Impact of LPI on Leadership Skills - Research Paper Example

Topic:  LPI Analysis Paper The ratings indicated that the Observers and the Co-worker were more or less consistent to each other in their ratings of me. However, as the Percentile Rankling graph on p.14 (LPI Profile) demonstrates, there was great discrepancy between my Self scores and between those if my Observers. The following were the items that Observers and I differed in, hence I need to scrutinize these items more closely to see that my future actions will more closely accord with reality: I rated myself higher than Observers in: “Treating people with dignity and respect”; in “Actively listens to diverse points of view”; in “Expresses confidence in people’s abilities”; in “Challenges people to try new approaches” and in “Talks about future trends influencing our work”. On the other hand – which was a surprise to me! Observers rated me higher than I had rated myself in the following categories: “Paints big picture of group aspirations”; “Recognizes people for commitment to shared values”; “Describes a compelling image of the future”; “Asks for feedback on how his actions affect people’s performance.” (“LPI: Leaderships Behaviors Ranking”, p.3) These were the items that I was rated on most highly by my Observers: “Develops cooperative relationships (9.0)”; “Follows through on promises and commitments” (8.5); “Sets a personal example of what is expected” (8.5); “Treats people with dignity and respect” (8.3); “Makes certain that people adhere to agreed on standards” (8.3); and “Gives people choice about how to do their work” (8.0). These, then, are, presumably, my strengths (all of them falling in the categories of “Enable others to Act” and “Model the Way”). (“LPI: Leaderships Behaviors Ranking”, p.3) These were the items that I was rated on the lowest by my Observers “Experiments and takes risks” (6.8); “Searches outside organization for innovative ways to improve” (6.8); “Talks about future trends influencing our work” (6.5); “Asks for feedback on how his actions affect people’s performance” (6.5); “Seeks challenging opportunities to test skills” (6.3). These, then, are my weaknesses, which I need to focus on to improve. The pattern, here, is that most of these behaviors seem to be in the “Challenge the Process” category, with one in “Inspire a shared Vision”, and the other in “Model the Way”. Nevertheless, the “Challenge the Process” category seems to be that which I most need to focus on (“LPI: Leaderships Behaviors Ranking”, p.3). Examining the percentile ranking On the whole, the Observers perceived my leadership ability as being more average than I perceived it to be myself. The categories, “Encourage the Heart”, and “Challenge the Process” toggled the line between Moderate and Low; the latter according to both Co-worker and Others, the former according to all Observers. I rated myself higher in “Challenge”, “Enable”, and “Encourage” than my Observers did. On the other hand, my Observers rated me considerably higher than I had rated myself in the Practices of “Model” and “Inspire”. Whilst they do not touch the ‘Low’ line (i.e. below-average), both Co-worker and Others seemed to consider my skills in “Model the Way”, “Inspire a shared Vision”, and “Enable others to Act” (here co-worker had a higher opinion than ‘Others”) as, generally, falling between the 40th and 50th percentile, namely as being just below average in my performance of these skills. I display, I might conclude, moderate performance in these areas; there is, however, definite need for improvement. (LPI: Percentile Ranking: p.14). Focusing My Developmental Efforts: Evaluating the reports, and ordering the Practices in terms of my developmental priorities, I would prioritize the Practices in the following order with (1) being my highest priority, and (5) being my lowest. 1. Challenge the Process 2. Encourage the Heart 3. Enable Others to Act 4. Inspire a Shared Vision 5. Model the Way. The behaviors that represent my immediate priorities are these (again in order of importance): 1. Seeks challenging opportunities to test skills 2. Ask for feedback on how actions affect people’s performance 3. Talk about future trends influencing work 4. Search outside organizations for innovative ways to improve 5. Experiment and take risks. These are some of the next steps I’ll take to strengthen my leadership ability, as a result of gathering and analyzing this information. 1. Challenge the Process: Objective: to search for opportunities to change the status quo and to seek innovative ways to improve my organization(s), prudently experimenting and taking risks despite almost inevitable disappointments. I will learn to deal with frustration and pressure by taking one step at a time. Suggestion of practices for improvement: Volunteering for challenging assignments in my workplace or community where I can learn something new. Searching for different challenges each and every day in my job (“What can I do today that will make my work production better than yesterday?”) Investigate other businesses for ideas: those that seem to be successful ferreting out what makes them so, and those that seem to fail, investigating the actions that lead to their failure. Two authors that can help me on this topic are: Behar (2007) and Facella (2009). As senior executive at Starbucks, Behar helped establish the Starbucks culture, whilst Facella (regional vice-president) shaped the environment at McDonald’s. Turning mistakes of others or myself into learning experiences, and attempting to craft these learning experiences into creative and innovative ideas. I could, furthermore, admit my mistake and tell others what I learned form the failure. Standing up for my beliefs, even if I’m only a minority. 2. Encourage the Heart. Objective: To recognize other’s contributions and to celebrate their accomplishments. Suggestion of practices for improvement: Saying “thank you” when I appreciate something that someone has done. Attempting to discover, at least, one person during my day whom I can compliment on some act of his or hers, howsoever trivial that act may be. Think of someone whom I know whom I can show my gratitude to, either with a gift or, simply, by calling up or writing to express my appreciation. Write at least three thank you notes every day. Look for opportunities to publicly praise and tell stories about people who inspired, helped me, or whom I simply consider might need a boost. Recommended books to read: (Behar, who recommends that if you regard employees and customers as human beings, everything else will take care of itself; Levine (1954), one of Hollywood’s ‘Premier” P.R. executives on how to “charm your way to the top” 3. Enable others to Act. Objective: To foster collaboration and to actively involve others, striving to create an atmosphere of trust and human dignity, where others feel capable and powerful. Suggestion of practices for improvement: Commit to replacing the word “I” with “we”. Finding ways to increase interactions among people who need to work more effectively together. For instance: invite them out for lunch, hosting a debate or some other fun event where they can meet together, structuring some informal meeting where they can discuss common concerns etc. Replacing the word “subordinate” with “associate” or “team member”. Volunteering to be the chairperson of some association. Working with volunteers will introduce or augment collaborative skills, and provide me with opportunities to use them. Regularly asking co-workers for their opinions. Sharing problems with them. Sharing parts of my life (within control) with them, and questioning them about theirs, always displaying genuine concern. Coerdially greeting others. Admitting my mistakes, and making my decisions visible. Recommended books and movies: “How to speak and listen effectively”: (Robbins, 1992); “Just Listen” (Goulston, 2010); The movie “Hotel Rwanda” and perhaps more helpful the book (An Ordinary Man) itself, showing how Rusesabagina used communication skills with Rwandan revolutionary leaders to save refugees. For leadership skills in general, The movies “Separate but Equal” and “The Great Debaters” are two narratives where its prime characters could prove inspirational, whilst memoirs of American leaders such as those by Clinton, Mandela, or Sadat, and speeches or writings by King (for instance) would prove beneficial. The Contrarions Guide to Leadership (Sample, 2002), “The Soul of a Leader” (Newell, 2009), and “Ten minute guide to Leadership” (DuBrin, 1997) could also be helpful, as well as reading up on or taking a course in social psychology, and in sociology. Implementing change: planning the next steps According to LPI (pp.23-25), we learn to lead from: 1. Experience (simply by doing it), 2. Example (imitation), and, 3. Education. My intentions: 1. To review LPI’s assessment and my progress after a 6 week’s hiatus. 2. To continue to seek feedback: from manager, direct reports, peers, and other constituents. 3. To make a public commitment of change, either among one of the people who has experienced this LPI session with me, or someone else. 4. Perhaps, to repeat the LPI at least once a year. 5. To set for myself a program of books, movies, listening materials (such as, for instance, audio cassettes), workshops, and seminars, whereby I can learn from and polish my skills. 6. To keep a journal of my improvement. 7. To set for myself weekly goals, and to plot those weekly goals. 8. To make a plan Conclusions: Assessing the results from LPI on my leadership skills shows me the inconsistency between my own perception of my abilities and the opinion of involved others. The assessment also shows me where I lie on a percentile scale, and, most revealingly, indicates my strengths and weaknesses, enabling me to plot strategies for working on my weaknesses. To become an effective leader, I have to- according to LPI, achieve 10 characteristics: 1. Self-awareness (of my actions, speech, and thoughts). 2. Managing my emotions. 3. Seeking feedback. 4. Taking the initiative (in finding and solving problems, or in learning). 5. Engaging a coach, 6. Setting goals and making a plan. 7. Consistency in practicing. 8. Measuring my progress. 9. Rewarding myself. 10. Being honest with myself and humble with others. I intend to work on these principles. Sources Behar, H. It’s not about the coffee. USA: Penguin, 2007. Facella, P. Everything I know about business, I learned at McDonald’s. New York: Mc-Graw. 2009. Dubrin, A.J. Ten minute guide to leadership. USA: Alpha Books, 1997. Goulston, M. Just Listen. Washington,: Amacom, 2010. Kouzas, J.M., & Posner, P.Z. Leadership Development Planner. CA: Wiley, 2003. - Participant’s workbook: 10 steps to understanding and using your LPI assessment. CA: Wiley, 2003. Newell, W. R. The soul of a leader. USA: Harper-Collins, 2009. Robbins, H.A. How to speak and listen effectively. USA: Work Smart series, 1992. Sample, S. The contrarian’s guide to leadership. New York: Wiley, 2002. Sources: Michael Levine. Charming your way to the top: Hollywoods premier P.R. executive shows you how to get ahead. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, c2004. Read More