Driver

I may have a different take on leadership than other people.

I like ISO 9000's definition (as explained in the 8 QMS), which in my words would be:
1. to put forward a widely acceptable purpose (vision),
2. to establish specific goals (towards the vision), and
3. to foster an environment where people feel safe (i.e. they are expected to a) tell things as they see them and b) make mistakes, fix them and learn in the process).

I can do that from the back seat.
... driving the car is for the driver, not for the leader.

Leadership

Leaders and other gifted individuals are confident. That means that they know what they can do. To develop confidence you build an accurate and complete mental model of the world around you. To be a leader, you need a few extras ... a clear and compelling vision is probably chief among them. Fungus

Leadership

From what I read, a good leader is a person with the ability to manipulate the will of others to engage and energize them to do as he pleases in order to reach his own objectives (frequently called organizational or strategic).
Darth Vader called them imperial objectives.

Fascinating creatures indeed.

Fungus

Soft skills

The most important "soft skills" are those skills that we need to understand and manage:
- Superordinate goals,
- Style,
- Staff and
- Skills.

You may notice similarities between these levers and the eight quality principles described by ISO 9000
- Superordinate goals: Leadership
- Style: System approach to management
- Staff: Involvement of people
- Skills: Process approach & Continual improvement

A little story: Thirty years ago, McKinsey & Co. researched why the Japanese organizations were more successful than their American counterparts. McKinsey developed a business framework, which describes seven factors or levers that a manager can use.

It seems that American managers only understood and used three of the seven levers, while Japanese managers leveraged all seven factors, including four "soft" factors that westerners usually considered unimportant.
The 3 hard "S" are Strategy, Structure, and Systems.
The 4 soft "S" are Superordinate goals, Style, Staff and Skills.
(See Pascale & Athos ref in the link below)

In an effort to make soft things seem hard, and thus, understandable and manageable, western authors started compiling ever longer lists of the components and variations of those culturally bound, intangible and elusive factors.

A friend of mine says that companies value soft skills.
I don't agree.

I think they don't even understand the concept behind soft skills.
They say they do, because it is fashionable, and as with the Emperor's New Clothes, nobody dares to admit that they have spent their training budgets in a concept so volatile that they don't grasp.

Fungus

Follow this link to The Art of Japanese Management

Motivation

The Top Leader is responsible to create a vision that people can subscribe to.
The Top Leader should state where to, and how far we want to go.
The top leader should also make sure that everybody understands the vision, mission and goals.
That's about it.
When leaders start telling people how to do it, they start to fail.

Under the old, bureaucratic, hierarchical model, middle managers were supposed to have relevant knowledge and experience, and they were expected to coordinate the working bees, making sure they did the right thing.

Under newer models (like ISO 9000), all employees are expected to actively participate in the organization, to work according to documented processes, to measure the results, and to improve them continually.

A good process lets the performers know how they are doing relative to the objectives, and lets them improve the process.
A good process empowers employees.

Many middle managers, and some CEOs find this new order less than comfortable.
What will they do if they are not directing, managing, coordinating or supervising?
Maybe they would have to work.

And how would they explain their salaries and perks?

Many working bees also find this new order undesirable.
Loosely quoting from Aldous Huxley: They are awfully glad they're betas, so they don't have to think.

No surprise then, that they don't push towards the new order.

Fungus

Teamwork

The key, and probably the main challenge to build an energized team is a shared purpose. Something that is vital for every team member. - Build a better world - Save the whales - Find a cure for cancer - Get computer access for all children - Get the road free of snow.
The second hurdle is an agreed upon set of objectives.
What exactly do we want to do today (or this month)? How will we know we have done a good job?
The third challenge is a shared work focus. How are we going to do it.

Some purposes are not shared. If I feel that my boss's purpose is "a large salary and a golden parachute", I might end being among the 17% who are actively sabotaging his efforts.

Fungus