Leadership Speaker
Leadership Topics by John Di Frances
Leadership is the ultimate determinant of how far an organization will progress and the level of greatness it will achieve.
Leadership presentations typically include the following types of concepts and principles:
- Creating Effective Leadership
- Developing a Coaching/Mentoring Philosophy
- Building a Legacy Organization
- Boosting Productivity Today
- Shockingly Excellent Customer Service
- Learning from Outstanding Leaders
- Instilling Teamwork In a Global Environment
- Ethics - Developing Organizations of Character
- Balancing Life & Family for Success
What is more important, leadership or teamwork? Leadership or consensus management? Although both teamwork and consensus building are critical skills in a leader, neither are substitutes for capable leadership itself. Instead, both, as commonly practiced in business today, are an over-reaction to past autocratic management styles.
What really is leadership? My working definition of leadership is: “Providing the capable oversight, guidance and governance necessary to direct a group a people in the successful attainment of a shared vision.” Note that neither the words team nor consensus are mentioned in this definition. This in no manner diminishes the importance of these two criteria for the leader, it merely reflects the reality of what leadership is and is not. Leadership is by nature both action and individual oriented. Leadership is not the function of a committee or even of a group, although the best organizations benefit greatly from having a group of leaders. There is a popular cliché: Leaders like eagles do not flock, you must find them one at a time.” Although this sounds catchy, it is not fully true. Leaders do not “flock,” but they are not “loners” either.
To return to our initial question ... leadership, teamwork, and consensus are all important, all necessary. In order to have effective teamwork and productive, real consensus (not just everyone waiting for clues as to what the boss thinks before expressing their opinion), the organization must have a firm foundation of capable leadership. I would add, “strong capable leadership,” although I know that at hearing the word “strong,” some will immediately equate that to authoritarian or tyrannical rule. However, whether one sees a team of horses in a parade pulling a heavy circus wagon or a string of huskies pulling a dog sled, the lead animal does not dominate the others, but it does provide the essential function of leading the team. After all, someone must lead. Over my thirty plus years of business experience, I have participated in many, many management committees (teams), but in every case the effectiveness of the committee was determined directly by the apparent or de facto leader. There is an old axiom that: “The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack!
Thus, effective and efficient leadership is provided by individuals. Contrary to popular belief, consensus is not a guarantee of optimal decision making. This in no way means that good leaders act in a vacuum or as a “majority of one.” In fact, just the opposite is true. Effective leaders understand the value of collaboration, and they actively and continuously seek to develop avenues of collaboration within their organizations. One of the methods by which highly effective and successful leaders encourage and foster collaboration is through building cooperative networks, both within and outside of the organization, but especially within the leader's own management team.
