Business Policy

Why are We Assessing Leadership Roles and Styles?

Wrede, KW Cognitive Biases, Critical Thinking, Leadership, Leadership Development, Organization Development, Policy, Resource Management, Uncategorized , , , , , ,

Personality (0)What is the point of all of it?

Millions of dollars are spent each year on personality assessment tests.  But, nobody can express a clear reason why.

“Two and a half million Americans a year take the Myers-Briggs. Eighty-nine companies out of the US Fortune 100 make use of it, for recruitment and selection or to help employees understand themselves or their co-workers.”[1]

Almost 90% of Fortune 100 companies perform these tests.  This is amazing to me.

I have taken these assessments.  After receiving my results, my first thought always is: interesting, but so what?

I see a lot of commentary and articles on how to assess leadership styles and roles.

  • Are you a democratic leader, authoritarian, or somewhere in between (here)?
  • What is your personality type (FIRO-B, MBTI)?
  • What is your role as a team member (Belbin)?

Are these useful tools?  Can we use them to predict behaviors or successes? Continue reading →

Leadership – Nature vs Nurture

Wrede, KW Leadership, Leadership Development, Organizational Culture, Policy, Resource Management , , , , ,

Nature vs Nurture Balance (0)Leadership, like any human attribute, comes down to DNA and culture – Nature versus Nurture.

I am firmly convinced that every skill necessary to be a great leader can, unequivocally, be learned and mastered by anyone.  Full stop.

That is the “Nurture” part.

The skills and the theory represent a limited field of knowledge.  With the proper structuring and the opportunity to develop experience, any person can become a leader.  Many often are, if not in their work place.

Here’s where “Nature” kicks in…

If you ever saw me play basketball, you’d watch with your eyes wide open as your jaw dropped in wonder… you’d be wondering “is he really that bad or is he just clowning around?”  No matter how much nurture I get, I’ll ever overcome my terrible basketball DNA.

There are two kinds of people who will never be good leaders regardless of the training or nurturing.  The ones who shun the responsibility of leadership and the ones who believe that a leadership development class is a confirmation of their greatness and is their first step toward…

WORLD DOMINATION!!

Continue reading →