Most people reaching an executive position
have had more formal training in technical disciplines than
in the art of leading people. |
You may be an expert software developer,
or accountant, or marketer, or start-up entrepreneur, but
you quickly discover that the way in which you manage, motivate
and negotiate with people is at least half your role. Yet
while your formal training in technical disciplines amounted
to several years, that in people management skills is often
numbered in just days or even hours, despite growing awareness
of its importance. |
We can enter an executive role believing
that business is principally about objectives, structures
and strategy. Yet we soon discover that our time is spent
dealing with people. It is about relationships, not matrices
or structures. It is no wonder such a high proportion of
managers feel unprepared for a senior role – nearly
half, according to a study of business leaders (i). |
The same paper showed that one of the
biggest areas where leaders lack preparation is in handling
people. Asked to define the skills and behaviours necessary
for success, the most commonly cited on the list were ‘influencing
across organisational boundaries’ and ‘top team
development’. In another survey nine out of ten managers
considered people skills vital for business success, but
only one third of the sample reported that their employers
were committed to helping them develop such abilities (ii) .
More than two thirds of the respondents were working with
five or more teams, across disciplines and organisational
and geographic boundaries, often without direct authority.
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This book aims to build on your personal
leadership skills and illustrate their strategic importance;
to equip you with the people skills which, allied to your
technical and market knowledge, make you the complete leader.
It is a personal coaching manual, with guides and questionnaires
that can be applied directly to the teams with which you
are working. It is rooted in the latest research, and in
the real-life experience of what it takes to run an effective
business, division or team. It relates some real stories
of successful business leaders who have experienced and
overcome these challenges. |
Leadership is an increasingly challenging
role. But it is not impossible, nor intangible, nor given
only to a select few 'born' leaders. It is even measurable.
This book sets out a programme for step-by-step improvement
and offers a means to gauge your progress. |
Complete Leadership also seeks to inspire;
to remind those at the top that what you do is worthwhile;
to illustrate the connections between your personal development,
the achievement of your team members and the improvements
in the quality of life for the customers that you serve.
We encourage you to let your personality and true qualities
shine. |
Many business leaders have long aspired
to reach a position of influence. This is the time of your
life. Enjoy it. |
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| (i) Bloch S & Drysdale
J, 'Leadership in New Roles', Hay Group 2000
(ii) 'People Skills
Report, Ashridge Management College, June 2002. The top
five, in order of rank, were: 1 Communication skills; 2
Influencing (especially without authority); 3 Ability to
champion change; 4 Motivational skills; 5 Integrity and
trust. The equivalent survey in 1999 had yielded the following
order: 1 Communication skills; 2 Motivational skills; 3
Setting and monitoring performance goals; 4 Ability to champion
change; 5 Influencing |
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