# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For decades, leadership theories have been the source of numerous studies. In reality as well as in practice, many have tried to define what allows authentic leaders to stand apart from the mass! Hence, there as many theories on leadership as there are philosophers, researchers and professors that have studied and ultimately published their leadership theory. A great article to read before diving into the theories is the The Philosophical Foundations of Leadership

Theories are commonly categorized by which aspect is believed to define the leader the most. The most widespread one's are: Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, Behavioural Theories, Contingency Theories, Transactional Theories and Transformational Theories.

The Great Man theory evolved around the mid 19th century. Even though no one was able to identify with any scientific certainty, which human characteristic or combination of, were responsible for identifying great leaders. Everyone recognized that just as the name suggests; only a man could have the characteristic (s) of a great leader.

The Great Man theory assumes that the traits of leadership are intrinsic. That simply means that great leaders are born...

they are not made. This theory sees great leaders as those who are destined by birth to become a leader. Furthermore, the belief was that great leaders will rise when confronted with the appropriate situation. The theory was popularized by Thomas Carlyle, a writer and teacher. Just like him, the Great Man theory was inspired by the study of influential heroes. In his book "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History", he compared a wide array of heroes.

In 1860, Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher disputed the great man theory by affirming that these heroes are simply the product of their times and their actions the results of social conditions.

The trait leadership theory believes that people are either born or are made with certain qualities that will make them excel in leadership roles. That is, certain qualities such as intelligence, sense of responsibility, creativity and other values puts anyone in the shoes of a good leader. In fact, Gordon Allport, an American psychologist,"...identified almost 18,000 English personality-relevant terms" (Matthews, Deary & Whiteman, 2003, p. 3).

The trait theory of leadership focused on analyzing mental, physical and social characteristic in order to gain more understanding of what is the characteristic or the combination of characteristics that are common among leaders.

There were many shortfalls with the trait leadership theory. However, from a psychology of personalities approach, Gordon Allport's studies are among the first ones and have brought, for the study of leadership, the behavioural approach.

In the 1930s the field of Psychometrics was in its early years.

Personality traits measurement weren't reliable across studies.

Study samples were of low level managers

Explanations weren't offered as to the relation between each characteristic and its impact on leadership.

The context of the leader wasn't considered.

Many studies have analyzed the traits among existing leaders in the hope of uncovering those responsible for ones leadership abilities! In vain, the only characteristics that were identified among these individuals were those that were slightly taller and slightly more intelligent!

In reaction to the trait leadership theory, the behavioural theories are offering a new perspective, one that focuses on the behaviours of the leaders as opposed to their mental, physical or social characteristics. Thus, with the evolutions in psychometrics, notably the factor analysis, researchers were able to measure the cause an effects relationship of specific human behaviours from leaders. From this point forward anyone with the right conditioning could have access to the once before elite club of naturally gifted leaders. In other words, leaders are made not born.

The behavioural theories first divided leaders in two categories. Those that were concerned with the tasks and those concerned with the people. Throughout the literature these are referred to as different names, but the essence are identical.

Associated Theories

The Contingency Leadership theory argues that there is no single way of leading and that every leadership style should be based on certain situations, which signifies that there are certain people who perform at the maximum level in certain places; but at minimal performance when taken out of their element.

To a certain extent contingency leadership theories are an extension of the trait theory, in the sense that human traits are related to the situation in which the leaders exercise their leadership. It is generally accepted within the contingency theories that leader are more likely to express their leadership when they feel that their followers will be responsive.

Associated Theories

Transactional theories, also known as exchange theories of leadership, are characterized by a transaction made between the leader and the followers. In fact, the theory values a positive and mutually beneficial relationship.

For the transactional theories to be effective and as a result have motivational value, the leader must find a means to align to adequately reward (or punish) his follower, for performing leader-assigned task. In other words, transactional leaders are most efficient when they develop a mutual reinforcing environment, for which the individual and the organizational goals are in sync.

The transactional theorists state that humans in general are seeking to maximize pleasurable experiences and to diminish un-pleasurable experiences. Thus, we are more likely to associate ourselves with individuals that add to our strengths.

Associated Theories

The Transformational Leadership theory states that this process is by which a person interacts with others and is able to create a solid relationship that results in a high percentage of trust, that will later result in an increase of motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, in both leaders and followers.

The essence of transformational theories is that leaders transform their followers through their inspirational nature and charismatic personalities. Rules and regulations are flexible, guided by group norms. These attributes provide a sense of belonging for the followers as they can easily identify with the leader and its purpose.

Associated Theories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Leadership Theories - In Chronological Order

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For decades leadership theories have been the source of numerous studies. In reality as well as in practice, many have tried to define what detaches authentic leaders from the mass! Hence, there as many theories on leadership as there are philosophers, researchers and professors that have studied and ultimately publish their leadership theory.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Whether you manage employees, coordinate a team of volunteers, serve on a board or are in charge of juggling your family's schedule every day, your leadership skills hinge on your ability to communicate effectively with others. Here are six communication skills that will make you a better leader, improve your relationships with other people and boost your team's (or family's) productivity and morale.

Related: 8 Ways to Master the Art of Communication

1. Know yourself.

All good communication starts from a place of self-awareness. When you're communicating with other people, you need to be aware of your inner monologue so you don't end up taking out a bad mood on someone else, assuming the other person can read your mind, being discriminatory, appearing unconfident and so on. It's also important to know what you're hoping to achieve from a given interaction so you can tailor your message accordingly.

2. Know your audience.

The best communication arises out of understanding whomever you're speaking to. Knowing your audience's motivations, preferred communication styles, learning styles, etc., allows you to adapt your message and increase the odds of effective communication. Making a personal connection facilitates empathy, puts people at ease and builds trust. (Just one caveat: In order to be effective, personal connections need to be genuine, not exploitative.)

3. Be direct, specific and clear.

Clear-cut communication increases the likelihood that people will comprehend and take action on whatever you're asking from them. It's better to over-explain something than to leave room for misunderstanding.

Whenever you're delivering an assignment or asking for assistance from someone, focus on providing simple, actionable and specific instructions. It's helpful to prepare your thoughts in advance so you include all the relevant details. Don't end a conversation until you're sure the other person understands your objectives and how to achieve them. Deliver these instructions in a friendly, open way so the other person knows they can approach you with follow-up questions.

4. Pay attention to nonverbal communication.

Plenty of research suggests nonverbal communication is just as important as what a person says-maybe even more. Facial expressions, hand gestures, posture and eye contact all play a major role in affirming or undermining your message.

Whenever you're talking with someone, practice being aware of your own body language and the body language of whomever you're speaking to. In particular, pay attention to whether your body language aligns with what you're saying-this will help you be a more trustworthy communicator and can help you seem more self-assured.

5. Listen more than you speak.

One of the best ways to encourage open and honest communication within a group is to model active listening. When someone is speaking to you, really listen to what they're saying. Ask follow-up questions to demonstrate that you're paying attention and to make sure there are no miscommunications. Keep an open mind and focus on thoughtfully responding to what they say instead of kneejerk reacting to it. This practice builds rapport and understanding between the communicating parties.

6. Be positive and respectful.

This one should go without saying, but sadly that's not always the case. Prioritizing transparent, fair and respectful communication within a group is one of the best strategies for cultivating loyalty and boosting the team's performance. Don't hold your status over other people or use coercion or fear as motivators. Instead, focus on bringing an honest, positive and ego-less attitude to every situation that arises. Serving as a cheerleader instead of an autocrat helps maintain morale and can even facilitate creativity and effective problem solving.

Each of these communication skills represents an ongoing practice. You won't master them in a day or even a year. Instead, you'll need to commit to practicing these strategies for life. The more you implement these skills, the more they'll start to feel like second nature-and the more your leadership abilities will benefit.

Related: 13 Communication Mistakes Leaders Make

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Communication Skills That Will Make You a Better Leader

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you manage employees, coordinate a team of volunteers, serve on a board or are in charge of juggling your family's schedule every day, your leadership skills hinge on your ability to communicate effectively with others. Here are six communication skills that will make you a better leader, improve your relationships with other people and boost your team's (or family's) productivity and morale.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We know that two-thirds of large scale transformation efforts fail. But that's not a terribly helpful piece of information―unless we're looking for confirmation that this is hard, really hard. What is useful is to understand what leaders can do to substantially increase the odds that their companies won't be among the two-thirds of those that fail. From my research and work with companies around the world leading large-scale transformation initiatives, here are the four things I've found that virtually all successful change leaders do really well:

Recognize embedded tensions and paradoxes

Smart, capable, solid professionals most often perform well in their roles until they reach a level in their organizations at which they are confronted with a series of embedded tensions and paradoxes that make leading effectively much more complicated. The most common paradoxes leaders face when driving a transformation effort are:

1. Revitalization vs. Normalization. At the core of every change initiative is the desire to breathe new life into the organization―to revitalize ways of thinking, behaving and working. But one change initiative often morphs into many, and before long employees become "change weary." Thus, we find ourselves in the conflicted situation of needing revitalization but desiring normalization.

2. Globalization vs. Simplification. Doing business today means doing business globally, but the complexities brought on by globalization are often in conflict with the need for organizations to make it simple for customers to do business with them. Leaders struggle with creating organizational responses that address the need to master globalization while offering customers and employees optimal simplification.

3. Innovation vs. Regulation. Many organizations, particularly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, are saddled with trying to do business, let along innovate, under increasingly crushing regulatory environments. This is a stifling tax on a company's capacity to find creative approaches to solving unmet customers' needs. As such we struggle with the tension between the desire to boost innovation and the need to operate under increasing regulation.

4. Optimization vs. Rationalization. Customers not only have more power today―in some industries, they seem to have all of the power. Organizations are struggling to provide solutions that are better, faster, cheaper and increasingly customized. Leaders are caught in a seemingly endless struggle to reconcile the tension between optimizing benefits to customers while rationalizing their costs of doing business.

5. Digitization vs. Humanization. Advanced technology is at the core of virtually every company's business model today. Entire value chains are being digitized. Yet, the onset of ubiquitous digitization is occurring at the same time that individuals are yearning for a sense of meaning in their organizations. Leaders are struggling with how to reconcile the increasing need for the digitization of their business models while trying to create organizational climates that have an authentic sense of humanization―creating an overarching sense of purpose and collective ambition.

Successful transformation leaders embrace these tensions even though they make the challenge more complex. There are no easy answers; however, the leader's bedrock commitment to helping to reconcile these tensions is paramount. That means above all committing to an on-going communications and listening campaign so people know what's going on and know how they might contribute to the transformation effort―and know that they are invited to do so. This process starts by the CEO and top team telling powerful and compelling stories of where the company has been, where it is now and where it needs to go―and why. But it doesn't end there. Senior leaders must be ready to open up the flood gates so managers and employees closest to the client interface can surface these tensions and discuss them openly. While this might not resolve the tensions and paradoxes, it enables people to at least acknowledge that they exist, have their concerns heard, and discuss proactive ways forward together.

Hold everyone accountable

The leadership of the change effort can't end with the top team, the top 100 managers, or the top 1,000 managers. It has to be an all-hands-on-deck engagement. The change leader must signal that enterprise-wide transformation will be a collective effort, with accountability distributed throughout the organization.

But it is far easier to say this than to do this, so change leaders must be ready to back up their statements with real world initiatives that will strengthen engagement. For example, when Hess Corporation launched its 2020 Change Initiative, CEO John Hess challenged his entire leadership team to come up with solutions that would make the company more agile, cost conscience, and faster at decision making. And to minimize change weariness brought on by needless duplication of effort, he created a champions team responsible for coordinating the variety of efforts underway.

Invest in new organizational capabilities

Change leaders must go beyond storytelling, motivation, and mobilization efforts―they need to provide resources so that the organization has what it needs to win in the new environment. This might include capital improvements, process improvements, and building new talent capabilities.

For example, for three decades leading up to 2010, HSBC had successfully pursued a growth strategy and organizational capability that was founded upon acquisitions. However, with acquisition upon acquisition, the leaders within HSBC failed to develop a one-company culture, which made it difficult to integrate its offerings to an increasingly demanding customer base. As such, Stephen Green, HSBC's Chairman at the time, set the company on a course that called for a dramatic slowdown of acquisitions, at least until the current portfolio of companies was integrated and a culture of what Green referred to as Collective Management was cemented. This meant nothing short of building new organizational capabilities based upon collaboration and client-first thinking, which not only meant developing new systems and processes but building a collective mindset that would make aspiring to being a one-company culture a reality.

Emphasize continuous learning

It's far easier to talk about revitalization and renewal than to actually do it. The companies that pull it off have transformation leaders that commit to a relentless learning process.

Perhaps the best example I know of a remarkably successful transformation leader is Alan Mulally, who not only led the transformation effort for Boeing Commercial Airlines, but also the stunning turnaround of Ford Motor Company. Mulally would be the first to insist that Ford's transformation was not his achievement but rather the collective achievement of thousands of stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, dealers, unions, financial institutions, Board members and others. Mulally believed deeply in his "leading together" philosophy from his Boeing experience, but this became even more critical at Ford, due to the multitude of stakeholders and a political infighting culture that had become toxic. Mulally would have none of that. He brought his top managers together weekly to assess problems and progress, through his implementation process called the Creating Value Roadmap. Met with heavy resistance at first due to fear of admitting problems, Mulally pursued this course and built trust that those who were brave enough to acknowledge that they needed help were actually showcased as exactly the kind of leader that Mulally was looking for in Ford's future. At every meeting, managers were asked: what have we learned by airing concerns, making course corrections, and especially, fixing problems together? By combining his relentless focus on implementation and making tough calls with an equally important focus on continuous learning, Mulally transformed Ford from a moribund company on the verge of bankruptcy to one of today's most successful automobile companies in the world.

Leveraging these four activities, while framing the transformation effort as a collective challenge to be embraced together, fuels positive change over the long haul-which is important since the transformation journey is a never-ending one for most companies today. Ultimately, these practices create a culture of agility and resiliency that will pay dividends out into the future, as large-scale change becomes an organizational capability and not a recipe for management failure.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4 Things Successful Change Leaders Do Well

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We know that two-thirds of large scale transformation efforts fail. But that's not a terribly helpful piece of information―unless we're looking for confirmation that this is hard, really hard. What is useful is to understand what leaders can do to substantially increase the odds that their companies won't be among the two-thirds of those that fail.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If we talk about the organizational excellence, leadership is one of the most important parts to implement that. It provides stability to any individual and organization for the future benefits. As market gets overburdened with the responsibilities and types of different work type, everyone needs some guidance from efficient leader. The one who directs the whole management resourcefully in all aspects is the one who can be considered as leader. Every organization follows some sort of hierarchy that helps employees to work in a systematic manner to serve organizational excellence.

The leader of the organization has to perform certain duties in the organization ranging from management to make others motivated to complete assigned duties. Undoubtedly, leaders are the key resource of any organization make things work out in the most successful manner.

If an organization has support of effective leaders then it can get tremendous growth and success in the industry.

The following points exhibit the importance of leadership awards for the organization

The most important point part is that one leader should have clear idea about the mission and vision of the organization that will be going to fulfilled in the future. It provides clear understanding to the employees of the organization to work in pre-defined agenda.

The leader always guides its team and appreciates them regularly for their performance and efforts that they had made for meeting organizational goals.

The leader takes the most of the responsibility on his shoulders for meeting all the assigned duties to the team. The whole team gets direction to perform by the line.

What they say, they complete. This is one of the focal features that should be considered while deciding the importance of the organization.

Leaders give equal opportunities to employees to share their views on different topics and way of working. The leaders help their team to work as a team to get actual results.

Leaders maintain cordial relations with their clients that establish the positive reputation of the organization. This indirectly helps organization to improve performance in different aspects.

Good Leadership always helps organization and its team to work with motivation. Effective communication, enthusiasm, awareness, integrity and commitment are some of the main features of good leaders.

Changes are the part of any organization which plays a significant role in its growth and development. Leaders prepare their team to adapt those changes with great ease that helps them to work as before.

Good Leaders are good listeners so they never take wrong decisions for the organization that can harp the goodwill of their organization in any terms.

Leadership plays a vital role when it comes to vision and mission. They work with a set vision in their mind to complete their mission efficiently. It also enables organization to work on pre-defined targets ensuring 100% growth and success.

There are various organizations in the market or you can say brand consulting companies like Brands Academy that can act as a good leader for your organization by providing effective strategies and solutions. From the above discussion, it is clear that leadership retains very importance place in delivering excellence in the organization. From management, guidance to motivation, every action is like incomplete without the leaders.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Importance Of Leadership For Organizational Excellence - Brands Academy India

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If we talk about the organizational excellence, leadership is one of the most important parts to implement that. It provides stability to any individual and organization for the future benefits. As market gets overburdened with the responsibilities and types of... Read More...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Graziadio Business Review | Graziadio School of Business and Management | Pepperdine University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When we think of what makes someone a great leader, one characteristic that comes to mind is decisiveness. We do not envision successful leaders standing around appearing unclear and uncertain. Instead, we view them as people who are able to quickly arrive at their decisions and communicate the goals to others.

Leaders often have to make challenging decisions, such as what direction to move their company in; whether to keep an employee, reposition them or let them go; whether or not to share "bad news" with stockholders, and many other such challenges.

Great leaders understand how to balance emotion with reason and make decisions that positively impact themselves, their employees, their customers and stakeholders, and their organizations. Making good decisions in difficult situations is no small feat because these types of decisions involve change, uncertainty, anxiety, stress, and sometimes the unfavorable reactions of others.

Great leaders also know when to move quickly and proceed with the available information, versus when to take more time and gather additional information. When leaders opt to pursue additional information or avenues, they must also know when to stop. While a large amount of data may be desirable in a perfect world, the data gathering process can utilize too much time, and the vast amount of data can also be paralyzing and take attention away from the big picture or key data points.

This article will explore three crucial qualities that great leaders must develop to become great decision-makers: emotional intelligence, the ability to handle uncertainty, and the ability to weigh evidence with intuition. The article concludes with a step-by-step process employing these characteristics to arrive at the best possible decision given the many variables that can and will come into play.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage your emotions and those of others, is one of the most important qualities a leader must possess. According to the authors of Primal Leadership, a leader's emotions are contagious. This is why resonant leadership is so important-a leader's mood will resonate with others and set the tone for the emotional climate in an organization.[ 1]

Emotional intelligence consists of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Self-awareness is the foundation for all aspects of emotional intelligence. It involves being able to accurately assess yourself. Before you can change, you must be aware of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Self-management entails the ability to understand and control your emotions, adapt to change, and adopt an optimistic outlook. Social awareness is similar to self-awareness but the focus is external and involves understanding the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others, as well as how to relate to other people. Relationship management is crucial for great leadership and includes qualities such as being influential and inspirational and developing others.

Here we will focus on one of the core components of self-management: emotional self-control. When you have developed this skill, you will recognize your emotions, be influenced by them, but not blinded by them, and be able to calmly and clearly express your decisions to others even when you experience intense emotions within yourself and from others.
Emotional Self-Control and Decision Making
Imagine that you were presented with a critical high-stakes situation with a significant potential downside and you needed to make a decision and take action right away. You would likely have a significant emotional reaction, including feelings such as anxiety, fear, or anger. Unfortunately emotions such as these cloud our ability to make good decisions. When we get into the emotional part of our brain, our innate reaction is to protect ourselves. We get an adrenaline rush or flight-or-fight response, and short-term survival is the immediate goal. As you can imagine, being in this state is not particularly conducive to making strategic, long-term decisions. This is why emotional self-control is so important. Great leaders are aware of their emotional state and are able to manage intense emotions so they can make smart decisions.
Reigning in Emotions for Strategic Decisions
In order to make strategic, long-term decisions, we must know how to bring down the intense emotional reaction so that we can engage a different part of our brains (the prefrontal cortex), which is responsible for looking at the big picture and long-term planning. Paradoxically, the way to do this is to accept and allow whatever emotional reaction we are having and choose to focus on the facts as much as possible.[ 2]

Trying not to experience an emotion is like trying to pull a rollercoaster backwards as it heads down the hill. It takes a lot of effort, which ultimately backfires and we feel worse. Instead, simply jump on board and ride it out. The intensity of the emotions will quickly pass and then you can think logically. The goal, however, is not to take feelings out of the decision-making process. It is simply to keep them from taking over and losing emotional self-control.

Managing Uncertainty and Choices

Why is it so difficult to make decisions? Perhaps it is because the variables and the outcomes are often uncertain. We do not like uncertainty. Uncertainty creates discomfort and analysis paralysis. We try to analyze the situation from every angle to alleviate the sense of uncertainty. These efforts are often futile and waste valuable time and energy because so often we must make decisions in the face of uncertainty.
The Lengths We Go to Avoid Uncertainty
In a 1992 study conducted by cognitive scientists Amos Tversky and Eldar Shafir, college students were asked whether they would purchase a great deal on a trip to Hawaii over their holiday break. They were told that they would receive the grade on their most important exam before they had to decide. Of those who were told that they passed the exam, 57 percent said they'd go for the trip. Interestingly, a similar percentage (54 percent) of those who were told that they failed also said they'd go.

When researchers designed uncertainty into the mix, results changed dramatically. Students were told that they would not receive the exam grade for two days and that they could buy the trip now, pass on it now, or pay $5 to wait for two days until they received their grade. The majority of students (61 percent) said that they would wait. The first part of the study showed that students for the most part wanted to go if they passed or if they failed the exam, but here they were willing to pay to wait and find out their grade.

This study shows the lengths that we will go to avoid uncertainty. Students seemed to think that knowing their grade would help them make a good decision when in reality it would not make a difference in their decisions.

We are often paralyzed by uncertainty and end up basing our decisions on things that aren't even related. Question your attempts to find certainty before making decisions because you may be seeking a false sense of security. Much like the aforementioned method to reign in negative emotions to achieve emotional self-control, acceptance is a crucial starting place. If we are able to accept the uncertainty rather than try to resolve it, we can focus our limited time, energy, and money on making the best decisions in the face of an uncertain outcome.

This does not mean that you should not bother to analyze a situation before making a decision. Various analyses can be helpful in providing the information necessary to make the best decisions in the situation. The key is to know when what you don't know is important, and if so, how to go about gathering the necessary information to resolve the uncertainty. If what you don't know is not important, then the next step is to accept the uncertainty and proceed in spite of it.

If, however, you find yourself getting stuck or investing too much time or other resources in the analyses, ask yourself if the uncertainty that you are attempting to resolve is truly resolveable. If not, it would be best to accept the uncertainty and move on.
Limit Your Choices
One of the decision-making mistakes we commonly make is to give ourselves a lot of options. We figure that if we consider every possible alternative, we will have better choices and make the best decision. Sometimes we do this exhaustive search as a way to resolve uncertainty. We assume that if we go through everything, no stone will be left unturned and there will be no uncertainty. The problem is that we are likely to get overwhelmed and make no decision.

In 2000, Sheena Iyengar of Columbia Business School and Mark Lepper, chairman of Stanford's psychology department, conducted a study in which two tasting displays of gourmet jams were set up in an upscale supermarket. They had 24 jams set up for tasting in one display, and just six jams in the other. They found that more people were attracted to the table with 24, an equal number tasted at both tables, and a huge difference in purchasing resulted: only 3 percent of those who had tasted at the table with 24 jams bought a jar, whereas 30 percent of those who had tasted at the table with six jams bought a jar.[ 4]

This study and various others like it show that when there are more than five or six options, people have a more difficult time deciding and often opt not to make a decision. To help yourself and others effectively and efficiently make decisions, limit your options. Keep options fewer than five and you will find it much easier to make a decision.

Trusting Your Intuition

Excellent leaders often say that they go with their gut to make decisions. They are able to trust themselves and their expertise and not get stuck in the cycle of over-thinking. The more you know about a subject, the more reliable your intuition will be. Make yourself an expert in your field and your intuition will be your best guide.
Intuition Leads to Satisfaction with Decisions
Participants in a study conducted by Timothy D. Wilson and his colleagues at the University of Virginia and the University of Pittsburgh were asked to choose a piece of art to hang in their homes. Half of them were asked to think rationally about their choice, and the other half were instructed to go with their gut. Those who went with their feelings rather than their analysis were happier with their selection. We can rationalize our way into anything, but our first impressions often tell us how we really feel.[ 5]
How to Hear Your Intuition
You may have heard intuition described as a nagging little voice inside you. It typically speaks softly rather than screaming out at you. Unfortunately in our non-stop, busy, technology-filled worlds, it can be easy to not hear our intuition. It is always speaking, but we are often not listening.

Hone your skills at listening to your intuition by building some form of meditative practice into your daily life. It doesn't have to be actual meditation; it can be a few moments of reflection, a warm bath, a walk with your dog, and so on. We are typically so bombarded with information all day (television, radio, Internet, cell phone, Blackberry...) that we miss out on opportunities to notice ourselves thinking and feeling. To hear your intuition you must have some time when you're a human being, not a human doing. Build periods of quiet into your life and you will be surprised at what you hear.
Decide Your Way to Great Decisions
Great decision making takes practice. As you now know, this process requires a certain level of comfort with discomfort. We could play it safe and defer important decisions to others, spend hours and hours analyzing and agonizing over every option, or we could accept the level of risk and go for it. Many people are afraid of making a bad decision or the wrong decision. We can only do our best with the information we have available to us at the time. There is typically not a right or a wrong answer. In the worst-case scenario, however, you select the wrong option. Even if you choose an option that reveals itself to be inferior in the short-term, you will learn that you can handle the outcome and make the best of it. You may even find unexpected opportunities by going down the "wrong" path.

Practice this process using the following steps:

1. Decide whether to take action quickly or gather additional information. If you decide to gather additional information, create parameters to determine what information is essential and when to cease your information-gathering process.

2. Be aware of the emotions that come up as you proceed with your decision. Accept the emotions and allow them to guide you without controlling you.

3. Recognize the uncertainty elements in the situation and decide how much of the uncertainty needs resolution. Know that most situations cannot be calculated with complete certainty and, even though it may be uncomfortable, it is often necessary to accept the uncertainty and proceed.

4. Allow yourself to hear your intuition. Do not over-think important decisions because you may talk yourself into something that goes against your instincts and experience.

5. Seek out opportunities to thoughtfully and proactively make challenging decisions. Recognize that even "negative" outcomes may be better than you expect, and gain confidence in your ability to make great decisions.

Be a leader in your personal life and career by committing to make difficult decisions in a timely manner. The best way you can inspire others to change is by making changes yourself. Practice this process and become a confident leader of yourself and others. Just think of all of the time and energy you will save in the process, and how great you will feel as you remain calm, trust yourself, and make great decisions.

[ 1] Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Annie McKee, Primal Leadership,(Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2004).

[ 2] Daniel H. Barlow, Anxiety and Its Disorders, Second Edition: The Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic, (New York: The Guilford Press, 2004).

[ 3] Amos Tversky and Eldar Shafir, "The Disjunction Effect in Choice under Uncertainty," Psychological Science, 3 (1992): 205-209.

[ 4] Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper, " When Choice Is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79 (2000): 995-1106.

[ 5] Timothy D. Wilson et al., " Introspecting about Reasons Can Reduce Post-Choice Satisfaction," Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19 (1993): 331-339.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Kenneth Ko, PhD, GUEST EDITOR, Associate Dean, Graziadio School of Business

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Jerry Biberman, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Scranton

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When we think of what makes someone a great leader, one characteristic that comes to mind is decisiveness. We do not envision successful leaders standing around appearing unclear and uncertain. Instead, we view them as people who are able to quickly arrive at their decisions and communicate the goals to others.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It is simply impossible to become a great leader without being a great communicator. I hope you noticed the previous sentence didn't refer to being a great talker - big difference. The key to becoming a skillful communicator is rarely found in what has been taught in the world of academia. From our earliest days in the classroom we are trained to focus on enunciation, vocabulary, presence, delivery, grammar, syntax and the like. In other words, we are taught to focus on ourselves. While I don't mean to belittle these things as they're important to learn, it's the more subtle elements of communication rarely taught in the classroom (the elements that focus on others), which leaders desperately need to learn. In today's column I'll share a few of the communication traits, which if used consistently, will help you achieve better communication results.

It is the ability to develop a keen external awareness that separates the truly great communicators from those who muddle through their interactions with others. Examine the world's greatest leaders and you'll find them all to be exceptional communicators. They might talk about their ideas, but they do so in a way which also speaks to your emotions and your aspirations. They realize if their message doesn't take deep root with the audience then it likely won't be understood, much less championed.

I don't believe it comes as any great surprise that most leaders spend the overwhelming majority of their time each day in some type of an interpersonal situation. I also don't believe it comes as a great shock that a large number of organizational problems occur as a result of poor communications. It is precisely this paradox that underscores the need for leaders to focus on becoming great communicators. Effective communication is an essential component of professional success whether it is at the interpersonal, inter-group, intra-group, organizational, or external level. While developing an understanding of great communication skills is easier than one might think, being able to appropriately draw upon said skills when the chips are down is not always as easy as one might hope for.

Skills acquired and/or knowledge gained are only valuable to the extent they can be practically applied when called for. The number one thing great communicators have in common is they possess a heightened sense of situational and contextual awareness. The best communicators are great listeners and astute in their observations. Great communicators are skilled at reading a person/group by sensing the moods, dynamics, attitudes, values and concerns of those being communicated with. Not only do they read their environment well, but they possess the uncanny ability to adapt their messaging to said environment without missing a beat. The message is not about the messenger; it has nothing to do with messenger; it is however 100% about meeting the needs and the expectations of those you're communicating with.

So, how do you know when your skills have matured to the point that you've become an excellent communicator? The answer is you'll have reached the point where your interactions with others consistently use the following ten principles:

1. Speak not with a forked tongue: In most cases, people just won't open up to those they don't trust. When people have a sense a leader is worthy of their trust they will invest time and take risks in ways they never would if their leader had a reputation built upon poor character or lack of integrity. While you can attempt to demand trust, it rarely works. Trust is best created by earning it with right acting, thinking, and decisioning. Keep in mind people will forgive many things where trust exists, but will rarely forgive anything where trust is absent.

2. Get personal: Stop issuing corporate communications and begin having organizational conversations - think dialog not monologue. Here's the thing - the more personal and engaging the conversation is the more effective it will be. There is great truth in the following axiom: "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Classic business theory tells leaders to stay at arms length. I say stay at arms length if you want to remain in the dark receiving only highly sanitized versions of the truth. If you don't develop meaningful relationships with people you'll never know what's really on their mind until it's too late to do anything about it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Communication Secrets Of Great Leaders

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It is simply impossible to become a great leader without being a great communicator. I hope you noticed the previous sentence didn't refer to being a great talker - big difference. The key to becoming a skillful communicator is rarely found in what has been taught in the world of [...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Share to email

Share to facebook

Share to twitter

Share to linkedin

Share to google

I write about leading organizational transformations. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Business leaders are faced with dozens of decisions that need to be made every day. As our organizations grow, the decisions generally become more frequent, more complicated, and have more serious ramifications. Sometimes it's not about making the right decision, but just making a decision at all. The most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders in the world will tell you they have made many wrong decisions throughout the lifetime of their careers, but those failures always lead to valuable learning experiences, so above all, it's important to find ways to make the tough decisions.

As a Navy SEAL, I learned how to make quick decisions in highly chaotic environments. SEALs are trained to be innovative free thinkers with the ability to make rational decisions with limited information under very stressful circumstances. In combat, things change constantly and contingency planning is crucial, but without proper execution and rational decision-making, no plan will lead to a successful mission. As World War I German Field Marshal Helmuth von Multke said, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy."

Similarly, business owners, executives and managers must master the ability to make good decisions quickly in order to keep the business moving forward. The best leaders, however, know when they need input from the team. Good leaders surround themselves with trusted advisors and subject matter experts, so that they can access a constant flow of data to make better decisions.

There are four basic decision-making styles that leaders can use:

1. Command: Command decision-making is where leaders make decisions without consulting their teams. This is an effective style, especially when things are moving quickly and the team is looking for immediate guidance. In a business setting, leaders use this style the most effectively on large financial decisions and in crisis situations. In "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden" former Navy SEAL Mark Owen (pseudonym) tells of the key command decision that saved the mission. When the helicopter pilot inserting the roof assault team lost lift and knew the bird was going down, he immediately made the command decision to ditch the helicopter in the courtyard with a controlled crash landing. He did so successfully, without any injuries, and the assault team was able to continue their mission. In this type of scenario, there is no time to consult with the team about the best course of action.

2. Collaborative: Collaborative decision-making is just what it sounds like. Leaders gather their teams and request feedback and insight. The leader still makes the final call, but is armed with the proper data to make a more informed decision. This can also be referred to as evidence-based decision-making. With this style, and really in all business decisions, avoid surrounding yourself with people that always agree with you. You need people who are able to strongly argue the other side. Whether you use their advice or not, it will help clarify your decision. In former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell's book "Lone Survivor" he tells the story of a decision that cost his team everything. Not long after the four-man team was inserted into a notoriously dangerous area of the Hindu Kush mountain range, tasked with capturing or killing a known al-Qaeda leader, two unarmed goat herders compromised their position. The SEALs had to make the decision whether to kill them and hide their bodies or set them free and risk the enemy being informed of their position. Team leader, friend, and Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Murphy, gathered the team and asked them for input, knowing he would eventually have to make the call. The team discussed the pros and cons of setting the goat herders free and ultimately made the decision to let them go. That decision was made based on team input and weighing the possible outcomes from all angles. The team set the goat herders free. As Luttrell tells it, they immediately knew they had made the wrong decision in this scenario. It was too late for them to reverse the decision, but they did what they could to prepare for the consequences. About an hour later, a large Taliban force surrounded them. Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matt Axelson all lost their lives that day after a vicious gunfight that lasted for hours. Additionally, the helo full of SEALs and other special operators sent to support them was shot down killing everyone on board. Their actions held true to the SEAL Creed and they all fought valiantly to the end. Learn more at the Lone Survivor Foundation.

3. Consensus: Consensus-based decision-making is done more like a democratic vote. Leaders gather their teams and everyone votes. Majority rules. This process can work well when the outcome of the decision affects the entire team, and generally won't immediately affect the bottom line. In a quick-moving business environment, this is not the most efficient way to make a decision, but there are still some decisions that can be made this way. This style of decision-making was rare in the SEAL Teams. In a business, however, this type of decision-making can help mold the culture when the team is allowed to vote and have a voice. Just remember you generally can't please everyone.

4. Convenience: When surrounded by trusted peers, sometimes the best decision a leader can make is to not be the one to make a certain decision. Complete delegation (convenience decision-making) has many benefits including measuring the decision-making abilities of your managers, empowering your team, and maintaining your own sanity! By handing over some decision-making responsibilities, leaders are also building a better management team and giving them the confidence they need as their responsibilities increase. And, convenience-based decision-making is a great way to avoid the decision trap of "we've always done it this way." New decision makers take fresh approaches to solving problems.

People sometimes think one of the hardest decisions I've made in my life was to become a Navy SEAL. It wasn't at all. That was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made. The hardest decision was to leave the service while my SEAL brothers continue the fight. As my business partner and I grow our rapidly expanding digital marketing organization, we are faced with more tough decisions every day. The key is to remain calm under pressure, trust the team you have built, and use the data available to make the best possible decisions. Having a little faith doesn't hurt either!

Share to email

Share to facebook

Share to twitter

Share to linkedin

Share to google

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Business leaders are faced with dozens of decisions that need to be made every day. As our organizations grow, the decisions generally become more frequent, more complicated, and have more serious ramifications. Sometimes it's not about making the right decision, but just making a decision at all. The most successful [...]