Date Posted: 12/28/2011 10:32:28 AM
Posted By: tomnchoga Membership Level: Bronze Total Points: 45
As a prolific individual with a thirst for success and an overflow of ideas, I find it thoughtful to comment on Leadership as a collective role to growing a crop of motivated staff. The article is a litmus test riding on the back of a dreary global recession. It has a lot to do with everyone's role as a De facto leader especially in lean times.Today, the world is in angst about the rippling shocks of a financial recession whose epicenter was the collapse of the US sub prime mortgage market. State deregulation, unchecked discretion by lending firms and the Joe public, falling prey to impulsive whims to own houses going by trends in vogue, were largely to blame.Well, rainy days are finally creeping into the Kenyan economy and its all eyes on civil and private economic theatrics. There also lie important decisions to dispel the jitters to maintain confidence especially among staff in various organizations by the administrative organ. This calls for rethinking base managerial practices that underlie a business as usual stance.To have head-above-water in the wavy convulsions, managing the asset in human resources becomes an imperative .One can only contemplate an increase of least cost practices and the adoption of a company wide approach toward any kaizen activity. Little can be envisaged in terms of what I would call “A skin-deep-corporate-make over” of the human resources. This engenders activism to systematically unlearn undesirable individual or collective attributes at work. It also sets the ground work for Leadership as a desirable collective trait.Attitude towards others spells the behavior that sells the company's values upfront to the external environment. Every employee is intrinsically linked to the company's external image hence to its goodwill. An employee essentially brings to the table a value from constant interaction within the company and in-out-of work relations.Granted, much a life time is spent in groups.Professional behavior re-affirms the group's commitment or other wise to a motivated, dedicated, reliable and a confident staff from a cross border (External) point of view. For instance an employee who likes whining can only hurt the goodwill of the group (in out of work relations) through an outcry of self doubt, weakness, unwillingness and inability. One who is discreet (to mean a level headed professional) will galvanize an air of strength and reliability which subliminally adds to the group's self esteem in distress.Behavioral traits have a Knock-on-effect on the self worth of the team and are subconsciously contagious to spill over as value in formal or informal relations. Value in this case can be defined as the groups fruition in output based on non-material items. It is the excess of money value, as intangible an attribute as customer loyalty and public confidence. Its the fruit of interpersonal subconscious communication. We subconsciously communicate with the sick by delivering bouquets to orient their subconscious with salubrious health. It's the soft asset as a healthy attitude in human resources. Managers in times of crisis are obsessed with superlatives in the human asset. They expect employees to navigate the constrained space in finance, time, supervision, moral support or even to maintain their element when disheveled by pressure. Pressure may mean “inconsiderate” decisions from management due to a lack of time for consultations that bear upon rationality.However, in most organizations, employees are not groomed well in advance to anticipate a revision of values to bear with say, lean times. This is mostly attributed to owner's interests for profit, managerial motives for revenue and staff interests for plum perks: All in competition for the limited resources.The contention here is that with an open mind and a seamless environment, people can imbibe desirable corporate behaviour, individually or as a collective. This is invaluable especially to building a cohesive team which is sufficiently heterogeneous while being homogeneously linked to live another day.Key to actualizing a behavior make over begins with an informed individual or staff in general.Granted,having an open mind will enable one to isolate facts from fiction with ease and delineate hype from actual information to secure a level head. Education is of the essence coupled with a fetish for street smarts.Behavior hinges on past experiences, genetic code, social deriguer (conventional etiquette) irritability (Emotional, Physiological and spiritual needs) and External stimulus. These forces are consequently all too strong to influence a reaction, emotional disposition, to build personality and the world view. Many a decision are incidentally made to fill a need, afford some comfort, increase social acceptance or nurse the ego.The basis of a rational mind is etched on the premise that a decision will result into a greater good, more wellbeing, added social acceptance and less or nothing in the way of a reprisal to the conscience. All too important are learned habits which mirror the social (group) dimension to behavior with alacrity. The behavior co-opted in groups of interaction should be the concern of an ace manager as a leader who rides upon the instinct of corporate values to secure a vision for the group.Learned habits have a lasting impression on an individual's conscious and sub conscious mind as to influence a collective yet unspoken conscious behavior towards interdependence (Group Instinct).It is this predictable democracy that is usually exploited by outliers to an advantage. Outliers are essentially a few, so to speak, Non-conformist-in enterprise. Those who choose to exploit the rigors of convention to their advantage. Politicians are a point in case .They usually play this card as a raison d`etre by rallying appealing mainstream ideas to woo the numbers while having very limited vested interests. Their thinking races on the dimension and advantage of doing ordinary things but differently and adeptly, to come off like masterpieces of simplicity.For instance, the use of attention grabbing ideas of popular concerns, image and the appeal to self confidence as well as oxygenated speeches to sell themselves as Saviors with unbridled solutions.Their subtle secret lies in maintaining Above-average-motivation to spur the intellect while drawing upon past successes in augmenting the confidence warehouse. All along, they also have to keep their eyes on the prize.Managers do well to maintain Above Average Confidence when the group’s performance is crippling, with enthusiasm falling apart the ability to taste the group’s conscience is a priceless attribute. It is also a nugget that can spark the fires of vibrant Leadership as a consuming glow from each and every team member. Mutual leadership is begotten when leaders democratically inculcate confidence as a collective mantra without prejudice or reserved interests. It is a quid-pro-quo empowerment albeit in the salient corporate values. This means that collective responsibility reduces to individual accountability, as in a leader. At the departmental level, it is an interchange of strengths on assignments with fluidity to downplay genetic flaws, since Iron sharpens Iron. Daily doses of confidence by staff will guarantee the physical well being of the self, in turn the organization. This will nurture in an individual a spiritual savvy of self belief as the newfound religion of management science.Confidence springs from gut intelligence/willpower, subject to an individual ability to galvanize the mentals to overcome personal phobias. This can be achieved by exploring the need for constant improvement of the brain work everyday.
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