Leading Teams
Terry A. Ring
Chemical Engineering
University of Utah
Is it better for a leader to be loved or feared?
• Machiavelli 1469-1527
• Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to
1512
• The Prince
Leadership
• Industrial Hierarchy
• Traditional hierarchical
organizations are best lead
through the negative emotion of
FEAR.
• Machiavelli
• Superiors tell workers what to do.
• Workers Defer to Authority.
• Either Agree or
• Negative Consequences
Potential Emotional Consequences of
Negative Managerial Actions
Is it better for a leader to be loved or feared?
• Machiavelli 1469-1527
• It is better for a leader to be both loved and feared but that it takes a
truly gifted person to accomplish this.
• And it will not last for very long!
Leadership
• Academic and/or knowledge-based Hierarchy
• Traditional academic or knowledge-based companies
are best lead by a virtuous servant.
• Authority comes from respect
• Leaders behavior is consistently
• Courageous
• Reverent
• Revers the skills of team members
• Tempered
• High Emotional IQ (EQ)
• or Emotional Intelligence (EI)
• EI can matter more than IQ!
• Just
• Punishments fits the crimes
• Wise
• All this requires compassionate communication skills
Courage
• “Emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish
goals in the face of opposition, external or internal”
• Avenues for expression of courage
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attack – persist – fight;
retreat – disengage/avoid – flight;
resist – freeze;
approach – engage, relate.
Temperance
• “a disposition or pre-dispositional intention and capacity engrained in
a leader’s character to respond to people and the world around
him/her through the ability to strategically express or restrain
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors based on the judgment on what
would be most courageous, just, and wise in a given situation”
• Example: Mature, temperate performance of someone who gracefully
responds to inappropriate provocation by others.
• Counter Example: colleagues who seem totally incapable of effective
verbal or non-verbal restraint in virtually any situation.
Reverence
• “a disposition or pre-dispositional intention and capacity engrained in
a leader’s character to respond to people and the world around
him/her through the ability to feel and strategically enact or express
respect, shame, and awe based on the judgment of what would be
most courageous, just, and wise in a given situation”
• “reverence is the virtue that keeps human beings from trying to act like gods”
Justice
• “engage in superior moral reasoning, demonstrate ethical behavior
across the entire portfolio of responsibilities”
• Key Requirement: developing a formal, moral point of view and
elaborating a personal, moral compass
Wisdom
• “an expert system in the fundamental pragmatics of organized human life”
• discover or create the right thing to do
• do the right thing in the right way; and
• do it on the right time frame
• Making judgment calls is the essential job of a leader – in the end, little
else but good judgment matters;
• Long term success is the sole marker of good judgment – leaders do the
important things right;
• Leaders make the calls and see to their execution – they work through and
in key relationships to get things done.
EQ or EI
Emotions are Complex
Emotions
Basic Emotions
Complex Emotions
EI Characteristics
Things that create EI
Leadership Roles
• Interpersonal Roles
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Figurehead
Leader
Liaison
Establishes Working Environment
• Informational Roles
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Monitor
Disseminator
Quality Control on all Outputs
Spokesperson
• Decision Roles
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Entrepreneur
Disturbance Handler
Resource Allocator both time and money
Negotiator within the team and with management
Henry Mintzberg
Leadership Competencies
• Personal Competencies
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Managing self internally
Managing self externally
Scheduling
Life-long Learner
• Interpersonal Competencies
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Leading individuals
Leading groups
Leading the organizational unit
Administering
Linking the organization/unit
Coaching
• Informational Competencies
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Communicating verbally
Communicating nonverbally
Analyzing
Quality Control on Written/Technical Materials
• Actional Competencies
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Designing
Mobilizing
Henry Mintzberg
Leaders create the working environment for others.
• A respectful environment that celebrates the contributions of everyone
(without consideration of race and gender).
• Generate a safe environment that contributes to learning, innovation and
excellence.
• These environment will get the most productivity and creativity out of
people.
• Zero Tolerance
• If the environment becomes hostile to anyone
• Those responsible pay with their jobs.
• No second chances!
• Future letters of recommendation are compromised.
How do you learn to be a leader?
• Practice
• Trial and Error (and course correction)
• As for a leadership mentor
• The key is
• Do not do anything to lose the respect of your team!
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
• The great hypocrisy can also happen
• Be aware that some leaders know how to gain your respect (and
manipulate you) but then do not deserve your respect by their
actions behind closed doors.
• How can you identify them?
• They tend to take credit when no credit is due them.
• They will not be courageous for their team.
• You will question their wisdom and