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Leadership and Advocacy as School Counselors

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Leadership and Advocacy as School Counselors

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School Counselors: Leadership and Advocating for Your Program

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The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence. So, let's look at each element in more detail and examine how you can grow as a leader.

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

1. Self-awareness

If you're self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you're in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses, and it means behaving with humility.

So, what can you do to improve your self-awareness?

Keep a journal. Journals help you improve your self-awareness. If you spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.

2. Self-regulation

Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all about staying in control.

This element of emotional intelligence, according to Goleman, also covers a leader's flexibility and commitment to personal accountability.

So, how can you improve your ability to self-regulate?

Hold yourself accountable. If you tend to blame others when something goes wrong, stop. Make a commitment to admit to your mistakes and to face the consequences, whatever they are. You'll probably sleep better at night, and you'll quickly earn the respect of those around you.

Practice being calm. The next time you're in a challenging situation, be very aware of how you act. Do you relieve your stress by shouting at someone else? Practice deep-breathing exercises to calm yourself. Also, try to write down all of the negative things you want to say, and then rip it up and throw it away. Expressing these emotions on paper (and not showing them to anyone!) is better than speaking them aloud to your team. What's more, this helps you challenge your reactions to ensure that they're fair!

3. Motivation

Self-motivated leaders work consistently toward their goals, and they have extremely high standards for the quality of their work.

How can you improve your motivation?

Re-examine why you're doing your job. It's easy to forget what you really love about your career. So, take some time to remember why you wanted this job. If you're unhappy in your role and you're struggling to remember why you wanted it, try the Five Whys technique to find the root of the problem. Starting at the root often helps you look at your situation in a new way. And make sure that your goal statements are fresh and energizing. For more on this, see our article on Goal Setting.

4. Empathy

For leaders, having empathy is critical to managing a successful team or organization. Leaders with empathy have the ability to put themselves in someone else's situation. They help develop the people on their team, challenge others who are acting unfairly, give constructive feedback, and listen to those who need it.

If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care by being empathic.

How can you improve your empathy?

Respond to feelings. You ask your assistant to work late - again. And although he agrees, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. So, respond by addressing his feelings. Tell him you appreciate how willing he is to work extra hours, and that you're just as frustrated about working late. If possible, figure out a way for future late nights to be less of an issue (for example, give him Monday mornings off).

5. Social Skills

Leaders who do well in the social skills element of emotional intelligence are great communicators. They're just as open to hearing bad news as good news, and they're experts at getting their team to support them and be excited about a new mission or project.

Leaders who have good social skills are also good at managing change and resolving conflicts diplomatically. They're rarely satisfied with leaving things as they are, but they don't sit back and make everyone else do the work: they set an example with their own behavior.

So, how can you build social skills?

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Emotional Intelligence in Leadership - Learning How to Be More Aware

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Relating to others is vital in today's workplace. Learn how to build your emotional intelligence (EI) with this article.

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5 Aspects of Emotional Intelligence Required for Effective Leadership

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5 Aspects of Emotional Intelligence Required for Effective Leadership

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The trait theory of leadership focuses on identifying different personality traits and characteristics that are linked to successful leadership across a variety of situations. This line of research emerged as one of the earliest types of investigations into the nature of effective leadership and is tied to the "great man" theory of leadership first proposed by Thomas Carlyle in the mid-1800s.

Trait Theory of Leadership Rationale

According to Carlyle, history is shaped by extraordinary leaders. This ability to lead is something that people are simply born with, Carlyle believed, and not something that could be developed. Carlyle's ideas inspired early research on leadership, which almost entirely focused on inheritable traits.

Carlyle's theory of leadership was based on the rationale that:

Certain traits produce certain patterns of behavior.

Patterns are consistent across different situations.

People are "born" with leadership traits.

Even today, books, and articles tout the various characteristics necessary to become a great leader, suggesting that leadership is somehow predestined in some (or is at least more likely) while unlikely, if not impossible, in others.

Since the publication of Carlyle's thesis, psychologists have examined and argued about the trait-based theory of leadership. From the 1940s to the 1970s, psychologist Ralph Melvin Stogdill suggested that leadership is the result of the interaction between the individual and the social situation and not merely the result of a predefined set of traits.

Soon after in the 1980s, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner posited that credibility was a key indicator of leadership skills, characterized by such traits as being honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent.

Leadership Traits

While the list of leadership traits can vary by whoever is drawing up the list, a recent study outlined behavioral traits that separated lower-level supervisors from higher-level supervisors.

According to the researchers, the traits most commonly associated with great leadership include:

Adaptability and flexibility: Effective leaders don't get stuck in a rut. They are able to think outside of the box and adapt quickly to changing situations.

Assertiveness: A great leader is able to be direct and assertive without coming off as overly pushy or aggressive.

Capacity to motivate people: A great leader knows how to inspire others and motivate them to do their best.

Courage and resolution: The best leaders are brave and committed to the goals of the group. They do not hide from challenges.

Creativity: Perhaps most importantly, great leaders not only possess their own creativity, but they are also able to foster creativity among members of the group.

Decisiveness: A great leader is capable of making a decision and is confident in his or her choices.

Eagerness to accept responsibility: Strong leaders take on responsibility and don't pass the blame on to others. They stand by their success and take ownership of their mistakes.

Emotional stability: In addition to being dependable overall, strong leaders are able to control their emotions and avoid overreactions.

Intelligence and action-oriented judgment: Great leaders and smart and make choices that move the group forward.

Need for achievement: Strong leaders have a need to succeed and help the group achieve goals. They genuinely care about the success of the group and are committed to helping the group reach these milestones.

People skills: Excellent interpersonal skills are essential for leading effectively. Great leaders know how to interact well with other leaders as well as with team members.

Perseverance: Strong leaders stick with it, even when things get difficult or the group faces significant obstacles.

Self-confidence: Many of the best leaders are extremely self-assured. Because they are confident in themselves, followers often begin to share this self-belief.

Task competence: A great leader is skilled and capable. Members of the group are able to look to the leader for an example of how things should be done.

Trustworthiness: Group members need to be able to depend upon and trust the person leading them.

Understanding their followers and their needs: Effective leaders pay attention to group members and genuinely care about helping them succeed. They want each person in the group to succeed and play a role in moving the entire group forward.

Controversy on the Trait Theory

Early studies on leadership focused on the differences between leaders and followers with the assumption that people in leadership positions would display more leadership traits than those in subordinate positions.

What researchers found, however, was that there were relatively few traits that could be used to distinguish between leaders and followers. For example, leaders tend to be great communicators.﻿﻿ Leaders also tend to be higher in traits such as extroversion, self-confidence, and height, but these differences tended to be small.

Some have suggested that this may due to situational variables in which leadership skills only emerge when an opportunity for leadership arises (such as in war, during a political crisis, or in the absence of leadership).﻿﻿

Meanwhile, others have taken a contingency approach to leadership in which certain traits can be more effective in some situations and less so in others. Opinions vary on what those traits are and to what degree they can predict success, if at all.

Leadership in the Internet Age

More controversial yet is the contention that some people don't have the traits to become leaders.﻿﻿ Such a belief inherently overlooks social and economic inequities that limit, if not entirely erase, a person's potential to lead.

It also overlooks the changing economy and how leadership is defined when connections are today made both online and offline.

A Word From Verywell

While these traits are often linked to effective leadership, it is important to note that few leaders possess all of these traits. Generally, a strong leader will have many of these qualities.

But aspects of the situation also play an important role in determining if people are able to lead well. In many cases, it is the interaction between these traits and the situation that determines leadership quality.

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Do Great Leaders Share Certain Traits? See What the Research Says

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The trait theory of leadership focuses on identifying different personality traits and characteristics that are linked to successful leadership across a variety of situations. This line of research emerged as one of the earliest types of investigations into the nature of effective leadership and is tied to the "great man" theory of leadership first proposed by Thomas Carlyle in the mid-1800s.

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Behavioral Leadership Theories are developed scientifically by behavior-focused studies of a leader's behavior in a conditioned situation that one can have a specific response to specific stimuli.

This behavior-focused approach provides real marketing potential.

Behavioral Leadership Theories are developed by scientifically studying the behaviors of leaders and the effects of them on the workforce and environment.

Many behavioral scientists have attempted to identify appropriate behavioral patterns of leadership styles.

Some of the important contributions in this regard include Michigan University Studies and Ohio State Studies.

The behavioral scientists don't concentrate on the traits of leaders, rather they study the activities of leaders to identify their behavioral patterns.

What are the Behavioral Leadership Theories?

The two most common theories will come up every time we talk about Behavioral Leadership Theories, Michigan Leadership Studies, and Ohio State Leadership Studies.

Michigan Leadership Studies

Michigan Leadership Studies is a behavioral Leadership theory that indicates the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan conducted empirical studies to identify styles of leader behavior that results in higher performance and satisfaction of a group.

The value of Michigan Leadership Studies lies in the analysis of 2 leadership styles task and employee-oriented styles.

Instead of restricting to traits of leaders, they concentrated on the behavior of leaders.

Ohio State Leadership Studies

Ohio State Leadership Studies is Behavioral Leadership Theory.

A series of studies on leadership was done by Ohio State University in 1945 to identify observable behaviors of leaders instead of focusing on their traits.

Ohio State Leadership Studies showed that initiating structure and consideration are two distinct dimensions and not mutually exclusive.

A low score on one does not require a high score on the other. Consideration is the people-orientation and initiating structure is the task orientation.

The Ohio State studies were conducted around the same time as the Michigan Leadership Studies, which also identified as critical the focus on tasks and people.

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Behavioral Leadership Theories - Definition, Types, Examples, Practice

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Behavioral Leadership Theories are developed scientifically by behavior-focused studies of a leader's behavior in a conditioned situation that one can have a specific response to specific stimuli. This behavior-focused approach provides real marketing potential. Behavioral Leadership Theories are developed by scientifically studying the behaviors of leaders and the effects of them on the workforce and environment.

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Many of history's most effective leaders are labeled charismatic. Yet there is a great deal of controversy about whether charisma is made or born, and if charismatic leaders are actually effective. A while back, I was interviewed as part of a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Many of the most frequently asked questions about charismatic leadership were part of that interview.
Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Winston Churchill were known as dynamic, charismatic and inspirational leaders. What particular traits or qualities did someone like MLK possess that allowed him to lead and inspire so many people?
Charismatic leaders are essentially very skilled communicators - individuals who are verbally eloquent, but also able to communicate to followers on a deep, emotional level. They are able to articulate a compelling or captivating vision, and to arouse strong emotions in followers.
Is charisma something that you are born with - you either have it or you don't? Do you think most leaders, politicians, and inspirational figures have charisma, and is it that quality which makes them stand out?
Charisma is really a process - an interaction between the qualities of the charismatic leader, the followers and their needs and identification with the leader, and the situation that calls out for a charismatic leader, such as a need for change or a crisis. But when it comes to the charismatic qualities of leaders, the emphasis is on how they communicate to followers and whether they are able to gain followers' trust, and influence and persuade them to follow.

Most politicians, particularly on the national scene, have developed their ability to communicate effectively - to make speeches, "work the room" with potential donors and supporters, etc. So many seasoned politicians have a lot of "personal charisma."
What are the important characteristics every leader should possess?
A model that I think represents the very best leaders, and research bears this out, is transformational leadership. You can think of transformational leadership as going beyond charisma, because two of the components of transformational leadership deal with charisma. They are:

Idealized Influence, or the leader's ability to be a positive (and moral) role model for followers. The transformational leader also "walks the talk," and is on the "front line" working with followers (think MLK Jr.), or leaders who sacrifice along with their followers. In business, the charismatic/transformational leader sometimes serves as the "face" of the company or the movement (think Steve Jobs).

Inspirational Motivation is the second quality, and it is what charismatic leaders are noted for - the ability to inspire and motivate followers to perform at high levels, and to be committed to the organization or the cause.

The other two elements of transformational leadership are Intellectual Stimulation - challenging followers to be creative and think outside of the box - and Individualized Consideration, or being responsive to the feelings and developmental needs of followers.

Transformational leaders are charismatic, but they are also noted for leading high-performing groups and teams and developing followers' leadership capacity as much as for helping the group or organization to change and innovate.
What are some behaviors or traits that might derail a leader/politician's career or stand in their path to success?
The biggest thing that can derail a leader is arrogance, and a lack of concern or responsiveness to followers and constituents. We have seen politicians' and CEOs' arrogance - thinking they are above the law and committing ethical violations lead to their demise. Also, a leader needs to succeed more often than not, and to learn from mistakes and setbacks.
Are leaders born or made?
This isn't something that requires my opinion, because the question has been well researched. Twin studies by Richard Arvey and his colleagues have estimated that leadership is about two-thirds "made" and one-third "born." This makes sense, though, if we see much of leadership as a set of learned skills and competencies - the ability to communicate, to strategize, to problem solve, etc. These take time to develop.

This question would have broad implications for leadership, for if it were all (or mostly) born, then our efforts should be directed toward identifying and selecting leaders, and we would be wasting our time on leader development programs. But, the research suggests that putting resources into leader development makes sense, and recent meta-analyses of these programs suggest that, in general, they work and lead to positive gains.
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What Is Charisma and Charismatic Leadership?

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Many of history's most effective leaders are labeled charismatic. Yet there is a great deal of controversy about whether charisma is made or born, and if charismatic leaders are actually effective. A while back, I was interviewed as part of a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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A transactional leader is someone who values order and structure. They are likely to command military operations, manage large corporations, or lead international projects that require rules and regulations to complete objectives on time or move people and supplies in an organized way. Transactional leaders are not a good fit for places where creativity and innovative ideas are valued.

Transactional leadership is most often compared to transformational leadership. Transactional leadership depends on self-motivated people who work well in a structured, directed environment. By contrast, transformational leadership seeks to motivate and inspire workers, choosing to influence rather than direct others.

Read more about transactional leadership:

Transactional leadership focuses on results, conforms to the existing structure of an organization and measures success according to that organization's system of rewards and penalties. Transactional leaders have formal authority and positions of responsibility in an organization. This type of leader is responsible for maintaining routine by managing individual performance and facilitating group performance.

This type of leader sets the criteria for their workers according to previously defined requirements. Performance reviews are the most common way to judge employee performance. Transactional, or managerial, leaders work best with employees who know their jobs and are motivated by the reward-penalty system. The status quo of an organization is maintained through transactional leadership.

Differences between transactional leadership and other leadership styles

Transactional leaders differ from charismatic and transformational leaders in both structure and method. Charismatic leadership emphasizes influencing a group or organization to make the world a better place. In transactional leadership, the emphasis is on managing the performance of the individual and determining how well he or she performs in a structured environment.

The difference between transactional leadership and transformational leadership is also quite large. Simply put, transactional is a "telling" leadership style, and transformational is a "selling" style. While the transactional approach features positive and negative reinforcement, transformational leadership emphasizes motivation and inspiration. Transactional leaders are reactive; transformational leaders are proactive. Transactional leadership appeals to the self-interest of individuals, while the transformational style prioritizes group progress.

History of the transactional leadership theory

Max Weber, a 20th-century German sociologist, made an extensive study of leadership styles and divided them into three categories: traditional, charismatic and rational-legal, or bureaucratic. In 1947, Weber was the first to describe rational-legal leadership - the style that would come to be known as transactional leadership - as "the exercise of control on the basis of knowledge."

Transactional leadership theory is based on the idea that managers give employees something they want in exchange for getting something they want. It posits that workers are not self-motivated and require structure, instruction and monitoring in order to complete tasks correctly and on time.

The transactional leadership style was widely used after World War II in the United States. This was a time when the government concentrated on rebuilding and required a high level of structure to maintain national stability.

Political scientist James McGregor Burns was one of the most prominent authors to advance Weber's theories. In his 1978 book "Leadership," Burns argued that both transactional and transformational leaders must be moral and have a higher purpose. In Burns's model, transactional leaders espouse honesty, fairness, responsibility, and honoring commitments.

In the 1980s and 90s, researchers including Bernard M. Bass, Jane Howell and Bruce Avolio defined the dimensions of transactional leadership:

Contingent reward, the process of setting expectations and rewarding workers for meeting them

Passive management by exception, where a manager does not interfere with workflow unless an issue arises

Active management by exception, in which managers anticipate problems, monitor progress and issue corrective measures

Many current leadership theorists agree that principals of transactional and transformational leadership can be combined for ideal outcomes for both management and the workforce.

The transactional model is likely to succeed in a crisis or in projects that require linear and specific processes. This model is also useful for big corporations, such as Hewlett-Packard, a company known for its extensive use of management by exception.

Many high-level members of the military, CEOs of large international companies, and NFL coaches are known to be transactional leaders. Transactional leadership also works well in policing agencies and first responder organizations. Here are four examples of transactional leaders.

Norman Schwarzkopf

Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf was born in 1934 and graduated from West Point. He went to Vietnam as an advisor to the South Vietnamese army. During that war, he was wounded twice and awarded three Silver Star medals. In 1978, he became a brigadier general; he attained a four-star ranking in 1988. General Schwarzkopf was commander-in-chief of the U.S. forces in Operation Desert Storm, responsible for tens of thousands of troops in Iraq and Kuwait. He used the rules and regulations of the military to coordinate operations on several continents.

Vince Lombardi

Born in 1913, Vince Lombardi is best known as the coach for the Green Bay Packers. He signed a five-year contract with Green Bay in 1959. Under his leadership, the team never had a losing session. Over the course of his career, he led the team to a 98-30-4 record and five championships. The Super Bowl trophy is named after him. He used to run the Packers through the same plays in practice over and over again. The team's opponents knew the plays Lombardi would run, but the team was so well trained that many teams had trouble defending against them.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates was born in Seattle in 1955. In his early teens, he met Paul Allen at the Lakeside School, where they both developed computer programs as a hobby. When Gates went to Harvard, Allen went to work as a programmer for Honeywell in Boston. In 1975, they started Microsoft, and by 1978, the company had grossed $2.5 million, when Gates was 23. In 1985, Microsoft launched Windows. Bill Gates is now one of the richest people in the world. As a transactional leader, he used to visit new product teams and ask difficult questions until he was satisfied that the teams were on track and understood the goal.

Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz was born in 1953 and grew up in the Brooklyn housing projects. He escaped the projects with a football scholarship from Northern Michigan University. After college, he started selling coffee makers to companies that included the Starbucks Coffee Tea and Spice Company, which originally sold coffee beans rather than made-to-order drinks. He was hired by the company in 1982. In 1984, Schultz opened the first Starbucks coffeehouse based on the concept of an Italian espresso bar.

Schultz wanted to grow Starbucks, but the owners wanted to stay small. Schultz left and opened his own company in 1985. With the help of investors in 1987, he bought Starbucks and merged the two companies. By 2006, Schultz was ranked 394 on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest people in America. As a transactional leader, he was responsible for the vision and implementation of the Starbucks model.

Transactional leadership quotes

Norman Schwarzkopf: "When placed in command, take charge."

Vince Lombardi: "The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."

Bill Gates: "The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."

Howard Schultz: "Starbucks is not an advertiser; people think we are a great marketing company, but in fact we spend very little money on marketing and more money on training our people than advertising."

Here are some of the characteristics of transactional leaders:

Focused on short-term goals

Favor structured policies and procedures

Thrive on following rules and doing things correctly

Revel in efficiency

Very left-brained

Tend to be inflexible

Opposed to change

Transactional leadership works well in organizations where structure is important. Transactional leadership is not the right fit for organizations where initiative is encouraged:

Transactional leadership pros:

Rewards those who are motivated by self-interest to follow instructions

Provides an unambiguous structure for large organizations, systems requiring repetitive tasks and infinitely reproducible environments

Achieves short-term goals quickly

Rewards and penalties are clearly defined for workers

Transactional leadership cons:

Rewards the worker on a practical level only, such as money or perks

Creativity is limited since the goals and objectives are already set

Does not reward personal initiative

There is definitely a place for transactional leadership in the world today. One of its best uses is in multinational corporations where not all of the workers speak the same language. Once the structure and the requirements are learned, it is easy for workers to complete tasks successfully. This works because transactional leadership is simple to learn and does not require extensive training. The transactional approach is easy to understand and apply across much of an organization.

The military, policing organizations, and first responders use this style of leadership so that all areas of the organization are consistent. It is also easier to apply in a crisis situation, where everyone must know exactly what is required of them and how a task is to be done under pressure.

To many people, money and perks are a powerful motivator. Many people need a job to pay the bills. They have other obligations and distractions and would just as soon know exactly how to do their job in order to keep it and reap the rewards.

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What is Transactional Leadership? Structure Leads to Results

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A transactional leader is someone who values order and structure. They are likely to command military operations, manage large corporations, or lead international projects that require rules and regulations to complete objectives on time or move people and supplies in an organized way.

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At the core of Primary Care Progress's leadership development strategy is Relational Leadership™, an approach to leading that cultivates authentic relationships to achieve connection, common vision, and interdependent action. It is a healthcare leadership competency model built upon decades of social psychology research into people, their motivations, how they learn and work, and unique ways in which they influence and are influenced by others when in groups. It is ultimately a strategy for people to work together to achieve better results.

But working collaboratively doesn't just happen - especially in healthcare, where most of us have been taught to go it alone. While we often learn the technical skills to undertake quality improvement and systems redesign, it's less common for health professions education to focus on the deeply relational aspects of effective teamwork. That's where Relational Leadership™ comes in, with four key areas or domains to help you achieve success - and satisfaction - in your work.

PCP provides training and support in Relational Leadership™ in two primary ways:

PCP partners with current primary care practitioners, intact healthcare teams, and educators with an opportunity to learn Relational Leadership™ skills and apply them with in their practice environments while building relationships with one another, supporting individual learning and group resilience.

PCP works with healthcare student teams and their faculty to develop essential Relational Leadership™ skills and apply those skills to advocate for change in their community.

Whether already operating in an integrated interprofessional care team or working in a traditional healthcare model, all healthcare professionals have the ability to lead from where they stand. Relational Leadership™ is a model of shared leadership focused on developing relational skills at the individual level and across teams. It is grounded in the premise that all team members should grow and develop as leaders, working together interdependently towards a common vision. Leadership is viewed not as a position but as a role, with different individuals taking the lead or following based on context and circumstance.

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The Relational Leadership™ Model - Primary Care Progress

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At the core of Primary Care Progress's leadership development strategy is Relational Leadership™, an approach to leading that cultivates authentic relationships to achieve connection, common vision, and interdependent action. It is a healthcare leadership competency model built upon decades of social psychology research into people, their motivations, how they learn and work, and unique ways in which they influence and are influenced by others when in groups.

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Authentic leaders are seen as genuine, or "real." Authentic leadership is still forming as a theory, but more research has been done the past few decades due to people's insecurity in leadership and their desire to have leaders who are honest and "good" (Northouse, 2016). My current supervisor, Beth, whom I just started under a month ago, is a great example of an authentic leader according to Bill George's practical approach to authentic leadership.

George's model focuses on the different qualities an authentic leader has (or can develop). If a leader demonstrates these qualities or characteristics, they will be a more authentic leader and their followers will respond positively and the organization will benefit. There are five dimensions described by George, and each are associated with an observable characteristic: purpose and passion, values and behavior, relationships and connectedness, self-discipline and consistency, and heart and compassion (Penn State, 2017). Beth displays all of these.

Authentic leaders have a sense of purpose, knowing what they are about and where they are headed (Northouse, 2017). Purpose manifests itself as passion. Passionate people are interested in what they are doing, are inspired and intrinsically motivated, and care about the work they are doing (Northouse, 2017). About a month ago, the work at the office was restructured. A new unit was created for a specific part of our job. I was placed in that unit under Beth who was selected to lead. Beth demonstrates passion for this new job, as she shows she cares about figuring out the best way to accomplish the work, and spends a lot of time running reports and brainstorming ways to help the new unit succeed.

Secondly, authentic leaders have values, know what they are, and don't compromise on those values (Northouse, 2017). This quality manifests itself through the leader's behavior, authentic leaders acting in accordance with their values. Beth clearly values that work is does according to policy and in the best interest of our clients. She does not let people take shortcuts if they are against policy, and will not compromise the rules. I see her as a better leader because of this, compared to other supervisors I have dealt with that do not follow policy at all times.

Thirdly, authentic leaders build relationships with others and have connectedness with their followers. They are willing to share their experiences and listen to others' experiences, and are communicative with their followers (Northouse, 2017). Beth does this often, she talks to us about her work and personal life sometimes, and listens when we talk about our lives as well. She is open about what changes are occurring, the thought process behind them, and demonstrates respect of all of us. Because she connects with us, we respect her in return, understand what is going on, and are more committed to her goals and ideas.

The fourth dimension of authentic leadership is self-discipline, which gives leaders focus and determination: ability to focus on a goal, and move forward towards that goal even in the face of setbacks (Northouse, 2017). This is consistency. Self-disciplined leaders remain cool, calm, and consistent during stressful situations (Northouse, 2017). Beth has demonstrated this a lot in the past month. Implementing our new process has come with a lot of confusion, stress, and situations coming to light that need adjustments. Beth has consistently kept her cool and kept all of us on track. She stays focused, adjusts what needs changed, keeps us in the loop, and moves forward.

Finally, authentic leaders have heart, which shows in their compassion. They are sensitive to others' needs and are willing to help them (Northouse, 2017). Beth has done this by noticing when we are stressed about the process (it has caused our workloads to increase dramatically and deadlines to shorten immensely). She checks in with us as a group and individually to see how we are dealing with everything, and what she can do to relieve the stress. She seems like she is genuinely concerned about her followers' well-being and wants to alleviate as much as she can.

Overall, all of these qualities of Beth are what make her an authentic leader. Her passion, behaviors, ability to connect, consistency, and compassion are all inspiring. It is clear through these actions that she cares about her job, the work, how to accomplish it, and how to keep her followers happy, productive, and focused. We know that no matter how stressful or complicated this new process is, Beth has our back, wants to find the best approach to get the work done, and will help us genuinely. I wish more leaders would display this level of authenticity.

References:

Northouse, Peter G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7 th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

Pennsylvania State University. (2017). Lesson 12: Authentic Leadership. In PSYCH485: Leadership in Work Settings: Spring 2017. Retrieved from: http://psu.instructure.com.

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Five Characteristics of Authentic Leadership

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Authentic leaders are seen as genuine, or "real." Authentic leadership is still forming as a theory, but more research has been done the past few decades due to people's insecurity in leadership and their desire to have leaders who are honest and "good" (Northouse, 2016).

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Servant leaders are a revolutionary bunch–they take the traditional power leadership model and turn it completely upside down. This new hierarchy puts the people–or employees, in a business context–at the very top, and the leader at the bottom, charged wi

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The ASAP® course catalog has been published and includes information on all our standards-based ASAP® course modules, as well as the ASAP® assessments, workbooks, case studies and academies. Download the ASAP Catalog today!

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You have a deadline looming. However, instead of doing your work, you are fiddling with miscellaneous things like checking email, social media, watching videos, surfing blogs and forums. You know you should be working, but you just don't feel like doing anything.

We are all familiar with the procrastination phenomenon. When we procrastinate, we squander away our free time and put off important tasks we should be doing them till it's too late. And when it is indeed too late, we panic and wish we got started earlier.

The chronic procrastinators I know have spent years of their life looped in this cycle. Delaying, putting off things, slacking, hiding from work, facing work only when it's unavoidable, then repeating this loop all over again. It's a bad habit that eats us away and prevents us from achieving greater results in life.

Don't let procrastination take over your life. Here, I will share my personal steps on how to stop procrastinating. These 11 steps will definitely apply to you too:

1. Break Your Work into Little Steps

Part of the reason why we procrastinate is because subconsciously, we find the work too overwhelming for us. Break it down into little parts, then focus on one part at the time. If you still procrastinate on the task after breaking it down, then break it down even further. Soon, your task will be so simple that you will be thinking "gee, this is so simple that I might as well just do it now!".

For example, I'm currently writing a new book (on How to achieve anything in life). Book writing at its full scale is an enormous project and can be overwhelming. However, when I break it down into phases such as -

(1) Research

(2) Deciding the topic

(3) Creating the outline

(4) Drafting the content

(5) Writing Chapters #1 to #10,

(6) Revision

(7) etc.

Suddenly it seems very manageable. What I do then is to focus on the immediate phase and get it done to my best ability, without thinking about the other phases. When it's done, I move on to the next.

2. Change Your Environment

Different environments have different impact on our productivity. Look at your work desk and your room. Do they make you want to work or do they make you want to snuggle and sleep? If it's the latter, you should look into changing your workspace.

One thing to note is that an environment that makes us feel inspired before may lose its effect after a period of time. If that's the case, then it's time to change things around. Refer to Steps #2 and #3 of 13 Strategies To Jumpstart Your Productivity, which talks about revamping your environment and workspace.

3. Create a Detailed Timeline with Specific Deadlines

Having just 1 deadline for your work is like an invitation to procrastinate. That's because we get the impression that we have time and keep pushing everything back, until it's too late.

Break down your project (see tip #1), then create an overall timeline with specific deadlines for each small task. This way, you know you have to finish each task by a certain date. Your timelines must be robust, too - i.e. if you don't finish this by today, it's going to jeopardize everything else you have planned after that. This way it creates the urgency to act.

My goals are broken down into monthly, weekly, right down to the daily task lists, and the list is a call to action that I must accomplish this by the specified date, else my goals will be put off.

Here're more tips on setting deadlines: 22 Tips for Effective Deadlines

4. Eliminate Your Procrastination Pit-Stops

If you are procrastinating a little too much, maybe that's because you make it easy to procrastinate.

Identify your browser bookmarks that take up a lot of your time and shift them into a separate folder that is less accessible. Disable the automatic notification option in your email client. Get rid of the distractions around you.

I know some people will out of the way and delete or deactivate their facebook accounts. I think it's a little drastic and extreme as addressing procrastination is more about being conscious of our actions than counteracting via self-binding methods, but if you feel that's what's needed, go for it.

5. Hang out with People Who Inspire You to Take Action

I'm pretty sure if you spend just 10 minutes talking to Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, you'll be more inspired to act than if you spent the 10 minutes doing nothing. The people we are with influence our behaviors. Of course spending time with Steve Jobs or Bill Gates every day is probably not a feasible method, but the principle applies - The Hidden Power of Every Single Person Around You

Identify the people, friends or colleagues who trigger you - most likely the go-getters and hard workers - and hang out with them more often. Soon you will inculcate their drive and spirit too.

As a personal development blogger, I "hang out" with inspiring personal development experts by reading their blogs and corresponding with them regularly via email and social media. It's communication via new media and it works all the same.

6. Get a Buddy

Having a companion makes the whole process much more fun. Ideally, your buddy should be someone who has his/her own set of goals. Both of you will hold each other accountable to your goals and plans. While it's not necessary for both of you to have the same goals, it'll be even better if that's the case, so you can learn from each other.

I have a good friend whom I talk to regularly, and we always ask each other about our goals and progress in achieving those goals. Needless to say, it spurs us to keep taking action.

7. Tell Others About Your Goals

This serves the same function as #6, on a larger scale. Tell all your friends, colleagues, acquaintances and family about your projects. Now whenever you see them, they are bound to ask you about your status on those projects.

For example, sometimes I announce my projects on The Personal Excellence Blog, Twitter and Facebook, and my readers will ask me about them on an ongoing basis. It's a great way to keep myself accountable to my plans.

8. Seek out Someone Who Has Already Achieved the Outcome

What is it you want to accomplish here, and who are the people who have accomplished this already? Go seek them out and connect with them. Seeing living proof that your goals are very well achievable if you take action is one of the best triggers for action.

9. Re-Clarify Your Goals

If you have been procrastinating for an extended period of time, it might reflect a misalignment between what you want and what you are currently doing. Often times, we outgrow our goals as we discover more about ourselves, but we don't change our goals to reflect that.

Get away from your work (a short vacation will be good, else just a weekend break or staycation will do too) and take some time to regroup yourself. What exactly do you want to achieve? What should you do to get there? What are the steps to take? Does your current work align with that? If not, what can you do about it?

10. Stop Over-Complicating Things

Are you waiting for a perfect time to do this? That maybe now is not the best time because of X, Y, Z reasons? Ditch that thought because there's never a perfect time. If you keep waiting for one, you are never going to accomplish anything.

Perfectionism is one of the biggest reasons for procrastination. Read more about why perfectionist tendencies can be a bane than a boon: Why Being A Perfectionist May Not Be So Perfect.

11. Get a Grip and Just Do It

At the end, it boils down to taking action. You can do all the strategizing, planning and hypothesizing, but if you don't take action, nothing's going to happen. Occasionally, I get readers and clients who keep complaining about their situations but they still refuse to take action at the end of the day.

Reality check:

I have never heard anyone procrastinate their way to success before and I doubt it's going to change in the near future. Whatever it is you are procrastinating on, if you want to get it done, you need to get a grip on yourself and do it.

Bonus: Think Like a Rhino

More Tips for Procrastinators to Start Taking Action

Featured photo credit: Malvestida Magazine via unsplash.com

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Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Condensed Summaries

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You have a deadline looming. However, instead of doing your work, you are fiddling with miscellaneous things like checking email, social media, watching videos, surfing blogs and forums. You know you should be working, but you just don't feel like doing anything. We are all familiar with the procrastination phenomenon.

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Creating a Leadership Philosophy Statement

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Creating a Leadership Philosophy Statement

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Take the needed time to thoughtfully answer some pertinent questions and begin to design the kind of leader you would like to be. One ship sails east and another sails west,
With the selfsame winds that blow;
'Tis the set of the sails and not the gales
That tells them where to go. Like the winds of the sea are the winds of time,
As we journey along through life;
'Tis the set of the soul that determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
If our sails are set correctly, our personal leadership philosophy - not the gales we encounter every day - will tell us where to go.

To develop an effective leadership philosophy, we first need to look at what we mean by the term, "transformational leader." No matter whether our title is leader or manager, we need to be transformational. A transformational leader is one who is capable of leading the organization from one paradigm to the next.

A paradigm is the way we think. The way we do things. The way we approach things. In health care today we need a new model. We need to think differently. We need to do things differently. We need a new paradigm. The paradigm of the past will not work in the future. Our leaders need to be able to lead us from the paradigm of the past to the paradigm of the future. Transformational leaders lead to the next paradigm.

For a transformational leader to be successful, three things are necessary:

1. The transformational leader must choose the correct next paradigm. It is clear to the transformational leader that something must change. The organization needs a new paradigm to thrive in the future. But what should that paradigm be?

In the 1980s, IBM was a mainframe computer company. IBM was also in trouble because, as urban commentator David Stein has pointed out, the "past was gone, and the present was full of confusion." The leaders of IBM made the decision that the company needed to change paradigms, and needed to do it quickly. IBM decided to make laptops, and the Think Pad was born. It was a very successful move from the paradigm of the past to an effective paradigm for the future.

As leaders and managers, you must be alert to the symptoms of instability while the organization is between paradigms. Watch out for the little things. Stay focused on what you must do and take care of each other.

2. The transformational leader must motivate the organization to make the paradigm leap along with him or her. We all prefer things the way we are used to. Changing to a new paradigm is scary. Every organization will resist change. A transformational leader is able to motivate the organization to take a deep breath and make the big leap, believing that the new paradigm, chosen by its leaders, is the right thing to do and, in fact, is the only thing to do.

3. A transformational leader must inspire the organization to hold together while in the very dangerous transition phase between paradigms. We have left the security of doing things the way we did in the past. We have not yet settled into the new way to respond to the future. People get uncomfortable. Things can blow up. Life in the organization is not stable. People get emotional and tense. Actions or comments are easily misinterpreted. Flare-ups occur. Little things become big.

As leaders and managers, you must be alert to the symptoms of instability while the organization is between paradigms. Watch out for the little things. Stay focused on what you must do and take care of each other.

If you are unsuccessful in making the transition between paradigms, it will be because you did not take care of each other. Leaders, managers and supervisors all play a key role in the transformation. Leaders cannot do it alone. Managers and supervisors make it happen.
Philosophical Moment
One of the most important things you can do to become effective leaders and managers is to think about, define and then articulate your own personal leadership philosophy. Here are three reasons why it can become the key to your effectiveness.

1. Your personal leadership philosophy gives you consistency. Without a leadership philosophy, your actions and your reactions will reflect the tensions of the moment. "We never know how he might respond or what she might say." The reason is that the leader does not know what his or her leadership philosophy is. With a leadership philosophy that you know and understand, your actions and responses are filtered through your philosophy. They are in context. They are predictable. There is less fear of the unknown in the organization. Your philosophy gives you consistency.

2. Your leadership philosophy becomes your true north. Everything you do, everything you say, every action, every decision, every plan is filtered through your philosophy. Your philosophy becomes your rudder. It helps you to maintain the right direction. It keeps you from straying. It is your compass. It keeps you from losing effectiveness.

3. Your leadership philosophy will connect you to your work. Your philosophy is all about your own personal mission and who you are as a leader or manager. If you are not clear on your personal mission, your role as a leader will not be clear. If you are not clear yourself on who you are, the people you lead will not be clear on what you are about. Your personal leadership philosophy must incorporate your own personal mission. It must also incorporate who you are as a human being.

But then, if your own personal mission is in sync with your organization's mission, and who you are as a person is in sync with your organization's values, your leadership philosophy will connect you to your work. And very few things are more fulfilling in life than being connected.

It is important to understand that your leadership philosophy will be a work in progress. It will evolve as you mature as a leader. It will change as you study and think about leadership. You need to be thinking about your personal philosophy, you need to grapple with it, chew on it. If you cannot articulate your leadership philosophy, your goal should be to get started creating one.

First, you need to spend some time (months, not minutes) thinking about who you are and what you believe. Think about your relationship with those you lead. Think about how you get things done.

More accurately, for each of these, think not about who you are now or how you do things now, but rather who you want to be and what you want your relationship with your employees to be, and how you want to go about getting things done.

When you are creating your personal philosophy, it is not necessarily a description of who and what you are now, but rather an opportunity to design who and what you want to be as a leader. Then you can start moving in that direction.

Your leadership philosophy should be encompassing enough that it can be applied to every aspect of your daily activity as a leader. You should be able to filter every action, every decision, every response through your philosophy. You should be able to apply your philosophy to every issue, every problem and every opportunity.

For your philosophy to meet these criteria, it needs to consist of three essential components:

1. A philosophy is defined as a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs. This first and overarching component consists of a description of the basic principles that guide you in your practical affairs of leadership, principles upon which your actions, decisions and responses are based.

Principles are a guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct. They provide a personal and specific basis for conduct and/or management. These principles derive from your values, from whom you want to be as a person, a leader and a mentor. These principles could be called your mental model.

You must have thought through and be able to clearly articulate the principles upon which your philosophy is based. Always be asking yourself the question, "Is this particular decision, this particular action, firmly rooted in my principles of leadership?

2. Your leadership philosophy also should address the desired results or outcomes you are striving for as a leader. Here we are not talking about your annual objectives or particular projects or even the level in the organizational hierarchy that you hope to achieve. Rather, at a higher and more encompassing level, what do you, as a leader, hope to accomplish throughout your career as a result of your leadership. What drives your leadership activities? What is your personal mission for your career? The question then becomes, "Will this decision or action move my organization in the direction of my desired results?"

3. The third component is a description of what you envision your leadership style, your method of operation (M.O.) to be. Not necessarily what it is right now. It is a description of the process and approach that you would like to be using consistently, based upon your principles, to achieve the desired outcomes described in component two. Ask the question, "Will this process or approach move my people in the direction of my desired results?"
The Bottom Line
The bottom line regarding your personal leadership philosophy is: Will it enable you to consistently make the right decisions (principle-based), the right responses and the right actions for every issue, problem or opportunity that you encounter as a leader? If so, does it have transformative potential? Your leadership philosophy should be clear, concise and principle-based. It should have transformational potential.

Here are the kinds of questions you should be asking yourself as you think through your leadership philosophy:

Can you define your critical principles and beliefs that impact your ability as a leader?

What do you stand for that becomes important as a leader?

How do you define your role in your organization?

What are your goals? Not programmatic, but personal, as a leader.

What is your personal leadership vision?

As a leader, how can you contribute to transforming your organization?

Other questions to think about deal with your relationship to those you lead:

How do you motivate your people?

How do your people know how well they have done when they go home at night?

How do you encourage your people?

How do you affirm your people?

How much autonomy do you give your people?

Do you demonstrate respect and compassion toward your people every day?

The final questions have to do with your leadership style. How you do things:

How do you approach problem solving?

How do you approach conflict?

How do you respond to employee mistakes?

How do you prioritize your activities?

How do you teach your people?

Take some time and begin to write out your real-world responses to each of these categories. Your responses need to be something that can get traction, not some pie-in-the-sky generality. You can begin to design the kind of leader you would like to be.

We began with Ella Wilcox's poem, which asserts that it is the set of the soul that decides the goal, and not the calm nor the strife. I am suggesting that for each of us as leaders and managers, it is the internal set of our own personal leadership philosophy that decides the goal, and not the day-to-day events that confront us.

I encourage you to take the development of your leadership philosophy very seriously. It is an important key to your personal effectiveness.

Dale Benson, MD, CPE, FAAPL, is the former vice president of innovation, quality and practice management, and director of the leadership development institute at AltaMed Health Services in Los Angeles, California. He was the founder, and for 30 years, the CEO of HealthNet, a community health center network in Indianapolis, Indiana.
REFERENCE
Ella Wheeler Wilcox. In the Best Loved Poems of the American People. New York, NY: Knoph Doubleday Publishing Group, 1936

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How to Determine Your Personal Leadership Philosophy

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Take the needed time to thoughtfully answer some pertinent questions and begin to design the kind of leader you would like to be. One ship sails east and another sails west, With the selfsame winds that blow;'Tis the set of the sails and not the galesThat tells them where to go.

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Developing an Effective Command Philosophy

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Developing an Effective Command Philosophy