Thus far in our discussion on Mainstream Leadership we have talked about various strategic ways that today's leaders attempt to motivate, mobilize, and maneuver the modern workforce to perform jobs and tasks for the greater good of the firm.  To a certain extent, Mainstream Leadership deals as much with trying not to de-motivate your employees as it does finding ways to motivate them.  The modern worker, is an advanced breed, and, because of that, they are often much more easily distracted and negatively influenced then previous generations may have been.  Due to increases in the flow of knowledge and overall education levels across the United States and the world abroad, workers are now wondering "Why don't I make that much money?", "What does it take to get a job like that?", and "What skills does he have that I don't?".  And it isn't that these issues weren't present 15-30 years ago, but simply that they are much more evident in the new Information Age in which we live.  A leader of the modern worker must be able to convey exactly why a person's contributions are vital to the successes and failures of an organization.  He must be able to transcend issues of pay, job type, or workload and influence his population to do their best at all times in hopes of achieving better at a later date.  The modern leader must be in-touch with what's going on in the world and be able relate the issues of the day to struggles that may be happening at home or at the job site.  Most of all, the modern worker wants someone they can trust and believe in because so many of the institutions they've trusted and believed in in the past have failed them.  Whether it be the stock market, the company pension plan, or the job they thought they'd have forever, Corporate America has caused great distress in today's workforce and given them reason to doubt the once great system we've had in place for centuries.

To this point we have viewed examples of great leaders that have been depicted in the Mainstream Media, but we have yet to look at anyone who may have fallen short of becoming the next Patton or even motivating his people for better.  In the movie Office Space, Bill Lumbergh is that leader; we've all experienced them in our life times- the leader who absolutely, without shame, fails to stir passion within us to strive for better or even do our best.  Boston.com, a website devoted to the happenings of Beantown recently conducted a social survey on "Bad Bossing" and came up with several examples of superiors who came up just short of greatness.  Luckily for us their flaws were revisited here: http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/famous_bad_bosses?pg=4

Modern Leadership Styles: Part 3

As we've discussed previously, the world is not the same place it once was 20 or 30 years ago- heck, it's not the same place it was three or four years ago for that matter.  Our globe is facing a litany of issues that range from food shortages to rising average temperatures to increased tensions between nations to overpopulation, and these problems are not going away any time soon.  Bob Johansen is a leadership consultant and author of many notable works on the subject, in his book Leaders Make the Future he touches on what he calls the bad VUCA leaders face in the current world, and what they must do to prepare and stay afloat in the uncertain waters of modern society.  VUCA, as Johansen puts it, is an acronym which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, and is the essence of what modern leaders will face as we head deeper into the 21st century and beyond.  The world is hardly in a stable place; with the market crashes and undulations of the past decade to the political unrest of the Middle East there are a lot of uneasiness around the globe today and what currently may be happening isn't guaranteed to be present tomorrow- the leaders of today must be understanding of this and prepare accordingly.  Along those same lines, the Uncertainty that Volatility creates causes a need to be overly prepared for the next step.  The best leaders won't simply have just one plan, but several and will be willing and able to make adjustments to their strategies as they move throughout these treacherous times.  With the rise of the Internet, CNN, and 24-hour news media, the Information Age, as it has been called, has given people more knowledge at their fingertips than ever before- it has also created a "too many cooks in the kitchen" type scenario around the world.  Now, more than ever, everyday people like you and I can make financial transactions, get tips to self-diagnose diseases, and learn how to cook gourmet meals instantaneously over a data connection- actions that may have taken a stock broker, doctor, and chef several hours to do for you previously.  This complexity has forced the leaders of today to have increased vision and long-term reach because they must be able to see through the dust and clouds that surround these turbulent waters and navigate the many wrinkles that the new world's problems have created.  Finally, Johansen says that Ambiguity will become a huge problem for the leaders of the future because no longer will issues be so cut and dry.  Moving forward leaders will have to do much more with much less, and have to deal with increased rules and regulations on how they do it.  The leader of tomorrow must know his trade inside and out so that he can quickly make decisions despite whatever complications may come his way.

When I think about Johansen's description of the problems the world's new generation of leaders will face I am immediately drawn to comparisons of our president.  What CEO could successfully manage an extreme financial downfall, increasing credit dependency, and the implosion of a new product launch all while being involved in a hostile takeover of one company and a messy buy-out of another?  Well that's exactly what has occurred in Washington where President Obama has been trying to pull the country out of a deep recession, is facing huge pressure to reduce the country's dependency on foreign monies, and is hearing harsh criticism about the new health care bill, all while being forced to clean-up the mess that the invasions of both Iraq and Afghanistan have created.  You think he has to lead with some Vision, Understanding, Clarity, and Agility (good VUCA)- you bet!  No matter what side of the political spectrum you fall you must admitt that he has endured a full-term's worth of problems in his first two years on the job.  But his problems will only persist which means that in order for him to stay afloat, and have any chance of keeping his position in office, he must think on the fly and make clear, concise, impactful decisions.

Over the 200+ years that our country has been in existence much has been written about our leaders of the past, present, and future, and their skills.  Their are books, news articles, and seminars you can attend that do their best to try to map out the qualities it takes to be a great President, but unfortunately most of us will never be able to reach that level of leading.  Penn State University is trying to teach those humble few who are willing to try in their Presidential Leadership Academy, a program for select PSU undergraduates to learn and be tutored on leadership by their university's president.  http://academy.psu.edu/index.cfm

Modern Leadership Styles: Part 2

The business world is a strange and complex being, and the way you lead will vary depending the situation, circumstance, and person with whom you are dealing.  In order to be a great leader one must be able to have a semblance of consistency despite all of these variations that may occur (see Basics of Modern Leadership).  Considering this, many leaders have adopted a technique that behavioral scientists have dubbed the Situational Approach which describes the leader who can work on the fly and manage a litany of situations while still keeping an even keel and a clear directive.  Leaders who apply the Situational Approach are able to mold their message and style to most effectively convey the necessary message given the criteria the given environment has presented.  A situational leader may be directing in one instant and delegating in another, while also having to coach and support other individuals on the side.  The situational leader gets the most out of his people because he is able to find the right "button" to push within each individual in order to motivate them and spurn them to complete whatever task may be necessary for the greater good of the team.  The situational leader is able to get this done because he has the trust and confidence of his people, and they believe that he will not lead them astray.  In the same light, the situational leader builds trust and confidence within his population because he is not a micro-manager, he gives orders, directs tasks, and supports those who need it, all with an eye at making the individual a better player in the overall scheme of the group.  Once the situational leader has gained momentum within the group people will buy-in to this system and trust the leader so much that they will be overly committed to the cause, and have the competence to succeed and lead on their own.

In the movie "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves", Robin Hood (played by Kevin Costner) returns home from the crusades to find his life in shambles- his father has been murdered, his longtime girlfriend wants nothing to do with him, and his country is being ransacked by a merciless Sheriff.  To combat the evils that have overcome the land that he loves he decides to motivate a rambling group of peasants and convince them that uprising against the establishment is the only way to survive and be happy.  This clip shows Robin Hood's Situational Leadership style in action, pushing all the right buttons as he motivates his rabble for the cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO0yM5VDosc 

Modern Leadership Styles: Part 1

As the business world has grown and evolved the flow of information has increased to warp speed, and the base of knowledge by which people make decisions has grown immensely.  These events have had the biggest effect on leadership and its application since the inception of the term mainly due to the fact that it is very tough to lead a population that feels that it knows everything.  From this, though, has risen several different new styles of leadership and has spurned behavioral scientists to take a very detailed look at a practice that they previously had thought to be rudimentary.  One of the main leadership styles that has emerged from these studies is the Skills Approach, a way of leading that focuses on the skills of the workforce that need to be effectively developed in order for the everyday tasks of the firm to be executed sufficiently.  The skills approach focuses on what you need to be able to do, not what you can or cannot do already, or how your personality fits in with everyone else.  The skills approach requires a leader who can see a glimmer of hope in everybody because not everybody can be a CEO, some people will have to be in middle management, some people will have to do back office work, and others will have to do sales.  The leader who takes the Skills Approach will find the right role for everyone and constantly be searching for ways to teach people how to improve their personal skills so that they in turn can improve their role within the company.

In the movie, "The Boiler Room" Ben Affleck plays a upper-level manager who is in-charge of new employee hiring and training.  He finds a rag-tag group of young professionals and trains them to be some of New York's leading young stockbrokers.  In the clips below we see Affleck's character lead his troops to improve their skills within their job; at first they must find a way to be hired by the firm, then they must pass a licensing test, and finally they are required to begin opening new accounts in order to stay on board.  But each step of the way, even in his gruesome tongue, Affleck is leading his employees to do better and telling them exactly how to improve each step of the way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8JkSEvyFhM  

Basics of Modern Leadership

In terms of leadership theory there are many schools of thought:  some pundits believe that leadership skills are something inherently acquired through birth and the gene pool, and that if you weren’t born with great bravado and the ability to motivate others you’ll never be able to do so.  Others feel that leadership skills can be practiced and honed as one grows and matures, giving those of us currently stuck at the corporate ground-floor hope of one day walking into a C-Suite.  And many behavioral scientists feel that leadership is even more than a birthright or a practice, but a set of actions that consistently echo with the general public and are repeatable to the point that even the least of those can mobilize the masses for a common purpose.  In all, though, there are some basic premises of leaders that transcend the thought processes of people who have way too much time on their hands.  These skills can be honed and crafted to fit individual personalities and styles and truly form the basis for great leaders.  The first and probably most important is Discipline.  This is not just physical discipline to eat well or exercise consistently- while those things do aid in the process- this speaks mainly towards the need to be disciplined in one’s decision making and actions as a leader.  If people see that you are fair, consistent, and well-balanced in how you go about your work and handle the personalities of others it will go a long way in gaining their respect and bring them to your side.  Discipline can come from many sources, but the best is to have a clear set of directives and values by which you live by and sharing those to the people you are leading so that they know the basis for your decisions and where you are coming from.

Another key ingredient to great leadership is Building Relationships with a Purpose.  To lead effectively one must be able to communicate with people on their level, and in order to do that you must be willing to learn about their cultures, personalities, family background, and life goals.  It is much easier to communicate with someone if you know where they’ve been and what they are trying to accomplish in life.  By explaining to the young professional aspiring to climb the corporate ladder how a simple task or project will help him build skills in key business areas, they will be more likely to tackle the assignment head-on as opposed to simply trudging through it; When you Build Relationships with a Purpose people will be drawn to you and want to do their best because you care.

Finally, all great leaders must have a Vision and have a plan for achieving it.  In order to generate momentum within a population of individuals you must give them a reason to be excited.  Whether it’s the chance to win a ballgame, gain promotion within the company they work, or raise money for a great cause, people want to be able to make a real and genuine connection with their day-to-day lives and the overall task at hand.  As leaders it is our job to make that connection for them and convey the message that it will take many great individual efforts in order to achieve the life-sized goals that you have in store for them.  If you are able to do that then it make the job of leadership that much easier.

In all, the basics of leadership are a simple recipe, but the consistent application of these traits over the long-run can be difficult and touch to achieve.  If you are able to do so, however, you will create a fan base among those you are leading that will be unshakable, even in the wake of great conflict.

Below is a video of a leader who was not so great at the basics.  He wasn’t very disciplined, he did not build relationships with a purpose, nor did he have a great vision for his people, but he did get the most out of those he needed the most- especially when it counted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEHfirKjBzo&feature=related 

Introduction

Welcome to Mainstream Leadership, a blog that examines how various types of leaders and leadership styles are portrayed in the mainstream media (i.e. movies, television, pop music, news, etc.).  Through this blog we will review many of the most popular portrayals of leaders today and judge whether or not the characters involved should be considered real or effective leaders.  This discussion will be done in hopes of provoking thought in your own mind about what characteristics are truly most important in being a good leader, and what style of leadership you, as a real person, might aspire to use and implement in your own life.