Media Spotlight: What You Need To Know About Leadership
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By Jeff Grout and Liz Fisher
In the long-raging debate on leadership versus management, it is often said leaders shape ideas while managers respond to them.
In What You Need to Know About Leadership, authors Jeff Grout and Liz Fisher believe this distinction is crucial, particularly in times of change.
They explain that while managers plan, organise, budget and problem-solve, leaders establish the organisation’s vision and motivate the team.
The pair say all leaders will have to deal with change at some point, and as many brokers will have learnt to their cost over the last few years, the ability to foresee and respond to change is one of a leader’s most important skills.
They argue that while it is rare for leaders to be able to spot change looming before it happens, they need the ability to persuade people that change is necessary before it is too late.
The book offers the example of Martin Glenn, president of Walkers during a concerted drive towards healthy eating a few years ago.
Glenn says he recognised early on the impact that this change in consumer sentiment would have on his business and knew Walkers could produce crisps using cooking oil with lower saturated fat which would not affect their taste but would be more expensive.
“So we decided to go ahead and figure out how to pay for it later,” says Glenn.
It is brave and forward-thinking decisions like these that single out great leaders, and many brokers have had to take similar steps during the downturn by diversifying their business or making the difficult decision to downsize and lose staff.
But as Grout and Fisher point out, it is not just making the right decisions that counts in helping a business survive tough times, but it is just as important to see them through.
The book says one of the most widely quoted statistics in business is that 75% of all change initiatives fail, explaining that failure is normally down to a lack of commitment and poor communication.
Communication is a theme the authors return to throughout the book, arguing that management often underestimates how many times a message will have to be repeated before it filters down to every level of the firm.
Noting that it is no longer acceptable for bosses to work out of sight in a plush office, the authors offer some tips for leaders on creating closeness with staff, which include locating their office in a hub of activity, keeping their door open as much as possible and eating with everyone else in the canteen.
It also stresses that communication is a two-way process.
“A leader is far more likely to earn the trust, respect and loyalty of their followers if they listen to what their followers have to say,” say the authors.
Grout and Fisher also believe leaders need emotional intelligence to get the best from staff, particularly in times of turbulence when employees can become anxious and confused.
“They look for guidance and that must be provided by a strong and calm voice from the top which, above all, provides emotional reassurance that everything is being done to resolve the problem,” they say.
While the worst of the financial crisis may be over for the mortgage industry, change is never far away. What You Need to Know About Leadership is a digestible guide to establishing and achieving a company vision, whatever lies ahead.
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