Sunday, June 28, 2015

The 4 leadership actions, symbolized by the 4 leadership caps

Leadership is an action: The 4 leadership caps

Leadership is about action – it is something you do.  If you are in a leadership position and ask yourself ‘What must I do today and tomorrow to lead my people to achieve our goal?’ - then the four leadership actions symbolized by the 4 leadership caps, are for you.  

The problem with many leadership courses/seminars/interventions is that they focus on a theoretical explanation on leader attributes, styles and roles or an analysis of historical figures and also the types and levels of leadership.

Although you can gain valuable information from this, it doesn't answer the question:  What must I DO at my next meeting to lead my group to their destination/our common goal? The missing link is the 4 leadership actions as symbolized by the 4 leadership caps. 

But lets share a little of the valuable information to be gained, before we focus on the 4 leadership actions:

A valuable model is John Maxwell's model on the 5 levels of leadership on why people follow their leaders: (Read from bottom to top):

The Five Levels of Leadership
(A Look at Why People Follow Their Leaders)

Level v:   RESPECT
People follow because of who you are and what you represent.
Level iv:  REPRODUCTION
People follow because of what you have done for them.
Level iii:  RESULTS
People follow because of what you have done for the organization.
Level ii:  RELATIONSHIPS
People follow because they want to.
Level i:  RIGHTS: 
People follow because they have to because of your position (positional power).

Nelson Mandela would be one of the few leaders who really became a level 5 leader. Take your President, CEO, boss, headmaster, etc and judge for yourself: Which level of leadership do they function on? 

But the real question is: How do you get to become a level 5 leader?  What are the actions I must take on a daily/weekly basis as a leader to DO leadership?

Here I would like to share a down to earth practical guide on how to ‘do’ leadership. Each leadership cap represents an action to take, and just like De Bono’s thinking hats, you can physically put on the cap while executing  the action in meetings and team sessions. I call it the 4 D's of leadership.




The 4 tasks of a leader is to: 
                       
•  LEAD (Direction)
•  MANAGE (Directive)
•  EMPOWER (Delegative)

•  BUILD A TEAM (Democratic)

The sub actions of leadership are: 

1. DIRECTION: To lead people
(i) Know the way
(ii) Plan the way
(iii) Show the way
(iv) Go the way
(v) Find new ways
(vi) Flow the way
2. DIRECTIVE: To manage systems
(vii)  Design the way
(viii) Control the way:
Who, What, When, How, Budget
3. DELEGATIVE: To empower team members
(ix) Grow people along the way
(x) Get out of the way 
(xi) Empower them to do it their own way
(xii) Allow people to go all the way
4. DEMOCRATIC: To build a team
(xiii) Synergize team energy: Focus one way
(xiv) Create culture: Our way
(xv) Motivation for winning ways

If you want more information on this, order the audio CD on the 4 Leadership actions from admin@gustavgous.co.za 
If you want leadership interventions for your team: Contact +27 12 3455931   or email gustav@gustavgous.co.za to discuss possibilities. 





Dr Gustav Gous  is an International Motivational Speaker and 
Executive Life Coach with experience on 5 continents. In the past he 
was the in-house counselor for the petro-chemical company Sasol 
for 9 years. He is known for his Transformational leadership 
programmes on Robben Island, titled the “Short Walk to Freedom”. 
He is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and past President 
of the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa and a 
member of the APSS (Asia Professional Speakers Singapore).  
Currently he is heading up the Diversity Intelligence Institute, 
specializing in rolling out Diversity Intelligence interventions for 
international companies. His leadership caps does for leadership what De Bono's thinking hats did for creativity and problem solving. His Coaching programme on national Radio in South Africa RSG FM 100-104 "Fiks vir die lewe" touches the lives of many South Africans.  gustav@gustavgous.co.za    drgous@iafrica.com     www.gustavgous.co.za , www.diviin.com ,
Follow him on Twitter: @GustavGous  or on Facebook and LinkedIn .

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