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Are you ready to take on four key roles?
What can people like us in positions of leadership do to maximize the positive influence we have on our organizations? What do effective leaders actually do on a daily basis?
A great deal of research and applied experience has led me to the broad conclusion leaders at all levels must fulfill four overlapping roles:
Performance manager
Here a leader focuses on getting the work done and meeting overall objectives through his/her own efforts and the efforts of others. How? By setting clear objectives, focusing on a limited number of high priority initiatives at any given time, coaching, giving effective feedback, getting closure on issues, and motivating self and others to their highest level of performance.
This role is very close to the "traditional" role of the supervisor - "planning, organizing, directing, and controlling work." Most current conceptions of the role emphasize coaching and facilitating styles rather than direct command-and-control approaches to get work done through the efforts of others.
Team builder
Leaders are expected to develop a team (and its individual members) to the point that they handle hour-byhour, day-to-day issues without requiring close supervision. This...