gaining the experiences needed to be successful on the next job. Just as belief in the myth of the well-educated manager has caused many employers to have unrealistic expectations of university graduates, many employees with outstanding scholastic records have overestimated the value of their formal education. As a consequence, employees who hold advanced degrees find it difficult to make the transition from academics to business life. Therefore, in this and subsequent decades, leaders of progressive companies who are earning great salaries and recognition are less likely to have formal education. Another myth is the much-publicized notion that young mobile managers who move from company to company are an exceptional breed of new leaders and that job-hopping is a badge of competence. To the contrary, they leave their jobs, not so much because the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but because the grass is definitely brown on their side. Research indicates that most of them leave either because their career is not progressing or because opportunities for promotion are not promising. Surveys of class reunions at business schools indicate that the people who stay with their first employer for at least five years earn more than those who change jobs. Job-hopping is not always an easy

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Myth Of The Well-Educated Manager road to high income; rather, it is usually a sign of arrested career progress, and often because of mediocre or poor job performance.

What should Leaders Learn?

Now that the myths of the well-educated manager have been dispelled, we can deal with what leaders need to know to perform their jobs effectively. In fact, the tasks that are important in getting results are usually learned on the job. For entrepreneurs, success in real life depends on how well a person is able to find and exploit the opportunities that are available to them and, at the same time, discover and deal with potential serious problems before they become critical.

Problem Finding versus Problem Solving

Training programs that concentrate on problemsolving techniques tend to distort leadership growth because they overdevelop the individuals analytical skills, and leave his or her ability to take action and get things done underdeveloped. The behaviors required to solve problems are quite different from those required to perform other leadership functions. On the other hand, success at work requires what psychologists term an operant behavior. Operant behavior is exercised by doing what needs to be done at the right time. Finding problems and opportunities, initiating action, and

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs following through to obtain the desired results is the exercise of operant behavior. The most gifted problem finders have escaped the process of educational conditioning and rarely have excellent scholastic records. Leaders need to be able to analyze situations and detect clues that a problem exists. While the analytical skills needed for solving problems are useful, more crucial leadership skills for the entrepreneurs success are the perceptual skills needed to identify problems long before evidence of them can be found by advance information systems. Since perceptual skills are extremely difficult to develop in the classroom, they are now largely left for on-the-job training.

Opportunity Finding
A leaders problem-finding skills are exceeded in importance by his or her opportunity-finding abilities. Results in business are best obtained by exploiting opportunities and not by solving problems. All one can hope to get by solving problems is to restore normality or the ability to eliminate restrictions on the capacity to obtain results. The results themselves must come from the exploitation of business opportunities. Maximizing opportunities is a meaningful and precise description of an entrepreneurial job. It implies that effectiveness rather than efficiency is essential in business. The pertinent question is not how to do

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Myth Of The Well-Educated Manager things right, but how to find the right things to do, and to concentrate resources and efforts on them. (Peter Drucker). Leaders who lack the skills needed to find opportunities that will yield the greatest results will spend their time doing the wrong things. Opportunityfinding skills, like problem-finding skills, must be acquired through direct personal experiences and actual practice.

Natural Leadership Behavior:

Leadership is a highly individualized art. There is no one best way for all leaders to behave in all situations. What works well for one leader in a particular situation may not produce the desired results for another leader in a similar situation, or for the same leader in a different situation. Every leader must discover for himself or herself what works and what does not work. Such a person must develop individual behaviors and follow practices that are consistent with his or her personality. When leaders behave in ways that do not fit their personalities, they are apt to communicate something quite differently from what is intended. Subordinates usually view such behavior with suspicion and distrust (Likert). Leaders who display the greatest individuality in managerial behavior are judged to be the best. If there is not a fit between your personality and style, leadership development is arrested. Those

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs who adopt artificial styles typically are seen as counterfeit, and lack individuality or natural styles of their own.

Needed Characteristics
Although there are no natural-born leaders, many can become effective managers and executives at an entrepreneurial rate. Most learn even from their own experiences what they need to know to manage other people successfully. What then, are the characteristics of those who manage effectively? The answer to that question consists of three ingredients: (1) the need to manage, (2) the need for power, and (3) the capacity for empathy. These characteristics are discussed in some degree throughout the book.

The Need to Manage

Entrepreneurs who are outstanding individual performers are often do-it-myself managers. Because they lack the motivation and temperament to get the job done by others, they will excel as individual performers and may even have good records as first-line decisionmakers. Individual performers rarely advance to the executive suite, because leaders need to demonstrate the ability to positively influence the performance of a large number of people. Leaders are eager to take

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Myth Of The Well-Educated Manager responsibility for the productivity of others, and enjoy developing and stimulating them to achieve the desired results. Entrepreneurs who have a strong desire to influence the performance of others and get genuine satisfaction from doing so will learn to be effective leaders.

The Need for Power

Power, defined broadly, is a leaders potential at a given point in time to influence the attitudes and/or behavior of another person or groups of people, in the direction desired by the leader; a dynamic variable that depends on the relationship between the leader and others; the leaders capacity to influence the behavior of himself and others for whom he is responsible. The right to exercise power is termed authority. In order for the entrepreneur to prevail in the competitive struggle to attain and hold high-level positions, the desire for prestige and high income must be reinforced by the satisfaction that he gets or expects to get from exercising power and authority. The power game is a part of leadership, and those who are most skillful play it best. Leaders who enjoy the use of power have a tendency to be authoritative rather than consultative or participative in their leadership practices. Few who strive to gain and hold positions of power can be expected to be permissive if their authority is challenged.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs There are several types of power available to the leaders discretion. But it is well worth noting that the improper use of power results in ineffective leadership traits and behaviors. What entrepreneurs need to know is how to exercise authority in a way that is appropriate to the characteristics of the situation and the people involved. Above all, they need to learn that the real source of power is their own knowledge and skill, and the strength of their charismatic personalities, not the authority conferred on them by their positions. Leaders who lack the knowledge and skills or the charisma required to promote the performance of others should share the leadership position with informal leaders who know what has to be done to get the desired results. An over-reliance on the traditional authority of his or her official position is likely to be fatal to the entrepreneurs career aspirations. The effectiveness of position authority is declining everywhere in the home, church, state and in business as well. Since leaders cannot avoid the exercise of authority at all levels, they must understand the nature and limitations of it, and be able to use it in an appropriate manner. Equally important, they must avoid trying to exercise authority they do not possess.

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Myth Of The Well-Educated Manager

The Capacity for Empathy

Empathy as an essential leadership characteristic is seldom discussed. Empathy is the capacity or the ability to cope with the emotional reactions that inevitably occur when people work together in an organization. Many intelligent leaders with excellent leadership skills and techniques fail because their alliance with other people is almost entirely intellectual. They are not able to sense or identify the silent emotional feelings, which strongly influence human behavior. They are emotionally blind. Since they cannot recognize unexpressed emotional feelings they are unable to learn from their own experiences how to cope with the emotional reactions that are crucial in gaining the willing cooperation of other people. Some leaders resent the emotional climate, and think emotions make the company untidy. Most try to wish it away, rather than work in and around it. If entrepreneurs happen to have the capacity to accept, maybe to love, human organizations, their gift seems directly related to leadership or executive potential.

Summary
Many highly intelligent and ambitious entrepreneurs are not learning from either their formal education, or their own experience what they most need to know to become successful leaders. Failure is due, in part, to the fact that many crucial management tasks are not

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs taught in formal education programs, but are learned on the job, where few managers ever master them because no one teaches them how. Commonly, they learn theories of management that cannot be applied successfully in practice, a limitation many of them discover only by becoming a line executive and meeting personally the problems involved. Traditional authority derived from an official position is declining in effectiveness everywhere. Since many entrepreneurs do not learn how to exercise authority derived from their own knowledge and skill, or from the charisma of their personalities, they avoid leadership responsibilities by taking jobs that enable them to function in the detached role of the consultant or specialized expert. Still others diminish their effectiveness by adopting artificial leadership behaviors that are not consistent with their unique personalities. Mistakenly, they believe these traits will give them the appearance needed to advance up the career ladder. Some leaders who have the intelligence required for learning from on-the-job experience fail because they lack the affective empathy needed to develop and stimulate the productivity of others. The secondhandedness of the learned world is the secret of its mediocrity (Whitehead, 1929). Until those aspiring to become leaders learn from their firsthand experience, formal leadership education will remain second-handed.

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Myth Of The Well-Educated Manager This is the real reason why a well-educated manager is a myth. I believe that we need to teach people differently. Not everyone should be expected to behave the same way or adopt the same attitudes toward leadership. In fact, we will be better served by teaching our leaders how to change their leadership situations than how to change their personalities. Leadership effectiveness requires a proper match of person and situation, and trying to change personalities is the hard way to achieve this balance. It is an effort with uncertain success. Studies of contingency models show that leaders can recognize the situations in which they tend to be most successful, and they can modify their situations so that they perform effectively (Fielder, 1975).

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Surviving Continuous Change

Nobody actually likes it, but its the reality these days. The unprecedented changes affecting American businesses today certainly the most dramatic in the last decade reflect developments taking place around the world. Change is simply everywhere. Whats more, there has been a fundamental shift in the nature of change that has brought new elements of leadership to the forefront. Change is no longer periodic or episodic; it is continuous. It has become a constant. (Corner, 1996) In dealing with change, leaders will be confronted with serious business decisions. Flexible management skills will lead you to believe that your company is just one re-engineering project from being back in the comfort zone and on the cutting edge of prosperity. Dont count on it. Research data suggests that the volume, momentum and complexity of change will

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs accelerate in all phases of your professional life. The resulting dilemma: How to survive and prosper in an environment that resembles endless white-water rapids? For the past decade leaders have sought to identify behavioral differences between winners and losers. They have wandered the hallways of Fortune 500 companies, federal and state agencies, national and international organizations and education systems anywhere that they could find failures as well as bright young minds doing new and interesting things.

Why is Change so Distasteful?

The impact of change creates turbulence because change makes people feel out of control. Human beings have a tremendous need to control their environment. They prefer direct control. If they dial a number or push a button or ask a question, they want an immediate and correct response. In turbulent times, the volume of variable that arises makes direct control almost impossible. Leaders find that someone other than themselves makes decisions that affect their companys performance. While they cannot influence the decision to change, they feel better when they can at least see it coming and anticipate which directions to take for the next move. And of course, everyone feels better when the change being implemented is something that is asked for.

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Surviving Continuous Change Unfortunately, every significant change brings unanticipated consequences. It is often these surprise implications of a new course of action that gives people the feeling of lost control. Employees are often eager for reorganization, but discontent with the new reporting relationships or budgetary responsibilities. So, every major change, imposed or chosen, creates a period of disruption as we adjust to doing things differently, meeting new standards, and facing new expectations. We can appear dysfunctional for a time in that our productivity goes down, morale plummets, people resign, while other people try to sabotage things. Only when leaders develop new expectations to suit the new situation assimilate the change can they become productive again. How fast can changes be made? Winning people and winning organizations assimilate change faster than others do. Losers remain trapped in dysfunctional behavior, typically spending most of their time complaining and rebelling. Winners may not like the change, but they quickly let go of the old frames of references and begin asking, How am I going to succeed? Since human beings like stability, most people would prefer to remain with what they have even if it means being dysfunctional, than to take risk and go through an agitating transition. Leaders who accept this level of complacency or attachment to the status quo

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs quickly find themselves outside of the winners circle. Lets face it. We cant keep all of the people happy all of the time. Unfortunately, keeping them happy some of the time is the wrong strategy when introducing significant changes. The organization that keeps its staff happy could stumble in the marketplace because, in keeping them happy, it failed to change quickly or drastically enough to remain competitive. Instead, leaders who are winners focus on being successful. They dont soften change, they help their employees and the communities accept it. They help them adjust to new expectations so they can be successful. Leaders and their employees are not paid to be comfortable; they are paid to be successful with shared responsibilities and goals. Achieving success often requires doing things that are not pleasant or comfortable. But, once attained, success will make them happy. People may not like change but they do like winning. What is the key to success? The single, most powerful tool for separating winners from the losers is the ability to keep impaired behavior at a minimum while absorbing large amounts of disruptive change. Resilience is the key for the new era.

Resilience
Resilience is not coping skills or stress management. It is the rapid acceptance of new reality, or knowing how to advance and prosper in environments characterized by high levels of 34

Surviving Continuous Change ambiguity. According to the William T. and Rita Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Akron in Ohio, resilience is an essential quality. Entrepreneurship is not for the timid or those who hate ambiguity. Successful entrepreneurs are independent, self-motivated and persistent. They have a sense of humor, resilience and a willingness to take and manage calculated risk.1 Resilient leaders regain their balance quicker than most after disruption occurs. They are far more productive; they are both emotionally and physically healthier. They show phenomenal elasticity and flexibility actually bouncing back from the challenge of change better prepared for the next one. Leaders with resilience spend less time between disruptive change and functional recovery. Assimilating change more quickly, they spend less time being unproductive. So who are these highly resilient people? How can they be identified? Research identifies several attributes that have been clustered into five categories: Positive Resilient leaders display a capacity to remain positive during uncertain times. It is neither an arrogance nor naivet, but optimism. They believe that

William T. and Rita Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies The University of Akron, College of Business Administration, 1995, Akron, Ohio

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs there is an answer to be found in a confusing environment, and that they can find it. Focused These leaders are extremely focused and mission-oriented. Resilient people stay on the course and persevere. They are tenacious and clear about where they are going because they are positive that they can succeed, and they do. Organized These leaders can also find order within chaos, impose structure on ambiguity, tolerate disruption, and still make decisions. Non-resilient people become overwhelmed and immobilized by so many new demands. They either dont make decisions or they make erratic, contradictory ones that tend to cancel each other out. Proactive Resilient leaders do not run from change, they embrace it. They combine all of the other attributes and move forward. Resilience appears to result from both nature and nurture (Conner, 1996). Some leaders are born with the attribute and learn to use it effectively. Children as young as 4 or 5 years old display this remarkable characteristic. As people mature, they are trained, coached and rewarded for resilience. It can be self-taught through lifetime experiences, but it cant be instilled into an unwilling participant. Age doesnt seem to be a factor. It is a 36

Surviving Continuous Change myth that younger people are more resilient. Nor are race, geographic location or type of industry valid predictors. Higher education is a slightly positive indicator. However, it is unclear whether resilience comes with education or resilient people become educated. One of the clearest indicators of resilience is gender. Women appear to be more resilient than men are. Men are more likely to initiate change, but less prepared to endure the inevitable, unanticipated disturbance associated with it.

Making Resilience a Part of your Organizations Culture.

First, learn more about change management, which is a fairly new aspect of business. A universal set of principles exists that can make a difference between winning and losing. Go back and examine your strengths and weaknesses in respect to the five attributes discussed. See if you need to change your attitude in any category. If so, initiate the change immediately. If you are on the right path, try to lead other members of your company in that direction. Try to identify their attributes and help them to focus on the positive impact of change. Reward those five characteristics as much as possible.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs You should always look to hire resilient people. After you have determined that candidates are technically and intellectually competent to do the job, ask them to discuss how they have handled major challenges in their lives. Look for evidence of their ability to persevere. In times of corporate downsizing and reorganization, resilient people are able to adjust to the internal and external factors affecting the company.

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Movies To Manage By

The developmental process for leadership competencies has three phases: Awareness which means recognizing the genuine effects of leadership on organizational behavior and work outcomes. It is a basic acknowledgement of the need for leadership. Understanding occurs through acquisition of knowledge. Here the person acquires a deeper mental grasp of how and why leadership competency is relevant to the good performance of individuals, groups, and organizations. Action - Once individuals or organizations have awareness (motivation to change) and understanding (the knowledge base that helps to determine the specific changes that may be helpful), they are positioned to take action to change behavior.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs The entrepreneur can chart a course to find out what it takes to be a leader by watching a few classic movies that have inspired many business leaders. These films beg to be interpreted and discussed, and from these discussions business people come up with principles for their own jobs(Buchanan and Hofman, 2000). Apollo 13 (1995) Think creatively. Keep your head, manage communication and as far as failure, well thats just not an option. Bridge Over The River Kwai (1957) When execution takes priority over strategy the results cant help being catastrophic. Its A Wonderful Life (1946) Treat your customers and employees with generosity and consideration. It will always come back to you. No matter how big the business gets, leaders always address their customers by name and will roll up their sleeves to do any duty when it comes to keeping a customer satisfied. The main character reminds us that the important thing is to be respected, not as a rich entrepreneur but as a socially minded, successful member of a community. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1975) Visionary leaders see what isnt there and makes others see it too. But even the most inspired visionary cannot change an organization if he or she doesnt first 40

Movies To Manage By understand its mission and its people. A single person can change the world, but not a naive one. Twelve Oclock High (1949) New leaders must first earn their employees respect, even if that means being unpopular. If they do it right love will follow. Good leaders do not have to be intolerable, but when the straits are dire and the stakes are high, its the only way. Twelve Angry Men (1957) Effective leadership relies on open-ended questioning, sophisticated reasoning, and yes, even patient listening to draw the others into your corner. Whenever possible, avoid being forced into impassioned confrontations and hasty decisions. Norma Rae (1979) Leaders never deny who they are, but are willing to do whatever it takes to command the allegiance of the downtrodden workers while always remaining one of them. You dont have to be better than the people you lead. You dont even have to believe in yourself. As long as you believe passionately in what you are doing, others will follow. The Dead Poet Society (1989) A leaders finest moments are when he or she becomes an exceptional motivator who encourages followers to take risks and innovate. Such a person is guided by the

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs following principle: no rule is so entrenched that it cant be broken, and no box is so large that you cant think out side of it. This leaders courageous ideas and charisma inspires extraordinary devotion among his or her followers. This kind of leader changes the lives of the young. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) This leadership style demolishes morale and organizational loyalty. It is a warning to leaders who treat their employees as deserving extra strokes when they perform, and extra kicks when they dont. Keep in mind that sometimes your best employees are the most fragile when things get rough. If you cant manage to challenge without threatening, and motivate without intimidating, you will lose all of them.

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Definition Of Leadership

Four Assumptions
Thirty years ago, well before many of today's entrepreneurs were born, leadership was defined by underlying assumptions that served as a foundation for leadership training and development programs. One assumption was the notion that there is one ideal kind of leadership behaviors or attitudes that relate to good performance under all conditions, and that every leader therefore needs to adopt. Some authorities contend that good leadership must be permissive, participatory or human-relationship oriented. A second assumption that guided many programs is that leadership behavior is under voluntary control, that a few weeks of telling a leader how to behave or convincing him/her that a certain behavior is best, will result in behavior changes.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Both of these assumptions ignored the fact that leadership situations are highly emotionally charged, interpersonal relationships of great importance to the employee and his boss. It is difficult to change significant emotional relationships. Therefore it is important to ask just how much control does a leader actually have over his own behavior? A third assumption was that the more powerful and influential leaders will be more effective because they will be able to make their worker groups work harder on an assigned task. Based on this assumption, training programs attempted to increase leadership control and influence. This approach ignored the fact that the leadership situation should satisfy the needs of the leader as well as the needs of the employees and the organization. A final and equally questionable assumption was at the root of participative leadership, which contends that leaders who share their decision-making responsibilities with subordinates are more effective. This assumption ignored the fact that participatory leadership depends on the intellectual capital and abilities of group members. Leaders who act on the advice of unintelligent people can hardly expect brilliant answers. This is not to say that participative leadership or any other leadership approach is entirely ineffective. But the most effective leaders are those with the ability to

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Definition Of Leadership adjust their leadership behaviors to meet the needs of employees and work- related situations. Entrepreneurs are often perceived as being highly spirited, progressive, assertive and innovative. Yet, they are not born leaders. Entrepreneurs are merely people with the potential to be successful under certain conditions (situations) or resounding failures under other conditions. For a better understanding of leadership for entrepreneurs, imagine sitting at your desk or where ever you do your hard thinking and pulling out a mental file folder labeled "leadership" and finding new ways to navigate through complex leadership situations such as: Integration of several business lines into a strategic whole; Orchestrating a merger to maximize benefits and minimize hassle; Managing change to improve the health and wealth of the company without killing the client during the process; Evaluating multiple global appointments and making smart, fail-proof decisions.

By now, you may be asking, "What do those things have to do with entrepreneurial leadership?" The entrepreneur must master these business management strategies and move well beyond the human resources arena into a spectrum of game-winning strategies that modern organizations face daily. This is perhaps a real stretch for the new-age managers. Yet those who are

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs willing to make that stretch, embrace the challenge, and learn will lead in the redefinition of leadership. Their participation will be immediately rewarded with management skills of enormous potential. The first step is to re-define leadership in a manner that can be measured. Leadership is defined as actions that focus on human resources to create desirable opportunities. The actions of leadership include a wide range of behaviors, such as planning, organizing, managing, deciding, speaking, writing, producing, cajoling, motivating, creating, economizing, inspiring, disciplining, politicking, persuading, compromising, confronting, and perhaps litigating. All of these behaviors lead to a higher probability of desired outcome. The resources to be focused on include not only the usual list of people, money, time, space and materials, but also assets such as public opinions, legislative power, unique talents, opportunities, accidents (disasters that may result in some useful end), geographic advantages, and personal contacts. The desirable opportunities include the fruits of leadership such as higher profits, better educational systems, an expanded security, an increase in knowledge, an increase in truth, beauty and happiness for all involved.

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Definition Of Leadership The adjective desirable insures that the definition of leadership does not encompass the exercise of unjust and absolute power.

Leadership Tasks and Responsibilities

A challenge for entrepreneurs is to specify the tasks that must be achieved for leadership to occur. There are seven tasks, each of which can be briefly represented by a word phrase: Vision, Management, Empowerment, Politics, Feedback, Entrepreneurship, and Personal Style. The task of vision is to clarify the overall goals of the organization. Groups of people without directions are merely a mob, free-spirited perhaps, even joyous but without purpose, still merely a collection of bodies. No matter how talented or motivated the individual members of the group may be, they cannot be collectively effective without a central focus. A leader must establish, describe, and chart the future course for the group with enough specificity so that each member understands how his or her particular actions and attitudes can contribute to forward progress. The personal characteristics necessary to establish an organization's vision include experience, imagination, persuasiveness, farsightedness, and political astuteness.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs The task of management is, first, to focus resources on the organization's goals and second, to monitor and manage the use of resources. Every organization has resources available, but they are seldom sufficient for everything that everyone wants to do. Therefore, choices have to be made. Resources devoted to one set of goals cannot be used for another set, and because resources do not manage themselves, allocation and monitoring systems are established. Not all subordinates are instinctively thrifty and responsible, thus, boundaries on individual actions are established. Budgets, timetables, staffing plans, policies and procedures, outcome measures (the bottom line, however defined) are developed. Thus, an organizational leader need to be concerned with competencies in areas of management, accountability, personnel performance standards and cost-effectiveness. The task of empowerment is to select, develop, and share power with employees, contractors and consumers committed to the organization's goal. In the complicated world of organizations, the complexity and duration of actions necessary for success are greater than any single person can plan, manage, and carry out. Hence, decision-making and responsibility need to be disbursed, both to accomplish current tasks, and to prepare those responsible for future leadership. Giving power to others requires trust in both directions. The leader must trust followers before relinquishing control, 48

Definition Of Leadership and followers are hesitant to accept power unless they trust the leader to support them when they exercise it. Essentially, the entrepreneur learns to lead through the success of others. He or she develops a system of "allwheel drive" by empowering highly talented, diverse work teams. The tasks and responsibilities of forward movement are shared with those who stand to benefit from the outcome. The tendency to rely on systems of rewards and punishment ("rear-end-drive") or demands and control ("front-wheel drive") diminishes. To achieve the task of empowering requires compassion, sensitivity, psychological insight, trustworthiness, consideration, and the ability to teach, evaluate, and coach. The task of politics is to forge coalitions both inside and outside of the organization. With respect to the latter, all organizations are vulnerable to outside forces and can profit from being in supportive alliances with similar organizations. Political connections range from formal membership in professional, industrial, or geographic organizations with formal rules and agendas to subtle, almost invisible connections based mainly on personal friendship. The entrepreneur must appreciate the desirability and necessity of political connections and needs to be socially and politically savvy in creating and nurturing

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs the connections. The same dynamics operate within the organization. Attention should be paid to peers, colleagues, and individuals at all levels in the organization. People who were once subordinates may reappear as leaders, peers and superiors in the future. As the performer Jimmy Durante once said, "Be nice to people on your way up, because you may meet them again on your way down." The impact and durability of hostile political connections also should be recognized. Just as the creation of good political connections is important, so is the avoidance of bad ones. There is an old saying, "Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate." The political task of building coalitions requires experience, a range of contacts, friendliness, wit, wisdom, negotiation skills, and the ability to entertain, or a least hold the attention of a wide range of people. The task of feedback is to listen carefully to relevant groups and then react appropriately. Leaders at the top deal with a great deal of information about their company. The information comes from many sources: employees, voters, clients, customers, directors, shareholders, students, alumni, family members, friends, strangers, publications and disinterested people. Among the more important task of the leader is to sift through the information, determine what needs immediate attention and route it to the appropriate person, and then follow up to see that something is done. 50

Definition Of Leadership Information flow constitutes feedback for both the leader as an individual and the organization collectively. Learning how to evaluate and organize feedback so that important themes are identified and acted on is one of the entrepreneurs fundamental challenges. Organizations that operate independently of feedback lose touch with reality, and often find the necessary adjustments painful. Listening and reacting to feedback requires good listening skills, empathy, consideration, a strong selfconcept (to endure criticism), a sense of perspective, a sense of humor and a tenacious follow-through. The task of entrepreneurship is to find future opportunities and then to create desirable change to take advantage of these opportunities. Every organization has a certain amount of momentum pushing it in the direction it is heading. This momentum is essential for continuity and is inevitable because all organizations are ruled by their immediate histories. Organizational momentum must be guided into new directions. Perhaps some relevant technology has become obsolete, or perhaps the demographics of the organization's membership or clients have changed. Perhaps some legislative fiat has created or eliminated a market. When changes are necessary, the leader must find new directions to take advantage of new opportunities. The selection of a new direction, and the refocusing of resources to support it, constitutes entrepreneurship.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs All resilient organizations, large or small, require continuous infusion of it. The presence of entrepreneurship is even more crucial in a new organization that initially has no direction. Working from a blank slate, with meager and unfocused resources, the entrepreneur not only has to find a new direction, but also has to create a movement in the absence of momentum. To chart the new direction, set unfamiliar goals, assemble unacquainted colleagues, and build a new structure for achievement requires a different set of personal characteristics than those required for maintaining organization momentum once it is attained. The entrepreneur needs to have relevant experience in the technology of the new direction, a sense of daring, and a willingness to venture into uncharted territory, enough persuasiveness to recruit others for the new direction, and the resilience necessary to persist in the face of setbacks. Such characteristics serve leaders in established organizations as well, especially in time of change when historical momentum needs to be redirected. The task of personal style is to set an overall organizational tone of competence, integrity and optimism. The leader is the most visible individual in the organization, and consequently, influences the spirit of everyone else. 52

Definition Of Leadership If the leader is competent, optimistic and trustworthy, a positive spirit will usually pervade the organization. If, in contrast, the leader is incompetent, meanspirited, or unethical, a less productive atmosphere will likely result.

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Leadership Game

Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction and assistance of other human beings. The person who successfully masters his or her personal and intellectual resources and the personal and intellectual resources of collaborators to achieve a particular goal is a leader. A highly effective leader is one who can do so over a sustained period of time, in a variety of situations and/or circumstances. The leader's unique achievement is a human and social one that stems from an understanding of fellow employees and the relationship of their individual goals to the groups or company goals that must be carried out. At best, leadership is democratic if it provides each person the maximum opportunities for growth and development without creating lawless confusion. A leader's job is to recognize roles and functions throughout the organization and give each person a

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs chance to satisfy and fulfill some major motive or interest. The purpose of this book is to help the entrepreneur develop an understanding of leadership, and make a smooth transition from a commitment to individual and personal growth, to being committed to the individual and personal growth of others within the company and to society at large. Those entrepreneurs who now realize the author's intent may be tempted to read no farther. Just the thought of focusing on someone or something other than themselves may appear to be impossible. But the transition is not only possible, but also necessary to sustain a profitable and democratic society. For years, many people have contended that leadership abilities are inherent in certain chosen individuals. They speak of "born leaders," "born teachers", and the like. It is no doubt, that certain people have greater aptitude or abilities in certain skills. But research in psychology, physiology, and intelligence indicates that those with strong aptitude and abilities can improve their skills through education and practical training. Even those lacking in natural abilities can improve their performance and over-all effectiveness. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that entrepreneurs are not born leaders. Their leadership aptitude and abilities (skills) are developed.

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Leadership Game The skill conception of leadership implies that learning is by doing. People learn in different ways, but skills are developed through practice and by relating the practiced activity to one's own personal experience and background. Training and education in the following three basic skill areas should develop leadership skills for entrepreneurs faster than any formal educational experience.

Technical Skills
The development of technical skills has received a lot of attention in industry and in educational institutions. The knowledge of principles and processes of the individual specialties, combined with actual practical experience that is observed and supported by a superior or mentor, (as in teaching nursing principles and practical application techniques), is the most effective way to develop technical skills.

Human Skills
Human skill development is grounded in psychology, sociology and anthropology. As a practical matter, leaders must develop their own human skills rather than rely on the advice from others. Comprehension of their own attitude, feelings and belief systems promote learning from leadership experiences. Eventually, leaders learn to understand and appreciate others and

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs develop the skills needed to effectively communicate their ideas and attitudes. Some "leadership experts" recommend that leaders guard against subjectivity and expressing their personal feelings in work situations. Thank goodness, the premise of absolute objectivity and detachment in leadership has been reexamined. The lack of effective human skills in the work environment will retard career progression at best, and in the worst case, result in disruption and violence. The foundation for human skill development is laid in early childhood. The entrepreneur is likely to learn how to behave in relation to other human beings in kindergarten. Human skills that are developed through formalized training programs often require the aid (coaching) of a more experienced leader who possess effective human skills. There are frequent opportunities for the entrepreneur to practice using human skills on the job. And practice of basic human skills is all that is required to be an effective leader. Human skills require Knowledge about human behavior and interpersonal processes The ability to understand the feelings and attitudes of others from what they say and do (empathy, social sensitivity)

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Leadership Game The ability to communicate clearly and effectively (speech fluency, persuasiveness) The ability to establish effective and cooperative relationships (tact, diplomacy, knowledge about acceptable social behavior).

Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skills, like human skills, are not widely understood. A concept is a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking. Conceptualization is the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions; the originating of something in the mind. It is the sum of a persons ideas and beliefs concerning something of importance. Several methods have been tried to aid in the development of conceptual skills, with varying degrees of success. Some of the best results have been achieved through coaching and mentoring relationships. Conceptual skills are essential for effective planning, organizing, coordinating, forming policy, problem solving, and developing programs. A major leadership responsibility is coordination of the separate, specialized parts of the company. In order to accomplish effective coordination and make necessary modifications in organizational structure, a manager needs to understand how the various parts of the company relate to each other, and how changes in one part of the system affect the other parts. A leader should

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs also be sensitive to the external environment and be able to comprehend how changes in our society will affect the company. The importance of an external perspective will be discussed in greater detail later in the publication. Conceptual skills relate to: The general analytical ability Logical thinking, proficiency in concept formation Conceptualization of complex, ambiguous relationships Creativity in idea generation and problem solving, The ability to analyze events, perceive trends and anticipate changes Recognition of opportunities and potential problems.

Summary
It is evident that technical skills are primarily concerned with things. Human relations skills are primarily concerned with people, and conceptual skills are primarily concerned with ideas and concepts. Each of the three skill categories is relevant to the required roles of administrators and leaders. Technical skills are necessary to train and direct employees with specialized assignments. For the entrepreneur, this type of skill is the most concrete and easiest to understand. Technical skills are learned

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Leadership Game through formal education in specialized subjects and through on-the-job training and experience. Human relations skills are important for establishing effective relationships with employees, superiors, peers, and outsiders. Unless leaders are sensitive to the attitudes, feelings, and needs of people, they cannot accurately estimate how people will react to what is said and done. Entrepreneurs on all levels require some competence in each of the essential skills. Even leaders at the lowest levels in the company continuously use these skills. Dealing with external demand requires conceptual skills; managing limited physical and financial resources requires technical skills; and the performance, behavior and demands of the people with whom you work make human relations skills essential. It is safe to say at this point, that the relative importance of leadership skills and the specific type of skills within each category depend on the leadership situation.

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Power And Career

A new knowledge-based economy is emerging. This new knowledge base is known as intellectual capital. The new wealth of organizations is believed to be even more valuable and powerful than natural resources, big factories or fat bank accounts. Intellectual capital is the sum of everything everybody in the company knows that gives it a competitive edge. Unlike the assets with which business people and accountants are familiar land, factories, equipment, cash intellectual capital is intangible(Stewart, 1997). The new responsibility for the entrepreneur is learning how to manage knowledge. The skills that individuals and companies need to succeed in their new environment, the knowledge-based economy, are different from what most leaders are used to and the value of knowledge is changing at a rapid pace. Leaders have acknowledged the value of information

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs throughout the years. Most leaders saw the information that was generated in their organization to be the organizations property, and it was frequently used as a secret weapon for protection against competitors. Companies required their employees to sign conflict-of-interest statements, which prevented the use of the information perusal. Others maintained copious volumes of confidential files for a significant period of time. Companies also restricted their employees ability to maintain concurrent employment with competitors, as a means of controlling the dissemination or sharing of knowledge (intellectual capital). We are presently engaged in an information revolution. Like the Industrial Revolution before it, the information revolution affects everything and everybody. Information is shaping a new economy and in this new economy, leaders will buy and sell solid knowledge. The new economy will transform the old economy and reduce its relative importance, but it will not destroy it. No one can say for certain what new ways of working and prospering this revolution will create; in a revolution the only certainty is surprise. But it is already obvious that success in a knowledgebased economy depends on new leadership skills. In addition to basic leadership, technical, human and conceptual skills, entrepreneurs must learn how to manage knowledge. In other words, he or she will

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Power And Career manage the brainpower of employees. During the information revolution, the sole product of some companies may be knowledge. As a matter of fact, the leader may have little or no personal contact with many of the people who are the brainpower behind the success of the company. Leaders and middle managers are becoming less interested in the emotional well being of the employees, and more interested in what they know and how they think. Management of intellectual capital begins with managing information technology informationmoving equipment. Information technology can be applied to multiple industries; there is hardly a company in the 21st century that will survive independently of information technology. In some companies, information technology has replaced the human body because it enables the same process to be performed with more speed, continuity and control yielding a consistent level of quality. At the same time, technology generates information about the financial and administrative process through which the work is accomplished. In this sense, information takes on an economic life. It takes on a reality that is separate from physical goods and becomes as tangible as materials and supplies when we get used to it. In this way, information technology supersedes the traditional knowledge of automation.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs The management of knowledge begins with (1) the realization that knowledge and the assets that create and distribute it, can be independently managed, just as physical and financial assets can be. Intellectual, physical and financial assets can be managed separately from each other; they can be managed together; they can be managed in relation to one another. (2) If knowledge is the greatest source of wealth, then individuals, companies and the nation should invest in the assets that produce and process knowledge. The entrepreneur must learn the skills needed to manage the knowledge worker. Information is the most important raw material that the knowledge worker brings to the job. The ability to balance the leadership skills becomes ultimately important at this level, because the leader, who finds knowledge to be the greatest source of economic value, will have a tendency to reward people who work with their brains and ignore those who do not. This would be a mistake, because a company cannot survive on brainpower alone any more than a human body can. Many other systems in the body have to function in an efficient manner in order for the brain to maintain its power. The rise of the knowledge worker fundamentally alters the value and the agenda of leadership. When the assets of the company change, the leaders job changes. Knowledge work is utterly different. Professionals are

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Power And Career measured, not by the task they perform, but by the results they achieve. When work is about knowledge, the professional organizational model supersedes the bureaucratic. Leaders of knowledge-based companies must possess an exceptional degree of knowledge themselves to maintain a respected position of authority. When those in authority no longer comprehend the work of their subordinates, the traditional chain of command ceases to be a viable means of leadership. Knowledge workers, alone or in teams, plan, organize and execute many aspects of their own work and the layer of middle managers is rapidly disappearing. The knowledge requirement of a company may not be found within the company. It is the leaders role to find the knowledge in specialists and consultants and learn how to manage the intellectual abilities of nonemployees who simultaneously work for competitor companies. There is a lot to know and understand about the management of the hidden wealth of intellectual capital. Few leaders understand its dimensions or how to lead the knowledge worker. But the sources and volume of printed material on the subject matter is growing, as the new information age is expanding. The entrepreneurial leader cannot afford to wait until the leadership concepts are tested to develop some workable skills. Our companies have a proliferation of knowledge workers, as many of the entrepreneurs who are destined for leadership, started their careers as

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs knowledge workers. To help the new inexperienced executives manage through the revolution, a simple but effective six-step process has been developed: 1) Begin with a strategy. Define the role of knowledge in each business unit. 2) Assess competitors strategies and patent portfolios. 3) Classify your portfolio. What do you have, what do you use, and who in the company should be responsible for it? 4) Evaluate the cost and value of your intellectual properties, and decide whether to keep, sell, or abandon them. 5) Invest. Based on what you learn about your knowledge assets, identify gaps you must fill to exploit knowledge, or holes you need to plug to fend off rivals, and either direct research and development to that area, or look for information technology to acquire. 6) Assemble your new knowledge portfolio and repeat the process continuously. Most leaders know to successfully apply these steps in the management of materialistic assets. The companys wealth will certainly improve with appropriate management of knowledge. An important first step is to recognize that knowledge-based companies cannot succeed if their most valuable product is kept under lock and key.

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Power And Career Getting results from investing in knowledge requires corporate leaders, systems, and cultures that allow knowledge to flow freely, which means scrapping all rules that restrain ideas and knowledge-sharing. When a systematic flow of knowledge is unduly restrained, it will spill over, and employees will leave, taking their valuable assets to another company. Rapid-knowledge sharing, collective-knowledge growth, shortened research and development, and more productive people have lead entrepreneurs of the 21st century to re-think their career paths. People who identify themselves with their titles are the first to go when the company downsizes, because they lack the flexibility to move through the organization. The new careerists look at a career in a series of projects instead of progression up the career ladder. Their goal is to grow in the profession and not to become a manager or chief executive. Rather than describing a man or woman, who has had few changes of companies but many changes in titles, the entrepreneurs resume will show many more employers; titles will matter little. Resumes will tell the story of what was done for the customer and, whom it was done for will not matter in the end. Project management is the experience through which successful careers are developed. Projects package and sell knowledge. It doesnt matter what the organizational structure is, as long as the lines of

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs communication and power are drawn along end-to-end business processes, new product development and new customer management. Routine work doesnt need leadership; if it cannot be automated, it can be selfmanaged by workers. It is the never-ending book of projects that creates new value. Projects draw information together and formalize, capture, and leverage it to produce a higher-valued asset. People who lead or work on winning projects will get the first opportunity for the next challenging assignment. The best project leaders will seek the best talent, and these talented people will take jobs with the best companies. Seniority matters less than the most recent accomplishments. The secret of flat organizations is that they still need authority, but no longer have it. For the Information Age, power flows from expertise, not from position or budgets.

Sources of Power
The first source of power is expertise in project management more than in the technical field. That capability must include knowing how the business makes money. The project manager needs a wealth of effective tools, ranging from planning software, to business school courses, to a "body of knowledge in the project category. You dont need to be technically oriented, but you must know enough about human behavior and the subject matter to know when the

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Power And Career project team members are telling the truth and how to keep the project on tract. The second source of power is reputation. If you are an effective project leader, you will find that the companys best engineers, talented designers and sales persons will want to join your next project team. That means fewer problems and strong voices to support the project functions. A third source of power is honest salesmanship. According to recent research, project managers spend most of their time talking and communicating with the project team and with key stakeholders. The success of the project depends largely on your ability to keep the funding agents, resource providers, boards and beneficiaries informed of your progress. In doing so, if you focus on the work, personalities will be of less importance. A fourth source of power for entrepreneurs is the ability to negotiate for key project management roles, get the job done and benefit from your project teams performance. Smart project managers never lose contact with the people (internal and external customers) who add credibility to their accomplishments. Ultimately, the customers support authority in a well-run company.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

Career Considerations
Either insiders or outsiders can perform most roles in an organization. Whether you are a strategist, resource provider, project manager or talent, you dont have to work in a company to work for it. The rise of contingent workers began ten years ago. Increasingly these people are freelance professionals and independent resource providers. Talent guilds are becoming a significant part of business life. Entrepreneurs find this type of career extremely satisfying. Careers are made in markets and not in organizations. Whether you are a permanent or temporary employee, it helps to conceive of yourself as a self-employed participant in a labor market. This is because a self-employment mindset is a smart defense, and is a prudent mental preparation for the likelihood of becoming unemployed and job seeking in a rapidly expanding economy. Permanent employees (insiders) are more and more often competing among themselves and with external workers for project-management positions. Executive search firms build electronic databases showing which employees have what skills, using them to create a virtual marketplace where resource providers, project managers and employers can search for talent.

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Power And Career Where project-based work is long established, these markets are in full bloom. Employers who have talented project mangers on staff or retainer are constantly aware of the fact that they may be lured away tomorrow. If you are not in a companys core group, your career may end up being a free agent, connected with human resource brokers. Talent brokers are the terminology for the financial dealmakers in the new millennium. The fundamental career choice is not between one company and another, but between specializing and generalizing. Psychological research contends that people pass three phases in developing a sense of identity. 1) Interpersonal learning to be a grown-up by copying parents and peers. 2) Institutional pledging your allegiance to a group and taking on its characterization. 3) Inter-individual defining yourself, your talents and then telling others what you do. Entrepreneurs are strongly attached to their talents because they find that loyalty to a profession has greater career building potential than loyalty to a company. Whether you consider yourself as a specialist or a generalist, conventional wisdom is that the generalist is better positioned for the future. When you are offered a choice between two projects, one of which will broaden your knowledge and one that will deepen your knowledge, choose the path that will increase your flexibility. Never narrow your options.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs The new career structure for entrepreneurs who are project managers should be considered on three levels: consultant, principle consultant/director, and managing director/partner. Former career strategies worked well in stable business environments, but now customers are demanding a deeper level of expertise, like computer networking. In occupations where an individuals human capital is the single most valuable asset, such as writing, acting, designing, the gap between the lowest and the highest level of compensation is tremendous. Freelancers are found at both extremes of the salary scale; therefore, your choice between generalizing and specializing should be influenced by an honest self-assessment. As a specialist, you should be able to count on the long-term value of your specialty; do whatever it takes to be among the very best in the field; and stay on top of the compensation scale. You must also be willing to take the necessary risks of seeking the rewards of a more entrepreneurial career. Intellectual capital is the source of wealth for individuals, as well as for organizations. Not only the content, but also the structure of knowledge reinforces the fact that value comes from skills and knowledge. People who move from project to project cannot be compensated according to the number of projects they have supported. Instead, competencies and skill sets, including intra-organizational and customer relationship, as well as human capital, will

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Power And Career determine their career success. Intellectual capital benefits both the entrepreneurs and their companies. But you are your own free agent with a proliferation of intellectual capital to manage. You are free to go where you can get the best return on those assets, and in an economy whose chief resources are not buildings and land, but, are instead ourselves and our neighbors or coworkers, you are more able to pursue your fortunes than ever before. In a recent publication, Future Wealth, the authors reminds us that wealth is the means by which we fulfill our desires. They identify the three forces that are transforming wealth creation: the growing efficiency of financial and real markets, the primary rank of human capital, and the need for new forms of social capital, and according to Davis and Myers, each of these forces yields critical insights. First, information has become so pervasive and inexpensive and the market for risk has increased. Second, physical assets or money, the mainstay for wealth creation, have given way to human talent and knowledge, otherwise known as intellectual capital. Third, social capital, that is, how to deal with the impact of wealth and its distribution across society, need to be reinvented to keep pace with the demands and opportunities of work in the new economy.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs There has been a fundamental shift from business access to financial capital to access to intellectual capital. The most important form of capital is human intelligence; people are beginning to see themselves as assets. It is up to you to determine your individual selfworth and financial freedom. This will be a strenuous exercise for the entrepreneur who takes control over his or her career.

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Part II: Diversity

Now, more than ever, the entrepreneur who learns to communicate cross-culturally will have the leading edge over achieving operational success. Those who draw on the richness of their diverse workforce, or on the availability of the diverse population at hand, will surely impact productivity, job satisfaction, innovation, communication, and morale within their organizations

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Diversity Profile

The U.S. Population is Becoming Large and More Diverse. A predicted workforce shortage will change the complexion of the workers available in the marketplace and call for new leadership styles to emerge. The following numbers will either decrease or increase and change the complexion of the workforce in the future. Circle what you think the future will hold and see if your predictions are supported by the information that follows. Number of Workers Average Age of Workers Number of Minority Workers Number of Immigrants

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Skill Level Required for New Jobs Pool of Young Workers Entering Labor Market Over the next fifty years, the population of the United States is expected to grow by nearly 50 percent, from about 275 million in the year 2000 to an estimated 394 million people in 2050. U.S. population growth is influenced by immigration and emigration rates, as well as by birth and death rates. Immigration will play the largest role in the growth of the United States through the mid-century. Immigration trends tell us to expect 820,000 immigrants to arrive annually in the United States. Two out of three will be working age upon their arrival. By 2050, we expect immigration to have increased the U.S. population by 80 million people. Fully two-thirds of the U.S. population increase will be due to net immigration. In addition to immigration, the other key determinant of the U.S. population size will be birth and death rates. Particularly important to the American labor force is the large number of people born after World War II, from 1946 to 1964. This baby-boomer generation, which has been a major force in the labor market for the past 20 years, has not reached its prime

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Diversity Profile working years and makes up about 47 percent of the workforce. The youngest baby boomers, just reaching 35 years of age, will continue to participate in the workforce for many years. As the population ages, the median age of the workforce will rise. Between 2011 and 2029, the baby boomers will be reaching the traditional retirement age of 65. Their retirements will dramatically affect the workforce of the future. Not only will the demographic profile of the workforce change considerably, including a rise in the number of people with disabilities, but also millions of Americans will be faced with balancing work and family, particularly the care of elderly parents. Despite the fact that the post-baby-boom generation (born after 1964) is much smaller in size, the number of youths is expected to rise by 2020, partly as a result of immigration. In 2000, there will be likely over 70 million children under 17 years of age. By 2050 the under 17 population is expected to rise to 96 million2 Growing minority and immigrant populations will contribute to increased racial and ethic diversity in North America. A multicultural and multilingual workforce will slowly evolve as managers learn to compete in the global economy where cross-cultural
2

Futurework Trends and challenges for work in the 21st century U.S. DOL - Chapter 1.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs dealings are constant. Women and minorities will occupy a greater proportion of executive positions. We are moving from an industrial economy to an information economy. Information-age technologies require sharp minds, not strong backs. Lifelong learning will be the key to fighting the rapid obsolescence of technical skills.3 For changes in population: 1995 vs. 2050 refer to the pie chart.4 on page 85.

Kreitner, Robert, Management, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York, 2001 4 Futurework Trends and challenges for work in the 21st century U.S. DOL - Chapter 1.

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Leadership Diversity

In light of these changing demographics, the entrepreneurial leader must be aware of the differences that exist among cultures, have a basic understanding of multicultural management, a genuine respect for those differences, and possess the skills necessary to identify and solve problems that arise because of cultural, racial, gender, and work-function issues. The key is to attract and retain employees from a variety of backgrounds and capitalize on their strengths and individual differences. It is not an assimilation process. The objectives in this section are to: 1. Identify the dimensions of diversity 2. Recognize that culture drives behavior 3. Provide tools to assess leadership skills

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs 4. Recognize the dynamics that cause misunderstanding among people who are diverse 5. Articulate the business case for valuing diversity Workforce diversity brings up a myriad of difficult issues: prejudice, stereotyping, cultural and ethnic pride, social isolation, intercultural conflict, and communication barriers. Managing cultural diversity requires a changea movement towards valuing and respecting differences, and becoming comfortable with differences that exist in terms of race and culture. These are behavior changes. The leader must reshape, not only his or her way of managing, but his/her way of thinking, as well. People belong to many different cultural groups. There are times when different cultural groups are in conflict with one another. There are times when belonging to one particular cultural group is more important than at other times. Recognizing the existence of different cultural groups and their impact on behavior is the key to managing diversity. Examples of cultural groups include: gender, religion, ethnic heritage, race, sexual orientation, marital status, socioeconomic class, level of education, political affiliation, physical and mental ability, parental status, military status, and many others. Each of us is a product of our culture.

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Leadership Diversity

Hispanic Origin 10% Black 12%

Asian and Pacific Islander 3%

American Indian 1% White 74%

1995 Pie Chart: White: 73.6% Black: 12.0% Hispanic Origin (may contain members of any race): 10.2% Asian and Pacific Islander: 3.3% American Indian: 0.7%

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

Black 13.6 14%

Asian and Pacific Islander 8.2 8%

American Indian 0.9 1%

Hispanic Origin 24.6 25%

White 52.8 52%

2050 Pie Chart: White: 52.8% Hispanic Origin (may contain members of any race): 24.6% Black: 13.6% Asian and Pacific Islander: 8.2% American Indian: 0.9%

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Leadership Diversity

Factors Affecting Behavior and Performance

NORMS: BELIEFS: Rules of Conduct Mental constructs which allow us to interpret past and present experiences and predict what will happen in the future ATTITUDES: Psychological states that predispose us to behave in certain ways VALUES: Conceptions about what is worth pursuing in life ETHICS: Moral philosophy Culture influences behavior. The attitudes, values and beliefs of people in a particular culture are learned through that culture. Attitudes, values and beliefs become the tools used to control behavior. An interaction occurs between attitudes, values, and beliefs, norms and ethics, with the end result being exhibited in performance. These connections are sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. When the leader has a clear recognition of these connections and is conscious of ones attitude, more responsible decisions as to ones behavior can be made. Since there is a connection between attitudes and behavior, it is imperative that the leader has a clear understanding of that connection. When one is intuitive about his or her attitudes and beliefs, more responsible decisions can be made.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

Managing a diverse workforce requires mastery of Managing: Your Mind: Your Words: Your Unspoken Words: How you think about yourself and others. How to speak to people of different backgrounds. How to pay attention to the nonverbal language.

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Management Assessment Tool

You can assess your own awareness and evaluate your behaviors using a tool called the Managing Diversity Profile (MDP). The MDP is based on information gathered in a series of focus groups and one-on-one interviews completed over a five-year period with people representing diverse communities. The MDP is about subtle things people do or dont do that lead those who are diverse (whether it is because of culture, weight, appearance, or whatever triggers biases or assumptions) to feel humiliated, isolated, powerless or in any way less than. The MDP is based on the belief that most people dont intend to discriminate, judge, or isolate others. It often happens without intent. The purposes of the MDP are to help you become more aware, to give you an opportunity to evaluate your behaviors and to offer you an opportunity to modify

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs those behaviors in order to be more empowering and respectful to all people.5 Leaders of diverse cultural groups need to understand how the cultures and social conditioning of their workforce affects their beliefs about work, and must master the communication skills necessary to develop confidence and self-esteem in their employees, with the end result being enhanced team performance and increased productivity.

Professional Development Group, Inc., Managing Diversity Profile, 1995-1996.

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Pitfalls In Leadership Behaviors

Pitfalls in leadership behavior that are detrimental to creating and effectively managing in a multicultural environment include: ethnocentrism, attribution, stereotyping, and generalizing. An ethnocentric leader may judge others by using his or her personal and cultural standards. For example, direct eye contact is appreciated in the American culture. Direct eye contact in some Asian cultures is considered rude. A leader who interprets the behavior of another person to mean what it would mean if they had done or said the same thing, would be guilty of attribution. The dimension of time is often an area of misunderstanding. A leader who perceives time as schedules, to be used efficiently to suit the task at hand, may be in conflict with one from a culture that considers time flexible, and used to suit his or her own individual needs.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Stereotyping can lead to prejudice towards others. It is an exaggerated belief and inappropriate for a diverse workforce. As we are products of all that we have experienced, both directly and indirectly, stereotypes will never be eliminated. Perhaps the best that we can do is to be aware of them and control their impact. Stereotypes are powerful because they move us towards behavior. Often times, people seek to confirm their expectations and resist contradictory evidence, thereby clinging to their own beliefs, and stereotypes become self-fulfilling. For example: a persistent belief that Generation Xers are anti-establishment and lack organizational loyalty precludes the leaders opportunity to acknowledge their entrepreneurial spirit, flexibility, and creativity. Generalizations can be helpful if used appropriately. If they are: Consciously held Descriptive Accurate Modified aware that you are making one not judgmental factual based on experience, openminded

As an example, it would be safe to generalize that most employees desire work breaks.

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Pitfalls In Leadership Behaviors

Personal Competencies
The following competencies have been identified by researchers as most important for effective multicultural relationships. Each of the competencies is, to some degree, interrelated with the others, but each is important on its own, as well.6 1. Personalizing Observations: Recognizing and accepting that ones personal perceptions may not be shared by others; knowing and accepting that My way is not the only way; using I not you messages. 2. Paying Attention to Your Feelings: Self-reflecting on ones thoughts, feelings, and stress level in order to stay grounded in situations. Self-reflecting also facilitates critical thinking in the sense of an actual, purposeful, and organized effort to increase our
6

Source: Adapted from John Chaffee, Thinking Critically, 1990; C. Dodd and F. Montalzo, Intercultural Skills for Multicultural Societies, 1987; G. Ferraro, The Cultural Dimension of International Business, 1990; P. Pederson, A Handbook for Developing Multicultural Awareness, 1988; M. Sikkerin and A. Niyekawa, Design for Cross Cultural Learning, 1987; John Mehr, Human Services Concepts and Strategies, p. 196-204, 1992. The Personal Competencies List is from the module on personal level skills development from the Multicultural training model by Dr. Mikel Hogan Garcia. Cal State University, Fullerton 714-7733309, @ 1990. Revised with Dr. Reginal Clark, January 1993.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs understanding of ourselves, other people and the world for problem solving, and working toward goals. 3. Listening Carefully: Paying close attention to what is being said both verbally and non-verbally. 4. Observing Attentively: Watching and making mental notes of behavioral patterns of others in order to understand meaning of behavior (e.g., nonverbal messages). 5. Assuming Complexity: Assuming and perceiving a range of alternatives in situations, recognizing multiple perspectives and outcomes exist. 6. Tolerating Ambiguity/Uncertainty: Responding to unpredictable situations without getting stressed and cranky. 7. Having Patience: Staying calm, stable, and persistent in trying situations. 8. Managing Personal Biases/Stereotypes: Treating people as individuals, recognizing that everyone belongs to many groups and that no one represents a group. 9. Being Non-Judgmental: Stopping ones tendency to negatively judge others who are different.

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Pitfalls In Leadership Behaviors 10. Being Flexible: Readjusting quickly and effectively to changing situations. 11. Being Resourceful: Responding skillfully and promptly in new, uncertain situations. Seeking information about the cultures of those with whom you interact. 12. Having a Sense of Humor: Laughing at oneself and with (not at) others; finding humor in irony of life. 13. Showing Respect: Behaving in a respectful manner towards others who are different. 14. Displaying Empathy: Feeling the thoughts, attitudes and experience of another. Attempting to walk a few steps in others shoes. Results from respecting and interacting with diverse others. ACTION PLAN FOR LEADERS Understand that your role is to work through others. Identify your own cultural values and those that define the culture of your organization. Understand and learn about the cultural patterns of your workforce and how those patterns affect performance. Accept the fact that others see things differently.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Give membership. Encourage women and minorities in networks and include women and minorities in the club. Share the rulebook. Communicate directly and openly about requirements. Control your assumptions-both about individuals and about job standards. Maintain standards, but remember that treating people equally requires sensitivity to cultural differences. Pay attention to process. Stop and ask, Whats going on here? Hold others accountable for valuing and managing differences. Reward appropriately.

In summary, recognizing the attributes of the workforce 2000, and the dimensions of diversity will put entrepreneurial leaders out in front of their competition. As culture drives behavior, the skillful leader will recognize the dynamics in the workplace and allow for cultural differences to exist which, in turn, will enhance productivity, job satisfaction, and ultimately quality.

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Creative Leadership And Diversity

Todays information revolution requires creative solutions. Productivity and efficiency are keys to an organizations survival. Every human being is gifted with creative genius. Creativity is the ultimate competitive advantage. Managing diversity should result in greater creativity, wiser decisions and more effective problem solving. Creativity requires that the leadership develops and promotes a multicultural organization where employees of mixed backgrounds and experiences achieve their fullest potential. Assimilation is a dirty word! It is the process through which a minority group learns the way of the dominant group. In organizations favoring assimilation, people from diverse backgrounds are expected to change to fit the existing culture. In organizations where diversity of perspectives is allowed to flourish, the levels of creativity will improve.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Creative leadership is channeling the energies of the diverse workforce towards participating in achieving the organizations goals and objectives. One of the ways of doing this is to create performance work teams. The teams mission is driven by the organizations vision. The vision provides the perspective that serves to align people, ideas, and attitudes. As a result, employees develop a sense of identity with the organizations mission, goals, and strategies. In addition, employees have a better sense of their place in the organization. Employees who are different can be an integral part of the organization. Creative leadership requires redefining the relationship between manager and subordinate. One of the best ways to help employees reach their fullest potential is to adopt a coaching and/or mentoring role. Use the acronyms COACH and MENTOR to remember these important behaviors.

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Coaching Behaviors

Collaborate

Work with employees to identify problems, set standards, and develop a plan for improved performance. Examine your personal behavior and accept some of the responsibility for the problem. Recognize an employees achievements, as well as his problems, feelings, and concerns. Recognize success. Be honest.

Own

Acknowledge

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Communicate Listen, question, give and receive feedback. Facilitate. Dont dictate. Be an advisor, serving as a resource guide. Replace orders with suggestions.

Help

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Mentoring Behaviors

Model Encourage Nurture

Be aware of your own role modeling. Support risk-taking activities. Get to know the staff, their unique skills and capabilities. Listen to the entirety of their ideas. Tell it like it is. Help them avoid pitfalls not written in any policy manual.

Teach Organizational

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Reality Help them deal with the realities. How have their successes and failures made them grow? What most surprised them about the culture? What was the most difficult culture shift to make?

A new model of a leader has emerged. The view of the manager-subordinate relationship has changed. This new model of a leader is not based on expert or role power, but on personal power. The leader now must become a supporter, an enabler, and even a partner in order to tap into the fullest potential of his or her employees. Leaders who are unable to let go of their reigns of power are fast becoming replaced by those who view their relationships with employees as being that of liberator, barrier remover, facilitator, coach, and mentor. Yet, keep in mind that different cultures have different attitudes towards the managersubordinate relationship, as well. It is imperative to learn about those beliefs in order to tailor your leadership style. The following is a list of reasons for supporting a new style:

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Mentoring Behaviors Change renders skills and obsolete almost overnight. knowledge

The feel of the workplace is in constant turmoil. Yesterdays successes were dependent upon creative adaptation. The organization today must have growth, learning, continuous improvement, and experimentation woven into the fabric of its culture.

A leadership tool available to help determine what personal attributes you bring to a mentoring relationship is called The Mentoring Scale. 7 The goal of the evaluation is to provide the leader with a picture of his or her gifts and promotional blind spots. The most difficult part of mentoring is being and knowing who you are. It is about being real and being a catalyst for change. Daniel Goleman, in his book, Working With Emotional Intelligence, defines an additional skill for leaders today, that of Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence refers to the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for
7

Shultz, Will. The Mentoring Scale, Consulting Psychologists Press.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships. (Daniel Goleman, WWEI, 1998)8 This skill is based upon a Competency Framework, comprised primarily of four main competencies: (An emotional competency being a learned capability based on emotional intelligence that results in outstanding performance at work.)8 Self-Awareness Social Awareness Self-Management Social Skills

Goleman, Daniel. Working With Emotional Intelligence. Bantam. January 2000.

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Mentoring Behaviors

The Competency Framework8

Self Awareness Emotional SelfAwareness Accurate SelfAssessment Self-Confidence Self-Management Self-Control Trustworthiness Conscientiousness Adaptability Achievement Orientation Initiative Social Awareness Empathy Organizational Awareness Service Orientation

Social Skills Developing Others Leadership Influence Communication Change Catalyst Conflict Management Building Bonds Teamwork& Collaboration

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

Leadership Diversity Beyond EEOC Affirmative Action9

Managing diversity begins with the selection processhiring qualified and competent employees. Using some of the tools previously mentioned will assist with the process, e.g. The Competency grid, your personal competencies, the action plan for managers, etc. It is imperative to be aware of the key differences between EEO/AA Programs and Valuing and Managing Diversity, in order to assure that the best candidate is chosen.

Key Differences Between EEO/AA Programs and Valuing Diversity

EEO/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Government Initiated Legally Driven Quantitative VALUING DIVERSITY Voluntary Productivity Driven Qualitative

R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., Harvard Business Review. From Affirmative Action to Affirming Diversity, Number 2, p. 115. March April 90.

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Mentoring Behaviors Problem Focused Assumes Assimilation Reactive Opportunity Focused Assumes Integration Proactive

Key Differences Between Valuing Differences and Managing Diversity

VALUING DIFFERENCES MANAGING DIVERSITY

Quality Interpersonal Relationships Full Utilization Competitive Advantage Assimilation (full adjustment is Placed on individual) Shared Adjustment (individual + organization+ leader to adjust)

Exploitation of richness that can Business (viability) flow from diversity motive In summary, leadership diversity is a lot like situational leadership. The leader adjusts his or her management style to match the needs of the individuals he or she manages. Its not so much your behavior as a

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs leader, but your behavior as a human being. This is not to the exclusion of consistent standards. Organizations must have consistent standards regardless of cultural differences. The standards must be based on results, not on the comfort people feel when surrounded by people who are alike. Competence comes in many styles, approaches and behaviors. Rather than sacrificing standards, diversity should result in greater creativity, wiser decisions, and more effective problem solving. Valuing diversity requires a reassessment of the policies and practices that accommodate diversity. Leaders must reward diversity, create the climate that supports differences, and establish the systems such as networks, mentoring, and support groups that enable diverse employees to succeed. Companies that take valuing diversity seriously have designed system-wide plans for integrating the concept into all of their human resource efforts. Valuing diversity initiatives include the following: Recruitment Career development Diversity training for staff Upward mobility programs, including mentoring and coaching Processes for diverse input (executive resource groups) Self-help programs: networks and support groups

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Mentoring Behaviors Accountability systems (performance ratings based upon development of subordinates Recognition of meaningful gender, race, religious, and ethnic events Outreach and public relations (to develop an image attractive to diverse employees)

Diversity interventions are clearly a business advantage. The successful leader will be mindful of the skills needed to manage in a multicultural environment. Accepting and valuing diverse perspectives will make the organization more fluid, more flexible, and more responsive to the competition.

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Part III Conflict Management

Conflict is a daily reality. A leader must develop the skills for identifying and diagnosing conflict, skills for managing conflict, and skills for creating a culture in the workplace in which conflict is minimized or used productively. The objectives in this section are: 1. To develop an ability to identify and understand the causes of conflict in any situation. 2. To provide the tools for managing conflict. 3. To provide the tools for managing team conflict. 4. To identify the role communication plays in managing conflict.

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Contributors to Conflict

Conflict management is a key issue for a leader. According to Daniel Dana, President of the Dana Mediation Institute in Overland Park, Kansas, 90% to 95% of all terminations stem from unresolved workplace conflicts. According to Torres and Fairbanks, the leader can examine conflict from five perspectives that contribute to conflict situations: Personality Personality differences contribute the most. A difference such as whether one is introverted, or extroverted, makes decisions based on facts and logic, or intuition and feelings, or whether one is spontaneous, or a planner, cause conflict. Individuals express different points of view based on a set of values carried with them. Values act as driving forces

Values

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs that control interactions. Perspective their responses and

Individuals have different ways of seeing and experiencing the world. Differences in perspective can be the cause of conflict. Personal agendas may be different. There may be hidden agendas or undisclosed individual outcomes. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, different cultural attitudes, values, and beliefs may conflict with other cultures.10

Goals

Culture

The ability to manage conflict is a critical interpersonal skill that must be highly developed for three major reasons: 1. To manage change. Change is the status quo in todays marketplace. Although some companies are upsizing, most are rightsizing. Change is usually a prelude to many types of conflict.

Torres, Cresencio and Fairbanks, Deborah. The ASTD Trainers Sourcebook, Teambuilding. McGraw Hill, 1996.

10

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Contributors to Conflict 2. To understand cultural differences. As the demographics of the workforce change, the leaders ability to accept, understand, and positively respond to different cultural values will become increasingly more important. 3. To become effective team leaders. As the team concept has experienced a renewed growth, focusing on the goal within the context of conflict requires a different set of leadership skills. If managed appropriately, conflict can be a driving force for positive change in an organization. It does not have to be dysfunctional. When handled effectively, conflict can help ensure the successful accomplishment of goals and objectives. It is a natural dynamic when person-to-person interaction occurs. Although conflict can represent a communication breakdown, it can also provide an opportunity to clarify issues, or reach more creative results. Conflicting situations need to be addressed in order for them to be managed. The conflict will not go away until it is managed or resolved. It can help build and strengthen relationships. Negative impressions may be interpreted differently after further discussion, often resulting in a change of perception of issues and people involved.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs All conflicts cannot be resolved, of course. There will be times, because of differing values, when agreement simply cannot be reached; however, most can at least be managed. Lastly, conflict can be a motivator for change. In the process of managing differences, the leader can become retrospective. Through personal examination, the leader can identify certain behavioral characteristics, e.g. communication skills that can lead to effective change.

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Organizational Conflict Triggers

A conflict trigger is a circumstance that increases the chances of intergroup or interpersonal conflict.11 In organizations, major conflict triggers can include the following: Overlapping or Ambiguous Jurisdictions Competition for Scarce Resources Communication Breakdowns Time Pressures Unreasonable Standards, Rules, or Policies Personality Clashes Status Differentials Unrealized Expectations12

Kreitner, Robert. Management. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998, p. 498. 12 Kreitner, Robert, Management. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998, pp. 498-500.

11

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Leaders who understand these triggers will be able to better position themselves to manage conflict in a systematic way.

Five Methods for Managing Conflict

A widely publicized tool for managing conflict is provided here in order to enable the leader to achieve competency in handling difficult people, managing disagreements, encouraging open discussions, and achieving win-win results. Competition Win/Lose is a power-based mode. The ability to argue, the rank in the organization, economic sanctions, coercion, and force are common strategies used with this approach to conflict. Competition- Win/Lose may be appropriate in emergencies when quick, decisive action is needed; where unpopular changes need to be implemented; when other methods have been tried and failed. Accommodation Lose/Win is the opposite of the Competition approach. With this method, you are willing to yield your position to the other person. You can actually assertively choose to be nonassertive for reasons other than timidity or avoidance.

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Organizational Conflict Triggers Appropriate uses would include When it is more important to preserve the relationship than argue the issue When the issue is more important to the other person than it is to you When you want to indicate a degree of reasonableness When you want to encourage others to express their point of view When you want others to learn by their own choices and actions

Avoidance Lose/Lose, on the surface, appears to be inappropriate for resolving differences. When nonassertively applied, it indicates an unwillingness to cooperate, denial that a problem exists, or a withdrawal from a threatening situation. When used in this manner, you forfeit personal gain as well as any potential contribution to a working relationship. It is referred to as a Lose/Lose outcome, because neither party is able to even deal with the issue, much less manage or resolve it. However, avoidance can be used appropriately to help resolve differences between two people. Appropriate uses of Avoidance If others can resolve the conflict more effectively If both parties see the issue to be a minor one

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs If the negative impact of the situation itself may be too damaging or costly to both parties involved If additional time is required If both parties need a chance to cool off

Compromise Win/Lose-Win/Lose involves negotiation, tradeoffs, swapping, and a high degree of flexibility. Though you will get some of what you want, you will also have to give up something else in the process. It is important to decide in advance how much you are willing to give away, i.e., you need to set limits, before you begin to negotiate. Appropriate uses of Compromise To reach agreement when both sides have equal power; To find a common ground when both parties have competing goals; To achieve temporary settlement in complex matters; To reach a solution under difficult circumstances or time pressures; To maintain personal objectives while preserving the relationship. Collaboration Win/Win is usually considered the best, but the most difficult method of managing differences between two people. It is an assertive and collaborative approach, with maximum concern for the 120

Organizational Conflict Triggers issues and for the maintenance of the relationship on both sides. It involves identifying those areas where agreements exist and where there are differences, evaluating alternatives, and selecting solutions that have the full support and commitment of both parties. Appropriate uses of Collaboration For preserving important objectives that cant be compromised while still maintaining the relationship For merging experiences and feelings from people who have different backgrounds and perspectives For indicating creativity by being willing to explore alternatives together that neither party might have thought of individually To get at unresolved root problems that may have hindered the working relationship over a long period of time

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

Conditions for Successful Collaboration

Willingness to resolve. Both parties must be willing to resolve the conflict. Any hidden agendas or failure to trust or to be honest will not result in the Win/Win result. Willingness to go to the root problem. Often, what appears to be the problem is only a symptom of the real issue. Both parties must be willing to explore the origins of the conflict in order to identify its true source and deal with it. Willingness to empathize. Feelings are always a part of conflict. Both sides need to be willing to accept and understand the other persons feelings and point of view, even though they might not agree with each other. Agreement isnt the issue. The point is to accept, understand, and validate the other persons feelings.

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Communication Models For Resolving Differences13

In addition, three other models are provided as tools for resolving differences. The skillful leader should identify the organizational conflicts that they are experiencing, and determine which of the three models to apply to the situation to resolve the conflict. THE SIX-STEP MODEL 1. Define the apparent conflict. It is not only important for you to state what you think the problem is; it is also important to speculate how the other party might see the conflict. 2. Analyze the situation. Who? Who is involved?
Kreitner, Robert, Management. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998, pp. 498-500.
13

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs What? What exactly has happened? What were the circumstances? Where? Where did the conflict occur? Could the place be significant? When? When did this occur? Has it been going on for a while? If so, why wasnt it dealt with in a timely fashion? Is it too late to address the issue? Is it a recent occurrence? Is this the appropriate time to address the issue? Why? Why did the conflict occur? Is it significant that these were the individuals involved? Could it have been prevented? Should it have been? How? How did the conflict occur? What happened that shouldnt have? What wasnt happening that should have been?

3. Generate alternatives. Consider whether this situation has happened before. If so, what was done? Is there an existing policy or procedure that would help determine the solution? How will similar situations in the future be affected by the solution? Will a precedent be established? 4. Project the results of each alternative. Ask what if?

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Communication Models for Resolving Conflicts 5. Select and agree on the alternative. 6. Implement and evaluate.

What organizational conflicts are you currently experiencing that this Six-Step Method could be applied to? THE AEIOU MODEL This model for managing differences uses the concept of Positive Intentionality. Positive Intentionality assumes the other person means well and is not trying to cause a conflict. A Assume the other person means well. If you attempt to identify a positive intention and state it to the other person, you substantially increase the possibility of resolving the differences. What happens when you assume the other person is trying to cause conflict? E Express your feelings. After youve indicated to the person what you perceive to be a positive intention, you then respond by affirming that position and expressing your own specific concern. I Identify what you would like to happen. In this step, you nondefensively propose the changes you would like to see occur. Although you need to be

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs firm in your approach, the language you choose is very important. Saying I want is extremely different from saying I would like O Outcome expected. As in the DESC Model (see next section), there are both negative and positive outcomes possible. Although it is important to indicate the potential negative outcome, it is most important to emphasize the positive expectations for both of you (WIIFT-whats in it for them?) U Understanding on a mutual basis. In the final stage of the AEIOU Model, the aim is to get the other person to agree to your proposal. You could ask, Could we agree to this for a while and see if it works out for both of us? Of course, there are always two sides to the story, so you need to be ready to consider compromise or alternative options in this step. THE DESC MODEL D Describe the situation. Use behavioral examples and specific incidents wherever possible as this helps prevent general statements. E Express your feelings. If the individual isnt aware that his or her actions are having a negative impact on you or others, theres no reason for the individual to think there is a problem in the first place. Expressing your feelings lets the individual know clearly that the problem is not acceptable and must be resolved.

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Communication Models for Resolving Conflicts S Specify what you want to happen. Indicate the changes you expect in the other person. Be specific so there is little chance of misinterpretation. Consider WIIFT. You cant expect others to do something just because you want them to do it. People respond much more positively when they can buy into the reason for changing their actions or behavior. C Consequences. The final step in the DESC Model is to let the other person know the expected result. It is probably best to indicate the possible negative consequences first, but it is critical that you are both willing and able to follow through with this alternative if changes are not made. The last part of this step is to emphasize the potentially positive results to be realized if the requested changes are made.

The DESC Model is best suited to dealing with situations that have become serious. It is also useful when one party needs to exercise a certain amount of control over another. To increase the effectiveness of this method, advance preparation is a must.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

Is there a situation where the DESC Model would be helpful? If so, use the following to outline your approach. 1) Describe the situation (briefly) 2) Express your feelings 3) Specify what you want to happen 4) Determine the consequences

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Communication Competency

A key to effective leadership is the ability to be a good communicator. Communication competency distinguishes the great leaders from the rest. Listening well is very important in communicating. Listening skillsasking astute questions, being open-minded and understanding, not interrupting, seeking suggestionsaccount for about one third of peoples evaluations of whether someone they work with is an effective communicator.14

14

Hoos, John and Arnold, Christa, An Examination of the Role of Listening in Judgments of Communication Competence in CoWorkers, The Journal of Business Communication, April 1995.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs The competent communicator will: Know Oneself Respect Differences in People Tolerate Ambiguity Exhibit Flexibility Suspend Assumptions and Judgments See Other Persons Point of View Show Patience Grant Time Deal with Issues Straightforwardly Remain Receptive

Emotions will have a direct impact on conflict management and effective communication. Being in control of your own mood is a communication strategy often ignored by leaders. A study of 130 executives and managers found that how well people handled their own emotions determined the degree to which those around them preferred to deal with them.15 In dealing with subordinates, calmness and patience was key. The challenge is to stay calm and collected. Aiming for a neutral mood is the best strategy in anticipation of dealing with someone else, if only because it makes us

15

Clarke, Walter V. Associates, Pittsburgh, April 1997.

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Communication Competency an emotional clean slate and allows us to adapt to whatever the situation calls for.16

16

Eber, Ralph et al, On Being Cool and Collected: Mood Regulation in Anticipation of Social Interaction, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, (1996).

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Problems in Intercultural Communication

The following list identifies common communication problems, most particularly with Intercultural Communication: Courtesy Greeting Styles ways of discussing conflict situations. Expectations because of roles Horizontal (between technical and functional specialists) vs. Vertical (to supervision or subordinates) communication. Appropriate times for discussion. Preludes and ease-ins to business talk

Sequencing

Phasing

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Objectively Over/under precision Impersonal vs. emotional style of argument. Feelings of distrust or of being manipulated General to specific vs. specific to general. Immediate vs. long-term thinking. Forward talking vs. reticence. Privacy vs. friendliness Verbal expressiveness vs. quietness Telling it like it is vs. courtesy and preserving harmony. Saying yes vs. saying no Using overly complex language Making judgments based on accents Non-personal communication vs. face-to-face

Specificity

Assertiveness

Candor

Simplicity Accents Telephone Walking on Eggs

Giving mixed messages Discomfort in communicating about differences

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Problems in Intercultural Communication Hot Buttons Related to Culture Ethnic jokes, stereotyping, sexist/racist comments Personal remarks.17

17

Video: Griggs Copeland, Valuing Diversity: Communicating Across Cultures.

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Feedback

Verbal or non-verbal feedback is required from the receiver of the message to the sender to complete the communication process. Without feedback, the leader has no way of knowing whether or not the message was understood. This understanding is critical to job productivity, and employee satisfaction, as well. Some benefits of giving feedback are as follows: Feedback reduces uncertainty Employees know whether performance measures up. their

Feedback solves problems Early feedback prevents problems from escalating.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Feedback builds trust Sharing information suspicion and fears.

can

reduce

Feedback can strengthen relationships The ability to communicate openly builds trust and leads to greater commitment. Feedback improves quality Positive feedback is an incentive for continuous improvement.

Guidelines for giving feedback are as follows: Feedback should be specific The greater the clarity, the greater the understanding. Feedback should be descriptive Dealings should be in the realm of fact. Feedback should be timely It should be given immediately after the work performance occurs. Feedback should be on-going If routine, it will enhance overall work performance 138

Feedback Feedback Tool A feedback tool the leader can use to practice effective feedback is the D.E.A.R. ModelDescribe, Express, Ask, and Review Take a moment and think of a situation you need to address with someone and fill in the formula: D.E.A.R. Describe, Express, Ask and Review Take a Moment. Think of a situation that you need to address with someone and fill in the formula below: Describe: When (this behavior) happens

Like (when/what)

Express Effect:

I feel or It causes

Ask: How can we change this situation? or What can I/we do to keep this from happening again?

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Listen, discuss, compromise: Dont forget to be clear about what outcome you want.

Review: So weve agreed that

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Variables in the Communication Process

In Intercultural Communication: A Reader, Samovar and Porter identify seven variables in the communication process whose values are determined to some extent by culture. Attitudes Stereotypes are a set of attitudes. Ethnocentrism is an attitude. Instead of trying to understand the Koreans within their own cultural context, an ethnocentric person tries to understand them as similar to or different from Americans. Social Organization Two societal compositions: the geographic society, composed of members of a nation, nationality, tribe, cast or religious sect, and role societies, which act within or transcend geographic cultures. Role societies are composed of members of a

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs profession, elite, or ideological, racial or religious group. Thought Patterns Forms of reasoning differ dramatically especially from East to West. How illogical people of another culture appear often stems from this. Roles in a society and concurrent expectations affect communication. Language Skill Language is not only a method for reporting experiences, but also a way of defining experiences for speakers. This is how culture and language are so inseparably related, and where a competent interpreter is quite valuable (as opposed to simply a translator). Space Americans are known for the approximate twoinch bubble that extends beyond their skin, and anyone who violates it is expected to say, Excuse me. Other cultures are more accepting of contact and often touching is common. Time Sense impacts interaction. Americans view it as past, present, and future, not to be wasted. Zen treats time as a limitless pool.

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Effective Team Communication

Cross-functional teams are becoming commonplace in organizations. A cross-functional team is basically a task group staffed with a mix of specialists pursuing a common organizationally assigned objective. They may or may not be self-managed, depending on the level and scope of responsibility authorized. Team communication is defined as the exchange of information between team members that is satisfactorily transmitted, received, and acted upon. Communication again includes the transference of meaning between the sender and the receiver in the group. The quality of the teams work depends on the quality of the communication process. Communication originates when one person wants to convey information to another. Information includes such things as: facts, feelings, values, and opinions. The sender must first translate the thoughts into

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs symbols that will be recognized and understood, which is called encoding. When the message has been encoded, the next part of the process is to then communicate the message to the receiver. Once another person receives the message, the decoding process occurs. The receiver must interpret the symbols by decoding the information in ways that provide meaning for the receiver. If the receiver translates the senders message as it was conveyed, effective communication occurs. If not, the opposite occurs. Communication problems then develop when team members do not share a common language or understand the difference between facts, feelings, values, or opinions. Effective team communication results when team members take responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and overt behaviors. Barriers in team communication result from an inability to distinguish the various communication channels from which we speak, such as facts, individual feelings, personal values, and opinions. Any one of these channels can cause communication breakdowns if not understood and responded to intellectually. Usually one or all of these are involved in team communication. Barriers to effective communication occur when there is a lack of clarity, or a mismatch of communication channels. They are:

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Effective Team Communication FACTS FEELINGS Something that has actually happened. Any subjective reaction one can have to a situation. Personal ideals that make people behave the way they do. A set of beliefs, not based on absolute certainty.

VALUES

OPINIONS

The process to use in overcoming these communication barriers is to acknowledge them and phrase responses to each that calls attention to them and separates them, so the sender and the receiver can manage them separately. The appropriate responses are: FACTS FEELINGS VALUES OPINIONS The facts are I feel To me In my opinion enhance the team

With practice, this will communication process.

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Part IV Toolbox

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Leadership That Works

New research suggests that the most effective executives use a collection of distinct leadership styles, each in right measure and at just the right time. Such flexibility is tough to put into action, but it pays off in performance. Better yet, it can be learned. (Daniel Goleman, 2000) Leaders set strategy, motivate, create mission, and build a culture. To sum it up, leaders have one specific job and that is to get the job done. The prevailing question for entrepreneurs is How can I get the job done best? In previous chapters, we have discussed leadership skills and behaviors that are essential to effective performance. We have also described various techniques and avenues for developing skills and for modifying behaviors. These skills, behaviors, and techniques appeal to the intellectual abilities of the leader and have been proven to work in the past.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs But in the recent years, the mystery of what entrepreneurial leaders can and should do to get the best performance from their people has sparked a renewed interest in effective leadership. Experts have made careers of testing and coaching executives, all in pursuit of creating business people who can turn bold objectives be they strategic, financial, organizational, or all three into reality. (Goleman, 2000) New research on effective leadership has found six distinct leadership styles, each springing from different components of emotional intelligence. These styles, individually, appear to have a direct and unique impact on the working climate in the company, division or team and subsequently, on the financial performance. Perhaps, what is more important, the research indicates that leaders who are the best at getting the job done, do not rely on only one leadership style. They use most of them in varying combinations on any day of the week. High impact-leaders are able to sense the challenge ahead, pull out the right tools, and gracefully put them to work. These six leadership styles are common practice to experienced leaders. Coercive leaders demand immediate compliance. Authoritative leaders mobilize people toward a common vision. Affiliative leaders create emotional bonds and harmony. Democratic leaders build consensus through participation. Pacesetting leaders expect excellence and self-

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Leadership That Works direction. Coaching leaders develop people for the future. You probably know colleagues, mentors or former supervisors who use one or more of these leadership types. You most likely use at least one yourself. The concepts alone are not new, but the implications for action are new. There is an understanding of how different leadership styles affect performance and outcome (results). The research offers clear guidance on when a manager should switch between the leadership types. It also suggests that switching flexibility is well advised. Finally, it is apparent that each leadership style comes from different components of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage our relationships and ourselves effectively. It consists of four fundamental capabilities: self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness and social skills. Each capability in turn is composed of specific sets of competencies. Below is a list of the capabilities and their corresponding traits. 18(Goleman)

18

Goleman, Daniel, Leadership that gets Results, Harvard Business Review, March-April 2000, pg. 80-90.

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Self-Awareness
Emotional self-awareness: the ability to read and understand your emotions, as well as recognize their impact on the work performance, relationships, and the like. Accurate self-assessment: a realistic evaluation of your strengths and limitations. Self-confidence: a strong and positive sense of selfworth.

Self-Management
Self-control: the ability to keep disruptive emotions and impulses under control. Trust-worthiness: a consistent display of honesty and integrity. Conscientiousness: the ability to manage yourself and your responsibilities. Adaptability: skill at adjusting to situations and overcoming obstacles. changing

Achievement orientation: the drive to meet an internal standard of excellence.

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Leadership That Works Initiative: a readiness to seize opportunities.

Social Awareness
Empathy: skill at sensing other peoples emotions, understanding their perspectives, and taking an active interest in their concerns. Organizational awareness: the ability to read the currents of organizational life, build decision networks, and navigate politics. Service orientation: the ability to recognize and meet customers needs.

Social Skill
Visionary leadership: the ability to take charge and inspire with a compelling vision. Developing others: the propensity to bolster the abilities of others through feedback and guidance. Communication: skill at listening and at sending clear, convincing, and well-tuned messages. Change agent: proficiency in initiating new ideas and leading people in a new direction.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Conflict management: the ability to de-escalate disagreements and orchestrate resolutions. Building bonds: proficiency at cultivating and maintaining a web of relationships. Teamwork and collaboration: competence at promoting cooperation and building teams.

Measuring Leaderships Impact

It has been more than a decade since leadership experts began linking emotional intelligence to business accomplishments. As a matter of fact, to honor ones emotional connection to business decisions was once viewed as being counter-productive. David McCelland, a psychologist at Harvard University found that leaders with strengths in a critical mass of six or more emotional intelligence competencies were far more effective than peers who lack such strengths. McCelland discovered that executives who lacked emotional intelligence were rarely rated outstanding in their performance reviews, and their departments performed by an average near 20% below others in the group. Recent research has studied the relationship between leadership and emotional intelligence, and organizational climate and performance. Noting specific behaviors and their impact, the researchers were concerned with how each individual leader motivated direct reports and managed change

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Leadership That Works initiatives? How did he or she handle crisis? In the later phase of the study, they identified which emotional intelligence capabilities drive each of the six leadership styles. The six key factors that influence an organizations working environment are: flexibility, (how free do employees feel to innovate); the employees sense of responsibility to the organization; the level of standards that people setup to determine the sense of accuracy about performance feedback and aptness of rewards; the clarity people have about mission and values; and the level of commitment to a common purpose. Six leadership styles were found to have measurable effects on each aspect of the climate. Leaders who used styles with a positive affect had better financial results than those who did not. Of course, economic conditions and competition have an enormous effect on the financial results of a company. But the research suggests that climate accounts for nearly a third of the results.

Leadership Styles:
Leaders use six leadership styles, but only four of the six are considered to have a positive effect on the organizational climate and business results. Each leadership style was from a different component of emotional intelligence. A summary of the styles, their origin, when they work best, and their impact on the organizations climate and performance is as follows:

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Coercive Leadership method of operation Style in phrase Fundamental emotional intelligence competencies When the style works best Demands immediate compliance Do what I tell you. Drive to achieve, initiate, self-control In a crisis, to initiate a turnaround or to deal with problem employees Negative

Impact on the climate

Authoritative Leadership method of operation Style in phrase Fundamental emotional intelligence competencies When the style works best Mobilizes people toward a vision Come with me. Self-confidence, empathy, change agent When changes

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Leadership That Works require a new vision, or when a clear direction is needed Impact on the climate Affiliative Leadership method of operation Creates harmony and builds emotional bonds People come first. Empathy, building relationships, communication To heal fractured relationships of the team or to motivate people during stressful situations. Positive Strongly positive

Style in phrase Fundamental emotional intelligence competencies

When the style works best

Impact on the climate

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Democratic Leadership method of operation Style in phrase Fundamental emotional intelligence competencies Forges consensus through participation What do you think? Collaboration, team leadership, communication To build consensus, or to get input from valuable employees Positive

When the style works best

Overall impact on climate Pacesetting Leadership method of operation Style in phrase Fundamental emotional intelligence competencies

Sets high standards for performance Do as I do, now. Conscientiousness, drive to achieve, initiative

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Leadership That Works When the style works best To get quick results from highlymotivated and competent team Negative Coaching Leadership method of operation Style in phrase Fundamental intelligence competencies Develops people for the future Try this. Emotional, Developing, others,empathy, self-awareness To help an employee improve performance or develop long-term strengths for career advancement. Positive

Overall impact on climate

When the style works best

Overall impact on climate

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Discussion:
It is not difficult to understand why the coercive leadership style is the least effective in most situations. Consider how the style effects the entire organization. These leaders exercise extreme top-down decision making, killing new ideas in mid-air. People feel so disrespected that they stop presenting new projects and their sense of responsibility quickly diminishes. They are unable to act on their own initiative. They lose sense of ownership and no longer feel accountable for their performance. Coercive leadership also damages the reward system. Because most entrepreneurs or high performers are motivated more by satisfaction of work well done, the coercive style erodes such pride. The style undermines the leaders ability to motivate people by showing them how their job fits into a shared mission and common goals. It leaves people alienated from their jobs with a strong sense of apathy. Given the negative impact of coerciveness, you may assume that it should never be applied. However research identified a few occasions when it worked well. Nevertheless, this style should be used with extreme caution and in the few situations when it is absolutely necessary, such as during a turnaround or when a hostile takeover is imminent. In those cases, the coercive style can break detrimental business habits and

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Leadership That Works shock people into new ways of working. It is appropriate during major disasters such as in the aftermath of a hurricane or riot. It is also useful in working with problem employees when all else has failed. But if the coercive style becomes a consistent part of your leadership profile, the long-term sensitivity to the morale and feelings of those you lead will be destroyed. The authoritative style has been effective in every aspect of the climate. Change occurs quickly. There is a remarkable degree of clarity in this style. The leader is a visionary; he motivates people by making clear to them how their work fits into a larger vision for the organization. People who work for such leaders understand that what they do matters and why. Authoritative leaders also maximize commitment to the organizations goals and management strategies. By evaluating each task or assignment in relation to the organizations vision, this leader defines standards that support that vision. The standards and rewards for success are clear to all. An authoritative leader states the end results desired, but generally gives people support and space to innovate, experiment, take risk and devise their own pathway to accomplishments. Although the authoritative style is powerful, it will not work in every situation. The approach fails when working with teams of experts or peers who are more

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs experienced than the leader. The employees will see the leader as being pompous or out-of-touch. Another limitation: if a manager trying to be authoritative becomes overbearing, he or she can undermine the humanitarian spirit of an effective team. The affiliative leadership style revolves around people. Its proponents value individuals and their emotions more than tasks and goals. The affiliative leader strives to keep employees happy and to create harmony among them. He or she manages by building strong emotional bonds and then reaping the benefits of such approach, namely fierce loyalty. The style also has a markedly positive effect on communication. People who like one another a lot talk a lot. They share ideas, and they share inspiration and resources. And this style increases flexibility, friends trust one another allowing habitual innovation and risk-taking. Flexibility also rises because the affiliative leader does not impose unnecessary strictures on how employees get their work done. They give people freedom to do their jobs in the way they think is effective. The affiliative leader offers ample positive feedback as a sense of recognition and reward for work well done. Such feedback has special value in the workplace because most employees get little or no feedback on their day-to-day efforts. This makes the leaders positive words all the more motivating. The affiliative leaders are also masters at building a sense of

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Leadership That Works belonging. They are likely to take their direct reports out for a meal or refreshments, just to see how they are doing. They will bake or order a cake for birthdays or special occasions. They are natural relationship builders. Along with ministering to the emotions of his/her people, an affiliative leader may also tend to his/her own emotions openly. He or she may discuss the illness or death of a family member, recognizing that sharing ones emotional difficulties with co-workers broadens understanding of humanism. The affiliative styles generally positive impact makes it a good all-around approach, but leaders should employ it particularly when trying to build team harmony, increase morale, improve communication, or repair broken trust. For instance, one executive was hired to replace an uncompassionate leader. The new executive managed to mend the situation by showing emotional honesty and rebuilding ties. After several months, the leader created a renewed sense of commitment and energy. Despite its benefits, the affiliative style should not be used alone. The exclusive focus on praise can allow poor performance to go uncorrected; employees may perceive that mediocrity is tolerated. And because affiliative leaders rarely offer constructive advice on how to improve, employees must figure out how to do

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs so on their own. When people need clear directives to navigate through complex challenges, the affiliative style leaves them defenseless. Many affiliative leaders use this style in close conjunction with the authoritative style. Authoritative leaders state a vision, set standards, and let people know how their work is furthering the groups goals. Alternate that with the caring, nurturing approach of the affiliative leaders, and you have a potent combination. The democratic leadership style focuses on getting peoples ideas and agreements. A leader builds trust, respect and commitment. By letting workers participate in making decisions that affect their goals and how they do their work, the democratic leader drives up flexibility and responsibility. And by listening to employees concerns, the democratic leaders learn what to do to keep morale high. Finally, because they participate in setting their goals and the standards for evaluating success, people operating in a democratic system tend to be very realistic about what can and cannot be accomplished. However, the democratic style has its disadvantages. One of the most aggravating consequences can be the endless meetings where ideas are mulled over, consensus remains elusive, and the only visible result in scheduling more meetings. Some democratic leaders use the style to postpone crucial decisions, hoping that

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Leadership That Works enough thrashing things out will eventually yield a blind insight. In reality, their people end up feeling confused and leaderless. Such an approach can even intensify conflicts. This approach is ideal when a leader is uncertain about the best direction to take and needs ideas and guidance from able employees. Even if the leader has a strong vision, the democratic style works well to generate fresh ideas for executing that vision. The democratic style makes much less sense when employees are not competent or informed enough to offer sound advice. Consensus building does not work in times of crisis. The pacesetting style, like the coercive style, has its place in the leaders repertory, but it should be used sparingly. The leader sets extremely high performance standards and also exemplifies them. That person is obsessive about doing things better and faster, and he asks the same of everyone around him. He or she quickly pinpoints poor performers and demands more from them. If they dont rise to the occasion, they are replaced with people who can. You would think such an approach would improve results, but it doesnt. In fact, the pacesetting style destroys the climate. Many employees feel overwhelmed by the pacesetter's demands for excellence, and their morale drops. Guidelines for working may be clear in the leaders

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs head, but they are not clearly stated and he or she expects people to know what to do and even thinks, If I have to tell you, youre the wrong person for the job. Work becomes not a matter of doing ones best along a clear course, so much as second-guessing what the leader wants. At the same time, people often feel that the pacesetter doesnt trust them to work in their own way or to take initiative. Flexibility and responsibility evaporate; work becomes so task-focused and routine that it becomes boring. As for rewards, the pacesetter either gives no feedback on how people are doing or jumps in to take over when he thinks they are lagging. And if the leader should leave, people feel that they are without direction. They have become so dependent on the expert to set the rules. Finally, commitments diminish under the leadership of a pacesetter because people have no sense of how their personal efforts fit into the big picture. The emotional intelligence of the leader is injured as well. When faced with the tasks of expanding and articulating the vision, coordinating the projects, delegating responsibilities, and helping develop others, the pacesetting leader is lost. Not trusting that subordinates are capable to do the job, the pacesetter becomes a micro-manager, obsessed with details and taking over for others when their performance is lacking. This leader ends up working nights and weekends to do the jobs of several team members.

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Leadership That Works The pacesetting style works well for leaders of highly skilled, competent and self-motivated professionals who need little direction or coordination. Yet like any leadership style, pacesetting should never be used by itself. In the coaching style a leader functions as a counselor most of the time. He or she listens to the employees and is concerned with their growth and advancement. Coaches Recognize the talents of their employees and help them identify their unique strengths and weaknesses and commit them to their personal and career aspirations. Encourage employees to establish long-term development goals and help them conceptualize a plan for attaining them. Make agreements with their employees about their role and responsibilities in enacting development plans and they give plentiful instruction and feedback. Excel by delegating; they give employees challenging assignments, even if that means the tasks wont be accomplished quickly. In other words, these leaders are willing to put up with short-term failure to gain long-term learning. Of the six styles, the coaching style is used least often. Many leaders believe that they do not have the time in this high-pressure economy for the slow and

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs tedious work of teaching people and helping them grow. But after the initial session, it takes little or no extra time to coach an employee. Leaders who ignore this style are passing up a valuable tool. Its impact on the emotional climate of the organization is powerful. Like other leadership styles, there appear to be contradictory qualities in coaching and its positive effects on business because it focuses primarily on personal development, and not on the immediate workrelated tasks. Nevertheless, coaching improves results. The reason it requires constant dialogue, is because dialogue has a way of elevating the emotional climate. When employees know that the boss is watching their performance and cares about them personally, they feel free to experiment. The on-going dialogue and constructive feedback guarantees that people know what is expected of them and how their work fits into a larger vision or strategy. That affects responsibility and clarity. As for commitment, coaching helps there, too, because the styles implicit message is I am counting on you. I believe that you can do the job. Employees will embrace the challenge with dedication and a devoted spirit. The coaching style works well in many business situations, but it is perhaps most effective when employees are already aware of their weaknesses and would like to improve their performance and when employees realize how cultivating new abilities can help them advance. To put it briefly, coaching works

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Leadership That Works best with employees who want to be coached. By contrast, the coaching style makes little sense when employees are resistant to learning or changing their ways. They are likely to perceive coaching as being overbearing. Coaching is ineffective if the leader lacks the experience (maturity) and expertise to help the employee. In fact, many leaders are inefficient when it comes to providing on-going performance feedback that motivates rather than creates fear or apathy. Entrepreneurs who realize the positive impact of this style should make it a core competency. Some companies believe that coaching has such a positive effect on their financial status that a significant portion of annual salaries and bonuses are tied to an executives ability to develop direct reports.

Leaders Need Many Styles

Many studies, including the one conducted by Goleman, have shown that sustainable leadership requires the mastery of more than one leadership style. Leaders who have mastered four or more especially the authoritative, democratic, affiliative, and coaching styles have the very best climate and business performance. And the most effective leaders switch among the leadership styles as needed. For the new and entrepreneurial leaders switching between multiple styles may be a bit intimidating. But it is practiced in both large and small start-up companies by experienced

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs veterans who understand exactly how and why they lead, and by entrepreneurs who claim to lead instinctively. With well-developed leadership skills, entrepreneurs will not need to mechanically match their styles to fit a checklist of situations. Since each leadership opportunity is related to a new and sometimes vastly different situation, the leader will be flexible and fluid. They will be sensitive to the impact that they have on others and smoothly adjust their styles to get the best results. These are the leaders who can read in the first moments of a conversation that a talented and underperforming employee has been demoralized by an unsympathetic, do it the way I tell you manager. They seek opportunities to inspire employees and help them realize the importance of their work. The leader may choose to reenergize the employee by asking him or her about his or her dreams and aspirations and finding ways to make the job more challenging. Or the initial conversation may clearly indicate that the employee needs an ultimatum to improve his or her performance.

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Turn-around Leadership in Action:

The leader must have a clear directive and flexibility in his or her leadership styles. Faced with an objective to turn the division around and remove all regulatory contingencies, there is likely to be a short period of time to demonstrate effective leadership and to establish rapport and trust. There is an immediate need to gather information about what has been tried and what is not working, so the first task is to listen to key people. A one-on-one business or luncheon meeting with each member of the management team, in a relaxed atmosphere, is an easy way to gather information and share independent ideas. The leader must be certain to get every persons understanding of the current situation with the main focus being on getting to know each manager as a person. The affiliative leadership style is used to explore their lives, dreams and aspirations. At this point, it is comfortable to step into the coaching role and look for ways to help the team members achieve what they want in their careers. For instance, one manager had been placed in the executive leadership role several times on a temporary basis, but was never granted the position on a permanent basis. The team member confided that he felt that he had been misused and he was highly disappointed. As a

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs matter of fact, he was ready to leave the organization after 20 years of employment. Recognizing that he was a talented administrator and a valuable asset to the profession, the leader made an agreement with him to support his efforts in making a career transition, and to point out (in private) when his action undermined his goals. Coaching allowed the talented administrator to focus more on gaining the educational experience (a masters degree), and networking, instead of focusing on the problems of his current job. After 12 months of support at this level, he was gainfully employed at a prosperous company in the area. The individual conversations may be followed with a three-day off-site meeting. The goal here is team building, so that everyone would own whatever solution was identified for the business problems. This step provides an opportunity to use the democratic leadership style. Everyone is encouraged to freely express his or her frustrations and complaints. On the second day, the focus is placed on the solutions. Each person makes three specific proposals about what should be done. As the suggestions are clustered, a natural consensus emerges about business priorities such as: improving quality, cutting costs and improving customer service. As consensus is formed on specific actions, the group becomes committed. With that vision in place, the leader may shift into the

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Leadership That Works authoritative style, assigning accountability for each follow-up step to specific managers and holding them responsible for their accomplishments. Over the next several months, the main style is authoritative. The leader continues to articulate the groups new directions and vision, reminding each member how his or her role is crucial to the achievement of the goals. During the first few weeks of the plans implementation, an occasional shift to the coercive style is justified should someone fail to be accountable. Insist on follow-up. It takes discipline and focus to make things happen. The results every aspect of the climate improves. People are innovative and exuberant. They begin verbalizing the divisions vision and boasting about their commitment to new, clear goals. The ultimate proof of this dynamic leadership style is an official report that the company is in compliance with regulatory agencies and all contingencies are removed.

The Entrepreneurs Repertory

Few entrepreneurs have all six styles in their repertory, and even fewer know when and how to use them. This chapter has been written in exceptional detail to support the learning process. In the meantime, you can build a management team with members who have mastered the style you lack or the style that

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs causes the greatest discomfort. If your time is totally consumed by meeting with people, attending to their concerns and letting them know how much you care about them personally, you may want to delegate authoritative and pacesetting styles to other capable team mates. The alternative approach, that I recommend more, is for entrepreneurs to expand their own style repertories. To do so, leaders must first understand which emotional intelligence competencies (skills) support the leadership styles they are lacking. They can then work diligently to increase their skill levels for each style.Leadership will never be an exact science, but it should not be a mystery to those who conscientiously practice it. With new research in the field, entrepreneurs can get a picture of what it takes to be an effective leader. The business environment is continually changing and leaders must be able to use the right tools, in the right measure and in the right situation. The tribute is in the results (Goleman).

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The Art of Listening

Business is tied together by its systems of communication. This communication depends more on the spoken word than it does on the written word, and the effectiveness of the spoken word hinges not so much on how people talk, as it does on how people listen. Leaders spend more than 80% of their time listening to people in face-to-face or telephone conversations, and still dont hear what is said.

Untapped Leadership Potential

It has been stated, with no qualifications, that people in general do not know how to listen. They have ears that hear very well but seldom have they acquired the necessary auricular skills needed for effective listening. In fact, after we have barely learned from what we hear, we tend to forget from one-half to one-third of it within eight hours; it is startling to realize that frequently we forget more in this first short interval than we do in the

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs next six months. (Nichols and Stevens, 1983). Behind this widespread inability to listen, lies a major oversight in our system of classroom instruction. We have focused attention on reading, considering it the primary medium by which we learn, and we have practically forgotten the art of listening. About six years are devoted to formal reading instructions in our school systems. Little emphasis is placed on speaking, and almost no attention has been given to the skill of listening, strange as this may be in view of the fact that so much lecturing is done in college. Listening training if it can be called training has often consisted of a series of admonitions extending from the first grade through college: Pay attention! Now get this! Open your ears! Listen! Certainly, educators recognize the value of good listening skills. But we have been faced with several false assumptions, which have blocked the teaching of listening in formal education. For example: 1) We have assumed that the ability to listen depends largely on intelligence. There is no doubt that low intelligence may affect ones ability to listen, but a poor listener is not necessarily an unintelligent person. To be good listeners, we must apply certain skills that are acquired through either experience or training. If a person has not acquired listening skills, his ability to understand and retain what he hears

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The Art of Listening will be low. This can happen to people with both high and low levels of intelligence. 2) We have assumed that learning to read will automatically teach one to listen. While some of the skills acquired through reading may apply to listening, the assumption is invalid. Listening is a different activity from reading and requires different skills. Research has shown that reading and listening skills do not improve at the same rate when only reading is taught. As acceptable readers and poor listeners, the typical entrepreneurial leader enters a society where the requirements to listen are about three times greater than reading. 3) Educators are realizing that listening is a skill that can be taught. In high schools and some universities throughout the country, courses in listening are being taught. Courses in listening are taught in adult education classes made mostly of business and professional people. These groups have some of the highest gains in listening ability of any noted.

Ways to Improve Listening Skills

Any activity that will lead to an improvement in listening skills should do two things: 1) Build awareness of the factors or barriers that affect listening ability. 2) Build the kind of aural experience that can produce good listening habits.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Concentration while listening is a greater problem than concentration during any other form of personal communication. Basically, the difficulty is due to the fact that we think much faster than we can talk. This means that, when we listen, we ask our brain to receive words at a much slower pace compared to its capabilities. It seems logical to slow down our thinking while listening to the average 125 word-per-minute speech rates, but slowing down thought processes is very difficult thing to do. When we listen, we continue thinking at a high speed while the spoken words arrive at a low speed. In the act of listening, the differential between thinking and speaking rates mean that our brains process hundreds of words in addition to those we hear, assembling thoughts other than those spoken to us. To phrase it another way, we can listen and still have some spare time for thinking. The use or misuse of this spare thinking time holds the answer to how well a person can concentrate on the spoken word.

Rules for Good Reception

Good listeners regularly engage in four mental activities, each geared to the oral discussion and taking place concurrently with that discussion. All four of these mental activities are neatly coordinated when listening works at its best. They tend to direct a maximum amount of thought to the message being

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The Art of Listening received, leaving a minimum amount of time for mental digression or sidetracks leading away from the talkers thought. Hear are the four processes: 1) The listener thinks ahead of the talker trying to anticipate what the oral discourse is leading to and what conclusions will be drawn from the words spoken at the moment. 2) The listener weighs the evidence used by the talker to support the points that he makes. Is this evidence valid? the listener asks himself. Is it the complete evidence? 3) Periodically the listener reviews and mentally summarizes the point(s) of the talk completed thus far. 4) Throughout the talk, the listener listens between the lines in search for meanings that are not necessarily put into words. He listens for what he has not heard. He pays attention to nonverbal communication (facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice) to see if it adds meaning to the spoken words. He asks himself, Is the talker purposely skirting some area of the subject? Why is he doing so? The speed at which we think, compared to the speed at which people talk, allows plenty of time to accomplish these four mental tasks when we listen. However, they do require practice before they can

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs become a part of the mental alertness that makes for good listening.

Listening for Ideas

Another factor that affects listening ability is related to the reconstruction of the orally communicated thoughts once the listener has received them. Many people take great pride in being able to say that, above all, they try to get the facts when they listen. Therefore, they try to memorize every single fact that is spoken, and that is the beginning of a very bad listening habit. Memorizing facts is virtually impossible for most people in the listening situation. As one fact is being memorized, the whole or part of the next fact is almost certain to be missed. When he is doing his very best, the listener is likely to catch only a few facts and completely miss the remainder. When people speak, they want listeners to understand the ideas. Grasping ideas is the skill on which the good listener concentrates. That person remembers facts only long enough to understand the ideas that are built from them. Grasping an idea will help the listener remember the supporting facts more effectively than the person who goes after the facts alone. This listening skill is one which people can build experience, which leads in turn toward improvement of aural communication.

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Emotional Filters
In different degrees and ways, listening abilities are affected by our emotions. When someone says what we want to hear or what we rather not hear, listening becomes selective. This means that our emotions act as filters for what we hear. If we hear something that opposes our most deeply rooted prejudices, notions, convictions, mores, or complexes, our brain may become over stimulated and not go in a direction that leads to good listening. We mentally plan a rebuttal to what we hear, formulate a question designed to embarrass the speaker, or perhaps simply turn to thoughts that support our own feelings on the subject at hand. When emotions make listening too easy, it usually results from hearing something that supports the deeply rooted inner feelings that we hold. When we hear such support, our mental barriers are dropped and everything is welcomed. We ask few questions about what we hear; our critical faculties are put out of commission by our emotions. Thinking drops to a minimum because we are hearing thoughts that we have harbored for years in support of our inner feelings. It is good to hear someone else think those thoughts, so we lazily enjoy the whole experience. What can we do about emotional filters?

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs (1) Withhold evaluation This is one of the most important principles of learning, especially learning through the ear. It requires self-control, and with persistent practice, it can become a valuable listening habit. While listening, the main object is to comprehend each point made by the talker. Judgments and decisions should be reserved until after the talker has finished. Once that person has finished talking, review his or her main ideas and assess them. (2) Hunt for negative evidence When listening, it is human to go on a militant search for evidence that proves us right in what we believe. Seldom do we make a search for evidence to prove ourselves wrong. The latter type of effort is not easy, for behind its application must lie a generous spirit and real breadth of outlook. However, an important part of listening comprehension is found in the search for negative evidence in what we here. If we make up our minds to seek out the ideas that might prove us wrong, as well as those that might prove us right, we are less in danger of missing what people have to say.

Benefits in Business
The improvement of listening, or making leaders aware of how important their listening ability is, can be a great asset in todays business. A failure to hear and understand what others are saying can be costly. Such

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The Art of Listening things as numbers, dates, places, and names are especially easy to confuse. When listening mistakes are compounded, the resulting cost and inefficiency in business communication becomes serious. Building awareness of the importance of listening among employees can eliminate a large percentage of this type of error. What do we gain from better listening?

a) Less Paper Work.

Better listening leads to a more efficient economy of communication. Incidents created from poor listening cause leaders to fear oral communication. As a result, they insist that more communication be put in writing. The smallest detail becomes a memorandum. Paper documents pile up and are seldom read in a timely fashion. Likewise, a lot of written communication is disseminated electronically, exposing the company to massive communication channels within and outside of the company. In a competitive and legalistic business environment, less writing and more speaking would be advisable. Writing and reading are much slower forms of communication than speaking and listening. They require more personnel, more equipment, and more space than do speaking and listening. Few people ever feel it is safe to throw away a written communication;

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs so filing equipment is needed along with someone to file it. In oral communication there are more human senses at work than in the visual; and if there is good listening, more can often be communicated in one message. Perhaps the most important of all is the give-and-take feature of oral communication. If the listener does not understand a message, he has the opportunity to straighten matters out then and there.

b) Upward Communication
The skill of listening becomes extremely important when we talk about upward Communication. There are many avenues through which leaders can send messages downward through a business organization, but there are few avenues for movement of information in the upward direction. Perhaps the most obvious of the upward avenues is the human chain of people talking to people. Information travels from one employee to another through informal communication networks until the information reaches the top. This communication chain has potential, but it seldom works well because it is full of bad listeners. It is unrealistic to communication process problems, but there is communication cannot be assume that the upward can take place without no reason to think that improved by better listening.

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The Art of Listening To facilitate upward communication, the first steps must be made by top management. Better listening on the leaders part can stimulate the upward flow of information.

Human Relations
People at all levels in the organization should feel free to talk to their supervisors and upper management, and to know that they will be met with sympathetic understanding. But, too many leaders who announce that their door is always open to all, fail to listen, therefore, the employees do not say what they want to say. They fail to talk about important matters that should be aired for both parties. When issues remain closed, they may become the monsters that return to haunt the leader who fails to listen. Listening is only one phase of human relations. It will not solve many problems by itself. Yet, there is no doubt that better listening skills can lead to a reduction in tension and friction that stress many organizations today.

In Conference
The most important affairs in business are conducted around the conference table. A great deal has been said and written about how to talk at a conference, how to compromise, how to get problem-centered, and how to cope with certain types of individuals. All of these things can be very important, but too frequently the

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs experts forget to say, First and foremost you must learn to listen at a conference. The basic reasons for having a conference is to allow people to get together to contribute their different viewpoints, knowledge, and experience to members of the group. If there is far more talking than listening at a conference, the oral contributions made to the group are hardly worth the breath required to produce them. Improved listening at any conference is certain to facilitate the exchange of ideas so important to overall success. It also offers many other advantages. For example, when participants do a good job of listening, the conference is more likely to remain centered on the problem at hand and less likely to go off on irrelevant tangents. The leader can take the first steps toward improved conference listening. If the leader will simply make an opening statement calling attention to the importance of listening, he or she is likely to increase the participants aural response. And if the leader does a good job of listening, he or she stands the chance of being imitated by others in the group.

Summary
Communication involves both sending and receiving information. Leaders become receivers during the communication process, so they must master the art of

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The Art of Listening listening. Leaders allow others to take the initiative when they become listeners. Many leaders find listening difficult because they must take a back seat to someone else. Leaders embrace this role when appropriate, because they know that good listening advances their leadership within the organization. Leaders also overcome the problem of evaluative listening, which means listening in order to disagree with, rebut, or diminish the speaker. Effective leaders put themselves in the speakers frame of reference by mastering the following elements of listening: 1) Pay Complete Attention. The average person can hear information four to six times faster than the normal speaking speed. Becoming distracted is easy to do given these statistics. Leaders who are effective listeners do not get sidetracked. They give their whole attention to the speaker to ensure that the message does not get lost. Full attention involves more than mental alertness. Leaders pay attention to facial expressions, gestures, and postures as part of the listening process. The leader may also give positive feedback to the speaker, assuring that person that he or she is being listened to.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs 2) Listen for the Underlying Message and Idea. Good listeners can cut through the surface layers of the communication process, and listen to the meaning embedded in the words and gestures, understanding the underlying message and ideas. Leaders focus on whether the communication is basically intellectual or emotional by attending to phrases or expressions used by the speaker. You can also observe the connotation or the gestures and other nonverbal elements of the communicator. For example, deep sighs, a pointed finger, a clenched fist, or rolls of the eyes suggest the underlying meaning of the message is emotional. 3) Listen for What is Not Said. At times the message is contained in the pauses, the silences, and the omissions. Leaders read between the lines to hear what is not said. For example, a long pause after a question about how well a project is going clearly says something. Perhaps the speaker has little factual information or has bad news about the projects progress, or perhaps the speaker doesnt know where to begin to describe the projects results. The leader tunes into the silence and pursues its meaning with a question or comment.

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4) Listen Encouragingly.
An encouraging listener wants the speaker to get his or her message across. Leaders who listen encouragingly avoid the temptation to jump in and interrupt. Leaders use self-discipline to let the other person make his or her point. Simply being silent often helps the other person formulate the message so that it can be delivered successfully. 5) Listen to Learn The communication interchange serves both parties best when it is a learning experience. The skillful listener can learn a great deal about the speaker. Leaders know that every time they listen to another that person reveals more about himself or herself as a speaker or leader. Leaders can also learn something by noting their own reactions to attack, criticism, praise, and flattery. Finally, leaders can learn a great deal about the relationship between themselves and the speaker from how frank they are with one another. One considers whether and to what extent either party feels a need to be defensive, and what the sensitive areas are that one or the other tends to avoid and why.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs 6) Listen to Given Feedback Feedback means letting the speaker know how you feel about what is said. Feedback is given to benefit the speaker and listener and should be based on mutual trust. Effective feedback is specific and is given when the speaker is ready to accept it. Feedback also addresses something that the speaker is able to change or improve.

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Essential Behaviors

Effective leadership can be understood and measured on three levels: performance, survival and development. Performance is what we typically think about when we consider effectiveness; it is the productive output in terms of decisions or solutions. The ultimate responsibility of a leader in a capitalistic society is to lead the company to financial profitability. A person who does not perceive himself as a successful performer may not want or be able to survive regardless of actual performance. Indicators of survival include the leader's beliefs about his leadership potential and the level of success that will be satisfying to him. Finally, the leader must develop (grow). For entrepreneurs, both survival and development are key components of leadership effectiveness.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

The Impact of Emotions on Leadership Effectiveness

The leader who is engaged in tasks directs personal attention towards work and not toward the people who should be performing the work. Entrepreneurs often have emotional attachments to the duties or activities that have led to their success. The entrepreneur has a problem watching someone else make a mess out of a task that they could easily do in a fraction of the time. Furthermore, he or she may be possessive of their highperformance skills (ownership) and don't really want to share it with others. Handing over the responsibility for a successful outcome to others, and standing by and letting them do things their way, is a test of the leader's faith in other people and in his or her ability to lead. The painful process of giving up valuable skills and the associated gratification means surrendering the pleasures of one's professional life. This is also one of the primary reasons entrepreneurs abandon their leadership roles and responsibilities. The third emotional impact is related to the problem of competitiveness. Most entrepreneurs are extremely competitive and to watch others develop abilities or reach levels of superior performance may be devastating. Letting go of past experience means letting others become experts and hence the best.

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Essential Behaviors Finally, there is the emotional problem of learning a new job and assuming the overwhelming responsibility of leadership. As a leader you will decide where the organization should go (vision), secure agreements from the employees who then become partners in the game of success, and keep the company on tract. Learning this new job means moving out of your comfort zone to an unpredictable, unknown environment. It means learning the art of leadership (Firnstahl, 1986). Fortunately, the entrepreneur in the leadership position has no choice but to move forward and make the transition from entrepreneur (specialist) to leader. He or she has to find satisfaction in doing the things that leaders do. To ease the transition, we have identified successful approaches. They may not eliminate the trauma inherent in delegating, but they may make the change less fearful.

Recruit the Best People and Keep Them.

Good people are hard to find and they are even harder to keep. With limited financial resources, new companies find it difficult to attract top-notch people because expertise comes with a hefty price. But if the company's survival and growth depend on mature judgment, then having the best decision-makers on board is essential. Recruiting a quality work force is difficult in periods of low unemployment and increased competition for employees. The Internet, magazines and newspapers are crowded with employment

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs opportunities but these methods of recruiting can be unreliable. After all, most qualified people are already working. An effective recruitment method is the use of the industry's network. Vendors and suppliers who frequent your company know the good people in the business, and they also know if these people are looking for challenging positions. You may also use industry seminars and trade shows to reach the kind of applicants suited for your company. At seminars and trade shows you will find ambitious people more interested in improving themselves rather than their bank accounts. The use of professional recruitment firms (headhunters) is expensive, but is considered to be one of the best ways to recruit top-quality people. Let the recruitment firm know exactly what you are looking for and what you have to offer. First, describe the job and its benefits, including the salary package. For a fee, the firm will search for qualified applicants. More than 80% of the people called are likely to talk about the job, provide new information about the industry and provide contact information for other candidates. The next step is the interview process. Interested candidates will come for an interview, to find out more about the challenges your company offers. For key people, conduct the interview in an open

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Essential Behaviors conversation over a two or three month period. Remember you are selling your company and want to provide and receive enough information to help you and the applicant make the correct decisions. The interview process allows both parties to examine each other's expectations. Emphasis should be placed on the problems, as well as the strengths of the company. People appreciate candor and honesty. Good candidates welcome a challenge. After all, management is mostly problem solving. It is helpful to have one meeting with the candidates for executive positions, (lunch or dinner) which include the spouse and teenage children. A job change or relocation is a major event, and the involvement of the family members is important. If the spouse and teenagers support the employment opportunity, the likelihood of the applicant's acceptance of the position is greater. Don't be apprehensive about recruiting employees who are older and more experienced than you. Seasoned and talented employees are not interested in the leadership position. They are also better equipped to take the position that you reluctantly let go. Some of the best leadership qualities and problem solving abilities are gained from mentoring provided by experienced subordinates. There is one more important point about recruiting and keeping the best people. Whenever possible, you should acknowledge and promote current employees. Large companies can promote from

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs within, while small or newly established companies may lack a pool of talented people ready for promotion. Nevertheless, the practice of internal promotions is a characteristic of good management.

Practice "what and why" administration.

In start up companies, the vision is usually the entrepreneurs'. They have a clear idea about their product and the services that they want to offer. They like to be in all places at all times, taking care of every minute detail. Hands-on management does not allow the staff to mature and participate in the growth of the company. The entrepreneur becomes a "boss" who usurps the employees' power and responsibilities. What is worse, people often perform well when they know that the boss is right there. They become insecure and perform poorly when the boss is away. This is the basis for the "what and why" management style. Employees cannot perform as expected without training and without a complete understanding of their work assignments. Instructions must be behaviorally oriented. Each task is demonstrated; the employee returns the demonstration and practice. The leader or instructor provides feedback until the employee reaches the desired skills level. The key to success is total focus on the task to be performed. It may be helpful at this point to develop performance standards that provide the actions and behaviors required. Performance standards may be used as an evaluation tool for managers or as a

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Essential Behaviors reference tool for employees who are seeking continuous improvement. The "why" part of this management style is vital, because it promotes value and adds quality to the performance standards. Employees are most likely to be motivated when they understand why they should behave in a certain manner. We all want to believe in what we are doing. We want to know the importance of our work. Knowing the reasons why we perform certain tasks or behave in a particular manner satisfies our need to know and helps us internalize (remember) them. At the close of the explanation period, the leader confirms the employees' understanding by asking, "Does it make sense to you? Do you agree?" If the answers to these questions are no, give the employees an opportunity to discuss their reasoning. An open and mutually educational discussion takes advantage of the creative power of the entire crew. In most instances, the group comes up with new and sometimes better ways of getting things done. It is true that "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line", but the "position of the points" determines the direction of the line. Challenging the status quo and creative thinking can change the position of the points. Redirection of the leader's thoughts does not take place in a "hands-on" management style. The scrutiny inherent in "what and

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs why" management, can replace "one-way directives" with more thoughtful processes. Sometimes open discussions do not produce an answer that is acceptable to the entrepreneur. No amount of dialogue can change your vision of how things should be. In this case, you should exercise the "leader's option" to move the crew into uncharted waters. You should be honest about your feelings and say, "I assume total responsibility for the course I have set. I need your full support. Your trust in me is an important part of this journey, and it is your responsibility to help me navigate our way to success."

Learn to Think Realistically.

Over the years you will hire and keep many competent people. You will have given up the cherished activities and found gratification in your leadership role. Perhaps you are asking, " Is this all there is to it? What's next?" No, that is not all that there is to your role as a leader. Now you have time to think. As previously discussed, your company cannot move ahead without a clear picture of where it is going. Once the leader has envisioned the organization's future, he or she can share the vision with others. Shared visions create the driving force for growth. Critical thinking is more than reading, meeting, routine reporting, listening, observing or solving problems. It begins with finding a time, place or environment apart from all other

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Essential Behaviors leadership responsibilities, to be reflective and focused. Critical thinking is simply letting your mind call up ideas not previously considered, without judging the plausibility of the idea. It is a 'one person' brainstorming exercise. When allowed, one's mind does so with remarkable confidence. In a creative sense, thinking is dreaming about the organization's future. It is the ability to see tomorrow and mentally construct the ideal state. It is the ability to get excited about future possibilities. For many entrepreneurs, the idea of sitting quietly and thinking is alien, especially when a full free day is waiting for the taking. Yet it is essential to discipline yourself to use your time to plan future survival and growth strategies. Faced with such awesome responsibilities, you should relish your thinking time and protect it from invasions. Take the time to work out answers to "What's next? What will the next level of service or next generation of products be? What will the future management structure look like? What remaining cherished role can I let go? Whom can I groom for my replacement? How are society and the business climate changing and how will these changes affect the company? How will the company's future be financed? The questions can go on and on. Answers to these questions must be generated. That is what thinking is all about. And if the leader doesn't think about these things, who will? Critical thinking, envisioning or dreaming the future is not silliness. The brain-staining

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs and brain-draining toil, the demanding work of constructing your company's ideal state and ascertaining the steps required in achieving it, are the essence of leadership. In fact it is what entrepreneurs do best.

The Strategic Thinking Process (STP)

Certainly environmental factors are important and leaders must respond. However, we think that leaders do have a decisive role in shaping the destiny of their organizations. They can and should take a proactive stance, anticipate future environmental changes, and develop adaptive, innovative systems to meet contingencies. A proactive strategy requires a view to the future rather than reflection on the past. The strategists primary task is to ensure a strategic alignment between the organization and its environment. This alignment process involves two functions: (1) matching the organizations competencies with the demands of the environment, and (2) arranging internal structures and processes so that other people can come up with creative strategic alternatives and develop new competencies to meet the challenges of the future.

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Essential Behaviors

Guidelines for the Strategic Thinking Process are as follows:

1) View thinking as a strategy. Thinking is the best way to resolve difficulties and solve problems. Maintain faith in your ability to think your way out of a difficult situation. Recognize the differences between worrying and thinking. Worrying is repetitive needless analysis of a problem, while thinking is generating solutions. Convert worrying into thinking by making a list of troubling situations and jotting down possible problem-solving strategies. Schedule large blocks of uninterrupted time. Because thinking takes time, it must be scheduled. Select a block of time during periods when you are at your best. Some leader schedule time on Monday's after a weekend of rest, recreation and restoration. Others prefer to do their serious thinking early in the morning and in places other than their office. If there is a lot to think about, you should schedule an entire week for that purpose.

2)

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs 3) Stay focused on relevant topics. Search your mind until it produces the quality thinking you need. The ideas are there, you just need to seek out them out. The ability to concentrate may be difficult, since dreaming calls for mental freedom, but concentration is equally important to problem solving. Record and save your thoughts. Ideas are the delicate product of your work. They should be recorded, sorted, saved and evaluated. Try recording your thoughts, writing them on cards, in a journal and/or putting them in a computer file. Keep the ideas mobile and available for quick review. Maintain topic files to collect material to support each idea. Files of ideas about the company's future are your most important storage of information. (Firnstahl)

4)

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How to Stay on Top of the Job

In the previous section, you learned how to let go and make the transition from task ownership to leadership and why this transition is vital to the survival of your company and to your success as a leader. In this section we will help you stay on top of the job after you have given up some of your most gratifying experiences. Entrepreneurs learn to let go (to delegate effectively) by acknowledging the fact that the move from task ownership to leadership is an emotional and painful experience. But the pain can be eased by recruiting superior performers, using what they know to assist you in making management decisions, letting their questions lead to new answers and better ways of getting the job done, and increasing your time for strategic thinking. These rules are simple and they foster company growth. (Firnstahl, 1986) The transition from task ownership to leadership requires that entrepreneurs learn how to delegate tasks

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs and responsibilities for getting things done to someone else. The plain fact is that some leaders learn to delegate successfully and others do not. The differences in the practice of delegation indicate that there is a great deal of confusion over the meaning of delegation as a management tool. Delegation is a process by which the leaders establish certain objectives and allow the subordinate, co-worker or consultant to determine the best ways to achieve these objectives within specified constraints. Through delegation, the leader has less influence over the decision than he does over any other leadership responsibility. His or her influence is limited to the guidelines established when responsibility is given. Leaders can delegate responsibility to another person (let go of the task), but leaders cannot delegate accountability for the outcome. The leader, not the subordinate, has the full obligation for getting the job done. To delegate, and at the same time, remember who is truly accountable, requires self-discipline. Another point of reference to delegation is the subordinates reactions to the delegation process. Many people (especially entrepreneurs) welcome delegation and find it satisfying, while others find it easier to take orders than to make decisions themselves. Persons who lack self-confidence, who lack knowledge and expertise, who fear failure, and have a low need for achievement and independence are not likely to respond favorably to delegation.

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How to Stay on Top of the Job Subordinates may also resist delegation of greater responsibility and authority if they feel already over burdened with work. They may resist delegation if they lack essential resources such as: information, time, staff and money to carry out the additional responsibilities effectively (Yukl, 1981). Due to the complexity of delegation as a leadership function, several leading authors offer advice on the subject. Important and fundamental points include: 1) Determining how much authority is necessary. After assigning responsibility for specific activities, a leader should determine how much authority is needed by the employee to carry out these responsibilities. Insuring comprehension. When delegating, the leader should make sure that the employee clearly understands new responsibilities and role requirements. Ample time should be allowed to meet with the employee to explain new duties, define the project scope and limitations; and to clarify goals and objectives.

2)

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs 3) Obtaining employee acceptance of responsibilities. The leader should be certain that the employee explicitly express acceptance of the new responsibility and authority. It may be useful to combine the delegation process with joint decision making on performance goals and career goals for the employee, as in management-by-objectives. Monitoring employee progress. The leader should arrange for regular meetings and reports to monitor the subordinates performance in the new role. These checks should be fairly frequent in the beginning, but as the subordinate demonstrates competence and develops confidence, these meetings can become less frequent. Providing assistance and psychological support. The leader should provide any necessary assistance to the employee, including resources, technical information, coaching, advice and psychological support (e.g., praise, expression of confidence, encouragement). The need for assistance can be determined from

4)

5)

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How to Stay on Top of the Job reports, meetings, and observations. During the early learning period, it is important to be supportive rather than critical when an employee encounters difficulties or make mistakes. The leader should be sensitive to the possible problems an employee may encounter in handling the new role. The employee who needs assistance or support may be unwilling to request it for fear of appearing weak or incompetent. 6) Discourage excessive dependence. Some employees will try to reduce their doubts and anxieties about their new role by continually asking the manager to review their decisions, or even to make the final decisions for them. Leaders should avoid actions that support an overly dependent relationship. When providing assistance and advice, resist the temptation to take a dominant role in the delegated activity. If necessary, employees should be encouraged to act on independent decisions.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Summary: Turning things over to others (delegating) forces the entrepreneur to move from the role of the technical specialist and behave more as a generalist. This may call for a great leap of faith. It means that the entrepreneur becomes a leader, and leaders dont have precise job or task definition impact on the business climate. Delegation differs in several ways from other forms of leadership activities. It is a useful tool for reducing overload on a leader, enriching an employees job, developing managerial skills, and influencing employment commitment. Depending on the situation, delegation may or may not increase the decision quality, but it is most likely to lead to other benefits for the company. Despite the potential benefits of delegation to leaders and to the company, some leaders fail to delegate due to a lack of confidence in their employees, a lack of confidence in their ability to monitor progress and their desire to retain control. Although there are number of guidelines for delegating assignments, leaders can never escape final and full accountability for the results. Your only recourse is to maintain enough contact with every job so that you can keep on top of things without taking control.

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Business Writing

Written communication requires yet another skill set for the leader. Riding on the ability of the leader to communicate well is the employees ability to understand the tasks, and their ability to perform them. Business writing has a practical purpose: to inform, instruct, analyze, or persuade. Style doesnt matter as much as content and clarity. Simplicity and logical sequencing of ideas takes precedence over artistic and clever language. In business writing, ones reputation, status, or job may depend on the success or failure of the communication. This can happen when observations and conclusions are not supported by hard, uncontestable facts. The leader must live with any situation his letter has created. Keeping in mind that the communication will frequently pass among many different levels in the organization, should remind the leader of the importance of tone also. The writing should be free of any emotionality, to represent a bias free document.

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Writing well is a skill. It requires determination and practice. Just as planning and organizing are key management functions, they are essential tasks in writing clear, and precise business communications. The first step in planning to write letters, memos, or documents is to determine the audiences needs, the purpose for the writing, and the subject topic. A review of the following is essential: WHO WHAT is involved? Is the audience? What is the level of the employee(s)? am I trying to communicate? How much does the addressee already know about the subject? What history is necessary to repeat? is there a need for communicating? (information, event reporting, introduction of new policy?) will it happen? much detail is needed? Is a summary needed? are the deadlines?

WHY

WHERE HOW WHEN

In organizing writing, the leader should keep in mind that space and position are very important. Ideas and information should be positioned so that they get the attention and emphasis needed. The most important

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Business Writing place in a document is up front and the most important place in a paragraph is the first sentence. However, the most important place in a sentence is sometimes at the end. Therefore, the opening words of a sentence, the opening sentence of each paragraph, and the opening paragraph of a section should state the major point or general idea. The choice of words, in addition to arrangement and organization is critical. Choose clear and familiar words. The job at hand is not to impress the reader with an ability to articulate the most difficult words in the English language, but to communicate in a venue that is understandable to the average reader. Choose clear, familiar words. Replace long words or phrases with shorter ones. For example, replace in view of the fact that with because. Wordiness can add to confusion and boredom. As mentioned previously, tone can have an impact on the business communication. Accenting the positive will cause the reader to be more receptive. Replace negative words with positive ones. We cant, We refuse, or Unfortunately, send the reader a hopeless message. Eliminate passive and sluggish expressions like was requested, was used, were made. Words that hedge or evade, like possibly or perhaps lack conviction. When a leader uses such words, the writing is drained of authority and the leader is regarded as uncertain. Be Assertive! Use shorter verbs because

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs verbs are more powerful and action oriented in their shortest form. Improving writing skills involves review, revision, determination, and practice.

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How to Run a Meeting

Why is it that any single meeting may be a waste of time, irritating, or a barrier to the achievement of the meeting objectives? The answer lies in the fact human behaviors can function as cross currents that sweep things off course. The absence of meeting management skill, leaving the chair (leader) defenseless is also a possible answer. This section offers guidelines on how to manage things that may go wrong in meetings. The discussion covers the functions of meetings, the distinctions in size and types of meetings, ways to define the objectives, making preparations, the leadership role, and ways to conduct a meeting that will achieve its objectives. Why are meetings necessary? The entrepreneur handles a great number of complex issues independently, consulting no one. Many of the management decisions made in a company are shared with others through memorandum, letters, telephone

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs calls, and electronic mail or through simple conversations between two people on the golf course or in the hallways. Sometimes five minutes spent with six people separately is more effective and productive than an hour meeting with them all together. But having said that, it is true that meetings fulfill a deep human need in most companies. Man is a social species. In every organization and every human culture known to us, people come together in small groups at regular and frequent intervals, and in large gatherings from time to time. If there are no meetings in the places where they work, peoples attachment to the place where they work will diminish. They will meet in regular formal or informal gatherings in associations, societies, teams, clubs, or bars and restaurants after work hours. Communication technology makes it possible for business people to have a meeting of the minds without ever leaving their place of work or residence. It is indeed possible for a president to control his entire operation from an all-electronic, multi-channel, microwave, and fiber-optic video display in his living room. But leaders who are destined to make an organization perform at its highest standards limit nonhuman contact, and prefer personal interactions. Therefore meetings still performs functions that will never be taken over by the telephone, television, the Internet, or any other technological instrument of the information age.

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Functions of a Meeting
It may help to understand the meaning of meetings by a discussion of six functions that meetings will always perform better than any of the more recent means of communication. 1) A meeting defines the team, the group or unit. Those present belong to the group; those absent do not. Everyone is able to look around and perceive the whole group and sense the collective identity to which they belong. Members know who they are and how they connect to the whole. 2) A meeting is the place where the group revises, updates, and adds to what it knows as a group. Every group creates a pool of shared knowledge, experiences, judgment, and folklore. But the pool consists only of what the individuals have experience or discussed. This pool not only helps all members to do their jobs more intelligently, bit it also increases the speed and efficiency of communications among them. Group members know that suggestions and wider implications in brief statements will be immediately clear to all. An enormous amount of material can be left unsaid that would have to be made

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs explicit to an outsider. There are always needs for constant refreshing and replenishing, and occasionally the need to add or remove participants. By questioning and commenting on new contributions, the group performs an important process that extracts whats valuable and discards the rest. Some analysts call the capacity to share knowledge and experience among a group the social mind, meaning it is a single mind dispersed among a number of thinkers. They recognize that synergy in thoughts has a special creative power. A group of people meeting together can often produce better ideas, plans, and decisions than can a single individual, or a number of individuals working alone. The meeting can, of course, also produce worse outputs or none at all, if it is not managed well. 3) A meeting helps every individual understand both the collective aims of the group and the way in which everyones work can contribute to the group.

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How to Run a Meeting 4) A meeting creates a commitment to the decisions it makes and the objectives it pursues. Once something has been decided, even if you originally argued against it, your membership in the group entails an obligation to accept the decision. The alternative is to leave the group, but in practice this is very rarely a dilemma of significance. Real opposition to decisions within organizations usually consists of one-part disagreement with the decision to nine-parts resentment at not being consulted before the decision was made. For most people on most issues, it is enough to know that their views were heard and considered. They may regret that they were not followed, but they accept the outcome. Just as the decision of any team is binding on all of the members, so the decisions of a meeting of people higher up in an organization carry a greater authority than decisions by a single executive. It is much harder to challenge a decision of the board than of the chief executive acting on his own. The decision-making authority of a meeting is of special importance for long-term policies and procedures.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs 5) In the world of management, a meeting is very often the only occasion where the team or group actually exists and work together. The supervisor, manager or chief executive is perceived as a team member rather than as the person to whom individuals report. In large organizations, the daily or weekly meetings are often the only time when the leader is seen as guiding a team rather than doing the job. 6) A meeting is a status arena. It is no good to pretend that people are not or should not be concerned with their status relative to the other members in a group. It is just another part of human nature that we have to live with. Since a meeting is often the only time when members get the chance to find out their relative status, some of them will be aggressive in their search for equal or higher rankings.However,the significance of status dissipates with a long-established group that meets regularly. Despite the fact that a meeting can perform all of the previously discussed functions, there is no guarantee that it will do so in any given situation. All too often, any single meeting may be a waste of time, irritating, or a barrier to achieving the intended objectives.

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Kinds of Meetings
Meetings can be categorized by size as 1) an assembly 100 or more people who are expected to do little more than listen to the main speaker or speakers; 2) a council 40 or 50 people who are basically there to listen to the main speaker or speakers but can come in with questions and comments that may contribute to the information pool; 3) a committee up to 10 or 12 people, all of whom more or less speak on an equal footing under the guidance and control of a chairperson or leader. We are concerned in this chapter only with the leadership skills needed to manage committee (small group, team or task force) meetings. Apart from the distinction of size, there are also considerations regarding the type of meeting that affect the performance of the members. For instances: Frequency A daily meeting is different from a weekly one, and a weekly meeting from a monthly one. Irregular, ad hoc, quarterly and annual meetings are different again. On the whole, the frequency of meetings defines the degree of unity of the group. Composition The members in the group work together on the same projects, or they work on different but parallel projects, or they are a diverse group who are strangers to each other, united by the meeting itself and by a common interest in the objectives.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Motivation The members have a common objective in their work and to some extent have a competitive working relationship, like managers of subsidiary companies, or heads of research, production and marketing, at meetings with the chief executive officer. The members have a desire for success that is unified by the meeting, like a neighborhood action group or a new product design committee. Decision process The entire group participates in the decision-making process. Decisions are commonly reached by consensus, or the chairperson may make the decisions after listening to the facts, opinions and discussions from the group members. Both decision processes add value to the meeting. The experienced leader will recognize that the five different methods of analyzing a meeting can be applied to one of the three kinds of meetings: The daily meeting, where people work together on the same project with a common objective and reach decisions informally by general agreement. The weekly or monthly meeting, where members work on different but parallel projects and where there is a certain competitive element and a greater likelihood that the chairperson will make the final decisions most of the time.

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The irregular, occasional, or special project meeting, composed of people whose normal work does not bring them into contact and whose work has little or no relationship to the others. They are united only by the projects the meeting exists to promote and motivated by the desire that the project should succeed. Though actual voting is uncommon, ever member effectively has a veto. Of these three kinds of meetings, it is the daily meeting that is probably the most common in the workplace. It is usually an informal meeting, without an agenda, but is most likely to be successful. Operational imperatives usually ensure that it is brief, and the participants experience of working side by side ensures that communication is good.

Meeting Management:
Before the meeting is scheduled, you should answer the following questions: What is this meeting intended to achieve? Or, to ask the question in a different way What are the likely consequences of not having the meeting? After the meeting is ended, how will I determine if it was successful? Unless you have very clear answers to these questions it is highly possibility that the meeting will be a waste of everyones time.

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Defining the Objectives

You have already looked at the six main functions that all meetings perform. If you are interested in using the meeting to obtain specific objectives, every item on the agenda can be placed in one of four categories, or divided into sections that fall in one or more categories. 1) Informative Meetings for the sole purpose of disseminating purely factual information are usually boring and uninteresting. But if the information should be heard from a particular person (i.e., president), or it needs clarification, or has deep implications for the members of the meeting, it is perfectly proper to introduce an agenda item that does not require a conclusion, decision, or action. It is enough that the meeting is held to receive and discuss a report. Informative meeting function includes progress reports to keep the group up-to-date on the status of projects, and a review of completed projects in order to come to a collective judgment and to see what can be learned from them for future assignments.

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How to Run a Meeting 2) Constructive These meetings function to embrace all items that require a new action from the group, such as a new policy, a new strategy, a new sales target, a new product, a new marketing plan, or a new procedure. This sort of discussion asks people to contribute their knowledge, experience, judgment and ideas. Obviously, the plan will probably be inadequate unless all relevant parties are present and participating. 3) Executive Responsibilities This is the How shall we do it? function, which comes after it has been decided what the members are going to do. At this point, the leaders responsibilities for the different components of the task are distributed around the table. The knowledge and ideas of the members are important. They are responsible for implementing the action plan. The fact that the whole organization is affected by the plan makes their contributions especially significant. It is, of course, possible to allocate executive responsibilities without a meeting, in separate individual briefings, but a meeting enables the members as a group to find the best way of achieving the objectives. The meeting enables each

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs member to understand and influence the way in which his own job fits in with the jobs of the others with the collective task. If the meeting is for discussing and implementing decisions made at a higher level, securing the groups consent may be of prime importance. If so, the fact that the group has the opportunity to formulate the detailed action plans itself may be the decisive factor in securing an agreement. In this case, the final decision belongs to the group. Everyone is committed to what the group decides and is collectively responsible for the final shape of the project. Ideally, this sort of agenda item starts with a policy and ends with an action plan. 4) Legislative Framework Above the considerations of What to do and How to do it is a framework and system of rules, routines, and procedures within and through which all the activity takes place. Changing this framework and introducing a new organization or new procedures can be disturbing to committee members, and threatens their long-term status and security. Yet, leaving it unchanged can stop the organization from adapting to a changing world and economy. The changes must have the support of all of the leaders whose groups are affected by them. The key leaders for the legislative function must collectively make or confirm the decision. It

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How to Run a Meeting is very dangerous to close the discussion and make the decision by decree. The group leader cannot expect quick decisions if he or she seeking to change the organizational framework and routines that people have grown accustomed to. The leader must be prepared to leave these issues unresolved and open for further discussion and consultation.

The Agenda
The four previously discussed functions may be performed at a single meeting as the group proceeds through the agenda. Consequently, it will be helpful for the leader or chairperson to go through the agenda, writing beside each item the objective and the function it is intended to fulfill. This exercise helps clarify what is expected from the discussion and helps focus on which people are to attend and what questions to ask them.

People
The value and success of a committee meeting are seriously threatened if too many people are present. Between four and seven is ideal, ten to twelve are manageable on the outer limits. The leader should do all he or she can to keep the size of the group under control by carefully selecting members with an important contribution to make. In doing so, you may have to leave out some of the people who expect to be there. If

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs you see no way of getting the group down to a manageable size, you can try the following measures: (a) analyze the agenda to see whether everyone has to be present for every item; (b) structure the agenda so that some people can leave at half time and others can arrive; (c) consider the need for two separate smaller meetings rather than one large one; (d) ask that the groups resolve some of the issues in advance so that only representatives are needed to present a proposal. Remember, too, that a few words with members on the day before a meeting can increase the value of the meeting, either by ensuring that an important point is raised that comes better from the floor than from the chairperson, or by preventing time-consuming discussions on unimportant topics.

Papers
A carefully prepared agenda is the most important piece of paper. It has the power to speed up the meeting by clarifying issues of importance. Therefore, a list of brief and vague agenda items should be avoided. You should not be afraid of a long agenda, provided that the length of the agenda is the result of your analyzing and defining each item with more detail. Try to include some indication of the reason for each topic to be discussed. If one item is of special interest to the group, it is a good idea to identify it for special attention in the meeting announcement.

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How to Run a Meeting The leader should also bear in mind the useful device of heading each item For Information or For Decision so that those at the meeting will know where they are going. And finally, the chair should not circulate the agenda too far in advance so the lessorganized member will misplace it or forget it. Two or three days in advance are appropriate unless the supporting papers are abundant.

Other Considerations:
The order of items on the agenda is important. The items that need urgent attention should come first. The beginning of the meeting tends to be more exciting and creative than the rest, so if an item needs mental energy, bright ideas, and clear heads, it may be better to put it high on the list. However, some leaders find that when they are working with a mature group, items of great interest and concern can be considered last. Then the star item can be introduced to carry the meeting over the attention lag that sets in after the first 20 to 30 minutes of the meeting. In this context, group maturity relates to group behavior. The members work well together; they arrive on time and are prepared for the work at hand. Some items unite the members in a common front while others stimulate controversy. The chair may start by uniting or dividing the group. The point is to be aware of the choice and to make it consciously, because it is likely to make a difference in the atmosphere of the meeting. It is almost always a

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs good idea to find a unifying item to close the meeting. A common error is to dwell on one item too long or to spend time on trivial instead of important issues. This can be corrected by putting on the agenda the time at which discussions of the important long-term issues will begin and end, and by sticking to that timeframe. Very few business meetings achieve anything of value after two hours; and an hour and a half is enough time to allocate for most purposes. It is a good idea to put the finishing time of the meeting on the agenda as well as the starting time. If the meeting has a tendency to go on too long, the meeting can be scheduled to start an hour and a half before lunch or before the end of the workday. Generally, brief items can be introduced ten minutes from a fixed end point. The practice of circulating background material or proposals along with the minutes of the previous meeting is helpful. This not only saves time, but it helps to stimulate questions and consideration in advance. Members are also reminded of their assignments for the upcoming meeting(s). If materials are circulated, the leader has to read them too, or at least must not be caught not having read them. If papers are introduced at the meeting for a first time discussion, they must be brief and simple, since everyone has to read them in a short time. The exceptions are financial and statistical reports that function to support and illustrate verbal points as reference documents.

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How to Run a Meeting All items on the agenda for useful discussion should be thought about in advance. This does not preclude the chairs announcing an extra agenda item at a meeting if something really urgent and unexpected comes up. Time for general unstructured discussions at the close of the meeting is also beneficial. When the chair is going through the agenda items in advance, he or she can insert brief notes about points that should not be omitted from the discussion. A brief marginal scribble of reminders is all that is necessary.

Leading the Meeting

Lets say that you have just been appointed chairperson of an important committee. You tell everyone that it is a bore and a chore. But there is no sense in denying that some sort of honor or glory is attached to the chairs role. Almost everyone is in some way pleased and proud to be the chairperson of something. To be appointed committee chair affects people in different ways. Some seize the opportunity to lead the group to successful accomplishments, while others impose their will on a group that they see themselves licensed to dominate. Some leaders are like scoutmasters, for whom the collective activity of the group is satisfying enough, with no need for achievement. There are the insecure or lazy chairpersons who look to the meeting for reassurance and support in their ineffectiveness and inactivity.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs They tend to spread the responsibility for their indecisiveness among the whole group. Even the majorities who do not go to those extremes feel a certain pleasurable prominence of ego when they take their place at the head of the table for the first time. The feeling is not wrong, but it is wrong to indulge in it or to assume that the other members of the meeting share the pleasure. It is the chairs self indulgence that is the greatest single barrier to the success of a meeting. His or her first duty, then, is to be aware of the temptation and of the dangers of yielding to it. The clearest of the danger signals is hearing themselves talking a lot instead of listening during the discussions. One of the best chairpersons observed, makes it a rule to restrict her interventions to a single sentence, or at most two. She does not allow herself to contribute more than a paragraph to the minutes of any meeting that she chairs. You would be hard-pressed to find a regular attendee who did not appreciate the way she managed meetings. There is, in fact, only one legitimate source of pleasure in being the chair and that is pleasure in the achievements of the meeting and to be legitimate, all those present must share it. Meetings are necessary for all sorts of basic and primitive human reasons, but they are useful only if they are seen by the participants to accomplish goals that cannot be accomplished independently. If the chairperson wants to be sure that

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How to Run a Meeting the meeting achieves valuable objectives, he or she will be more effective by seeing himself or herself as the subordinate in the group rather than the leader. The role becomes that of assisting the group toward the best conclusion or decision in an efficient manner. Discussions are moved forward to bring them to a resolution that everyone understands and accepts as being the will of the group, even if there are individuals who do not agree with the final outcome. The true source of authority with the members is the strength of the chairpersons perceived commitment to their combined objective and his or her skill and efficiency in helping and guiding them to its achievement. Control and discipline become an act of imposing the groups will on individuals who are diverting or delaying the progress of the discussion and interfering with accomplishing the objective. Once the group realizes that the leader is impelled by a commitment to their common objectives, it does not take a great force of personality to control the meeting. A sense of urgency and a clear desire to reach the best conclusion as quickly as possible are much more effective than leadership demands. The effective chairperson can hold the discussion to the point by indicating that there is no time to pursue a particular idea, that there will be more time for long speeches at a later date, and that the group has to finish the discussion on specific items. This is better than pulling rank.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs There are several polite ways the chairperson can indicate impatience when a person is speaking, by leaning forward and maintaining eye contact with the speaker or nodding briefly to show that the point is taken. Conversely, he or she can reward the contribution they are seeking by the opposite expressions and comments, showing that there is plenty of time for that sort of idea, and encouraging the speaker to develop the point further. After a few meetings, the members will understand the nonverbal behavior of the chair. That person is still the subordinate in the group but functions more like a hired mountain guide. The chair knows the destination, the route, the weather signs and the time the journey will take. So if the suggestion is that the members walk a bit faster, they take the advice. The chairs role as the subordinate rather than leader is often obscured in large organizations because the most effective discussions have two leaders. One is called a team or social leader, and the other a task or project leader. Regardless of whether leadership is a single or dual function, it is enough to say that the chairs best role is that of the social leader. If he or she wants a particular point to be strongly advocated, the chair encourages someone else to lead the task discussion, withholding comments for a later time. The chair may effect change or modify personal views through hearing the discussion but even if the chair does not, it is much easier to show support for someone elses point later in the discussion, after listening to the arguments. At some

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How to Run a Meeting point the chair is required to align with members advocating one side of an argument. Then, the chair can summarize in favor of the one he or she considers preferable. The task advocate might regularly be the chairmans second-in-command, or a different person might be assigned to advocate for different items on the agenda. For some items the chair may be the primary advocate. The important point is that the chair has to keep social leadership even if it means sacrificing the task leadership responsibility. However, if the designated task advocate persists in championing a cause through two or three meetings, that person risks building up resentment from the other members. Even so, this resentment affects the group less by being directed toward the taskmaster than at the social leader.

Structure of discussion
It may appear that there is no right or wrong way to structure a committee meeting discussion. It would be a mistake to try to control every discussion of every item down to a fixed format. Nevertheless, there is a logical order to a group discussion, and while there may be reasons for not following it, there is no justification for not being aware of it. In practice, very few discussions are inhibited, and many are expedited, by a conscious adherence to the following stages, which follow exactly the same pattern as a visit to the doctor.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs The Problem: clearly describe the issue and the reason why it has been placed on the agenda. How long has the problem existed: start with a history of all relevant background facts needed to direct the committee discussion. A solid basis of shared and agreed-on facts is the best foundation to build any decision on and a set of pertinent questions will help to establish it. Evaluation: a complete examination of the issues is important. The committee will want to know how things stand at this moment. How long will it take to get the job done? How much money will it take? Consider the facts: when the facts are established, the group can move toward a valid decision. With practice, the committee can reach a logical conclusion without delay. Develop an action plan: the committee may agree quickly on one or two courses of action. But if the course is not clear, it is better to take this step in two stages. First, construct a series of options through a brainstorming exercise. When you have generated a generous list of options, the second step is to select the most feasible options to support the action plan. If the issue or agenda item is complex or exceptionally significant, the chairperson

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How to Run a Meeting has a proposed plan of action in mind. The plan should be announced so that all of the members of the group are informed.

Conducting the Meeting

The chairpersons job can be divided into two corresponding tasks, dealing with the subject matter and dealing with the people. The essence of dealing with the subject matter is to follow the discussion as just described in the previous section. This entails listening carefully and keeping the meeting flowing toward the objectives.

Dealing with the Subject

At the start of the discussion on any item, the leader should make it clear what the meeting should accomplish. Make sure that everyone understand the issues and why they are being discussed. Are you looking to get a clear decision or firm recommendations? Are you looking for a variety of options to be pursued outside of the meeting? The chair may give the group several choices: If we can agree on a course of action, thats fine, if not, we will have to set up a working party to report and make a recommendation before next months meeting. It is your responsibility to prevent misunderstandings and confusion. It may be necessary to clarify issues by

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs asking people about facts and experiences that perhaps influence their views but are not known to others at the meeting. You should be on the lookout for points where an interim summary would be helpful. This step takes only a few seconds, and acts like a life belt to some members who are getting out of their areas of expertise. Sometimes members will have to discuss a draft document. If there are faults in it, the members should agree on what the faults are and the chair should appoint someone to develop another document. The group should never try to redraft or rebuild a document around the meeting table. Perhaps one of the most common weaknesses of inexperienced leaders is the inability to terminate a discussion early enough. A discussion should be closed once it becomes clear that (a) more facts are required before further progress can be made, (b) discussion reveals that the views of people who are not present are needed, (c) members need more time to think about the subject and perhaps discuss it with colleagues, (d) events are changing and are likely to change the basis of the decisions, (e) there is not enough time at the meeting to complete the discussion, and (f) two or three of the members can solve the problems outside of the meeting without taking up the time of the others. The fact that the decision may be a difficult one and is likely to be disputed, or is going to be unwelcome by somebody, is not a reason to discontinue or postpone the discussion. At the close of each discussion on each

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How to Run a Meeting agenda item, the chair should give a brief and clear summary of what has been agreed on. This can act as the dictation for the actual minutes. It serves not merely to put the item on record, but also to help people realize that something worthwhile was achieved. It also answers the question Where did all of this get us? If the summary involves actions by a member of the meeting, he should be asked to confirm his acceptance of the assignment. In entrepreneurial organizations the minutes are recorded during the meetings and are transported to the desktops of each member at the close of the meeting. This is another way of reducing the flow of paper throughout the organization.

Dealing with the People

There is only one way to ensure that the meeting starts on time, and that is to start it on time. Late arrivals, who realize that the meeting will go on without them, will soon recognize the importance of being prompt. If you do not start the meetings as scheduled, the prompt and punctual member will soon learn that the meeting never starts on time and will arrive late also. Listing the names or times of the late arrivers and early departures in the minutes can reinforce punctuality at future meetings. In general, people do not want this sort of information about themselves published too often. There are a number of expert opinions about where people should sit when they arrive at the meeting. It is my opinion that a strategic seating plan does not

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs enhance ones leadership skills. As a matter of fact, such a plan may complicate matters. While I do not agree with all of the findings about seating arrangements, there are a few that appear to be valid. Having members sit face to face across a table facilitates opposition, conflict and disagreements. While it may not turn allies into enemies, it suggests that the chair should think about whom is seated opposite the chair. Sitting side by side around a table makes confrontations and disagreements less likely, but it allows the members to exploit the friendship-value of the person they are seated next to. The person seated to the right of the chair in seated in dead mans corner because the chair has the tendency to stack papers and take notes on his or her right and look and speak to the left. Therefore it is always better for the chair to sit at the end rather than the middle of the table, so that eye contact can be made with everybody. If the chair (or any member) has a need to leave the room promptly at the end of the meeting, he or she should be seated near the door. Otherwise people engaged in conversation may retard their exit.

Control of Garrulous (pointless talking)

In most meetings, someone takes a long time to say very little. As chair, your sense of urgency should help 238

How to Run a Meeting indicate to him the need for brevity. You can also suggest that if he is going to take a long time to get his point across, that it may be better to write a paper that others can read outside of meeting. If it is clear that you are loosing the attention of the group (people are leaving the room or holding conversation not related to the agenda item) you should stop him in mid-sentence and say, Thats a good idea Robert. Do the rest of you agree with Robert? This brings the focus back to the group. By all means, the chair should avoid being verbose on any subject, remembering that the purpose of the meeting is to gather the opinions of the members.

Draw out Silence

In any properly run meeting, most of the people will be silent most of the time. Silence can indicate general agreement, or no important contribution to make, or the need to wait and hear more before saying anything. Or it may mean that their lunch was really great. None of these reasons for silence need to concern you. But there are two kinds of silence that you must manage: (1) The silence of difference or indifference. A person may have a valuable contribution to make but because of nervousness about its reception, will not voice it. When you draw out such a contribution it is important that you express interest and pleasure (though not necessarily agreement) to encourage further contributions of that sort.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs (2) The silence of hostility. This is not hostility to ideas, but toward you as chair or another member who is contributing, and to the process by which decisions are made. This type of total detachment from the proceedings is an indication of hidden feelings that were developed before the session started. If you probe, you will usually find that there is something just waiting to come out, and that it is better out than in.

Protect the Weak

Junior members of the meeting may provoke the disagreement of their seniors. If disagreement escalates to the point of suggesting that they have no right to contribute, the meeting is weakened. So the chair may have to commend the juniors contribution for its usefulness, to ward off criticism. Taking written notes of the contribution and referring back to it later in the meeting can reinforce your support.

Encourage the Clash of Ideas

At the same time discourage the clashing of personalities. A good meeting is not a series of dialogues between individual members and the chair. Instead, it is a cross flow of discussion and debate, with the chair occasionally mediating, probing, stimulating, summarizing and guiding the discussion toward the objective. It is all right to let the members

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How to Run a Meeting thrash out the idea, but the discussion must be about ideas, not people. If two people are starting to get heated, widen the discussion by asking a question of a neutral person, preferably a question that requires a purely factual answer.

Watch for Suggestion Squashing

When studying the meeting process, it is found that everything that happens can be framed into questions, answers, positive reactions, and negative reactions. Questions can only seek and answers can only supply three types of responses: information, opinion, and suggestions. In entrepreneurial organizations, suggestions contain the sparks for creativity. Although very few suggestions will lead the way to success, all of them should be given a chance. The problem is that suggestions are much easier to discard than facts and opinions. You should take note and show special warmth when anyone makes a suggestion, and discourage as sharply as you can the squashing reflex. This may be achieved by requiring the squasher to produce a better suggestion on the spot. Few suggestions can regain a worthy position after being squashed. It is your job to pick out the best parts and get the members of the committee to help build it into something that works.

Come to Senior Member Last

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Obviously, this cannot be a steadfast rule, but once someone of high authority has spoken on a topic, the less senior members are likely to be inhibited. If you work up the pecking order instead of down it, you are apt to get a variety of views and creative ideas. But the less senior members who start the discussion should only be asked for contributions within their personal experience and competence.

Close on a Note of Achievement

Even if the final item is left unfinished, you can refer to an earlier concluded item as you close the meeting and thank the group. If the meeting is not a regular one, fix the time and place of the next one before dispersing. A little time spent with appointment schedules at the end, especially if it is a gathering of five or more people, can save hours of secretarial telephone calls or e-mail notes later.

Meeting Follow-up
The minutes of the meeting are your responsibility. The notes taken during the meeting may be dictated to your secretary, edited and approved by you before dissemination. If the minutes are taken and disseminated electronically, members should be given a day or two to read them and make suggestions for change before the final distribution. The time allowed for member editing or changes should be as short as

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How to Run a Meeting possible in order to get feedback that is fresh in their memory. The minutes should include: The time and date of the meeting, where it was held, and who chaired it Names of all present and apologies for absences. All agenda items (and other items) discussed and all decisions reached. If action was agreed on, record and highlight the name of the persons responsible for the assignment. Note agenda items that were not addressed or were left unresolved and the action plan for each. The time the meeting closed (important because it may be significant later to know how much time was used to reach a worthwhile conclusion). The date (s), time, and place of the next committee meeting.

A chairperson with a propensity for efficiency will take the last five minutes of a scheduled meeting to draft the agenda for the next meeting. This can be quickly done when there are items of importance to be re-addressed. Members should also have an opportunity to place items on the draft agenda. But the draft agenda does not need to be sent out with the minutes nor does it preclude the need to send out an

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs agenda 2 or 3 days prior to the meeting, as previously discussed.

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Living the Life and Liking It

Are your family, social and leisure times becoming indistinguishable from your work time? Are the people whom you socialize with the same people whom you work with, and do the group of you only talk about work? Do you find inactivity intolerable? These are characteristics of a workaholic life style. Entrepreneurs are highly susceptible to an over commitment to work. Recognizing these behavioral patterns and attitudes can be an important first step in avoiding a devastating work life. Understanding why the addiction occurs can help free you from the narrow focus on work to a broader, deeper focus on a balanced, healthy life.

Workaholic Defined
Workaholics are people who find themselves irresistibly attracted to work. They are addicted to the activity, not necessarily the products, of work. Inactivity, even the idea of not working, is

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs discomforting, and in some cases, agonizing to them. Workaholics work continuous, excessive hours as a way of escaping from a problem, or relationship, or as a means of enhancing their sense of control over their lives. Many become reliant upon work as a source of personal identity and worth. Types of Workaholics While workaholics share similar qualities and traits, the reasons for their obsession for work vary. Three of the more common types are hostile, competitive and defensive work addicts. Hostile types characteristically find a socially acceptable means of discharging aggressive energy. Competitive types perceive work to be a means of proving themselves, both to themselves and to others. Defensive types use work as an escape, as a means of avoiding guilt, grief, frustration or other disturbing thoughts or feelings. If you have been receiving friendly hints from your boss that you are working too hard, and from your coworkers then maybe you should lighten up or slow down a bit. Perhaps your family has been expressing concerns about your apparent devotion to your job. If so, it may be time that you paid some friendly, concerned attention to the possibility that you are developing an addiction to work. Consider the following self-assessment:

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Living the Life and Liking It Do you feel guilty when you are not working? Are you uneasy when you are on vacation? Do you have your cellular phone or pager with you all of the time? Do you read only work-related literature? Do you communicate better with co-workers than you do with family and friends? Are your co-workers your only group of friends? Do you constantly work under a great deal of tension? Do you equate success with hard work? Do you have difficulty getting involved in activities other than work? Do you take pleasure in telling others how hard and how long you work? Do you work when you could be relaxing? Do you prefer being at work (on the job) to being anywhere else?

Answering, yes to several of these questions does not make you a workaholic, but may indicate a tendency or movement in that direction.

Dealing with the Problem

Once you have recognized that you work compulsively or have other attributes of a workaholic personality, you can begin to work on changing the why and how of your work. Obsessed workers need to reorganize their priorities regarding family, 247

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs friends and work. Ask yourself, Is work truly more important than my family and loved ones? Undoubtedly, it is not. Start by limiting the time engaged in work and devoting that time and energy to other facets of your life. You will not only give the people in your life an assurance that you care about them, but you will give them an opportunity to love and help you. This does not mean that you cant work hard, but balance is the key. A happy, healthy person has a life of many facets, and many types of success.

Being at your Best

It takes more than an apple a day to keep the doctor away for entrepreneurs to live well in a hectic world of work. A healthy lifestyle requires that the body, the mind and the spirit work together. If one part is sick or stressed, the other parts suffer, often without knowing it. If you find yourself in that position, try some of these suggestions for getting back in balance.

Control Stress
A moderate amount of stress can be good for you. It keeps you sharp and alert and engaged in the world. But too much stress can be overwhelming, can cloud your thinking and interfere with relaxation. Taking time for yourself regularly can help you approach situations with more control and confidence. And you will get more enjoyment out of life.

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Living the Life and Liking It

Eat Right
Leaders are often eating and working at the same time. Brainpower requires that you eat sensible amounts of nutritious foods. Eating right can help you feel your best and control your weight. Too much of any one kind of food or beverage can take your body out of balance, and your mind will be the next to follow. Too much caffeine can make you tense or sleepless. Too much alcohol can cloud your thinking and controlled substances in any amounts may just wipe you out. A balanced diet, caffeine and alcohol consumption, in moderation, can do wonders to help you feel fit.

Exercise Regularly
Participate regularly in some enjoyable physical activity. Although there are different types of exercises to achieve goals (such as aerobic exercise for heart health), you dont have to take up running or basketball to reap the benefits of physical activity. A day spent gardening, or an evening with family and friends at the bowling alley can provide other relaxing benefits.

Rest Your Mind and Spirit

Dont forget that your mind and spirit need a balanced diet and exercise as much as your physical body does. Learn to be your own best friend. If you find 249

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs yourself constantly worrying about a problem, talk about it with a friend or a trusted adviser. Going for a walk, reading a book or watching a comedy flick just may do the trick. Develop a hobby that you enjoy and find mentally relaxing. All work and no fun, not only make you an unbearable leader, but also an unhealthy one.

Get a (variety) Life!

Variety is essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you are in a work rut, overstressed, not eating well or not getting enough exercise, vary your routine. Regularly implement just one small change in your routine and it can make a world of difference. In order to be at your best, a mental health overview may be helpful. Just think, There is only one me! Each one of us is unique. Every person sees and relates to the world differently and for this reason, what is mentally healthy includes a wide range of possibilities. Generally speaking, people who are able to be successful in their own lives tend to share the following traits:

Self-Esteem
Value yourself. While all of us enjoy being praised on occasion, people with a good sense of self-esteem

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Living the Life and Liking It know their own value and dont always rely on others to tell them that they are worthwhile.

Lifes Challenges
Role with the punches. Successful people are able to handle challenges at each stage of life, even though they might temporarily be put off track by them.

Flexibility
Be flexible. You dont have to be right all of the time. Successful people give themselves room to make mistakes, accept them as mistakes and not moral failings, admit them readily and move on.

Realistic Expectations
Dont expect too much of yourself or others. While successful leaders can and do set goals to reach for, they are realistic about what they can accomplish and are not afraid to say no to themselves and others when it is clear that the expectations are too great.

Acknowledge Feelings
Be acutely aware of your feelings. Allow yourself to experience them without judging them as being good or bad. We all have feelings that may sometimes seem irrational, but successful people are able to 251

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs acknowledge them and move on instead of denying responsibility or blaming others.

Accept Responsibility
Accept responsibility for what you do or the choices you make. While it is human nature to make excuses once in a while, successful people are able to accept responsibility for themselves and their actions. At the same time, they refrain from denying responsibility or blaming others.

Ask For Help

You dont have to do it all alone. Ask for help. Sometimes it is hard for us to admit that we cant solve a problem ourselves, but successful people ask for and get help if they need it. That is how they struggle and learn to be successful.

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Afterword

When we started writing about the role of entrepreneurs as leaders in the twenty- first century, my first thoughts were related to the awesome task of slowing down the young and dynamic minds to a point of reality. As the work progressed, I realized that it is a business reality that experienced leaders must instead direct their efforts toward catching up with the leadership movement. The principle contribution of this book is a framework to assist business leaders, entrepreneurs and leaders of entrepreneurs alike, in adapting old and new leadership principles to effectively lead the present generation of employees. We find that leadership skills and behaviors will always be valuable as long as we are dealing with human organizations. The reexamination of the traditional means of working with human behaviors in the business setting will lead to new ideas and to the

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs development of tools and techniques to address current situations. It is apparent that there remains a high degree of validity in the tried and true traditional leadership practices that have not dissipated through time. Yet, the entrepreneurial leader is likely to be unaware of this validity. Furthermore, there has not been ample time to study and test these leadership principles prior to being crowned with leadership responsibilities. Likewise, we believe that experienced leaders have etched their leadership styles in stone and have lost the flexibility required to lead a new generation of thinkers who are destined to change a society that is already in perpetual motion. Effective leadership principles and practices are to be taken out of the archives and integrated with todays leadership demands, making them useful for all of us, but especially for the entrepreneurs. At the risk of being redundant, there are purposely overlapping discussion of leadership tasks and behaviors throughout the book. We believe that entrepreneurs have unique learning patterns and they will appreciate the flexibility that the text lends. Leadership skills and styles will be developed and adapted to meet individual personalities. Therefore, the presentation of information in various forms and scenarios provides options for its use. Leadership effectiveness requires a proper match of person and situation, and trying to change personalities is the hard

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Afterword way to achieve this balance. Studies of contingency models show that leaders can recognize the situations in which they tend to be most successful, and they can modify their situations so that they perform effectively. (Fielder, 1975) Nothing works all of the time in all situations for every leader. A remarkable amount of wisdom is required for an effective leader to know what works, when it will work and where it should be applied. But entrepreneurs do not stand still hoping that wisdom will find them. Since these leaders learn best on the job, our ultimate hope is that they will find wisdom through coaching and mentoring or through trial and error, without loosing their souls during the journey. Leadership requires synergy of emotional and intellectual talents and abilities, and good business judgment. Neither this book, nor several other sources used to write it, will lead a company. It is intended to help the leaders get an unobstructed view of what leadership has been and what it should be.

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Appendix
A Concentration in Entrepreneurship

In previous chapters, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of formal education for entrepreneurial leadership. Emphasis is placed on the value of on-the-job learning experiences and the synergy of intellectual and emotional intelligence. Due to the increasing demands for entrepreneurial leadership, universities throughout the United States are now offering outstanding programs in entrepreneurial studies. A list of these programs may be found on The Educational Programs on Entrepreneurial Studies List that is included in this book. Of particular interest to anyone seeking a program in Entrepreneurial Studies is the William T. & Rita Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies The William T. & Rita Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies the University of Akron, in

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Ohio. A Minor in Entrepreneurship and the MBA Concentration in Entrepreneurship are offered. The institute believes Job creation, so fundamental to our society, requires capital formation, investment and risk-taking. Students must understand the fundamental concepts of return on invested time and money, risk-taking and service to others. (William T. Fitzgerald) Established in 1995 through an endowed gift from William and Rita Fitzgerald, the Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies promotes the principles and practices of the free enterprise system and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit and practices essential to the survival of free enterprise. Entrepreneurship involves either the creation of a new business or the creation of new business within existing organizations (i.e., intrapreneurship). Entrepreneurship and the creation of new businesses have been well documented as a major engine of new growth accounting for significant number of new jobs and innovations in our economy. The Fitzgerald Institute encompasses many activities to assure that students and the public become fully aware of the fundamental and critically important concepts of the free enterprise system and the role of entrepreneurs.

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Appendix Entrepreneurship is the core component of the free enterprise system. In the dynamic economy of the 1990s, the entrepreneur has been the agent of change. The entrepreneur initiates and implements activities to create new business initiatives. The Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies has created a graduate program to develop students into agents of change through the learning of the entrepreneurial process.

The Minor in Entrepreneurship

The University of Akrons College of Business Administration recognizes the importance of entrepreneurial education. It has created an undergraduate program, Minor in Entrepreneurship, where students are exposed to creativity, opportunity recognition, feasibility studies, marketing and financial plans and business plans. Students learn different facets of Entrepreneurship from faculty who have been successful entrepreneurs. In addition, students have the ability to network with entrepreneurs from the business community through internships and small business consulting projects. The final product of the Minor in Entrepreneurship program is the business plan, which is presented to a group of entrepreneurs and other experts. The program

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs has already produced several successful new ventures in e-business, retail and service industries. The Entrepreneurship concentration in the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program teaches the entrepreneurial process as an integration of the business functional disciplines. It is oriented toward entrepreneurial planning for the creation and development of new business opportunities and understanding how a new firm or an existing firm may entrepreneurially exploit those opportunities. Because of its multi-disciplinary nature, the Entrepreneurial Concentration offers a unique learning experience for students who aspire to start their own business, open a franchise venture, or secure employment in a growth-oriented business. The MBA concentration in entrepreneurship will assist students in their efforts to (1) identify new and unique career options in entrepreneurship; (2) develop conceptual tools for implementing the entrepreneurial process and (3) obtain a repertoire of managerial skills for growing the ongoing venture.

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs March 2000 # 32: Collins, Jim, Built to Flip, p. 131-166 Labarre, Polly, Do You Have the Will to Lead, p. 222 April 2000 # 33: Hammonds, Keith H., Grassroots Leadership: Ford Motor Company, p.138 Fishman, Charles, Total Teamwork: Imagination LTD., p. 172 Rubin, Harriet, In my humble opinion, p. 323 Change Agent Life/Work Living Dangerously May 2000 # 34: Hammonds, Keith H., You can do anything but not everything, p. 206 Kruger, Pamela, Jobs for Life, p. 236 Lieber, Ron, Leadership Ensemble, p.286 June 2000 #35: Roberts, Paul, Getting It Done, p.146 The Art of Getting Things Done, p.162

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Paris, Ellen, Management: Desperate times do not call for desperate measures pick employees carefully. p .5 May 2000 OConnell, Brain, What Have You Become?, p. 88 4. Published in INC., March 2000, pg. 59Leigh Buchanan (leigh.buchanan@inc.com) is senior editor at Inc. Mike Hofman (michael.hofman@inc.com) is a staff writer at Inc. Books: 1. Bardwick, Judith M., Danger in the Comfort Zone, 1995, AMACOM American Management Association, New York, NY 2. Bass, Bernard M., Stogdills Handbook of Leadership: A survey of Theory and Research (Revised and Expanded Edition), The Free Press, A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York and Collier Macmillan Publishers, London 3. Blank, Warren and Werner, Isabel, Leadership Skills for Managers, Third Edition, 1995,

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Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs 9. Porter, Richard E. 1972 and 1981 editions, An Overview of Cultural Communication. In Intercultural Communication: A Reader, edited by Larry A. Samovar and Richard E. Porter, pp3-18. Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmount, California. 10. Prather, Charles W. and Gunndry, Lisa K. Blueprints for Innovation: How Creative Processes Can Make You and Your Company More Competitive, AMA Briefing, 1995, AMA Membership Publication Division. American Management Association. New York, NY 11. Sashkin, Marshall and Sashkin, Molly, The New Teamwork: Developing and Using Crossfunction Teams, AMA Management Briefing, 1994, AMA Membership Publications Division. American Management Association. New York, NY 12. Shea, Gordon F. Mentoring: Helping Employees Reach Their Full Potential, AMA Briefing, 1994, AMA Membership Publication Division. American Management Association. New York, NY 13. Stewart, Thomas A. Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations, 1997,

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Newsletters, articles and catalogs: 1. Absions monthly Internet newsletter, ML2: Making a Life, Making a Living, You & Co. www.you-company.com 2. AMACOM Books, a division of American Management Company, 1999, AMACOM catalog of human resources management/training materials, New York, NY 3. Buckanan, Leigh and Hoffman, Mike, Everything I Know About Leadership, I Learned From the Movies. INC. March 2000, p.59

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Formal Educational Programs in Entrepreneurial Studies

Fitzgerald, William T. and Rita, Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies University of Akron, College of Business Administration 259 South Broadway Street, Suite 343 Akron, Ohio 44325-4801 Phone: 330-972-7038 E-mail: fies@uakron.edu Web site: http://www.uakron.edu/cba/entre/index.html Stanford Graduate School of Business Stanford GSB: Center for Entrepreneurial Studies Focus: Help Students, alumnus, and entrepreneurs who want to start or buy a company. http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/ces/ Phone: 650-723-0910

Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs Stanford University 518 Memorial Way Stanford, California 94305-5015 Leonard N. Stern School of Business The Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies NYU Focus: Undergraduate and graduate courses in Entrepreneurship and research in Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship education. http://www.stern.nyu.edu/BCES/ 212-998-0790 New York University New York, NY The Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles The Price Center: The Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies Focus: Oversees all teaching research, curriculum development and extra-curricular activities related to Entrepreneurship at UCLA. University of California in Los Angeles 110 Westwood Plaza, Suite A 101 D-951464 Los Angeles, California 90095-1464 Wharton Entrepreneurial Center http://www.shilsreport.org/ The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, PA

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Formal Educational Programs in Entrepreneurial Studies The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Business and Technology Degree http://www.se.as.upenn.edu/proprog/emtm Focus: Professional Masters graduate program. Earn an executive degree in management of technology, MOT, emerging technologies, business technology, engineering, science and management. Entrepreneurial focus. University of Pennsylvania 119 Towne Building Philadelphia, PA 19104-6391 Kellogg Graduate School of Management The Heizer Center for Entrepreneurial Studies http://www.kellogg.nwu.edu/research/entrprn/entr_000. htm North Western University 2001 Sheridan Road Evanston, IL 60208 708-491-5167

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Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge my business associate, Carol Petrucelli for her respect for my leadership philosophies in public administration and her intellectual inspiration as co-author of Leadership Skills for Entrepreneurs. We acknowledge the contributions made by Drs. Stuart Mandell and Ray Garubo, D.P.A. Faculty at the University of La Vern and Mark Lewis, Director of the Center for Organizational Development, University of Akron whose dynamic approach to leadership in public administration enhanced our knowledge and performance in the field. Special acknowledgement and appreciation is due to the excellent leaders, regional managers and administrators of Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program for being role models during the developing years of our careers. Their encouragement and support enriched the entrepreneurial spirits that we now enjoy.

Carol and I are indeed grateful to the American Book Publishing Company for expressing sincere interest in this manuscript and for granting us the opportunity to work with Harlow Keith, MA, MLHR, and Senior Editor. Mr. Keiths expertise in Human Resources Management added to the quality and value of this work. His support for our accomplishment is greatly appreciated.

About the Authors

Aliene S. Linwood, D.P.A., FACHE is president and principal of ASH Linwood and Associates, her management consulting company in Athens, Ohio where she also teaches courses in administration and leadership at Ohio University, and conducts customized workshops for private and public organizations. Her competencies are in the areas of Leadership Training and Development, Educational Research and Management Consulting. Ms. Linwood has 38 years of experience as an educator and public administrator and has held executive positions with progressive organizations in Texas, Utah, California and Ohio. Ms. Linwood has written numerous position papers and lectures on Executive Leadership and DecisionMaking Processes, with emphasis on the practical application of leadership theories. Her most recent writings endorse leadership as a major driving force in the national economy. The points of convergence are entrepreneurs in leadership positions, the management of the entrepreneurial workforce and the impact of

entrepreneurial leadership in developing strategies that shape the future success of organizations Ms.Linwood is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX (BSN), University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (MPA) and University of La Verne, La Verne, CA (DPA). She is also a graduate of Kaiser Permanente Executive Preparation Programs, Stanford, CA and has completed an eighteen (18) months fellowship with The Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration 1995-97; Washington, D.C. Ms. Linwood is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Carol A. Petrucelli, M.H.S.A., is President and owner of Carol A. Petrucelli, Inc., a firm specializing in management and leadership development. She is a member of the faculty of the College of Business Administration at the University of Akron. Ms. Petrucelli teaches graduate and undergraduate level courses in Management. She has held numerous seminars on these topics for businesses, community groups, and not--for-profit organizations. Ms. Petrucelli has twenty-three years experience in Health Care Administration, where she had held various senior management and executive positions. With Dr. Linwood, she is co-owner of the Center for Intellectual and Emotional Synergy, and is a consultant in

management, leadership, and health care administration. She is a noted speaker on Multicultural Diversity, and has worked with many companies on valuing a diverse workforce. Her work with the Center for Intellectual and Emotional Synergy has contributed to the successful development of many leaders and managers. Ms. Petrucelli received her undergraduate degree from Baldwin Wallace College, in Berea, Ohio, and her graduate degree from St. Joseph's College, in Maine.

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