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The Leader’s Leverage

Using a lever and properly placed fulcrum, you can lift an object that would be impossible to move by your own direct effort. That is an apt metaphor for leadership. As a principal, operations manager, project manager, or team leader, you may feel overwhelmed at times in trying to get your coworkers to move in a specific, desired direction. But by effectively applying what I call the “leader’s leverage,” you can garner remarkable collective ability for achieving important corporate or project goals.

The Essence of Leadership

Before getting into the specifics of the leader’s leverage, let’s generally define what a leader is. The essence of leadership is getting others to follow. You do not become a leader by appointment, regardless of your title or responsibilities. The role of leader must be earned through the effective use of your personal strengths and developed skills. The impact of leadership is not derived from the position but the person. For this reason, leaders can arise at any level of the organization.

Here’s our basic definition:

A leader is one who engages the willing involvement of others in creating positive change.

The first key aspect of this definition is “willing involvement.” An effective leader doesn’t resort to coercion or manipulation to get people to follow. He or she earns their voluntary commitment.

Leadership also, by definition, involves “positive change.” A leader isn’t needed for maintaining the status quo; a manager is sufficient. The fact that meaningful change comes so slowly in most technical consulting and design firms speaks to the shortage of effective leaders in our business. Change is an imperative of leadership because growth, improvement, and innovation—which are undoubtedly desired by every company—all involve change.

Three Levels of Leverage

Leverage relates to the leader’s ability to mobilize others to take certain actions and to facilitate change. There are three primary levels of leverage:

u Authority. This is the ability to compel others. Much of the literature suggests that leaders don’t resort to exerting their authority. My experience indicates otherwise. Since change is a crucial leadership goal, there typically must be a mandate or compelling reason to get people to change. There is also a place in leadership for holding people accountable for following through on their commitments.

The secret of authority is to use it sparingly and selectively. It also is rarely effective on its own, but should be used in combination with the other two levels of leverage. Obviously, authority wielded in such a way as to cause unwilling involvement does not constitute effective leadership.

u Expertise. This is the ability to show others how. The leader is respected and followed in part because people are convinced that he or she has the know-how and skills necessary to lead the way. The expertise-based leader, of course, is common in our business. But we shouldn’t confuse expertise in the technical realm with competency in business, marketing, human resources, or organizational issues—areas where leadership is often most needed.

u Influence. This is the ability to motivate others, the highest form of leverage and where leadership is best demonstrated. Influence involves many things—communication, caring, personal example, etc. Relatively few technical managers, in my experience, are really effective in applying the leverage of influence. So this obviously needs to be our focal point in developing leadership ability.

Character of the Leader

As a leader, you are defined as much by who you are as by what you do. This is especially important to your ability to influence others. Three character traits are consistently evident in effective leaders:

u Personal credibility. A leader must be worthy of others’ trust and respect. This characteristic is largely defined by how much you care for others, specifically those you are trying to lead. Are you trustworthy? Are you a good listener? Do you encourage and praise others? People are more inclined to follow a leader with high personal credibility, even if he or she is deficient in some leadership skills.

u Perceptional discipline. Strong leaders typically display the rare ability to see things accurately. This involves being able to make accurate assessments of (1) the situation, (2) others, and, (3) perhaps most difficult of all, yourself. Bias and self-interest often cloud our ability to make objective judgments about our company, employees, clients, markets, and important trends affecting our business.

Effective leaders have the ability to “view things from the balcony”—a description used by former NBA great Magic Johnson to describe his remarkable court sense. Getting on the balcony requires mentally removing oneself from the situation (especially emotionally) to see the big picture in a detached, objective manner.

This is particularly challenging when assessing your own personal credibility and leadership abilities. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses enables you to craft an approach to leadership that fits who you are. Your self-assessment should include recognizing how others see you, for perception is reality when it comes to the impact we have on others. Obviously, the suggestion is to solicit feedback from others in assessing your leadership abilities.

u Persevering focus. As a leader, you must be able to concentrate your energies and attention over the long term until goals are achieved. Unfortunately, the norm in our business is managers who are constantly “fighting fires”—allowing the constant stream of unanticipated, urgent matters dictate how they spend their time and devote their attention. Of course, you need to be responsive, but you want to avoid being reactive. Strong leaders avoid a reactive approach to their business, planning ahead and following through on those plans. In other words, effective leaders are not just visionary; they get things done.

Leader’s Core Competencies

There are numerous capabilities involved in being an effective leader. The following core competencies encompass the skills that I believe yield the greatest results:

u Communicate. Effective leaders connect people to the bigger picture or a common vision. This includes the ability to define a strategic vision, inspire others to pursue it, and instruct them how to proceed. Poor communication, on the other hand, is consistently at the root of all kinds of organizational and client problems.

u Collaborate. Effective leaders engage others in working together towards a common goal. They know how to promote synergy through teamwork, taking full advantage of the differing strengths and contributions of their team. These leaders recognize that their own performance is enhanced by drawing on the collective talents of the team.

u Cultivate. Strong leaders help the people around them grow both professionally and personally. This kind of leader effects change in those who follow, finding ways to help them utilize the untapped potential within them to both their individual gain and the company’s benefit.

u Elevate. Effective leaders foster a culture of continuous improvement. They are never satisfied with the status quo. They are constantly looking for better ways to do things and inspire others to join them in that ongoing commitment to growth and improvement.

Summary

This is obviously an oversimplified description of leadership. But having observed effective leaders over the years, extensively researched the literature, and served in various leadership capacities myself, I think these elements capture the most crucial aspects of leadership. Growth as a leader involves incremental improvements, not wholesale transformation. So let me suggest that you concentrate your efforts in becoming the best leader you can be on the three levels of leverage, character traits, and core competencies described above.

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