Leading Quietly

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Leading Quietly

Leading quietly is the ability to influence individuals or groups

toward the achievement of goals. Quiet Leadership, as a process,

shapes the goals of a group or organization, motivates behavior toward

the achievement of those goals, and helps define group or

organizational culture behind the scenes. It is primarily a process of

influence.

Quiet leaders carrier a sixth sense and one who can envision the

changing processes in the sense that, while influence is always

present, the persons exercising that influence may change. Possession

of influence depends upon the situation and upon the relevancy of the

individual's skills and abilities to the situation. For example, if a

particular individual has the expertise that is required to solve a

problem, then that individual may be assumed to have some degree of

influence over others. Quiet leaders are realist. They try hard to see

the world as it is quiet leaders almost possess a sixth sense

(Badaracco, p 11)

I have so many ideas of what qualities a quiet leader should have that

I often feel overwhelmed and cannot imagine how achieve these skills.

There are many ingredients of effective leadership styles. I have read

several books and articles on leadership and management. I have also

participated in a few leadership training/education modules offered

through my employers. There are many theories on what makes an

effective or quiet leader. In the book, leading quietly, quiet leaders

see the world as a kaleidoscope rather than a fixed target or a

well-mapped terrain. Quiet leaders value trust, but they don’t forget

how fragile it can be (Badaracco, 12). In my research, I discovered

that there are many leadership styles and most are effective if used

in the right situations. The directing leadership style would be

needed for new hires, or less competent employees that show commitment

and a desire to be productive. The employees at this development level

would require very clear directions, and a lot of supervision. The

atmosphere must be controlled and structured until these employees

develop some competence. In today’s work force, many managers lead by

the use of email. Instructions and guide lines are provided by

connecting to online databases (Maccoby, 39).

The coaching style would be useful for existing employees who have

lost their sense of commitme...

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...ers may feel a more positive

association with the company. Companies that show a concern for their

employee’s personal growth may find that employees will feel obligated

to do a better job for the company. In conclusion, leadership is about

service. The greater the ability to serve the needs of others, the

more powerful and effective, are the actions of the leader (Cashman,

p.23). While leaders lead by virtue of whom they are, leaders create

value by virtue of their service. Leadership can be thought of as the

dynamic process of assessing our unique potentialities to serve the

needs of others like employees, co-workers, and customers.

Works Cited:

Blanchard, Kenneth, Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi. Leadership and

the One Minute Manager. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.,

1995.

Kelly, Kevin, You can’t Make Leaders. Business Week 07 Dec. 1998:

Enterprise My Company. Business Week Online Archives.

Cashman, Kevin. Leadership in Business Today. Business Journal Serving

Fresno. April 1998, i322295, p.23-47.

Badaracco, Joseph. Leading Quietly. Harvard Business School Press,

2002. Maccoby, Michael, The Leader. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1981.

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