LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Flashcards
What Does a Manager Do?
identifying how their team will meet targets.
* identifying the skill and physical resources which will be needed.
* allocating budgets to activities.
* reviewing progress against targets and taking remedial action if necessary.
* identifying solutions to technical problems.
* where change is to be introduced, having effective plans in place which identify the parts of the
organisation affected and allocating resources to ensure smooth implementation
Organising:
determining what activities are needed for the achievement of plans.
* ensuring that effective procedures and work instructions are in place for staff to follow.
* ensuring that all staff have the equipment, information, skills and training to do the job.
Controlling:
identifying the type of record systems needed.
* taking corrective action when needed.
* controlling daily activities, but not too tightly.
* budgetary control to ensure that overspending does not occur.
* team briefings and controlling the work of staff
. A useful pneumonic to use when going through the brief is SMEAC.
Situation - What is the issue that needs working on?
o Mission - What needs to be done in order to achieve the desired outcome?
o Execution – How is the desired outcome going to be achieved?
o Ask Questions – Has the employee got any questions regarding the brief?
o Confirm - Ensure that the employee is clear about the work that is allocated and confirm
understanding
Delegation
Delegation is the handing over of tasks to appropriate subordinates, whilst still retaining overall
responsibility for the work which is produced
Effective Team Briefings
enable managers and team leaders to provide technical information to staff or pass on
information from higher up the organisation.
* enable managers to explain ‘customer’ requirements.
* enable managers to share the what, why, how, when and who.
* enable a manager to identify the expected work and behaviour standards.
* enable a manager to explain what needs to be done and why it needs to be d
Barriers to effective communications
emotional state of the receiver, especially if there are poor working relationships.
* distrust, if the receiver has reason to mistrust the sender/ grapevine rumours.
* employees perceiving that communication is always ’one way’ and that they do not have the
opportunity to express their views or give feedback.
* using the wrong channel and location. This can occur when information is given verbally, which
would have been better written down.
Downwards communication
staff meetings and team briefings.
* one-to-one conversations to provide advice and guidance.
* briefing notes to reinforce the message.
* staff meetings.
* organisation-wide communication systems,
Upward communication
joint consultative committees which consult staff on issues.
* trade union representatives expressing the views of trade union members.
* attitude surveys that seek employee views through the use of questionnaires,
Characteristics of transformational leaders
Have a visible commitment to excellence, by setting high standards for themselves and others.
* Combine humility with self-confidence.
* Understand that they cannot achieve things without the cooperation of others.
* Enthusiasm and they encourage staff to come up with new ideas.
* Promote new ways of working.
* Encourage experimentation/innovation.
* Are prepared to take judicious risks.
* Create a vision about the future which staff can ‘buy into’.
* Realise that they cannot achieve the vision on their own so enlist the support and involvement
of others
Other important qualities
Helping people understand they are greater collectively than individually.
* Understanding that collaboration means better decisions.
* Encouraging staff to appreciate each other.
* Recognising the different skills which people have.
Showing concern
Sensitivity to individuals’ needs and aspirations.
* Warmth, humanity and taking seriously the welfare of others.
* Using an understanding of what motivates individuals to achieve goals.
* Sustaining individuals’ efforts by demonstrating a genuine interest in them and what they do
Enabling
Empowering individuals by trusting them to make decisions and take initiative.
* Empowering individuals by encouraging them to use discretion in how they perform their job.
* Encouraging individuals to take on leadership responsibilities whenever the situation allows
Being accessible
Making staff feel able to discuss problems with their line manager.
* Promoting face-to-face rather than indirect communication.
Emotionally intelligent
Being aware of the effect their behaviour can have on others, and controlling negative moods and
emotions.
* Understanding that they can be a negative or positive role model for those below them who may
‘boss watch’ and mimic behaviour
Encouraging the acceptance of change
Developing a climate in which individuals are encouraged to think about how they can improve
the organisation/department and/or the service provided.
* Encouraging individuals to think of new approaches/solutions to problems they encounter
Developing a learning culture/learning organisation
Develops a shared vision which everyone can ‘sign up to’.
* Understands that a learning culture cannot be built overnight.
* Thinks about the skills the organisation will need to face up to challenges.
* Promotes an open culture which promotes trust.
* Provides a supportive learning environment
Decision making style
Tells Sells Explains Offers Consults Shares Delegates
Autocratic leadership
This style is characterised by a leader who exerts high levels of power over staff. People are given few
opportunities to contribute ideas, suggestions and often feel they are not valued and therefore resent
this.
Bureaucratic leadership
This style describes leaders who work “by the book”, ensuring that their staff rigidly follow procedures.
Charismatic leadership
One of the main features of charismatic leaders is that their personality can create great enthusiasm
amongst staff
Democratic leadership or participative leadership
Whilst this type of leader will make the final decision, they invite other members of the team to
contribute to the decision-making process.
Laissez-Faire leadership
This French phrase means “leave it be”. It is used to describe a leader who leaves their colleagues to
get on with their work.
People-Oriented leadership
With this type of leadership, the emphasis is on organising, supporting and developing the people in
the leader’s team. I
Task-Oriented leadership
Task-oriented leaders focus only on getting the job done and can be quite autocratic.
Transactional leadership
This style of leadership is based on the belief that team members agree to obey their leader totally
when they take a job on. T
Transformational leadership
This style is one where a leader inspires his/her team with a shared vision of the future.
Servant leadership
A servant leader is a servant first, making the conscious
decision to lead in order to better serve others, not to increase their own power.
Principle-Centred leadership
The key principles of this leadership style are trust in others, trustworthiness as a person,
empowerment of teams and individuals and being able to align the three previous principles with
other external principles. These principles operate at personal, interpersonal, managerial and
organisational levels.
Steps for developing a principle-centred leadership style include:
reflecting upon yourself as a person and as a leader.
* having clearly defined principles.
* thinking about how your values impact on your life, work choices and decisions.
* making sure that your values and principles are not at odds.
* having clear standards and areas where you would not be willing to compromise.
* identifying your code of ethics.
* having clear beliefs about social justice and equity
Situational leadership - situation influences style
the purpose of the organisation.
* the organisation’s strengths and weaknesses.
* the organisation’s structure.
* the organisation’s systems.
* the number and types of staff.
* the skill levels of staff.
* the culture of the organisation
Factors influencing situational leadership
The skill levels and experience of the team.
* The work involved (routine/new /creative).
* The organisational environment (stable/conservative, traditional, radically changing, fighting for
survival, adventurous).
* The preferred style of the manager
Culture
The structure, style, systems, staff and skills together make the culture of the organisation.
High performance culture
ways of identifying quality standards.
* strong leadership which promotes performance improvement at all levels of the organisation.
* commitment to continuous improvement.
* capacity of staff is developed through learning at all levels of the organisation.
* clear goals and targets.
* enthusiasm for change amongst staff at all levels.
* commitment to Equality and Diversity.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
to change a culture which is out of date.
* to make greater use of technology.
* to reduce costs.
* to improve income.
* to solve problems.
* to seize opportunities.
* to change information flows.
* to ensure work is geared to the strategic plan
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
to change a culture which is out of date.
* to make greater use of technology.
* to reduce costs.
* to improve income.
* to solve problems.
* to seize opportunities.
* to change information flows.
* to ensure work is geared to the strategic plan
Change tends to fail when:
employees do not understand the need for change.
* it is seen as just another management ‘fad’.
* there is too much change so that there is an atmosphere of instability.
* the changes are similar to previous unsuccessful initiatives.
* there is a lack of effective planning and preparation.
* the ‘knock-on’ effect has not been taken into account. Change begets change.
* managers use the wrong leadership style and alienate staff.
* staff are not given the opportunity to contribute to the process.
Change tends to fail when:
employees do not understand the need for change.
* it is seen as just another management ‘fad’.
* there is too much change so that there is an atmosphere of instability.
* the changes are similar to previous unsuccessful initiatives.
* there is a lack of effective planning and preparation.
* the ‘knock-on’ effect has not been taken into account. Change begets change.
* managers use the wrong leadership style and alienate staff.
* staff are not given the opportunity to contribute to the process.
THE THREE CIRCLES
- Make sure the task is completed.
- Build and maintain effective teams.
- Develop individual employees
Task
A task (measured in days and weeks) is a logical grouping of actions to achieve a goal. Most tasks
need to be carried out by a team because they cannot be accomplished by a single employee.
Team
Team needs have to be met otherwise the task will suffer and the individual employees will not be
satisfied
Individual
If an individual employee’s needs are not met, then the team will suffer and performance of the task
will be adversely affected
Task needs
These have to be accommodated if the task is going to be completed and consist of:
* a series of coordinated actions.
* information.
* progress.
* resources, such as raw materials and people, who have the right competences and attitude
Needs of team members
These needs have to be accommodated if the team is going to be successful and include:
* direction, guidance and advice from the manager.
* a manager who has good team building skills.
* clear individual and team objectives.
* clear standards.
* the opportunity to put forward improvement ideas.
* clear information about what the task actually is
Individual needs
a sense of personal achievement from what they do and the contribution it makes.
* recognition of their individual needs.
* a well designed and challenging job which stretches them.
* an opportunity to develop new skills.
* a working environment which is free from conflict.
* feeling that they are part of the team and treated fairly.
Individual needs
a sense of personal achievement from what they do and the contribution it makes.
* recognition of their individual needs.
* a well designed and challenging job which stretches them.
* an opportunity to develop new skills.
* a working environment which is free from conflict.
* feeling that they are part of the team and treated fairly.
Employee engagement
know what is expected of them.
* have the tools and equipment to do the job.
* have the chance to do what they do best each day
regularly receive recognition and praise.
* believe that their line manager cares about them
