Leadership Effectiveness Analysis

Many instruments are available from publishers and consulting firms to help leaders (and leaders -to-be) assess their strengths. Kouzes and Posner (2002) have developed the Leadership Practices Instrument, which provides a self-assessment on what the authors feel are the five practices and the ten commitments of leadership. Buckingham and Clifton have worked with the Gallup organization to identify thirty-four potential strengths a person may bring to a leadership position.

The Management Research Group out of Portland, Maine, has gathered assessments on over thirty thousand leaders and identified six sets of behaviors that can be assessed by the individual and his or her bosses, peers, and direct reports . They have produced what they call the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (LEA) instrument. The elements of the LEA instrument are summarized in Table 3 and discussed below.

1. Creating a vision

   • Conservative: studying problems in light of past practices to ensure predictability, reinforce the status quo, and minimize risk

   • Innovative: feeling comfortable in fast-changing environments; being willing to take risks and to consider new and untested approaches

   • Technical: acquiring and maintaining in-depth knowledge in one's field or area of focus; using one's expertise and specialized knowledge to study issues and draw conclusions

   • Self: emphasizing the importance of making decisions independently; looking to oneself as the prime vehicle for decision making

   • Strategic: taking a long-range, broad approach to problem solving and decision making through objective analysis, thinking ahead, and planning

2. Developing followership

   • Persuasive: building commitment by convincing others and winning them over to one's point of view

   • Outgoing: acting in an extroverted, friendly, and informal manner; showing a capacity to quickly establish free and easy interpersonal relationships

   • Excitement: operating with plenty of energy, intensity, and emotional expression; having a capacity for keeping others enthusiastic and involved

   • Restraint: maintaining a low-key, understated, and quiet inter-personal demeanor by working to control one's emotional expression

3. Implementing the vision

   • Structuring: adopting a systematic and organized approach; preferring to work in a precise, methodical manner; developing and utilizing guidelines and procedures

   • Tactical: emphasizing the production of immediate results by focusing on short-range, hands-on, practical strategies

   • Communication: stating clearly what one wants and expects from others; clearly expressing one's thoughts and ideas; maintaining a precise and constant flow of information

   • Delegation: enlisting the talents of others to help meet objectives by giving them important activities and sufficient autonomy to exercise their own judgment

4. Following through

   • Control: adopting an approach in which one takes nothing for granted, sets deadlines for certain actions, and is persistent in monitoring the progress of activities to ensure that they are completed on schedule

   • Feedback: letting others know in a straightforward manner what one thinks of them, how well they have performed, and if they have met one's needs and expectations

5. Achieving results

   • Management focus: seeking to exert influence by being in a position of authority, taking charge, and leading and directing the efforts of others

   • Dominant: pushing vigorously to achieve results through a forceful, assertive, and competitive approach

   • Production: adopting a strong orientation toward achievement; holding high expectations of oneself and others; pushing one-self and others to achieve at high levels

6. Team playing

   • Cooperation: accommodating the needs and interests of others by being willing to defer performance on one's own objectives in order to assist colleagues with theirs

   • Consensual: valuing the ideas and opinions of others and collecting their input as part of one's decision-making process

   • Authority: showing loyalty to the organization; respecting the opinion of people in authority and using them as resources for information, direction, and decisions

   • Empathy: demonstrating an active concern for people and their needs by forming close and supportive relationships with others

Source: Management Research Group, Leadership Effectiveness Analysis (Portland, ME: Management Research Group, 1998).

1. Creating a Vision

   How talented are you at helping teams create a vision that will orient their efforts? Some achieve this by using lessons learned in the past to determine what should be happening now. Others are more innovative and willing to help people extend their thinking in addressing the rapid changes in the environment. Technical expertise could be emphasized in efforts to identify a preferred future. Some leaders take sole responsibility for creating a vision, while others emphasize a more collaborative approach. The LEA also assesses the degree to which the leader pushes for a long- term , wide- ranging approach to planning for the future. What approaches do you typically use to create a vision?

2. Developing Followership

   Some leaders develop followership through persuasion, convincing others to adopt their point of view. Followership can also be developed by being friendly, informal, and outgoing. Some display a lot of energy, and their enthusiasm keeps others involved. Still others try to be the calming influence and develop followership by minimizing potentially destructive emotional displays. How do you create followership among members of your teams?

3. Implementing the Vision

   Having a vision for your team is one thing, but implementing it is another. Do you naturally take a systematic, organized approach to the work of your team? Do you focus on the team's step-by-step tactics to accomplish goals? Do you dedicate considerable time for clearly communicating what is expected and ensuring a constant flow of information to and from your team? Or are you a delegator, one who recruits talented members to the team and then turns them loose to do their work? How do you help your team implement its vision?

4. Following Through

   The two issues here are control and feedback. Control refers to setting clear deadlines and closely monitoring whether those deadlines are met. How much are you willing to take for granted? In giving feedback, to what extent do you let others know precisely what you think of their work performance?

5. Achieving Results

   To what extent do you emphasize that you are in charge and use this authority to direct the efforts of others? Dominant leaders are assertive and encourage the competitive urge to achieve. Others get results by setting high expectations for themselves as well as others. How do you help your team achieve results?

6. Team Playing

   How cooperative are you? As a leader, are you willing to accommodate the needs of team members even if that means deferring performance? To what extent are you a consensus builder? Do you make sure everyone's input is used in making decisions? How respectful of authority are you? Are you loyal and respectful to the point that you would defer decision making to those in charge? Do you develop close relationships with team members by demonstrating an understanding of their needs? What is your approach to being a team player?