I see a lot, and I mean a lot of articles on LinkedIn and suchlike that discuss leadership.  Of these I estimate about half have titles like ‘8 key things every leader must do’, ‘Top 5 tips for outstanding leadership’, ‘You can’t live without these 3 insights from CEOs’ … I’m sure you’ve seen them too.

What I worry about, and I genuinely mean I worry about this, is that the authors seem to believe they have The Solution to the extraordinarily complex topic of leadership – a silver bullet which, if adopted by others, would see amazing leaders springing up left and right overnight.

Now, I understand that articles with sensationalist titles promising quick fixes are a favourite for attracting online readers with little time or appetite for detail.  But when I read the typical comments submitted below these articles I can't help think that some people actually believe in these silver bullets. For example:

• “Fantastic post, there are many leaders who …” (commenter proceeds to agree with the theme of the post).
• “I’m in total agreement with the author's assertions.  I myself had a manager who …” (blah blah blah).
• And I was horrified to see: “I use your excellent online articles as an important part of several courses that I teach at <name withheld to save embarrassment> Business School, and plan to include this post in the next part of my MBA leadership course.” Oh dear lord.
  

So, if these types of article cause me so much distress, why have I knowlingly jumped into the same trap? Because as far as I'm concerned there really is only 1 thing leaders need to grasp:

I'm sorry to disappoint those of you hoping for instant leadership enlightenment.  But if that's you then please, just for a moment, think.  If being a great leader was a simple as following a set of guidelines or easy steps, there would be a lot more great leaders around.  There’s a reason so many articles, books, research papers and editorials get written about leadership: it’s complicated.

For reader's who've got a bit more time or depth of interest here's some support for my claim:

Grint in his 1997 book ‘Leadership: Classical, Contemporary and Critical Approaches’ (Oxford University Press) started by reviewing the academic literature available on leadership.  He sought to simplify and compartmentalise what was an enormous quantity of information and ideas.  Initially he listed the ‘necessary aspects of leadership’ proposed by different authors, but gave up after reaching 127 as too long a list to be of any practical use.  Next he considered the ‘polarities of leadership’ (e.g. leader vs manager, charismatic vs ordinary, empathic vs task-oriented leaders, authoritative vs coaching style) – arguments which are the mainstay of so many quick fix articles.  He binned this too as such there are simply too many of these constructs, and they fail to appreciate the subtlety and complexity of human behaviour.  In the end he hit upon two axes which all the leadership literature (and yes, even those quick fix articles) fall upon: 1. the characteristics of the individual and 2. the context or situation in which leadership operates:

In summary he found that all leadership theory and advice focusses on aspects of the individual, or the context, or both.  None are more right or wrong than others, they just look at the puzzle in different ways and come to different conclusions.  But I’m not going to go into it all now as it really is rather too involved for a quick online read over your lunch.

However, if you want to know more about the rich and complex world of leadership, and what makes great leaders, then ThinkingOn can help.

Strength-based working is still a fairly new concept for many companies so here are some thoughts, tips and suggestions for starting your strengths journey.

I’d like to learn more about my strengths, what can I do?

Step 1: Identify your strengths
Do a strengths profile

• There are several online strengths questionnaires of varying quality and cost. Popular ones include: Realise2, Clifton StrengthsFinder, Values in Action (VIA), and Strengthscope.
  

Look for clues which indicate your strengths:

• Work you enjoy doing and look forward to.
  
• Occasions when ‘time flies’ in a task.
  
• Things that don’t appear on your To Do list, because you always do them!
  

… and the clues to your weaknesses:

• Work you find dull and might not perform well without lots of effort.
  
• Things that appear on every To Do list, because you keep putting them off.
  
• Tasks you don’t look forward to doing.
  

Step 2: Use your strengths

• Discuss your profile with your colleagues, manager, friends: use them to confirm your strengths picture.
  
• Think how you can build on or maximise the use of your strengths (e.g. by taking on new / varied work or tackling tasks in a different way).
  
• Identify development activity which will enhance your strengths further (remember that developing a strength gives greater results than trying to ‘fix’ a weakness).
  
• Assess the impact of weaknesses and find ways to minimize it, so they don’t adversely affect your performance.
  

Step 3: Learn the strengths of others
Once you’re clear about your own strengths:

• Think about how people with different strengths might respond to yours.
  
• Find out what their strengths might be, and how you can get the best from each other.
  
• Consider how a mixture of strengths can contribute to the success of the team – each person adding their own unique ingredients, and how you can support and encourage everyone’s input.
  

Step 4: Make strengths an everyday thing
When you’re thinking about and using strengths everyday performance and engagement grow:

• Encourage others to talk about their strengths and successes (e.g. people in your team, family, friends), rather than dwelling too much on problems and failures.
  
• Give recognition and praise for good work done – this will help others learn when their strengths are in evidence.
  
• Managers: use 1-to-1 conversations to discuss the strengths of your staff and help them think how they can use them to drive performance and engagement in work.

Good luck!

References
Aguinis, H., Gottfredson, R. K., & Joo, H. (2012). Delivering effective performance feedback: The strengths-based approach. Business Horizons, 55(2), 105-111.

Biswas-Diener, R., Kashdan, T. B., & Minhas, G. (2011). A dynamic approach to psychological strength development and intervention. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(2), 106-118.

Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) (2002). Performance management survey. In HR Executive Forum research.

Carpenter, M. A., & Fredrickson, J. W. (2001). Top management teams, global strategic posture, and the moderating role of uncertainty. Academy of Management journal, 44(3), 533-545.

Linley, P. A., Harrington, S., & Garcea, N. (Eds.). (2010). Oxford handbook of positive psychology and work. Oxford University Press.

Linley, P. A. (2008). Average to A+: Realising strengths in yourself and others. Capp Press.

Luthans, F. (2002). Positive organizational behavior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. The Academy of Management Executive, 16(1), 57-72.

Rusk, R. D., & Waters, L. E. (2013). Tracing the size, reach, impact, and breadth of positive psychology. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(3), 207-221.

In 2003 a study by the Bath University School of Management (Purcell, 2003) looked at the relationship between organisational performance and how people are managed.  It showed that, while senior leaders and HR create company policy, it is line managers and team leaders who turn it into on-the-job practice.  When organisations are looking for a competitive edge through engaging their people, the line manager’s influence is powerful.

The two most significant determinants of employee engagement are:
a) the work people do
b) the immediate environment in which they work  (Gourlay et al, 2011).  

The manager plays an instrumental role in both of these by allocating and shaping the work undertaken (even at executive level); and defining the nature of the local work environment by their behaviour, actions and example.

Research indicates just how pivotal the line manager is to business performance through their role in embedding desired practices within the organisation (Albrecht et al, 2015; Farndale et al, 2011; Gilbert et al, 2011).  But good leadership is more than being approachable, willing to listen, providing guidance, giving support, or treating people with respect and dignity.  It’s about driving performance.

Unfortunately it appears that this critical management population aren’t as effective in the more challenging aspects of driving performance and engagement: setting specific personal targets, conducting performance reviews, tackling underperformance or executing large-scale change (CIPD, 2014).  This may be because team leaders don’t receive adequate training in these areas, are pressed by priorities which draw their attention away from their staff, aren’t measured for their efficacy as people managers, or just don’t understand how dramatically they impact staff engagement. And that’s something which senior leaders should be worried about.

For companies looking for business success then employee engagement is a key factor to examine.  And if you want engaged employees it’s clear that managers and leaders at all levels need to perform at their best.


References
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), 7-35.
CIPD (2014). Employee Outlook: Focus on managers. CIPD Publishing.
Farndale, E., Hope-Hailey, V., & Kelliher, C. (2011). High commitment performance management: the roles of justice and trust. Personnel Review,40(1), 5-23.
Gilbert, C., De Winne, S., & Sels, L. (2011). The influence of line managers and HR department on employees' affective commitment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(8), 1618-1637.
Gourlay, S., Alfes, K., Bull, E., Narendran, S., Petrov, G., Shantz, A. (2011). Locus of engagement Understanding what employees connect with at work. CIPD Research Insight.
Purcell, J. (2003). Understanding the people and performance link: unlocking the black box. CIPD Publishing.