Designed for Charity Sector Professionals · identify your natural style of leadership and the...

VIP Coaching Ltd Peter Lewis www.vipcoaching.org.uk [email protected]

Designed for Charity Sector Professionals

Introduction to Enlightened Leadership


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CONTENTS

Why Enlightened Leadership? ...................................................................................................................... 2

VIP Leadership Dynamics .............................................................................................................................. 3

Leadership Styles and Activity ....................................................................................................................... 5

How I can I become an Enlightened Leader? ................................................................................................ 6

Six Leadership Styles: Daniel Goleman .......................................................................................................... 7

Leading with a Coaching Culture ................................................................................................................... 8

Embedding a Coaching Culture ..................................................................................................................... 9

Coaching for Performance ........................................................................................................................... 10

Four Types of Organisational Culture .......................................................................................................... 11

Supporting a Coaching Culture .................................................................................................................... 13

Enlightened Leadership Action Plan ............................................................................................................ 14

Why Enlightened Leadership?

VIP Coaching has designed this Introduction to Enlightened Leadership session to help you increase your awareness of the power of embracing a variety of leadership styles. This will equip you to be an effective leader and be able to lead in a variety of situations and with a diverse range of people. This in turn, boosts self-confidence, communication and influencing skills. Starting with a focus on self-awareness of the leader within, VIP Coaching reveals the various traits of an effective leader and how this enables individuals to fulfil their potential. The session will equip you to:

o introduce more flexibility in the way you lead o understand why more organisations are embedding a coaching culture to support performance

improvement and be more responsive to change o highlight the impact of organisational culture and the relationship between predominant leadership

traits and a culture which either accelerates performance or impedes progress Experience the VIP approach for yourself as we guide you through this process of self-discovery, where you become an Enlightened Leader and recognise the positive impact you have on others.

Learning Outcomes

This VIP Enlightened Leadership session is designed to give you an insight into your role as a leader. When you have completed this session you should be able to:

✓ list several leadership styles and identify which styles work best in a particular situation ✓ explain the benefits of introducing a coaching culture into an organisation ✓ analyse how the current culture in your workplace aligns with the Organisation Culture Model ✓ identify your natural style of leadership and the importance of flexing your style ✓ know how to select the most appropriate leadership styles to enhance performance ✓ develop action plans to introduce new leadership skills into your workplace


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VIP LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS

The following VIP Leadership Dynamics Model offers individuals an approach to develop their leadership influence to improve organisational performance.

VIP Leadership Dynamics Model

1. Identity, Purpose & Design Every organisation needs to have a clear and meaningful identity. People need to feel proud to be associated with this entity as this applies to customers and employees alike. Leaders must have a clear understanding of the purpose and values of the organisation and how these are reflected in its brand, products or services. They need to be passionate in the way they nurture, communicate and share this. It is essential that the design of the organisation is fit for purpose, being both effective and efficient.

2. Strategy & Structure The role of the leader is to embrace the organisation’s strategic objectives and ensure plans are communicated clearly to others and implemented into daily operations in a meaningful way through having the right structures in place.

3. Leadership & Management The importance of effective leadership must not be underestimated as it is intrinsic to the success of the organisation. Leadership must be dynamic, adapting to internal challenges and external forces. It must therefore be a key element of a coaching culture where managers continually promote this ethos within the organisation. Everyone needs to live and breathe coaching as a way of interacting with and supporting others.

4. Engagement & Innovation Employee engagement needs to be proactively monitored and supported at every level. Enlightened leaders understand the importance of allowing employees greater levels of flexibility, which encourages increased innovation throughout the organisation.

5. Teams & Individuals

Ambitious organisations place high value on teamwork and understand how it delivers increased levels of productivity. There is a direct relationship between how an organisation values individuals and gets the best out of them, leading to improved performance through greater levels of cohesive working and collaboration.


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6. Motivation & Contribution A positive leadership style is integral to the organisation’s purpose and values; it needs to be highly visible and engaging so that individuals feel comfortable approaching managers. A coaching culture creates greater levels of accessibility and openness. Outstanding organisations appreciate that individuals and teams need to feel valued, inspired and recognised for their contribution, which leads to increased motivation and a subsequent rise in productivity.

7. Culture & Performance Sweet-spot

In many organisations, the culture has evolved and adapted in relation to the inputs, attitudes and behaviours of all the stakeholders, and as such, it may not be serving the organisation effectively. Introducing and embedding a Coaching Culture is the fastest and most effective way to instil company values, increase employee engagement and boost performance. Achieving the culture and performance sweet-spot helps transform a good organisation to an outstanding one.

This model is designed to offer an overview of the current leadership and organisational performance status. Each of the seven areas should be reviewed and worked on, as required, to significantly enhance overall performance. How can I apply ‘Identity, Purpose & Design’ to my workplace?

Does your organisation have a positive brand identity that people are proud to be associated with? Are the majority of roles aligned with and contributing to the organisation’s core purpose? Is your organisation operating efficiently whilst retaining the flexibility to be agile?


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Leadership Styles

This introduction to Enlightened Leadership looks at first-hand experience of leadership. This may be a reflection of what leadership styles are prevalent in the workplace around us and displayed by senior leaders or the leadership styles we, as individuals, recognise within ourselves. The following activity explores six common leadership styles, most of which we will have all come across at some stage. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The most appropriate type of leadership, for any given situation, will depend on the circumstances. An autocratic style of leadership, for example, may be very effective in an emergency when decisiveness is key, but when trying to get buy-in from others, a charismatic or democratic approach is more likely to be effective. However, developing the ability to call on one or more styles will result in you having more control in any given situation and therefore being recognised as an Enlightened Leader. ACTIVITY: Six Leadership Styles

Learning Outcomes from the Activity


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Effective leaders need to be flexible so that they can adapt their approach to suit the situation. Importantly, anyone may for one reason or another, in one situation or another, become a leader. Outcomes from the activity suggest:

o there is no one style of leadership o no one style is correct o leaders must be flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of the group or team o a senior manager may not necessarily be a good leader; it is their skills and behaviour that count o anyone can show leadership o leadership is about providing direction and encouragement o the ‘traits’ approach to leadership is the most advantageous to the Enlightened Leader

How can I become an Enlightened Leader?

Who do you consider to be the most effective leaders in your workplace and why? What leadership styles do they demonstrate? What do you feel is your preferred leadership style? How flexible are you in applying a range of styles to meet the needs of different situations? Do you need to further develop and become more comfortable using the other styles?


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SIX LEADERSHIP STYLES: Daniel Goleman

Extensive research conducted by Daniel Goleman led to the development of his Six Leadership Styles Model, which has gained wide recognition and has resulted in a more enlightened leadership approach.

1. Coercive Leaders - demand immediate obedience. (Autocratic)

In a single phrase, this style is ‘Do what I tell you’.

These leaders show initiative, self-control, and drive to succeed. There is, of course, a time and a place for such leadership: a battlefield is the classic example, but any crisis will need clear, calm, commanding leadership. This style does not, however, encourage anyone else to take the initiative, and often has a negative effect on how people feel.

2. Pace-setting Leaders - expect excellence and self-direction. (Driver)

This style can be summed up as ‘Do as I do, now’.

The Pace-setter very much leads by example, but this type of leadership only works with a highly-competent and well-motivated team. It can only be sustained for a while without team members flagging. Like the Coercive leader, Pace-setters also show drive to succeed and initiative, but instead of self-control, these are coupled with conscientiousness.

3. Authoritative Leaders - move people towards a vision. (Charismatic)

This style is probably best summed up as ‘Come with me’.

These leaders are visionary and it's the most useful style when a new vision or clear direction is needed, and is most strongly positive. Authoritative leaders are high in self-confidence and empathy, acting as a change catalyst by drawing people into the vision and engaging them with the future.

4. Affiliative Leaders - values and creates emotional bonds and harmony. (Team Player)

Affiliative leaders believe that ‘People come first’.

Such leaders demonstrate empathy, and strong communication skills, and are very good at building relationships. This style is most useful when a team has been through a difficult experience, and needs to heal rifts, or develop motivation. It is not a very goal-oriented style, so anyone using it will need to make sure others understand that the goal is team harmony, and not specific tasks.

It is probably obvious from this that it cannot be used on its own for any length of time if you need to ‘get the job done’.

5. Democratic Leaders - build consensus through participation. (Democratic)

Democratic leaders are constantly asking ‘What do you think?’.

Such leaders show high levels of collaboration, team leadership and strong communication skills. This style of leadership works well in developing ownership for a project, but it can make for slow progress towards goals, until a certain amount of momentum has built up. Anyone wishing to use this style will need to make sure that senior managers are signed up to the process, and understand that it may take time to develop the consensus.

6. Coaching Leaders - develop people. (Coach)

The phrase that sums up this leadership style is ‘Try it’.

Coaching leaders allow people to try different approaches to problem solving and achieving a goal in an open way. The coaching leader shows high levels of empathy, self-awareness and skills in developing others. A coaching style is especially useful when an organisation values long-term staff development.


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Leading with a Coaching Culture

Increasingly, more organisations are embedding a coaching culture to support performance improvement and to ensure they can be more agile and responsive to change. Coaching is described as:

“a collaborative, personalised process that facilitates new thinking to cause positive change”

A coaching culture is where the whole organisation shares an understanding of HOW to coach, where coaching conversations are easier to begin and to sustain - making communication more effective, delivering faster, more accurate results.

Teams and individuals who develop coaching habits share insights, information, and knowledge to drive towards success. Fear of making mistakes is replaced with a learning environment.

Coaching engages people in safe dialogue where they respectfully share their candid concerns, ideas, and points-of-view. In this environment, people feel valued.

(Coaching Pacific Ltd, 2013).

By creating and embedding a coaching culture in your organisation, you will provide a competitive advantage in the following areas:

• attracting, recruiting and retaining talent

• quickly and effectively on-boarding new team members

• re-energising and fully engaging staff at all levels

Further benefits include:

• a coaching culture driven from the top down and bottom up empowers and generates enthusiasm to achieve

• transformation of leadership and management practices

• improved communication through impactive conversations

• enhanced team working through shared cultural language

• positive real-time performance management through Strengths First© ethos

• use of inter-departmental co-active coaching* leads to greater co-operation and collaboration

• helps staff at every level to achieve personal and professional growth, aiding career succession

• welds the energy and innovation of the entire organisation to new levels of agility to deal with challenges in a VUCA era

* Henry Kimsey-House and Karen Kimsey-House Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives


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Embedding a Coaching Culture

The following model depicts an effective 4-step process that can be applied to embed a coaching culture in any organisation.

A coaching ethos promotes Development, Engagement & Performance In his book ‘Creating a Coaching Culture' (2012, p22), Peter Hawkins describes the three key pillars of a coaching culture as:

• Coaching strategy: firmly grounded in the organisation's mission strategy and development plan, and linked to other people's development activities.

• Alignment with broader organisation culture change: a coaching culture is key part of creating a more general culture of continual learning and development

• Coaching infrastructure: with governance and management in place to ensure coaching is integrated into the way the organisation operates, for example a sponsor or steering group, to ensure that the coaching processes are given direction and there is accountability for impact; a management group to drive and co-ordinate coaching activities; and a community of practice committed to the development and success of coaching throughout the organisation.

So, how does this work in practice? Coaching thought leaders David Clutterbuck and David Megginson believe that the following factors are essential:

• ensuring that people are rewarded for knowledge-sharing

• valuing and promoting coaching as an investment in excellence

• the top team are coaching role models (who seek and use feedback)

• there are dedicated coaching leaders who champion the coaching culture How can I Embed a Coaching Culture?


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Coaching for Performance

Coaching creates an environment that allows meaningful communication and provides a framework to support individuals to overcome limiting beliefs and behaviours and in doing so meets individual needs and leads to greater engagement and a feeling of empowerment.

“So, what is the most important application of coaching? It is only when coaching principles govern and underlie all management behaviour and interactions, as they certainly will do in time, will the full force of people’s performance potential be released… It is a call for a fundamental transformation in management style and culture.”

Sir John Whitmore Coaching for Performance: GROWing Human Potential and Purpose -

the Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership

What Mindset and Skills do Leaders need to Embed a Coaching Culture? Leaders now need to adopt a coaching mentality and to develop enhanced skills levels to:

• Use effective questions rather than instructions or commands to raise awareness of this approach and the new responsibility for the employee

• demonstrate increased empathy and champion guided discovery

• own and live the vision daily to create an engaging environment

• address individual needs for a greater sense of meaning and purpose Action Plan to Implement a Coaching Culture


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Four Types of Organisation Culture

According to Robert E Quinn and Kim S Cameron, there are four types of organisational culture: Hierarchy, Clan, Market, and Adhocracy:

Internal Focus & Integration

Stability & Control

Hierarchy

Clan

Flexibility & Freedom to Act

Market

Adhocracy

External Focus & Diversification

• Hierarchy oriented cultures are structured and

controlled, with a focus on efficiency, stability and “doing things right.”

• Market oriented cultures are results oriented, with a focus on competition, achievement, and “getting the job done.”

• Clan oriented cultures are family-like, with a focus on mentoring, nurturing, and “doing things together.”

• Adhocracy oriented cultures are dynamic and entrepreneurial, with a focus on risk-taking, innovation, and “doing things first.”

How do the six Leadership Styles relate to each of the four types of organisation culture?

Hierarchy

Clan

Market

Adhocracy


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There’s no correct organisational culture; all cultures promote some forms of behaviour, whilst they inhibit others. Some are well suited to rapid and repeated change, others to slow incremental development. When combined, the two cultures Hierarchy and Market have a principal focus on stability; whilst a combination of Clan and Adhocracy focus on flexibility and adaptability. A Hierarchy culture based on control will lead mainly to incremental change, while a focus on Adhocracy will more typically lead to breakthrough change. The right culture will be one that closely fits the direction and strategy of a particular organisation as it confronts its own issues and the challenges of a particular time. What culture do you want for your organisation and how might you move towards it in the future?

Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument By completing the questionnaire, you will be able to identify the current culture in your organisation. This can create a snapshot of where you are now and a projection of where you would like the organisation to be in the future and determine what culture will best support the transformation. A copy of the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (questionnaire) will be emailed to you.


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Supporting a Coaching Culture with the VIP StrengthsFirst Approach

Do you have an opportunity to use your strengths every day in your work? Chances are you don’t. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From our first day at work, we are encouraged to spend more time fixing our shortcomings than further developing our strengths. Few employees actually feel they use their strengths at work each day, so it is perhaps hardly surprising that many organisations are underperforming. This then represents a huge opportunity for today’s Enlightened Leader; they need to reconsider how they choose, manage and develop – and even stretch – their team members.

A strength is something you are good at, that energises and motivates you, and that gives you great results.

A focused approach to implementing StrengthsFirst coaching can be applied to everyday situations:

Focus on Strengths Boosts Performance • People perform at their best when expectations are clear and aligned as closely as possible with their

strengths. 73% are engaged when leaders focused on strengths • People are happier, more motivated and make a stronger contribution if they are enabled to play to

their strengths • Our strengths are most effective when we use them at the right time, in the right situation, and to the

right amount. Strengths can be overused and underused with negative consequences. Focus on Weakness Diminishes Performance • Only 9% staff are engaged when leaders focused on weaknesses • Leaders who view weaknesses from a position of strength, can consider how to use strengths and the

inherent energy to address any significant weaknesses To discover more about the VIP StrengthsFirst approach visit our website.

Top 10 features of strengths focused meetings • Start on a positive note • Celebrate and explore successes • Always have an outcome focus • Focus on solutions, as opposed to problems • Get from solution to action • Create a good balance using the four domains of

leadership • Listen fully without interruptions • End on a positive note and acknowledge

contributions • Evaluate

Six Leadership Conversations • Setting goals • Reviewing progress • Addressing problems • Addressing weaknesses • Exploring and shaping future progress • Committing to action

Benefits for the Coachee • More rewarding relationship with line manager • Develop more effective use of skills and

strengths • Enhanced job satisfaction and motivation • Improve performance

Benefits for the Coaching Leader • Achieve improved communication • Increase staff involvement • Facilitate effective delegation • Build more effective teams • Achieve higher levels of performance


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Enlightened Leader Action Plan

What actions will I take to implement this learning to best effect back in the workplace?

What leadership styles could I develop further to boost my performance?

What support do I need? Who can help me?

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Any other thoughts, insights or considerations?

VIP Coaching’s greatest impact is in increasing the effectiveness of individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole. We equip managers with coaching skills critical to building a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.

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