The Golden
Age of Leadership – Where are You?
By Pat
Heydlauf
As a
decision maker
and influence leader, do you stop to think about how you lead and
what age you and your business operate under? Does the philosophy of
that age influence your decisions when it comes to maximizing
productivity and profitability in the 21st Century?
Today, leadership
and team members are charged with doing more with less, while
increasing efficiencies and productivity. History can no longer be a
guide to future results. Old norms do not exist anymore.
Today’s new
economic model and marketplace dictates unusual expertise,
professionalism and possibility thinking and needs a holistic
approach to leadership that ultimately leads to improved
productivity, higher employee satisfaction and retention, better
client relationships and increased profitability.
Leadership is an
unending process that must be approached in a multi-disciplined way
to achieve sustainable transformation and develop a focused,
balanced and productive workforce where great communication skills
are always practiced and where interpersonal skills and connections
are emphasized. It doesn’t matter if you are a corporation setting
policy and the vision for thousands of team members or if your team
is comprised of one, the same rules apply.
The Iron Age organizational structure and leadership style
began about the time the Dark Ages ended in the 1700s. Typical of
that era was a tight-fisted and controlling management style that
lead to a lot of apathy, resentment and hostility between employer
and employee; leader and follower. There was great fear by those at
the bottom of the pecking order – consider the employer/employee
relationship of Ebenezer Scrooge, a cold-hearted, tight-fisted
greedy business leader and Bob Cratchit, his significantly
underpaid clerk,
abused by the
poor working conditions and long hours.
The Iron Age style of management is still alive and well,
rearing its subjectively destructive head in various industries and
countries around the world which contributes to workplace turmoil,
increased stress and chaos. In fact, the Newtonian based
organizational chart given birth in the Iron Age is still being used
by businesses, organizations and leaders today. It hasn’t changed in
over four centuries. It is rule-bound disciplines for operating
systems based on mathematics and physics and worked well up through
the Industrial Age. But, what about now? Society has moved quickly
through the Information Age right on into the “Feelings Age” yet the
old organizational system is an anathema, stifles creativity,
communication and connections so critical to a thriving business in
the 21st Century.
Isn’t it time for a change – a change that creates a workplace
environment where employees are engaged, encouraged and involved. Communication,
it’s all about communication and connection. Communication is key in
workplace balance for leaders and team members.
Besides improving communications and connecting with employees,
today’s
leader need to reduce stress; increase productivity and enthusiasm
among employees and can do just that through self-motivation and
creativity techniques. When you create an environment where people
are engaged, encouraged and involved, productivity and profitability
increase.
Where are you? What era are you operating under? Perhaps it’s
not the Iron Age at all but the Bronze Age or maybe you’ve stepped
up to the Silver Age of leadership. Is there also a Golden Age and
is that the optimum operating system for the 21st
Century?
In the next issue you will find out just what happens in the
Bronze Age of leadership and whether it is the ideal for today’s
economy and marketplace.
However, no matter what the age, there are two basics that
cannot be ignored – organization and focus. Leaders and team members
need to be organized and focused so they don’t lose precious time
and complete projects on time. Organization yields efficiency and
focus yields productivity. This is one of the basic tenets of
Engage, How to Lead with Power, Productivity and Promise.
Leadership needs to ensure the workplace environment is organized
and without energy-drainers in order to maximize focus and
productivity. Eliminate the chaos, organize it and productivity will
dramatically increase.
Read other articles and learn more about
Pat Heydlauf.
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