Leadership One

1. Leadership One Action-Centred Leadership Transactional/Transformational Leadership & RAF Leadership Attributes

2. On 5 August 05 there were 18,362 titles on Leadership on Amazon.co.uk: 1 per day = 50.3 years worth of reading

3. Scope • Define Leadership • Function Approach to Leadership • Transactional/Transformational Leadership • RAF Leadership Attributes • Review Objectives

4. Scope • Define Leadership • Function Approach to Leadership • Transactional/Transformational Leadership • RAF Leadership Attributes • Review Objectives

5. What is Leadership ‘There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the subject.’ Stogdill

6. What is Leadership ?

7. What is Leadership • Results: Is it what you achieve that makes you a leader? • Process: Is it HOW you get things done that makes you a leader? • Position: Is it WHERE & WHEN you operate from that makes you a leader? • Person: Is it WHO you are that makes you a leader?

8. What is Leadership…Results? ‘Leadership is about getting extraordinary results from ordinary people.’ Sir John Harvey-Jones

9. What is Leadership…Process? ‘Leadership is the intelligent use of power.’ Sir Winston Churchill

10. What is Leadership…Process? ‘Leadership is that combination of example, persuasion and compulsion that makes men do what they don’t want to do: in effect it is the extension of personality.’ Field Marshal Slim

11. What is Leadership…Position? ‘A leader is best when he is neither seen nor heard. Not so good when he is adored and glorified. Worst when he is hated and despised. Fail to honour people, they will fail to honour you. But of a great leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, the people will say: “We did this ourselves”’ Lao Tzu, Chinese Tauist Philosopher, c600 BC

12. What is Leadership…Person? ‘Leaders there have to be, and these may appear to rise above their fellow men, but in their hearts they know only too will that what has been attributed to them is in fact the achievement of the team to which they belong.’ Gp Capt Leonard Cheshire VC DSO** DFC

13. The Leader ‘Leadership is visionary; it is the projection of personality and character to inspire people to achieve the desired outcome’ (RAF Leadership Centre) • Persuades by giving direction and providing a vision that is communicated to followers • Sets an example by acting, as a role model to influence others by actions, not just words • Demonstrates integrity • Inspires others by motivating, empowering and encouraging them • Grows the organisation by working for progress and development • Demonstrates leadership in times of turbulence

14. ‘Never do today that which will be someone else’s responsibility tomorrow’ ‘Eagles may soar high, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines’ ‘You have to be 100% behind someone, before you can stab them in the back’ ‘A problem shared is a problem halved, so is your problem really yours or just half of someone else’s?’

15. Scope • Define Leadership • Function Approach to Leadership • Transactional/Transformational Leadership • RAF Leadership Attributes • Review Objectives

16. Task needs Team maintenance needs Individual needs Adair’s ‘Action-Centred’ Leadership Model Task Functions: To define and achieve the task Team Functions: The requirement to build and maintain the team Individual Functions: To satisfy and develop the individuals within the team

17. Essential Functions of a Leader • Defining the objective • Planning • Communicating • Supporting/Controlling • Informing • Evaluating

18. Action by the Leader: Define Objective Task • Identify the problems and tasks • Identify constraints • Obtain all available information Team • Set targets • ‘Involve’ the staff • Create team spirit Individual • Assess individual Skills • Examine your training programme • Set targets

19. Action by the Leader: Plan Task • Establish your resources and priorities • Make your decisions Team • Examine structure and job allocation • Delegate Individual • Agree individual targets • Agree personal responsibilities • Delegate

20. Action by the Leader: Communicate Task • Brief the staff • Check their understanding of your briefing Team • Have regular consultation with staff • Obtain and examine the feedback • Test ideas Individual • Listen to the staff – ideas and troubles • Give advice when necessary • Show enthusiasm • Examine your own attitudes

21. Action by the Leader: Support/Control Task • Monitor progress being made • Check to see that your standards are being maintained Team • Co-ordinate the work • Reconcile any conflict Individual • Recognize and give encouragement • Counsel

22. Action by the Leader: Evaluate Task • Review the task and your functions • Re-plan and carry forward incomplete targets if necessary Team • Acknowledge and reward success • Learn from any failure • Inform staff of results Individual • Personal appraisal • Give guidance and encouragement • Examine personal needs for further training

23. Scope • Define Leadership • Function Approach to Leadership • Transactional/Transformational Leadership • RAF Leadership Attributes • Review Objectives

25. Transactional Leadership • Builds on individual’s needs to get a job done and make a living • Is preoccupied with power and position, politics and perks • Is mired in daily affairs • Is short-term and hard data orientated • Focuses on tactical issues • Relies on human relations to lubricate human interactions • Follows and fulfils role expectations by striving to work effectively within current systems • Supports structures and systems that reinforce the bottom line, maximize efficiency and guarantee short-term profits

26. Transformational Leadership • Builds on an individual’s need for meaning • Is preoccupied with purposes and values, morals and ethics • Transcends daily affairs • Is orientated toward long-term goals without compromising human values and principles • Focuses more on missions and strategies • Releases human potential – identifying and developing new talent • Designs and redesigns jobs to make them meaningful and challenging • Aligns internal structures and systems to reinforce overarching values and goals

27. Characteristics of a Transformational Leader • They identify themselves as change agents • They are courageous • They believe in people • They are value driven • They are lifelong learners • They have the ability to deal with complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty • They are visionaries

28. Ethics ‘In general, we usually label leadership as ‘good’ or ‘effective’ when it moves people to a place in which both they and those who depend upon them are genuinely better off, and when it does so without trampling on the rights of others.’ John Kotter

29. Scope • Define Leadership • Function Approach to Leadership • Transactional/Transformational Leadership • RAF Leadership Attributes • Review Objectives

30. Attributes for RAF Leaders • Warfighter, Courageous • Emotionally Intelligent • Flexible and Responsive • Willing to Take Risks • Able to Handle Ambiguity • Mentally Agile - Physically Robust • Politically and Globally Astute • Air Warfare Minded • Technologically Competent • Able to Lead Tomorrow’s Recruit

31. Warfighter/Courageous All our personnel, commissioned or non-commissioned must be, first and foremost, warfighters and second specialists, though they may be second to none in their specialisation. The distinction between the front line and the support area will become increasingly blurred and all of us need to be military minded and of a determined fighting spirit to overcome the adversity of circumstances that any of us may face in operations. Physical courage is expected of all leaders, as far as each is able to give, but we must nurture moral courage to do the right thing.

32. Emotionally Intelligent Self-awareness is one of the key foundations of effective leadership. Leaders who know themselves will be able to develop self-control and subsequently understand the needs of others. This will enable them to manage relationships at all levels better and remain calm under pressure. Thus individuals will be able to function as part of a wider team, invariably multidisciplinary, increasingly joint and often multinational, in the delivery of military capability.

33. Self Others Self Awareness Social Awareness Awareness Positive impact on others Self Management Social Skills Action Emotional Intelligence

34. Flexible and Responsive In a world that is now changing faster than ever, where technology is advancing rapidly, the RAF needs leaders who are flexible in approach and able to consider new ways of doing things. RAF leaders must be open minded, responsive to change, constantly looking for the opportunities that change brings and be able to cope with the discomfort that is associated with change.

35. Willing to Take Risks The RAF needs leaders who understand the difference between a gamble and a risk and are willing to take measured risks in appropriate areas without abrogating responsibility. This will be achieved if leaders at all levels fulfil 2 roles: they must themselves set the example in this regard and must develop an ethos where a failure to act is considered a more serious fault than making a mistake.

36. Able to Handle Ambiguity Ambiguity pervades our lives and becomes prevalent with intrinsically chaotic nature of warfare. At the more junior levels of leadership there may be little ambiguity but at the highest levels it is considerable. Our leaders must be able to handle it and, if possible, turn it to their advantage.

37. Mentally Agile - Physically Robust Our leaders need to be able to handle complex and multifarious problems and have the creativity and mental agility to move quickly between various concepts. Their thinking must be innovative and their minds receptive. They must be physically robust and able to withstand the strain of operations, so that their mental capacity does not fail them under stress.

38. Politically and Globally Astute Leaders will be more effective depending upon their aptitude in two areas: The first is their ability to understand and thus cope with the politics of their immediate environment and, hence, their ability to influence those around them. Similarly, a leader’s awareness of much wider issues at a national and international level, and their ability to put their actions and decisions into the context of air power and air warfare, is crucial.

39. Technologically Competent The RAF culture has always been to embrace new technology. It behoves all members of the RAF to be competent within their specialization and many, at various stages of their career, will need to display considerable expertise. Yet, in the age of Network Enabled Capability, this may not be enough. Leaders must strive to keep pace with technological advances on a broad front, through a focus on continual personal development, so as to ensure its most effective application.

40. Able to Lead Tomorrow’s Recruit As society develops, each new generation of recruits to the RAF is different. Leaders must recognise the qualities the new generation brings and must learn the leadership skills that will allow them to maximise their potential. Everyone in the chain of command needs to understand the new generation, be able to lead and inspire them so that in their turn they will lead the RAF to new heights of excellence.

41. ‘Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.’ (Socrates - 469 BC - 399 BC)

42. Scope • Define Leadership • Function Approach to Leadership • Transactional/Transformational Leadership • RAF Leadership Attributes • Review Objectives

43. Scope • Define Leadership • Function Approach to Leadership • Transactional/Transformational Leadership • RAF Leadership Attributes • Review Objectives