The Accidental
Leader.
What‟s your
style?
• Nick McEwan-Hall
• Senior Manager RTO Operations
• Aegis Aspire – Melbourne
• Find me on LinkedIn and Twitter @nickmc
• What is an “Accidental Leader?”
• We will look at 4 major styles of leadership
• You will identify your predominant style of leadership
• We will look at how to identify and use the styles to aid you in
your leadership role
• We will look at common combinations of styles, and how to
work with them
• Who here is in a leadership role?
• Is it your first role?
• How many of you have been in the role less than 12
months?
• Who isn‟t in one, but wants to be, or might be soon?
Leadership is
a serious
business.
Seriously…
•
Trait Theories
•
Behavioural Theories
•
Participative Leadership Theories
•
Transformational Leadership
•
Situational Leadership
•
Transactional Leadership
•
Autocratic Leadership
•
2,760,000 Results for “Leadership
Theories” on Google!
… Or not so
Seriously…
"Leadership, like swimming, cannot
be learned by reading about it." Henry Mintzberg
Is the concept of Leadership over-
hyped?
Non Serious Leaders are everywhere!
My Story – The Accidental Leader
•
Wanted to be a high school teacher
•
Went to university – B Teach and B Design
•
Decided teaching kids wasn‟t for me
•
Enjoyed working with year 11 & 12 students
•
Studied my “Cert IV” – BSZ!
•
Moved to Melbourne and became a trainer…
I progressed…
•
… then a training coordinator.
•
I was a very accidental leader
•
I learnt about a few things in this job….
• Politics, conflict, intergenerational issues,
organisational red tape, time management,
emotions, motivations, passions, drivers,
performance management, HR.. The list goes on!
… and I learnt a lot!
• I learnt by experience… not always good!
• Most of all, I learnt by reflecting back on these
experiences – ups and downs
• Since then I have been in many other roles…
• Compliance & Quality Manager, Training
Manager, RTO Manager, RTO Consultant etc
What I learnt (and have learnt since)
•
This route to leadership is very common
•
It can be extremely tough
•
Who wants to go backward? So you keep going…. UP!
•
It wasn‟t until relatively recently that I learnt about
Leadership Styles
•
I wish I had of had some kind of framework for leadership at
the time
•
The problem was, I didn‟t know such things existed!
What is this
leadership
style thing all
about?
• People are…
• Unpredictable
• Different
• Unique
• Dynamic
• People!
Leadership
=
Connecting with people
=
Interpersonal Skills
The Leadership Role
Interpersonal Skills
The Job
Understanding
Others
Managing
Understanding
Yourself
Interprsonal
Skills
Interactions
• Knowing your preferences is an important first
step
• Preferences are just that – it doesn‟t mean you
can‟t work in other styles or ways
• Importantly, if you can identify other peoples
preferences, you can work out how to approach that
person in a way that they are receptive to
• Being able to connect with people in a different way to what
you‟re used to
• Having a common basis for discussing issues or ideas
• To get a better understanding of how you are being perceived
• Understanding conflict and difference
• Having a method to change a situation
Let’s look at
some science.
• Today we will explore DISC.
• It‟s just one such system that you can use to
identify your style, and other peoples.
• Its simple and easy to understand
Get to know your style
• The DISC system breaks down styles into four
different types
• Which type are you?
• Take the survey…
Introducing “the birds”
Eagle
Dominant
Peacock
Influential
D
I
Dove
Supportive
Owl
Compliant
S
C
Eagle
This style is the controller.
Task orientated, they get the job
done at whatever the cost.
They have vision and tend to be
strong leaders, although they
could be autocratic in the pure
sense.
They are extraverted and have
more empathy with facts, systems
and procedures rather than
people.
Peacock
This style is the showy promoter who
has the natural ability to influence.
This makes them natural leaders.
They like to be noticed and also work
on others liking them.
They are great motivators, have the
``gift of the gab`` and are usually the
life of the party.
They are very extraverted and have a
strong empathy with people versus
systems and procedures.
They also have vision and always
paint the big picture but don‟t cope too
well with detail.
Dove
This is the true supporter.
``A friend in need is a friend indeed``.
This style of person is the worker and
the one that listens to orders and
carries them out.
They can be talkative or quiet but one
thing is definite and that is they have a
strong affinity with people, even if they
have good analytical skills.
They tend to be more introverted.
Some people see this side and so
they can be used by others or walked
on by bad managers.
Owl
This style is the analyst.
An eye for detail.
Observant and the one people turn to for the
facts.
Thrive on their logical, numbering skills and
usually dominant in the background of most
businesses.
This style is more introverted and would
communicate well if the other person had
similar interests and level of intelligence.
They are not natural leaders but are
sometimes put in senior positions, for their
knowledge and logical reasoning.
Strong affiliation with facts, systems and
procedures, but not with people. Follows
rules.
Highly likely Accidental Leaders.
• One may jump out at you
• You may start to identify your colleagues and friends too
• You may not identify with just one bird
• People can be (and often are) a mix of two styles
• Some combinations are rare
• One bird isn‟t better than another
• We‟re talking about preferences
• Any bird can do any role/job
• DISC is usually a silent language
Thinking
Precise
Follows Rules
Logical & Careful
Formal & Disciplined
Finance &
Quality Roles
Withdrawn, shy
Doesn’t express
opinion
Gets stuck in details
Does not take risks
Decisive, tough
Strong willed
Competitive
Demanding
Independent, Self
Confident
Aggressive, blunt
Self-Centred
Overbearing
Exceeds Authority
Sensing
Trainers, Admin
Roles
Strategic &
Director Level
Roles
Intuition
Calm, steady
Careful, patient
Good listener
Modest, trustworthy
Resists new ideas
Does not express
Stubborn
Does not seek change
Sociable
Talkative, open
Enthusiastic, energetic
Persuasive
Flamboyant, frantic
Careless, indiscreet
Excitable, hasty
Loses sense of time
Business
Development
Roles
Let’s look at
how you use
the styles.
To identify communication barriers
•
Using the common language of “the birds” can make it easier to discuss issues as
they arise
•
If a Peacock and an Owl are trying to work on an issue, its likely to be difficult
•
The peacock works on intuition, whereas the owl works on facts
•
Simply knowing that the behaviour you observe is driven by certain preferences
allows you to make adjustments
•
You can adjust your approach once you know how you will be perceived
Peacock VS Owl
•
The Business Development person who keeps getting „creative‟ with their
enrolment forms
VS
•
The Compliance Manager who has to demonstrate how the RTO sticks to
the rules
Adjusting Perceptions
•
Once you know what drives someone, you can adjust your perception of them (or your
teams perceptions of one another)
•
If an Eagle and a Dove are working together, they likely don‟t have a good view of each
other.
•
•
An Eagle may think a Dove is weak
•
A Dove may think an Eagle steps all over people
When in actual fact, the Eagle just wants to win and the Dove just wants to be careful
(but also win!)
Eagle VS Dove
• The Director who says something has to happen NOW!
• VS
• The Trainer who really, truly believes that we shouldn‟t rush into things
(or believes rushing is not an option)
Approaching Correctly
• If you know the persons preference, you can
cater to it, thereby eliminating issues
• If you are working with a Dove, you may need
to...
• Give them time to think
• Give them time to ask questions
• Not rush them
Approaching Correctly
• If you are working with a Peacock you may need
to…
• Let them talk about it with you and other people
• Be enthusiastic about the issue at hand
• Not expect too much detail
Approaching Correctly
• If you are working with an Eagle, you may need
to…
•
•
•
•
Let them think it‟s their idea
Let them change things a little
Stick to the facts
Let them execute tasks
Approaching Correctly
• If you are working with an Owl, you may need
to…
•
•
•
•
Give them details
Present facts
Present the logic behind your thoughts
Pose problems for them to solve
Questions?
• Find a partner, preferably a different Bird to you
• Together, list down some ways you could use the birds in your
workplace
• You might think of an example in the past where using the
birds could have helped
• Explain to your partner how you would have used it and what
you think it could have done
•
To resolve conflict
•
With students
•
Customer service – how can you exceed their expectations if you don‟t
know how they perceive you?
•
Hiring – make sure the person coming on board is a good compliment for
the team
•
Sales – being a fantastic communicator is key to being a great salesperson
• Consider getting everyone to identify their bird,
and discuss amongst your team what that might
mean.
• Have the birds represented somewhere in the
office – at the desks, on a noticeboard etc
• Prevention – not cure
What next?
• We have only just scratched the surface of DISC
• I hope your mind is racing with ideas and possibilities
• Remember – knowing your own style is the first step!
• Have a think about how you could apply what you have learnt
in your own workplace
• As you go about your day, imagine what bird people are and
think about how you might approach them differently
• Encourage your team to take the test themselves and talk
about what you find
• You don‟t have to only use the birds when there is a problem
Final
questions?
• http://www.123test.com/disc-personality-test
• FREE Disc Profile
• http://www.discusonline.com/udisc/default.htm
• http://www.mydiscprofile.com/default.asp
• http://www.axiomsoftware.com/disc/teams/disc-teamleadership-styles.php
• http://www.discaccreditation.com.au/why-discaccreditation.php
• Good overview of what DISC is. Some great videos and resources.