NewBase 19 April 2024 Energy News issue - 1717 by Khaled Al Awadi.pdf
Remarkable leadership paper
1. RUNNING HEAD: REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 1
Book Review
Remarkable Leadership by Kevin Eikenberry
Aditya Boyilla (1010699)
Hanumanth Reddy Pailla (1010527)
Vijay Simha Reddy (1010686)
Rajendrasinh Dodia (1011001)
University Canada West
Professor: Chehra Aboukinane
MBA- 504 & Strategic Leadership
February 21st 2012
2. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 2
Abstract
In this paper we have written a summary of a book written by Kevin Eikenberry,
Remarkable Leadership. The book teaches us how to be a remarkable leader by
respecting others, values etc. The author has mentioned many tricks and trades which
should be followed to a great and successful leader. Few of the topics covered in this
book are communication styles, are leaders born, supportive behavior, influence impact,
focus on customers, responsibility, process and project management to name a few. My
team has covered all the essential topics in the book and summarized it in a way that
could be understood by all without many complications.
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REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP
Are leaders really born?
The author starts the book with this eternal question, whether leaders are born or
made. He went on to support his claim about leaders being made, by illustrating various
instances, but their may be some unique abilities with, which one born with when honed
becomes a remarkable leader, later the author goes about to say “Every person has a
leader in them” and there is need to bring it out. The author has written this book to help
people identify their potential and become remarkable leaders in life (Kevin Eikenberry,
2007).
Philosophy: It is clear that the beliefs and values of this have guided his through the
book, the author believes there is a vast potential out their, which needs to be brought out
and the choice and opportunities one has makes the end limitless, the author insists that “
One should not settle with what he has achieved” he believes that in the pursuit of
becoming a remarkable leader, one should be better than a mediocre leader. The book
focuses on thirteen core competencies/skills that a remarkable leader should poses, which
include communication skills, relationship building, Innovation, decision-making and
some others. The author believes that “ It is the skills at, which you are excel make you
remarkable” (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
The book talks about the importance of knowing ones strengths and weaknesses,
it is obvious that for leader to become truly remarkable, he has to overcome his weakness
and hone his innate abilities. Interestingly in here, the author stresses on a key element
“Strengths”, he believes that spending time on strengthening ones strengths rather then
working on your weakness in ones pursuit towards becoming remarkable leader. The
4. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 4
author truly believes that every other human being is born with innate talents or skills, he
also believes that, there is a leader in every one and it only takes effort and potential and
the will to do, that can transform a person into a remarkable leader. The book later
focuses on Leadership development process, most of the organizations have different
process involved to serve this cause. The author has mentioned about the traditional
method, which solely involves training as flawed, as the author believes that training
alone cannot bring out the remarkable leadership ability in a person. He believes that
along with training it is the learning part, which is crucial. To achieve this, the author has
mentioned about leadership development models, for instance a model of his involves the
need or desire, having a goal, knowing you strengths and weaknesses, finally ways to
learn, practice and organize (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). Ultimately it is comes down to
time and focus, which decide the end result.
It is evident from the book; continuous learning has a substantial impact on the
leadership abilities in a person. The author has termed leadership as rather complex
Endeavour, able to be a role model to others and helping other grow is one of the key
qualities that remarkable leader should poses. The author believes, it is the learning
quality in a leader, which makes him truly remarkable. In here the book mentions about
the cycle of learning, which starts at having an experience then followed by reflection
later generalizing and finally action and then the cycle repeats itself. In her the author
stresses the point remarkable leaders learn from the situations (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Championing Change:
Change is one such key element, which has a substantial effect on both the
organization and the individual, as the book mentions, a remarkable leader would have
5. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 5
the ability to bring, manage change effectively with his set of skills and makes the
transition a smooth one for both the individuals and the organization. In here the author
talks about the four change skills that a leader should poses.
Levers of change
Planning and implementing
Being a change champion
Moving past the blockers/resistance
The author then talks about the role played by feelings, change levers and
dissatisfaction and their effect on the change process and the importance of having a
vision and goal.
Resistance: The book also mentions about Rick Maurer’s “three levels of resistance”
(Rick Maurer, 1996). The author describes resistance as the power to create and move
change forward (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007)
Communication Styles:
According to Kevin Eikenberry (2007), the ability to communicate powerfully does
not mean it should be comfortable to the leader but it should be communicated in a way
that the other person quickly connects to it. There are four classic communication styles.
i. The Doer: A person who wants to get results. Their focus is in the present;
they value action, achievement and progress. They use the simplest and the
straightforward approach.
ii. The Feeler: A person who is connected to the emotion/feelings and thoughts
of others. They believe communication is very important to spread the
message.
6. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 6
iii. The Thinker: A person who likes to solve problems. They think things
through and want all the data provided to them.
iv. The Imaginer: A person who has an ability to envision the big picture/future.
They like concepts, ideology and discovery.
Storytelling is an art, to be a remarkable leader; the person should master this art (Kevin
Eikenberry, 2007). Few types of stories are:
i. Official Stories: Stories told by institutions, government, schools, it is used to
help build public relations.
ii. Invented Stories: They are adapted stories and usually don’t have a point. But
if the leader is using this strategy, he/she should make a point so the listeners
can recognize it.
iii. Firsthand Stories: The stories that have actually happened to us. If the leader
tells the story in a positive way, it may impact big with the audience.
iv. Secondhand Stories: Telling the stories of others might not cause as big an
impact as firsthand stories. But a leader might have lots of stories to tell.
My team members can relate the storytelling concept with Dr. Ireland’s think-a-piece, it
came to our attention that storytelling is an important stepping-stone in a pathway of
becoming a remarkable leader.
Building Relationships:
Kevin Eikenberry (2007) says they are four skills to learn to build better and strong
relationships. They are
7. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 7
1) Likeability: Being likeable helps other people to open to you. They will be
willingly listening to your ideas; it helps to build a personal connection that is an
important part of successful communication.
i. Be friendly
ii. Be relevant
iii. Be caring
iv. Be genuine
2) Listening: Listening is not just hearing what the other guy says, but to understand
what he says and then respond. The author has mentioned few key techniques to
be an active listener in the book.
3) Building trust: Trust is an important part of relationship building Trust has four
factors
i. Believability
ii. Dependability
iii. Emotional Closeness
iv. Selflessness
4) Networking: The value of networking for leaders is significant. Leaders need to
build professional network that can provide tremendous value to the organization
such as visibility, credibility, and profitability.
Developing others:
According to the author, an important part of a leader’s responsibility is to develop
others. You might have your own perceptions of others and might favor the person who
8. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 8
you think has the potential but a leader should give everyone a chance before coming to
his/her own conclusion.
Supportive Behaviors:
According to a survey from Gallup research (Rath and Clifton, 2004) approximately 61%
of the Americans received no praise at their workplace, this lead to employees walking
out of the organizations and joining others. Eikenberry (2007) said leaders should be
supportive and gave 10 valuable tips to be followed, they are
i. Be flexible: Allow the employees to complete the tasks in their own way.
ii. Collaborate: Give the employees more chance to be involved.
iii. Help out: Help a team if its facing deadline and a lot of work need to be done.
iv. Be of service: Be available to people.
v. Value the person: People make mistakes; nevertheless leaders should value
the person.
vi. Recognize and support their goals
vii. Encourage effort: The results might not be up to the mark but leaders should
encourage the effort so they will do a better job next time.
viii. Praise success: Leaders should praise their employees when they reach the
required goals.
ix. Celebrate
x. Be accountable
Mentoring: It basically means partnership for learning. The main focus is to share
information and help the other person to succeed through learning. The skills and
9. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 9
behaviors of great mentors are build rapport, Listen, Build trust, make other connections,
maintain focus, remember the purpose of the relationship and offer advices.
Focus on Customers:
Eikenberry (2007) said, “Your customers, regardless of what you call them, write
your paycheck” I agree with the author. Every organization has internal customers as well
as external customers. Kevin Eikenberry (2007) had mentioned six specific ways to
improve internal customer services, they are
i. Model the value: Thinking of the team as customers might put a new light on
the leader’s role.
ii. Understand their expectations
iii. Innovate collaboratively: Involve everyone participating to improve the work.
iv. Foster cross training: Means putting yourself in others shoes.
v. Celebrate more broadly: Your group or other group success should be
celebrated as one.
Building relationship with the customers is very important. According to the author,
retaining 5% of loyal customers might boost anywhere from 25% to 125%. There are 5
steps to make partnership a reality, no matter the size of the organization
i. Set expectations and objectives
ii. Consider new behaviors
iii. Make new commitments
iv. Consider creative alliances
v. Share best practices
Remarkable Leaders Influence with Impact:
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In this chapter author is trying explain about the skills of a leader to
influence people. Charisma is one of the important characteristics for the leader to
inspire and influence people. Your values are those ideas, beliefs, and concepts that
you hold most dear and guide your behavior daily (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
People who have very good values will be much stronger in influencing and
inspiring their followers because they grow personal attractiveness that explains
charisma of a leader. Defining your personal values will be the best way to influence
people. Being influencing will benefit many people and personally even with or
without rank, seniority and the role (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Creditability is the mixture of trustworthiness and expertise. Every leader must
have expertise in his own field because it shapes his personality and creditability.
Having very good expertise and knowledge consistently increases influence and
charisma.
Remarkable Leaders Think and Act Innovatively:
Creativity is one of the aspects of being innovative in work. Thinking habits
and personality types naturally shows hoe a leader thinks and gives an idea about
his creative thinking. Creativity is one of the major aspects to have in an innovative
leader. Many situations like time pressures, solving errors in critical situations
needs to have critical and creative thinking experience in tough situations to handle
time pressures.
The seven ideas that are advised by the author to improve the skills during
brainstorming sessions are warm-up, set a goal, don’t stop, allow more time, Adapt,
modify, steal, save the evaluation and conversation and remember the rules (Kevin
11. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 11
Eikenberry, 2007). Different methods for brainstorming methods give different
information from the people participating and using different brainstorming tools
like round robin, freewheeling, a hybrid, Slips or private brainstorming and small
groups will help them to bring out innovative and creative thoughts from the
participants. Graham Wallas defined four-step process in the book that we wrote
called The Art of Thought (1949) which is been still used and those four steps
include preparation, incubation, inspiration and evaluation. Some of the steps to
increase creative results in the work includes look at problems in different ways,
invite other opinions, force relationship by thinking in metaphors, make thoughts
visible, and make novel combinations (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Innovation is the act of putting an idea (or ideas) into action (Kevin
Eikenberry, 2007). Author determined six gets which helps team to get more creative
ideas and they are get aligned, get clarified, get organized, get help, get focused, and
get over them. There are some kind of risk involved in the change or innovation like
emotional risk which include fear, foolish, blame, mistake and other is logical or
rational risks which include idea not working, not able to solve the problem.
Remarkable Leaders Value Collaboration and Teamwork:
“We just need to help people get along and get to know each other better”
(Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). Author says this is how a team has to request for team
building. Team performance will improve when all team members come together
and request for team building and get guidance towards building their team, which
make them strong as a team and helps in the growth of the organization.
The CARB Model:
12. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 12
These are the for dimensions which help in the team building
Commitment to the team and each other: Commitment is powerful; without it, the
work of teams won’t be successful as possible (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). Belief,
agreements, trust and support are the critical factors of the commitment to the
team.
Alignment and goal agreement: The main reason for the team being lonely is
optimism, omission, and lack of clarity. It takes effort to get a team in alignment with
the organization’s goals and strategies, and it is impossible if those goals and
strategies don’t exist (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Relationships among team members: “We need people to get to know each other
better” (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). Relationship in between team members is very
important because the stronger the relationship better the results will be. They have
to know each other very well and also they have to be feel free to ask questions to
each other which makes them strong enough to face any difficult task
Behaviors and skills: When you put people together on teams, they will perform
more confidently and successfully if they have the right skills (Kevin Eikenberry,
2007). People working in teams should have a quality of willing to share or
collaborate. Individuals can solve some problems, sometimes a sub team will tackle
a problem, and sometimes the entire team will be required (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Willing to continuously learn and improving skills should be in the behaviour of the
leader because today’s job will be much difficult tomorrow. Change in technology
and many other things in the world demands everyone to improve more and more
to be the best always in their field.
13. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 13
The Leader as a Facilitator:
Your role as facilitator is to make it easier for the group to progress toward
its goals (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
The leader is concerned about the content of the meeting; he or she is constantly
thinking about what is being said, if ideas being discussed can be achieved, if they fit
into the budget and the implications of these ideas or actions across the
organization or on other projects (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
A true facilitator isn’t concerned with these questions at all. Rather, the facilitator is
concerned with the process of the meeting; he or she is constantly thinking about
what appending is and how it works toward the successful achievement of the
meeting’s desired outcomes (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Some of the great skills of a good facilitator-leader are listening, recognizing both
roles, provide suggestions and feedback, provide process structure, keep quiet and
observe without judgment.
Problems and decision-making:
As quoted by John Dulles, “The measure of success is not whether you have a
tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.”(Kevin
Eikenberry, 2007). In this chapter, the author has made an enlightening effort in
illuminating the role of decision-making ability in a leader and the approach to maximize
benefits by tackling the situations.
Questioning: According to the author is an important skill to have in a leader, In ones
opinion, it is this skill that effects the decision making ability in a leader, as from
questioning one can explore opportunities to address the issues (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
14. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 14
Elaborating this fact, the author quotes that” It is the rightful reasons that generate key
questions”, also the success or the desired outcome can only be achieved by having the
right intent (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). In questioning process it always starts with the
purpose or the intent and ends with the action that we desire to take in answering the
question (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Problem- Solving is another skill set, according to the author is a must have
ability in a leader, the author went on to elaborate in a four step model, The PDCA cycle
(Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). It includes the “Planning step” followed by the “To Do stage”,
next is the “Check step” and finally the “Act step”( Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). Among
these steps it is the Planning stage, which has a substantial weight age and importance in
comparison to the others, it determines the out comes and guides the next following
stages. As quoted by the author, “ During his corporate training sessions in Chevron he
taught a seven step model, out of, which four were in the planning stage”, here the author
is once again trying to stress the point “Planning” as a crucial phase in problem solving.
Approach and Strategies: In here the author talks about the “Famous four”
approaches/Strategies.” Independent, Consultative, Collaborative, Consensus.”
In the whole the author has put immense stress on the importance “Delegating, Values,
Data and Intuition”(Kevin Eikenberry, 2007) he termed these as some of the key decisive
factors having an impact on the leadership abilities of a person.
Responsibility and Accountability: “To be accountable is to be answerable, liable or
responsible”(Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). In this account the author is reiterating the fact
that “ If you want to be a remarkable leader, you must take accountability
seriously”(Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). In a follow through to the above quote, the author
15. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 15
beautifully explained the importance of “Personal Accountability” with his personal
experience in a conference room, he quoted “ There is no they. You are they. Until you
take personal and collective responsibility for what is in your control, you wont move this
organization to where you want it to be.” (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007) Elaborating the
above fact, the author discussed about the two factors, which get in the way of personally
accountability “Blame and being a Victim”. In accordance to the author, Delegating is
another aspect of interest, which has its own “pushers and blockers”, in his opinion the
biggest barriers are the personal beliefs, values, habits, finally you (Kevin Eikenberry,
2007). The author then went on to replace “Delegation “ with “Sharing responsibility” he
also quoted “Remarkable leaders don’t delegate; they share responsibility” (Kevin
Eikenberry, 2007), as he believes it will give a new dimensional approach and improve
the overall efficiency. Coupled with “Delegation” the author tried to shift the focus on
“Empowerment” He states “Delegation is done to people and Empowerment is done with
people” (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). The author then categorized empowerment where it
depends on the boundaries, Resources and Latitude (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). Cultural
accountability is another important term, where the author stressed the fact that “In any
organization, it is the sum of all the people, which makes up the organization as a whole,
so holding the people around you accountable will ultimately lead to a domino effect,
where every individual will in fact become accountable to their actions in the
organization, thereby changing the cultural dimensions.
Project and Process Management: In account to these aspects, the author tried to
differentiate both project from process management, as these two sets of management
abilities go hand in hand. In leaders, the ability to lead the project from the front makes
16. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 16
them remarkable (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). The author went on explaining about
different project management skills. In comparison to the project the process is the step
involved in carrying out the project successfully, they often involve various parameters,
such as the consumers, suppliers and other key contributors. “Remarkable leaders often
support and enable process improvement” (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
Goals and support: In here the author quoted the famous speech of then President of the
United States, John F. Kennedy, the speech was about putting the first man on the moon,
he was a goal setter and after careful assessment set this bold goal, he was an aggressive
and a remarkable leader of that time, having set the humongous task of putting the first
man on moon, the president worked towards making the goal a reality and was successful
in achieving it. It was evident, without setting a bold goal, it would have never been
possible to achieve something of this magnitude in those times (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007).
The above example of the president clearly states the importance of goal setting in ones
pursuit towards becoming a remarkable leader, later the author gave some key pointers in
regard to goal-setting involving the size, belief, investment, action and commitments,
these five aspects play a key role in ones mind-set (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). In his book
the author went a step ahead and gave some key pointer towards personal goal setting as
following.
Step 1: Dream
Step 2: Tangible goal statement
Step 3: List the benefits you’ll acquire
Step 4: Identify the barriers
Step 5: Resources required
17. REMARKABLE LEADERSHIP 17
Step 6: Need to learn
Step 7: Set a date
Step 8: Commitment
In here the author reiterates the importance of personal goal setting in a leaders
life. As a leader he should be a vision creator, and lead the organization from fore front,
In this book the author discussed about the importance and role of a leader in having a
visionary mind, he should be a motivator and a guide to other subordinates and help them
reach their personal milestones in life done in a collaborative way (Kevin Eikenberry,
2007). As a leader, he should be ever ready to lend support and play an important role in
assisting other individual’s reach their goals.
The power of alignment: In his book the author has also mentioned upon the importance
of alignment of goals in comparison to one individual and the organization (Kevin
Eikenberry, 2007). It is the linkage between an individual’s goal and the organizations,
which makes the company successful. To help us out the author gave several ways to
ensure alignment, which include Understanding, Ask, Create, Identify, Make, Question,
and Eliminate. The author has also gave detailed description about the process involved
in goal setting, they are as follows, Having a clear picture, Communication, Investment
of time, Enthusiasm and finally tracking the progress (Kevin Eikenberry, 2007). Finally it
is this ability of a leader to set goals and support, which ultimately pay dividends to the
organization.
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Reference:
Eikenberry. K, (2007). Remarkable Leadership, Publication: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Edition 2007, printed in San Francisco, USA.