Teamwork is at the very foundation of any corporation whether it is a domestic company or a multinational one. At every level of the corporation there are group of people working hard and working together for a common goal of the company. As long as everyone is on the same page they will achieve the goals set forth by the management teams and the executives that run the corporation. The synergy that makes the unit run smoothly is at the heart of all successful companies. Synergy is something that we see when people are working together as one. However we have to be realistic not everyone works good together and at times people will bumps heads with each and they can hurt the performance of the team.

Low synergy is an example, when the synergy of a working group is low the production tends to be low as well. High synergy will work the opposite way and bring up the production. But in order to have high synergy we have to be not only willing to work together but to also get along with one another. In addition to the basic of synergy that we have we also have to factor the synergy that can come from people with different backgrounds. This is considered to be cultural synergy and this can be a problem in some cases because of the cultural differences that everyone will have.

In the textbook “Managing Cultural Differences” on page 273 there we find human factors that can make for professional synergy within working together. Some of the examples that is mentioned in the book is having new member organization training on the project, clarification on the individuals roles and motivating behavior and reward expectations. The last one is really important to drive great behavior on the part of employees and promotes everyone to do a great job.

Overall we all have to learn to work together and realize that we are in a global market. We will all have to learn to work with people from any different background and understand that there culture can and could be very different then what we are used to here at home. Global leaders have a challenge that they will face when traveling overseas and working with companies or governments that they will have to learn more about to have a lasting impression.

 

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences. London: Routledge.

Synergy is the synthesis of what individuals in the group offer to the organization. It is about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts than individual parts (PSU, 2017). Synergy is a cooperative or combined action, and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause. Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014) indicated the objective is to increase synergistic effectiveness by sharing perceptions and experiences, insights, and knowledge (p. 266).

Being part of a synergistic culture is rewarding and allows all that take part learn from each other’s perspectives. For instance, I work for a large global company and on the many teams and meetings I attend, there are no less than five languages and nationalities that are part of the process. In today’s organizations are set apart by how they adapt to persons that make up their organizations and how these employees communicate with others they do business with. In a domain where change is the standard, shared goals and accord should exist as a cultural norm. Oxford University provides a cultural communication quiz to assist professionals to determine how culturally aware and sensitive they are.

Alternately, I have been in a situation in which the work environment was made unbearable by a new manager that was ill-equipped to deal with people as well as to effectively perform the tasks of the job. It made all on the team wonder why this person was selected to serve on the team in the first place. It did not take long for mass conflict to ensue. In the end, was that of five people that were on the team only one remained. This person needed to remain because of personal issues, as they needed their medical benefits; yet, expressed they were disengaged and unhappy about the change on the team. The other four people left the organization and although may have enjoyed the work they did and the organization prior to the new manager, left the organization with poor evaluations of the company. In short, new people that enter a team must take the opportunity to learn cultural norms and be respectful to those norms so they will become effective to teams and thus the organizations they serve. In this case, endeavors to make or change an organization’s culture were useless.

Cultural communication methodologies may clarify how social impacts, both inner and outside to an organization, shape traditional cultures (Shockley-Zalabak, 2015). The idea that organizations are cultures in and of themselves is an essential one, because organizations develop, values, customs, and behaviors. An essential traditional culture approach, in this way, looks to comprehend a specific association as being constituted by the typical practices and attributions of significance of its individuals (Shockley-Zalabak, 2015). Deal’s and Kennedy’s initial investigations of traditional culture recommends that the culture of an organization is made by top administration for workers and understood in how the organization identifies with its condition (Shockley-Zalabak, 2015). In this point of view, traditional culture imprints the culture upon its employees, whereas, many employees see that changes to culture are difficult to address or change (Gunkel, Schlaegel, & Taras, 2016).

The classic example of this is the “saving face” tradition in collectivistic cultures that occurs via indirect communication (PSU, 2017). This custom is followed so that no one ever loses their reputation in public. But this behavior may not address the problem in an individualistic society, where direct communication about a problem is desired. Signs of managerial strength are seen differently in different cultures (PSU, 2017). For example, Americans tend to favor direct communication over that of Asian cultures who may use others in the organization to communicate messages to subordinates. Cross-cultural situations are almost guaranteed to generate constant conflict because of differing perspectives, not to mention possible language barriers and other communication issues that may lead to misunderstandings (Gunkel, Schlaegel, & Taras, 2016). Ultimately, synergy is about taking the talents of everyone in the organization and combining them into something greater (Moran et al., 2014). Cultural synergy is about using the diverse perspectives of various cultures and team members to create something that is greater than each individual culture.

In conclusion, cultural communication frameworks must consider hierarchical communication as dynamic, inside and outside of the organization. Organizations must consider, high-synergy cultures which tend to be highly cooperative, community-oriented, and have the good of all in mind (Moran et al., 2014). Typically, these societies are collectivistic in nature. Low-synergy cultures, on the other hand, tend to be more individualistic (Moran et al., 2014). They allow members of society to pursue individual goals somewhat at the expense of the group by allowing aggressive and competitive behaviors (Moran et al., 2014). This type of culture allows for more creativity and freedom of expression as there is not a dictator or ruling faction stifle people that exist within the organization or society.

 

References

Gunkel, M., Schlaegel, C., & Taras, V. (2016). Cultural values, emotional intelligence, and conflict handling styles: A global study. Journal of World Business, 51(4), 568-585.

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Oxford University Press. (2017). Cross culture communication quiz. Retrieved from: http://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199747382/student/chapter2/tests/quiz/

Penn State University. (2017). Leadership in a Global Context, “Lesson 06: Cultural Sysnergy,” Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654123

Shockley-Zalabak, P. (2015). Fundamentals of Organizational Communication, 9th Edition. Pearson.

 

 

Image retrieved from Synergy Capital Management, LLC. http://www.synergycapitalmanagement.com/

 

What the heck is “synergy”? The dictionary defines synergy as, “the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc.; synergism.” (Dictionary, 2017) Moran and Moran explain that, “it implies a belief that we can learn from each other and others can learn from us.” “On global teams, it means the collective contribution of the team far exceeds the adding up of the individual contribution of each team member.” (Moran and Moran, 2011) Essentially, our actions, our attitudes and our words play a monumental part in the process of obtaining synergy. No pressure at all, right? At least it shouldn’t be but I do believe that it requires consistent and cognizant effort. In my opinion, the very essence of leadership is about leading in a proper direction. When there is consistent opposition in the workplace, synergy is seldom found. This is certainly not a new concept as even the “good book” or Bible says, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Nelson, 1982) The question that comes to mind is, “how”?

“Synergy comes from the Greek word meaning working together.” (Moran and Moran, 2011) As I believe some of us have experienced, this can be a little trickier in reality than it appears in black and white. As I mentioned, I believe that in order for this to work, one must be consistent and cognizant in their efforts to achieve synergy. One of the most important things an individual can do in any interaction is to make a conscious effort to objectively consider different perspectives. When someone has a different point of view, they’re not attacking our grandma or smacking our dog, taking it to a personal level is rarely ever necessary. It is however, a great opportunity to expand our own mindset. Explore their idea, hear them out, ask them to expand on the possibilities they’re thinking about. Ideally, we would be able to brainstorm; “a conference technique of solving specific problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, developing new ideas, etc., by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion.” (Dictionary, 2017) Then we would either decide that this new idea is fantastic and move towards it or in the wonderment that is brainstorming, a vast array of options would come out of the mix of several ideas thus making way for an awesome and effective compromise.

Working as a team means that you are on the same team and working toward a common goal; “The objective is to increase effectiveness by sharing perceptions and experiences, insights and knowledge.” (Moran and Moran, 2011) One of the most difficult spots to be in, is when you must work with an unmotivated individual. Typically, unmotivated people aren’t concerned with the bigger picture; how their attitude impacts the group or business, whether or not anyone or anything succeeds or fails. This can be very taxing or draining on so many levels including but certainly not limited to, the synergy that everyone else is working to maintain. In this case, I think it is a good leader that will step in to build these people up. Compliment them on the good work they’re doing and if possible, find a way to challenge them in a proactive manner like asking them to step away from their usual tasks to assist someone on a separate task. This gives that person a change of scenery thus helping to fire up creative stimulation which can reset the motivation needed for synergy to thrive. I believe that this is what effective leadership is about.

“Synergy”, looks like it is a word to describe a universe saving liquid that is encapsulated and sitting at the core of the Earth and can only be obtained by sending teams of scientists down a very long and narrow tunnel while braving unthinkable temperatures, monsters or even worse, uncomfortably tight spaces with others; making this fancy “synergy” nearly impossible to obtain. Notice I said, “nearly”, meaning it only looks impossible. Being an effective and efficient leader means keeping the right mindset, one of optimism and openness, being willing to see and hear from other perspectives; with this, synergy is absolutely achievable.

 

 

 

Resources:

• Dictionary (2017) Dictionary.com, LLC. Definitions. Synergy. Retrieved on February 19, 2017 from

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/synergy

• Moran, R. T., Ph. D., Remington Abramson, N., Ph. D., & Moran, S. V., MA. (2011). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Chapter 9. London: Routledge.
• Nelson, T. (1982) Bible Gateway. Matthew 12:22-28. New King James Version (NKJV) A House Divided Cannot Stand. Retrieved on February 19, 2017 from

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+12%3A22-28&version=NKJV

• Dictionary (2017) Dictionary.com, LLC. Definitions. Brainstorming. Retrieved on February 19, 2017 from

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/brainstorming

In the business world results matter. A team or a group that can “make things happen” or “get things done” will succeed because they understand what stakeholders and executives are looking for. Synergy is a necessary element for these types of teams to function at the highest level achievable.

Groups are comprised of individuals. Individuals create diversity within the group and synergy happens when these individuals work together toward a common goal (Pennsylvania State University, 2017). Creating and maintaining synergy within a group can be challenging due to the various levels of diversity among the members. So the very individuality and diversity that differentiates one group from another is the same element that makes it complex for synergy to be created and maintained within the group.

Back when I first started my job at my current company I worked on a “conversion team”. This team was comprised of a: business strategist, data scientist, user-experience and user-interface designer, front-end developer, and finally, a back-end developer. We were not the only team, there was another “conversion team” on site and they consisted of a different set of individuals with the same disciplines. However, our team was successful and their team was not because they were missing a necessary element that we, in contrast possessed, synergy.

Why did our team have synergy? Each individual on our team had a different discipline and we made sure that we respected their expertise on the subject. We understood that we are far superior as a team if we agreed to be stronger collectively than individually (Merriam-Webster, 2003). We worked on this because there were moments when we challenged each other but we did so with the team in mind. We completed personality tests to understand each other, organized team lunches, and listened when other teammates spoke. The other team didn’t follow these practices and one-by-one they started to get unhappy and disband.

Synergy is a necessary element for teams to function at the highest level achievable. If synergy is not involved then the individualism that makes up a team will be also be the thing that destroys it, as well as, the ability to get things done. The team that has synergy and works together can also win together.

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References

Pennsylvania State University (2017). Lesson 01: Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context [ ]. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654124

Synergy. (2003). In Merriam-Webster’s dictionary (11th ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

I spent a good portion of my childhood dragging around a bulky and cumbersome black case that held my baritone. What is a baritone you may be asking? Image the hybrid offspring of a trumpet and a tuba and you’re somewhere in the ballpark. I was a member of the school band from grade six through my high school graduation, and while I probably couldn’t define synergy during that period of my life, I think I can safely say knew what it felt like. We’re told by Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014), that “synergy comes from the Greek word meaning working together”, and if there’s one thing that school band teaches you, it’s understanding what working together feel like. A school band (or choir or orchestra) tasks students with learning how a group of different people, each responsible for a different aspect of a collective work, join together to create a piece of music. Each student is responsible for a different “building component” of that music, from the percussion section to the brass section, each band member is tasked with performing an action in sync with a few dozen other members, each with differing backgrounds and skill levels.

Getting all of these pieces to work together is a time consuming process (especially with young students who may have a short attention span), and I don’t think we praise school band leaders and conductors enough for the burdensome work they do. However, when the pieces of this “musical pie” do come together, it’s a wonderful thing, and as a band member I can profess that it is a gratifying and enlightening experience to witness. Author and musician Erica Sipes eloquently sums up the experience in her music blog Beyond the Notes (2010), when writing about playing with a church choir, saying “it was truly a moment of synergy; a moment when the notes coming from the piano and the voices of the church community mixed together to produce an energy in the air much more powerful than either musical instrument alone could ever have created”. Like sports teams, bands have a way of clicking together after going through the process of learning about each other and becoming familiar with the other band members.

This idea of bands finding and experiencing synergy easily dovetails into the desire of global teams and leaders finding a way to work together in a conducive and harmonious manner. Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014), explain that synergy on a global team “means the collective contribution of the team far exceeds the adding up of the individual contribution of each team member”. Like a student band, a global team is comprised of individuals from different backgrounds who need to become comfortable in working together in order to accomplish the goals their group sets out to achieve. Mike Samson of crowdspring.com (2011), writes that “In a complex piece of music (as in a complex venture) small components add up to a greater whole. In music it is the individual notes and the individual players”. He goes on to make the connection that, “In entrepreneurism it is the individual components of a business as well as the individual people involved. Great entrepreneurs recognize that their venture, like a great symphony, should be greater than the sum of its parts”. To be successful in either a band or on a global team, finding synergy should be a top priority, as many times, the cost of groups not being able to work together means failure.

References

Moran, R., Abramson, N., and Moran, S. (2014). Managing cultural differences. (9th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Sipes, E. (2010). Musical synergy that will take your breath away. Beyond the Notes. Retrieved on February 18, 2017 from http://ericaannsipes.blogspot.com/2010/06/musical-synergy-that-will-take-your.html

Samson, M. (2011). 10 things entrepreneurs can learn from musicians. crowdspring.com. Retrieved on February 18, 2017 from https://blog.crowdspring.com/2011/03/10-things-that-entrepreneurs-can-learn-from-musicians/

Leadership is something we all strive for yet hardly understand. In Managing Cultural Differences they talk about how out of all of the leadership studies done and books written there is no definitive clear profile for a good leader.  This is because a good leader depends on the culture that leader is in.  One person could be a very good leader in one organization and fail at another or vice versa.  However, there is one key similarity between every culture in the world, the need for leadership and the constant pursuit of leadership by its people.  For this week’s blog I will walk you through what my organization did to try to bridge the leadership gap at all levels.

As a first time manager I quickly realized that the organization lacked developmental opportunities for anyone under a director level. At a Director level you were put into mentor programs, given succession planning and invited to manager’s conference which was a weeklong strategic event where all top leaders met and went over business objectives.  However, for middle management and individual contributors there was a lack of resources or thought.

I sat down with a group of my peer and discussed what we could do to change this not only for ourselves but for everyone else in our same situation in the company.  We decided to start a business resource group for professional development.  The goal of the group was to not only attacked people at our level but also directors and sr leaders for us to network with and create formal and informal mentorship opportunities.  We presented our idea to the Director of Diversity & Inclusion who loved it and suggested we find an Executive Sponsor.  We soon found a very energetic and enthusiastic executive sponsor who got behind the idea.

Next we needed to form the group; we would put together a board that consisted of a chair, a vice-chair, treasurer, and diversity rep.  The board formed sub committees for technology, community relations, communications, recruitment, and business development.  Each subcommittee chair was tasked with building their own committee and then reporting to the board on their activities.  We then decided to put together a bunch of lunch and learn series but at a high level that dealt with leadership concepts such as self-identity, self-awareness, values, dealing with adversity, emotional intelligence, etc.  To get these concepts we polled the executives and everyone at a VP level in the organization on what they considered to be the top 4 attributes they looked for when hiring or promoting someone into a leadership role in their departments.  We then showcased these attributes during our lunch and learns as topics for the presentations or incorporated activities to build these attributes into our group events.  Finally we held a kick off and are in the process of putting together a charity event to raise money for a scholarship in the group’s name.

Overall I was successful in bringing together board members from all different department within the organization and working towards a collective goal of cultural synergy around leadership and professional development.  I did this by leveraging everyone’s want for personal growth and development.  But from a global organizational scale what we really did was build a stronger workforce that enable people to get to a leadership level quicker by infusing them with the knowledge, skills and abilities that my organization has deemed needed for good leadership.  The group chairs have become stretch opportunities for high potential employees the organization want to test and thus now require appointment rather than nomination.  While we didn’t realize it at the time what we had done was leverage a leadership need of the organization into a globally synergized culture by bringing together like minded forward thinking employees and giving them an opportunity to showcase their skills.

 

“Two heads are better than one.” We’ve all heard the old adage encouraging teamwork, but what does working together really do for you? Teamwork involves different people and different groups across your business working together to maximize their efficiency and reach a common goal. There are many ways of organizing teams – some teams are organized around a particular product that is being developed, while others are organized around a process, such as manufacturing or research. In addition to providing team members with experience, benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, financial savings, innovation and morale. However, there is also one more concept when teams work together, Synergy. “The modern concept of synergy was proposed by chemists. They discovered that every time they separated atoms or molecules from a complex compound, the behavior of the separate parts could never explain the behavior of all of them interconnected” (Romero;2015). Synergy is a buzzword that managers and HR pros like to bandy around; sometimes they get it and sometimes they really don’t have a clue. In short, synergy happens in the workplace when two or more people working together produce a better outcome than if they did it alone. It is not a touchy-feely concept, but instead is a practical approach to getting results – and it’s not all that difficult to create.  “Research on teams corroborates that a critical leadership skill is not only the ability to create synergy, but utilizing that powerful combined effect of the group wisely to achieve your goals” (Federer; 2013).

Teamwork allows employees to take greater responsibility for decision making and also allows team members to control more of the work process. This can lead to improved morale as employees gain more authority and ownership over the projects they are working on.  Working together lets employees build on the talents of their teammates. While your strength may be creative thinking, a coworker might shine in organization and planning. Do not hesitate to share your abilities with the team. Often, a team works well together because team members rely on each other to bring individual talents to the table. By observing the process behind these skills, you can learn how to combine your gifts and become a stronger team.

Some companies use teams and teamwork to create a work environment which excels at creativity. These companies sometimes base their corporate structure almost entirely around teamwork. Creativity thrives when people work together on a team. Brainstorming ideas as a group prevents stale viewpoints that often come out of working solo. Combining unique perspectives from each team member creates more effective selling solutions. What you have learned from your individual experiences is entirely different from your coworkers. Thus, teamwork also maximizes shared knowledge in the workplace and helps you learn new skills you can use for the rest of your career.

Working with teams, conflict will arise. It’s never of matters of how, it’s a matter of when. The thing to remember is “sometimes conflict helps generate new ideas, bit that only works if the organization are open to new ideas/ That is why diverse organizations are often the most creative; they take advantage of the differing perspectives within the organization to generate more solutions” (Penn State, Cross Cultural Conflict & Resolution; 2017). Teamwork can help companies to be more flexible. By bringing employees from different parts of a project together into one team, problems or bottlenecks can sometimes be ironed out more easily.

“Going back to chemistry for just a moment, we know that if we add sulfur (S₈) to a controlled environment already containing water (H₂O), given the right temperature and pressure conditions we can turn said water into sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄). In other words, we can transform a life-giving substance, water, into a destructive one, sulfuric acid. This is a metaphor to show how positive synergy can be turned into negative synergy by adding the “wrong” element. In teamwork, the same can happen” (Romero; 2015). There may be no “I” in team, but teamwork can still benefit employees on a personal level. Do not allow competitive natures to get in the way of personal growth in the workplace. Instead, understand how to resolve conflicts and trust teammates to contribute their best ideas. Learn from your team members and build on each other’s skills to create more impressive results in the workplace. Synergy can provide a big boost to the bottom line of most large companies. The challenge is to separate the real opportunities from the illusions.

 

References

Federer, D. (2013, December 06). How to build team synergy. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.businessobserverfl.com/section/detail/how-to-build-team-synergy/

Pennsylvania State University (2017). Leadership in a Global Context –Cross-Cultural Conflict and Resolution.. OLEAD 410. Online course lesson, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654125

Romero, L. E. (2015, December 01). The Ultimate Guide To Team Synergy. Retrieved February 16, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/luisromero/2015/12/01/the-ultimate-guide-to-team-synergy/#84b8245409b3

We have all worked in teams and experienced those team members who are wonderful to work with and those who seem to be the most difficult people regardless of concessions offered.  I know that the teams I have been part of had a consistent desire to want to perform well.  There are those times when we would rather be working on our own on a project or not want to work on the project itself, but overall, the desire is to perform well.  One of the ways to increase performance is to develop synergy among the team members.  This can be accomplished by understanding the cultural diversity within the team and committing to an individual learning plan (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014).

Synergy is a process of adapting and learning by two or more individuals to create a solution that is better than a solution created by each individual separately (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014).  The point is that by working together, the team can provide a better solution.  One item to note is that it is a process.  Developing synergy among teams takes time.  Another item to note is that synergy starts with the individual and their willingness to learn and adapt which then flows to the rest of the team and eventually to the rest of the organization (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014).

Global leadership discusses the need for corporations to study and learn about the cultures in which they wish to do business; to understand the national culture, local customs, religious practices, and individual preferences (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014).  The purpose of understanding the culture is to be able to communicate better with the individuals crucial to negotiations and eventually, the employees of the new facility.  The reality is that deals will not get done, relationships cannot be forged, and an organization will not do business in a country if they do not take the time to learn about the people with whom they will be engaging.

Some of those cultural learning lessons involve starting with a global frame of mind, involve people from the host country, and incorporate ideas from those individuals into the decision process (Adler & Bartholomew, 1992).  This involves recognizing that diversity in decision-making produces better results.  It then tries to involve diverse people into the decision-making process and incorporating their ideas.  It is the understanding that stability is based on diverse relationships and the “golden rule” applies of treating others as you want to be treated (Hofstede & Bond, 1988).

Highly synergized teams practice these concepts. They are focused on cooperation, promoting individual and group learning and development, and striving for solutions where everyone benefits (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014).  Transnational corporations spend a large part of their training on cultural and global topics and work to keep these trained employees due to the nature and breadth of what has been learned (Adler & Bartholomew, 1992).  These individuals then recognize the value of a global mindset.

So if you are part of a team where all the members are from the same town, you should recognize that each member is a unique individual with individual preferences regardless of the local customs, religious affiliation, gender, or culture.  As a member of this team, you can help by committing to a learning and development plan, spending time learning about the other team members, learning about their preferences, and treating everyone with the respect you wish in return.  You then become one of those people that other team members want to work with and hopefully, your mindset will spread to the rest of the team.

 

References

Adler, N. J., & Bartholomew, S. (1992). Managing globally competent people. The Executive, 6(3), 52-65.

Hofstede, G. & Bond, M. H. (1988). The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16(4), 5–21.

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences. New York, NY: Routledge.

While reading the text, I became intrigued at what Morrell and Capparell identified as relevant traits of global leaders based on Ernest Shackleton (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 290). As I read through the various things Shackleton considered important as a leader, I started to view leadership differently. It would seem that Shackleton, considered the “best leader ever” (that’s one big reputation), spent most of his time using the people he surrounded himself with as sources of information for how he led them.

• Start with a solid core of talent you know from past experience
• Your No. 2 is your most important person
• Surround yourself with cheerful, optimistic people
• Hire those with the talents and expertise you lack
• Ask for advice and information from a variety of sources
• Make sure you have some highly skilled individuals who can handle tough challenges
• Let your team inspire you(Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, pp. 290,291)

These specific behaviors made me think. Maybe leadership isn’t as much about what you know, but who you surround yourself with and how you utilize them. “Make sure each person has challenging and important work” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 290). There really isn’t a more unhappy worker than one that doesn’t feel challenged to their potential. Micromanaging someone or just not challenging them can find them frustrated and you viewed as the bad guy.

Every leader is faced with a different situation on any given day as they manage many different types of people. Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory board members boiled leadership down to one important capability a leader must develop: self-awareness (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 287). “Self-awareness is sensing our impact on others, which is trickier to grasp” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 287). That quote goes back to Shackleton and one of his ways for forming groups for the toughest task, “empower the team leaders so they have the authority to handle their own team” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 291).

Being self-aware of how you influence others and getting them to perform tasks when you need them to is more than about just telling someone to do something. It’s about building trust, relying on their expertise to complete the job successfully, and motivating them to the point that your vision becomes their vision. I could go on and on about this but the point is, you don’t have to know it all to be a leader, you need to know how to utilize the knowledge of the people around you to be successful. Leadership is a lot like teamwork. If everyone does their job and relies on each other, the team will succeed.

References

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences: Ninth Edition. New York: Routledge.