Leadership personal changes

When you have actually done something that has extended your leadership skills, reflect on how this has affected you as a person. How have you changed ... 

The approach to power being put forward here is therefore essenti ly transformational . Transformational leadership was explained in Chapter 3 as gaining compliance by means of getting others to change their viewpoint, attitudes or beliefs. This concept, which has been developed extensively by Noel Tichy and Mary Ann Devanna (1986), is equally applicable to the use of personal power. 

Even though there are many leadership definitions, Komvies, Lucas, and McMahon (1998) noted several basic assumptions about leadership that are incorporated into the preceding definitions. These assumptions are that leadership is a learned behavior, is teachable, occurs at all levels of the organization, does not require a charismatic personality, is a relational process, is culturally influenced, requires followership, involves purposeful change that satisfies collective needs... 

Leadership, the ability to influence the actions of ofhers, is based on the interaction of fhree elements the leader, the person or persons being led, and the situation in which both coexist. All three elements change, almost on a daily basis. A good leader understands each of fhe changes and develops sfrafegies fo work wifh and fhrough others to accomplish goals. 

Most general references in the literature to follower development actually refer to an intrapersonal, developmental change that followers of transformational leaders presumably undergo the leader transforms followers by serving as a coach, a teacher, and a mentor. Dvir et al. (in press) propose a conceptual framework for examining developmental aspects of transformational leadership theory on the basis of the sporadic theoretical discussions and empirical examinations in the literature. Their framework for follower personal development includes the three domains of motivation, morality, and empowerment. Dvir et al. found evidence of the impact of transformational leaders upon their direct followers development in at least one measure of each category. 

Collaboration and Individual Characteristics important, universal communications skills and personal characteristics such as integrity, building trust and being trustworthy, successful team building and leadership, persuasiveness and influence, and championship of change. 

Baby Boomers consists of people bom in the period 1946—1965. Like Matures they tend to define themselves by what they do and by the nature of their job. They expect to put in time learning the skills that are needed by the company in remrn they expect the company to advance them and their careers. They tend to tmst the company that they work for and they are willing to make work hard and make sacrifices of personal and family time for the company. Current leadership in the process industries often comes from the ranks of Boomers. However, they are leaving the workforce as part of the Big Crew Change discussed above, so their influence is waning. 

A change or turnover in the senior leadership of a business makes it very difficult to establish a lean culture because there is no ongoing constancy of purpose for the business culture. Some large businesses make it a developmental practice to continually and frequently change leaders. That practice may benefit the individuals personally and provide for leadership succession, but it is a detriment to lean-centered improvement because the level of passion for lean varies based on the leader s understanding. Yet, every leader understands his or her responsibility when it comes to safety. By using lean tools to drive safety improvement, as will be presented in the body of this book, one can demonstrate to leadership the power of lean. 

The Harvard Executive Session, first described in the Introduction, had a profound personal effect on its participants. This section provides insight into the methodology used to create the environment for such personal transformation to occur. The executive session is a method for creating change in leadership. The executive session model has been replicated in a variety of ways to challenge conventional wisdom and quicken the pace of cultural change in health care and other fields. 

Maintaining and improving a system require sustained financial support. However, increasing safety does not have to be expensive. Strong leadership can lead to changes in personal behavior that can result in improved chemical safety and security. Changing personal behavior can be an effective and inexpensive way to improve chemical safety and security. 

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