Archive
By Staff Report
Oct. 19, 2001
If your organization is developing people for senior management position,you’re going to have to have a well-defined profile of what you want in futuresenior leaders.
In a new book by William C. Byham, Ph.D., Audrey B. Smith, Ph.D., and MatthewJ. Paese, Ph.D. entitled Grow Your OwnLeaders, the authors contrast thecharacteristics of traditional leaders with contemporary leaders:
| TraditionalLeader | ContemporaryLeader |
| Makesall major decisions; solves team problems; acts as expert | Sharesresponsibility with team members; helps team solve problems |
| Controlswork flow; responsible for work group’s results | Promotesself-management and responsibility as well as ownership of tasks/processes(e.g. direct reports measure own progress and take corrective action asnecessary) |
| Givesanswers; plays “expert” role | Asksthe right questions; allows direct reports to be experts |
| Laysdown the rules | Articulatesand rallies troops around a vision and set of values |
| Valuesunanimity/conformity | Valuesdiverse perspectives |
| Seeksto eliminate conflict | Seesconflict as an opportunity for synergy and enriched decision-making |
| Reactive;resists change | Proactive;initiates change; embraces change as necessary for organizational survival |
| Focuseson tasks, products, technical skills | Focuseson processes, people |
| Linear,analytical thinking | Non-linear,holistic thinking (systems) |
| Seeksfunctional, specialized expertise | Seekscross-functional, cross-cultural expertise |
| Concernedonly about own area of responsibility | Concernedabout total organization; tries to be good partner with other groupswithin company |
| Fiercelycompetitive | Fiercelycompetitive, but must often partner with competitors, vendors, customers |
| Concernedonly with domestic operations | Preparedto think on larger, global scale |
| Thinksof people as interchangeable resources | Thinksof people as organization’s most valuable resource, knows they aredifficult to replace |
| Putsorganization’s needs before employees’ needs | Seeksa balance between organization’s and employees’ needs |
| Avoidsrisk | Takesrisk |
| Usesfunctional, short-term thought process | Usessystematic, long-term thought process |
© MMI, DevelopmentDimensions International, Inc. Reprinted with permission from DevelopmentDimensions International, Inc.
Schedule, engage, and pay your staff in one system with Workforce.com.