Facilitators' notes
Module: Leadership
Introduction
During the investigation phase of the development of this course people associated with radio stations identified leadership as being crucial to the success of a radio station. Where there are poor leaders, the station is directionless, riven by conflicts, and at the mercy of those who want to exploit it. With strong leadership rooted in a strong sense of mission, you find dedication, motivation, purposeful programming and close community links. Most stations fall somewhere in between. The aim of this course is to make sure that, through strong leadership, more and more stations will attain the vision they are committed to.
Broad Aim
The aim of this workshop is for participants to develop an understanding of the meaning of leadership in their context as managers of community radio station, and to begin to define their own role as leaders.
Training outcomes
By the end of this module, participants will be able to:
· Identify the elements of good leadership
· Identify their own natural leadership style
· Select appropriate leadership styles for specific situations and
· Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate leadership behaviours.
Process guidelines
¸Total time required for this module: 3 hours 45min
2! Materials required for this module:
· Flip chart
· 20 or 30 cheap coloured kokis (Jumbo kokis for small kids work well)
· Permanent Markers for the facilitator
· Prestick
· 1 set of notes/ manual per person
Session / Time / Notes and Suggestions /Activity 1: The leader from hell / 1h 40min / This is an introductory activity aimed at surfacing the problems with poor leadership. It helps to lead into a discussion of good leadership.
Plenary: Instead of group reports, you can have a 'gallery walk' with all the drawings up on the wall. Reporters stay next to their drawings and explain it to the rest of the group. In the plenary discussion, draw up a list of what makes a good leader
In the pilot workshops, it was clear that both very bossy leaders, and very permissive leaders were a problem, and that people are looking for a balance between decisiveness and consultation. People want leaders to provide leadership, but not to tell them what to do.
Activity 2: Different types of leaders / 30 min / The two short cases start to focus on the need to combine both task and people aspects of leadership. You can do it in pairs or threes. Amos focuses on both the maintenance (or people) side of things, and the task, while Lisa is so task oriented that she does not really notice the people she works with and their needs.
The time taken will depend on people's reading speed.
Ask people to think about their own style, and which one they think they are like.
Alternative: ask a couple of people to role play the two examples. You'll need to give them about 15 minutes for preparation.
Activity 3:T-P leadership questionnaire / 1 hour / This questionnaire looks at your preferred leadership style. When people look at the results, make the point that it reflects their feelings now, and that depending on circumstances their rating may well change.
Also make the point that while there is no 'best' style, it is a good idea to look for a balance between the two aspects.
Some people struggle with the scoring instructions, so take them through it step by step
Activity 4: Continuum of leadership behaviour / 5 minutes / This continuum shows that you can't just divide leaders into 'autocrats' and 'democrats', which is what people tend to do. Instead you have to look at the way managers act in different situations. There are leadership theories that suggest that managers need use more authority and less participation with very inexperienced groups or people, and that as the group becomes more confident and competent, the manager should progressively increase the amount of consultation and involvement in decisions.
In some cases, the manager should make decisions alone, while other situations require more consultation. In managing the station on a day-to-day basis, the manager should be able to make decisions alone, but decisions to change the programming, or to participate in an awareness raising campaign, for example, should be discussed with the rest of the station staff.
It is often helpful to ask participants to brainstorm the kinds of decisions a manager should make alone (e.g. what kind of paper to buy, or telling people to evacuate a burning building), and the kinds of decisions the manager must consult the group about (e.g. what kinds of programmes to run).
This discussion often highlights the kinds of conflicts that arise in groups around the role of leaders. As a facilitator, you will need to challenge people's thinking.
Activity 5: Task and Maintenance Checklist / 15 min / This handout summarises some of the behaviours which reflect task and maintenance aspects of leadership. You could go through it in detail, or ask the group to read it alone.
Activity 6: The responsibilities of leadership / 15 min / Leadership in the sector is a brief piece which locates the radio station manager in the community radio sector. It is important that managers see themselves as bearing responsibility for the sector as a whole, and not just their own radio stations. The importance of collaborating and not competing with other stations is a theme that needs to be emphasised throughout this training programme.
The responsibilities of leadership is a concluding statement which leads into the next module
It can be helpful to get people to brainstorm the difference between leadership and management and to make the point that the two are linked and that both are necessary. One of the challenges for managers is finding the right balance between Leadership and Management.
Keep reminding people that very often there is a leadership team or collective in a radio station, and that we are not looking for perfect individuals, but rather a well-rounded leadership team.
Additional reading / 1. The Four Competencies Of Leadership
2. Collective Leadership
These readings are intended for people who may want to read extra. Point out that these two readings have very different approaches. The first one has a business orientation and assumes that 'the' leader makes all the difference. It promotes an individual view of leadership. While this can be criticised, the emphasis on vision and communication and trust are very interesting.
The second article has a collective orientation and sees leadership as part of the group, and as being a collective responsibility. While this sounds good, it often raises problems about where authority and responsibility lie. If we have shared leadership, where does the buck stop? And who ensures that people who are not doing their bit are dealt with?
The Four Competencies of Leadership.
Summary of article by Walter Bennis, in Training and Development Journal, 15 – 19 August 1984.
Walter Bennis is a management writer. He did research on business and public sector leaders and found that successful organisations succeed because of their leaders.
In his research, he interviewed 90 leaders. He defined leaders as people who affect the culture and values of their organisation. He does not mean people who are simply good managers.
He found that there are four competencies[1] of leadership.
1 The ability to get your attention.
They get attention, because they have such a strong commitment and such a powerful vision, that people are attracted to them. People want to join them, to be part of making this vision real.
Their vision and commitment can be seen in the way these leaders are focused on what is important to them. They know exactly what they want. They don’t waste time on things that are not important.
2 The ability to share their vision.
By this, Bennis means that great leaders are able to make their vision clear to others. They help us to understand what is important to them, and to believe in it too.
This ability is not about being clever and having lots of information and facts. It is about being able to talk to people, to use symbols and images that makes it possible for people to understand and be inspired.
3 The Management of trust
Successful leaders are people we can trust. This does not mean that we have to like what they say, but that we know we can trust them. They are reliable. They say what they mean, and they don’t let us down.
4 The Management of self
The fourth competency that Bennis talks about is knowing what you can do and what you can’t do. Successful leaders use their skills fully.
They don’t believe in failure: if something does not work out, they see it as an opportunity for learning.
The result of this kind of leadership, is that people feel empowered.
In Bennis view, successful leaders who have these competencies, empower the people who work with them.
They believe that people are important, and as a result, the people who work with them feel significant. These leaders make you feel that you can make a difference to something important. You end up feeling important.
Because the leader is continually learning, the people in the organisation also learn to see mistakes as a chance to learn. Learning matters to everyone in the organisation.
Such leaders make people feel part of a community. You feel part of a group who share the same vision and the same commitment. You feel at home.
Coming to work is exciting, you feel part of something stimulating, challenging and fun. People want to work, they want to do good work, and they have lots of energy.
Discussion point.
Think of leaders who inspire you: do you think they are like this? Do Bennis’ views make sense in your experience?
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Facilitators' notes
Collective LeadershipBut to lead collectively is not and cannot be, as some suppose, to give to all and everyone the right of uncontrolled views and initiatives, to create disorder, empty arguments, a passion for meetings without results ...
In the framework of collective leadership, we must respect the opinion of more experienced people who for their part must help the others with less experience to learn, and to improve their work.
Combat the spirit of the 'big man', the traditional chief, boss or foreman among responsible workers ...
Combat the spirit of closed circles, an obsession with secrecy among some persons, personal questions and the ambition to give orders.
Collective leadership must strengthen the leadership capability of (all) and create specific circumstances where full use is made of all members.
Collective Leadership means leadership made by a group of persons and not by one person alone, or by some persons in the group.
To lead collectively, in a group is to:
- study questions jointly,
- find their best solutions,
- take decisions jointly,
- benefit from the experience and intelligence of each person.
To lead collectively, is to:
- (give) the opportunity of thinking and acting,
- demand that people take responsibility within their competence,
- (require that people) take initiative ...
To lead collectively is to:
- co-ordinate the thought and action of those who form the group,
- derive the greatest return in the accomplishment of the group's tasks within the limits of their competence and in the framework of the activities and the interests of the organisation.
·
Cabral, Amilcar
Unity and Struggle
Copyright © 1979 by PAIGC
Reprinted by permission of Monthly Review Press, New York, pp. 247 -248
From Community Workers Handbook Vol. 2, by Anne Hope and Sally Timmel
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[1] Competence n. (also competency) 1 ability; being competent.
competent adj. 1 adequately qualified or capable. 2 effective