This is the most recent article for Apex. I have borrowed and quoted heavily from Kathy Kolbe’s book “Pure Instinct” which is available from Kolbe Corporation through their website www.kolbe.com. It is possible that some of the concepts I discuss will not be clear to the reader who has not read the earlier articles, I am more than happy to let you have copies of the pieces if you email me.
The definition of leadership that I shall use comes from the 1935 book “the art of leadership” by Ordway Tead. He says that: “leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come to find desirable.”
Leadership is an activity. That means it is neither a skill, nor an attitude, but conative. A leader’s actions are directly tied to identifying team members’ instinctive capabilities and finding ways of putting them to productive use. A leader is both an influencer and an enabler, and such qualities were rare in 1935 and remain rare today.
Depending upon their MO, every leader will have a different way of working. Every conative method can be used to influence others, but the most effective approach is when the leader is true to their own instincts. Trust develops between leader and team members when neither with holes the instinctive self. When leaders use their own instinct is to gain the commitment of other people’s instincts, goals become more attainable.
Leaders act as a catalyst for freely given cognitive commitments and give direction the variety of problem solving methods that a conatively synergistic group will suggest. And they managed to do this without inhibiting anyone’s participation. They bring out the best in people, drawing forth and focusing instinctive energy toward cooperative efforts.
The difference between a leader and a star is that the leader strives to increase others’ performances toward group goals, and the star strives towards individual achievement. We are all capable of being stars. It only takes a situation where one’s conative talents are most necessary for the star to initiate activity. A leader on the other hand uses all three zones of instinctive energy to help group succeed.
Perseverance is an essential characteristic of leadership. It takes backbone, great, and strength of mind to influence the goal setting process and to gain the cooperation of others. A common trait among leaders is their decisiveness. Their tenacity singles them out.
I tend to see two extremes in my work with dental practices. There is a lack of leadership either:
1) Because of an abdication by the practice owner or owners who are seeking to have equality within their practice and fail to take responsibility.
2) No regard is given to the team members’ instincts and therefore they are forced into roles where they are the least productive.
In neither case does the practice get the best out of their teams. Frustration ensues resulting in high turnover of staff, low productivity, and poor service being given to patients with a resulting drop in business profitability.
As an aside, I see a great many dentists who initiate in Implementor, presume that their staff know their jobs, like to believe that because someone has the title “practice manager” they know what they’re doing and therefore ignore what is going on around. On the other hand I also frequently encounter insistent Fact Finder who will not allow anybody any space and persist in micro-management. Both these scenarios produce unhappy practices.
Leadership is a responsibility, not a prize. It ought not to be given as a reward to individual achievement unless the person expresses a determination to fight for the will of the group. If leadership were merely a matter of making demands, of telling people what to do and rewarding them when they did it, then oppressors would rule, and ultimately fail.
Leaders in the workplace who nurture employees’ instinctive strengths are awarded with high employee job satisfaction and high productivity. Team members are pleased when leadership intervenes in, conatively stressful situations, whether they be conflicts, cloning, unrealistic self-expectations or misguided requirements.
It is important to select and train people for most suited roles on a team that is balanced to achieve conative synergy. However, every team needs a leader to take responsibility for influencing its members to strive towards achieving common goals. Every team needs a person or people who are willing to contribute instinctive energy toward leadership efforts, often forsaking the opportunity to use their personal resources in ways that are more likely to make them star performers. That’s the sacrifice of leadership. The benefit of leadership is in helping a team reach its greatest potential.
The Incisal Edge 