Small Business Blog from Atlantic Canada

I am "CA" Atreya (PMP, MBA), the author of this blog. I help businesses in Atlantic Canada achieve their BHAG successfully. You may subscribe to this blog using a feed reader (RSS).

I have only recently started blogging. It has been a struggle to write diligently over the last two months given my other commitments. I am not sure how I am doing as a writer, since I get few comments, but I am not complaining. I would rather get one or two quality comments that spread knowledge than just agreements or worse - spam. Occasionally, I am at a loss for a topic. Writer’s block? I don’t know. But I cannot get a sentence out of me. That is when I go brain storming; a.k.a. reading what’s out there that I can dispute or contribute further. Many people get turned off by the word dispute. They do not like it. I love it. Dispute is the mother of innovation. But I digress.

In the short period that I have been in the blogosphere, I look forward to reading articles by a select few bloggers. One of them is Ben Yoskovitz. So on an evening with a blank grey matter, I read Ben’s 10 Essential Business Leadership Skills - a topic close to my heart. While I am not doing any disputing today, I would like to take this conversation on a slightly different track.

Leaders typically follow a certain approach that depends on their personality traits. What differentiates leaders is their ability to change their approach depending on the strategy of the organization. Good leaders adapt and mix their leadership styles. My experience has taught me to identify some leadership styles:

1. Strategy-focused leader: This type of leader focuses mostly on strategy. This individual takes a long term view. They tend to be “outward-focused”; i.e. formulating strategy and devising plans to implement them. They tend to gather most of their information by talking to customers, vendors, analyzing competition and other macro-environmental forces. Since they spend bulk of their time - well -strategizing, it follows that they will value employees to whom he can delegate day-to-day tasks. This individual would tend to gravitate towards individuals with planning and analytical skills. And O, by the way, these leaders will needs tons of data.

2. Change-focused leader: These individuals believe that constant invention is the key to their organization’s competitive advantage. These individuals hate rules and consider them too restraining. They are the more visible types. You cannot miss them. They are constantly meeting with various stakeholders and selling them their new idea. This causes a lot of anxiety and confusion in the minds of the employees. It can also lead to strategic mistakes which may prove costly.

3. Rules-focused leader: This is the complete opposite from the change-focused leader. They love to create and implement controls, policies and procedures and monitor them constantly. They like predictability. They will not rock the boat unnecessarily. Such individuals will devote a lot of time in ensuring there are no surprises; both for the customer and employees. If there is any exception to the rule, you can be assured that they will be upset.

The above are just broad categorizations. There is bound to be some overlap. Look at what tasks the leader does for most of the day to place them in one of the above categories. If you can’t segment them, hey, this is not the bible. We’ll create another one. Drop me a note.

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