Professional leadership model addressing authentic and principle-centered leadership as well as the leadership circle of influence.

1. MaRi Eagar
M Phil Personal and Professional Leadership (cum laude)
M Phil (HRM) (PPL)
Professional Leadership –The PPL Pyramid
and the Circle of Influence
“He who thinks he leads without followers, is
only taking a walk” (John Maxwell, 1998: 20)
Competent
Circle of influence Leadership Circle of influence
and ROI
Relationship Leadership:
Through encouragement,
Caring and service
Authentic Leadership: A principle-, value- and
Character Centered Basis
September 2004
This report contains 41 pages
Report for University of Johannesburg

2. MaRi Eagar M Phil (HRM) (PPL)
M Phil Personal and Professional Leadership (cum laude) Professional Leadership
September 2004
Contents
1 Theme 3: The PPL-Leadership Perspective – The PPL Pyramid
of Leadership 1
1.1 How current leadership thinking is unable to resolve the
problems of the day 2
1.2 Leadership as influence – the PPL Pyramid to cultivate the
Circle of Influence 6
1.3 The PPL Pyramid as framework for professional leadership
development 8
1.4 Level One: Authentic leadership: A principle-, value- and
character centered basis 10
1.5 Level Two: Relationship Leadership through encouragement,
caring and service 14
1.6 Level Three: Competent Leadership and the Leadership Cycle
(Return on Investment) 21
1.7 The Circle of Influence and Credibility 27
1.8 Building dimensions of influence using the three layers of the
PPL Pyramid and enhancing the circle of influence 34
1.9 The impact of the PPL Pyramid of Leadership as influence over
self and others 37
2 Personal reflection and learning Error! Bookmark not defined.
3 REFERENCES 38
Professional Leadership Pyramid

3. MaRi Eagar M Phil (HRM) (PPL)
M Phil Personal and Professional Leadership (cum laude) Professional Leadership
September 2004
1 The PPL-Leadership Perspective – The PPL Pyramid of
Leadership
“Attending to the triple bottom line means meeting the financial, ecological
and social needs of the present while maintaining the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.” (Sarah Schley and Joseph Laur from
Leverage™, no 22, 2003)
Companies face many problems today that would be described as unique
to our times. While our population growth and increased health and
wellness result in increasing demand for products and service (thus more
opportunities for business), our Earth’s capacity to provide us with we need
to produce and live here, is declining. (Schley and Laur: 2003)
Schley and Laur emphasise that, previously companies need only focus on
financial success in determining how they will operate and how they will be
lead. Now they also have to consider the impact of their operations on the
natural environment they effect. The impact of our business activities on
their communities and society is under regular spotlight. Business analysts
and investor communities are starting to review the value of company
shares for long term investment recommendations if they do not have a clear
understanding of how the company address the above. Reduced
shareholder confidence reduces the share-price and ultimately the future of
the company.
Employees in companies have a different work-ethic and make new
demands on companies. The knowledge creator employees can move
globally and do not accept the traditional view of command and control
companies. They are loyal only to themselves, and do not commit to their
Professional Leadership Pyramid 1

4. MaRi Eagar M Phil (HRM) (PPL)
M Phil Personal and Professional Leadership (cum laude) Professional Leadership
September 2004
employers anymore. To retain these talented employees have become a very
expensive and mostly “hit and miss” exercise in companies.
Even lower skilled employees with access to technology, are demanding to
be treated in a more humane manner and will refuse to give their
commitment to companies they do not believe in. As a result productivity
suffers through absenteeism and tactics to withhold work. Employees (at all
levels in business) think nothing of stealing from their employers (time and
goods). This affects profitability dramatically.
1.1 How current leadership thinking is unable to resolve the
problems of the day
The essence of leadership, when condensing the many definitions of
leadership, is the influence over self and others (Smith, D:2004). This,
Smith says, implies that for leaders to exist, there also are those who follow.
Traditionally companies are using classroom management development
focusing on classic MBA programs to develop their leaders. “Contemporary
business education focuses on the functions of business more than the
practice of managing.” (Henry Mintzberg and Jonathan R Gosling on MBA
programs: 2004)
This results in focused attention on a selected few in the organisation to
achieve business success with the support of their (assumed) willing
followers. MBA programs provide techniques to learn how to motivate
people and learn how to provide common objectives and vision for
employees to follow them. Leadership magazines abound with the anecdotes
of hero leaders who (apparently) single-handedly achieved dramatic
Professional Leadership Pyramid 2

5. MaRi Eagar M Phil (HRM) (PPL)
M Phil Personal and Professional Leadership (cum laude) Professional Leadership
September 2004
profitability growth and are even able to fix the problems of the world through
their visionary leadership in world affairs.
Although historically some individuals have been able to exert enormous
influence over society, influence depends on the power you have been
granted, as well as the amount of followers.
In other words, your power is related to the circumference of your circle
of influence which is dependent on the number of followers. To be a
leader in the workplace, one would have to grow an empire of followers – a
time consuming and energy draining task if she is to achieve success in a
world with increasing demands on company profitability and sustainability as
described above.
When there is overemphasis on a few leaders, the results they obtained are
often not sustainable and disappear when they leave. Take Ghandi, for
example. Although he obtained the liberation of India, extreme poverty and
the caste system still dis-empowers the majority of people living in India.
Fundamentally they are still not liberated and Ghandi’s vision is not yet
achieved in full.
Professional Leadership Pyramid 3

6. MaRi Eagar M Phil (HRM) (PPL)
M Phil Personal and Professional Leadership (cum laude) Professional Leadership
September 2004
TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Follower
Follower Follower
Leader
Follower Follower
The more effective solution which is to achieve more with the same
amount of effort is self-evident. A leader should be able to expand
influence using, for example, the same number of followers as before. If each
follower would be able to exert influence over one more person each, your
personal circle of influence as leader could expand with at least 5 more
people using the same effort with which to influence 5 people. This is a
very economical way of achieving results. The diagram below illustrates this
idea.
Professional Leadership Pyramid 4

7. MaRi Eagar M Phil (HRM) (PPL)
M Phil Personal and Professional Leadership (cum laude) Professional Leadership
September 2004
Follower
Competent
Leadership Circle of influence
and ROI
Leader Relationship Leadership:
Through encouragement,
Caring and service
Authentic Leadership: A principle-, value- and
Character Centered Basis
Competent Competent
Leadership Circle of influence Leadership Circle of influence
and ROI and ROI
Follower Leader Leader Follower
Relationship Leadership: Relationship Leadership:
Through encouragement, Through encouragement,
Caring and service Caring and service
Competent
Authentic Leadership: A principle-, value- and Leadership Circle of influence Authentic Leadership: A principle-, value- and
Character Centered Basis and ROI Character Centered Basis
Relationship Leadership:
Through encouragement,
Leader
Caring and service
Authentic Leadership: A principle-, value- and
Character Centered Basis
Competent Competent
Leadership Circle of influence Leadership Circle of influence
and ROI and ROI
Relationship Leadership: Relationship Leadership:
Through encouragement, Through encouragement,
Leader Leader
Caring and service Caring and service
Authentic Leadership: A principle-, value- and Authentic Leadership: A principle-, value- and
Character Centered Basis Character Centered Basis
Follower Follower
The logical conclusion of this way of thinking is then to ensure the new
followers become influencers too, and ultimately you could create a vast
circle of influence consisting of influence creating communities as
shown below. This means one person could influence exponentially,
and is an effective method for achieving results that are also sustainable as
the network of influencers are stronger than a model with a few influencers
and mostly followers.
Professional Leadership Pyramid 5