Learning Unit 1: Leadership.

Learning Unit 1:

Leadership.

SESSION 1:

What is leadership?

Learning outcomes:

• Various definitions of leadership are identified and explained with examples • The concepts of leadership and management are differentiated using examples • The circumstances when a team leader manages, and leads are explained with

examples from the work context.

• The roles and qualities of a leader are explained using examples.

• The concepts of leadership and management are differentiated using examples • The circumstances when a team leader manages, and leads are explained with

examples from the work context.

• Various theories of leadership are identified according to theory and practice. • The leadership approach of the team is diagnosed according to individual needs and

organizational requirements.

• Leadership techniques are implemented in order to improve group dynamics and achieve objectives

Introduction

The key focus in being able to effectively implement tasks in business is to have effective leadership of people, functions, resources and systems within an organization. Leadership is all about influencing actions, thinking, attitudes and behaviours of others as well as determining the map that will guide you (as leaders) and your organization to new heights of success and competitiveness.

Leadership Definition:

SESSION 1 & 2: BUSINESS ETHICS

Learning Outcomes:

• The components of the ‘Moral Compass’ are described according to theory and practice.

• The team leader identifies team members’ positions on the ‘Moral Compass’ according to observed behaviour.

• The relationship between ethics and the Constitution is explained according to group and individual rights and responsibilities.

• Code of Conduct is explained, with reference to organisational documentation. • The concept of a Code of Conduct is compared to the principles in the Constitution

and the ‘Moral Compass’ within the context of an organisation.

• The consequences of non-compliance with a code are explained with examples. • Potential conflict between a personal value system and organisational Code of

Conduct is identified, with examples.

• Aspects of Code of Conduct are applied according to Standard Operating Procedures.

• Examples of deviations, past or present, from the code of conduct are identified and remedial action, if appropriate, is taken according to Standard Operating Procedures.

• The importance of reporting deviations in areas beyond team leader’s area of responsibility is explained according to the Code of Conduct.

Overview:

Business ethics is causing rising concern in South Africa. Reports of corruption, white-collar crime and poor ethical standards are a regular occurrence with regular media reports.

South African companies and the state continue to lose millions of Rands through crimes like theft, fraud and corruption. One company reported a loss of over R 100

million in its Gauteng operation alone in the last financial year resulting in poor year-end results.

A recent survey on fraud respondents in Africa declared that 80% of them have been exposed to fraudulent practices and 60% admitted that they were convinced that these practices were part of organised crime. In South Africa 66% of the respondents have experienced fraud in their businesses.

The extent to which the workforce accepts good corporate governance and conduct throughout an organisation, deserves to be a strategic imperative driven through transformation initiatives and should include organisational change processes at all levels.

Bottom line, a culture of ethical business conduct starts with management who through a thorough understanding of ethical principles and communication can instill a culture of ethics within your department or division.

A Moral Compass:

A compass is a relatively simple instrument based on a simple concept. With its northward facing needle, it is a vital tool used for locating physical direction. By placing “moral” in front of compass, we bring to mind a clear picture of mental processes that point a person in a particular direction in life. These processes are the true indicators upon which personal belief and action can be based.

A recent article in The Los Angeles Daily News serves as a good example. Written by reporter and columnist Tony Castro, the article was titled: “The Moral Compass Suddenly Goes South.” The clear implication is that society is generally going in the opposite direction of acceptable moral and ethical standards. The author makes a superb case based on the recent actions of notable public figures—starlets and celebrities who operate outside and above the common laws of society, sports superstars who see themselves as immune to prosecution, and politicians and religious leaders whose moral compass examples raise serious questions about right and wrong.

How can it be possible to build a moral compass that can give the same north reading for all members of society when the mainstream belief of the population is that knowledge is endlessly evolving—that actions and beliefs must of necessity be fluid and adaptable to society’s changing popular culture?

Most people today don’t want to know where “north” is in case that information would interfere with their lifestyle. Because of man’s tendency to always treat the effects instead of addressing the cause, the solution to wavering moral compasses will continue to prove obscure. Until society comes to a full realisation of the need for a single absolute authority on what is moral and what is immoral (right and wrong), no solution will ever be possible.

Attitude, Values & Behaviour:

Attitudes reflect how one feels about something. When you say, ‘I like my job’, you are expressing your attitude about work. Attitudes are evaluative statements or judgements concerning objects, people, or events. Attitudes in the work place affect the way people do their work, how they behave towards colleagues and supervisors. It also affects the contribution they make in terms of team-work and overall contribution to the company. Values:

Values are not the same as attitudes, but they are interconnected. A value is a belief defined as “beliefs about what is desirable or good, for example: free speech and what is undesirable or a bad (i.e., dishonesty).” What you believe will influence your attitude and reflect in your behaviour.

Behaviours:

Behaviour is a component of attitude and refers to an intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or something. When someone does not like another person, it may be obvious in their behaviour towards that person, for example: ignoring them when they are around, delivering negative comments about the person, etc. Research shows that most people want consistency between their attitude and their behaviour towards something or someone. When a person’s attitude towards something/ someone changes, their behaviour will reflect the change in attitude.

Value Statements and Related Behaviours:

Empathy: Acknowledging, accepting and communicating an understanding of another _{person’s thoughts, feelings, values and beliefs.} Verbal: Verbally expressing views and ideas, giving instructions or requesting _{information in a clear and concise manner.} Time

management: Efficiently planning and prioritising time in response to incoming needs, and in response to the nature of those demands. Assertiveness: Communicating opinions, beliefs and suggestions honestly and constructively _{without becoming disrespectful to others.} Proactive: Anticipating situations, problems and opportunities and executing plans to _{address or take advantage thereof.} Learning: When faced with new information, willingly exploring and re-assessing the situation and changing one’s own thinking, behaviour and skills set to meet

demands and changes.

Integrity: Consistently acting and behaving in ways that are congruent and aligned with one’s espoused values, theories and beliefs. Includes congruence, trustworthiness, reliability, and internal consistency.

Service Orientated:

Continually expresses a predominant concern for providing help to others and serving their needs over his/her own, often in the service of high moral and ethical standards. Includes selfless, generous, customer-focused, and reliable. Optimism:

Tends to feel a genuine positive regard for others, and generally expects the best out of them and social situations. More generally expects things will turn out for the better in the future. Includes enthusiastic, accepting, resilient, positive attitude.

Collaborative: Continually expresses a predominant concern for creating effective _{relationships with others; establishing win-win partnerships, trust, and shared.} Purpose: Includes warm, friendly, relationship oriented, Team builder.

Sense of Urgency:

Tends to feel personal responsibility and accountability for making critical decisions about tasks and getting things done in a timely and unhesitating fashion. Includes disciplined, impatient, focused, driven.

Conflict

handling: Facilitating tough disagreements, settling disputes equitably, finding common ground and obtaining cooperation with minimum disruption. Empathising: Acknowledging, accepting and communicating an understanding of another _{person’s thoughts, feelings, values and beliefs.} Listening: Attending to, hearing and understanding the verbal expressions of others, detecting key points and issues, and communicating to the other they have

been heard. Logical

reasoning:

Documents a process through to a logical conclusion. Argues own point of view based on factual evidence. Identifies the underlying cause when presented with an issue or problem.

Multi-skilled performer:

Demonstrates necessary competencies to produce his/her outputs well. Continually strives to improve skill sets and assure total quality. Multi-skilled team member in terms of processes the team works with.

Decision-making:

Participates in decision-making regarding decisions that directly impact the team. Assimilates and information for making decisions which directly impact the team.

Problem solving: Is always on the lookout for problems that may arise as the team goes about its work. Recommends or gets the team to identify alternatives that will solve the problem. Skilled in a variety of problem-solving techniques.

Customer focus:

Has a strong awareness of customer wants and needs coupled with a strong desire to meet them – is proactive in suggesting ways to meet current and anticipated customer needs. Takes ownership when dealing with a customer’s request. Keeps customers informed of progress along the way.

Team member:

Demonstrates a willingness to train and develop others by sharing knowledge. Provides constructive feedback to team members for their contributions. Volunteers to help team members with their tasks when appropriate. Coaches team members in identified outputs and behaviours that need improvement.

Ethics and the South African Constitution:

The South African Constitution governs societal, professional and individual ethics. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which was signed by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December 1996 and implemented during 1997, embodies the spirit of the values and norms of our society.

An important component of this constitution is the Bill of Rights (Chapter 2). The Bill outlines the fundamental rights afforded to all South Africans and shows the ideal balance between entitlement (that which is our right) and obligation (respecting the rights and values of others).

The Constitution as a Source of a Code of Ethics:

The Bill of Rights (Chapter 2) outlines these rights for us. The first right mentioned in this chapter is the right to equality. It states that all must be equal before the law and all must be entitled to equal protection of the law.

Other rights included in Chapter 2, which also need to be mentioned in the context of business ethics, are:

• The right of freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion. • The right to freedom of expression.

• The right to assemble, to picket and demonstrate with others peacefully and unarmed and to present petitions.

• The right to freedom of association.

• The right to freely engage in economic activity and to pursue a livelihood anywhere in the national territory.

• The right to fair labour practices.

• The right to use the language and to participate in the cultural life of his/her choice.

Ethics and the Law:

During the last few years there have been many changes to legislation to introduce the principles described in the Bill of Rights.

Being ethical and being lawful is not the same. Situations could arise where a law has not been broken but a Code of Conduct and the underlying ethics have been broken. "Ethics and corporate governance is a simple practice if you practice it in practice," said Heath, suggesting that whilst few people consciously work towards ethical behaviour, the importance of ethics in business cannot be stressed enough.

During a recent address, Heath asked the audience if anyone believed that their business was intentionally operating in a criminally negligent fashion; and then with a wry smile on his face, he noted that by being ignorant of what the law requires we are in fact committing a crime.

The Role of Conduct:

Organisational ethics involves understanding how values, an organisation’s standards of good and fair conduct, shape the decisions and actions of those people making decisions on its behalf. The actions of organisations and its stakeholders need to conform to a set of ethical rules as defined by society, by laws and regulations, and within the organisation by policies and procedures.

The need to develop a culture within an organisation can be described in terms of six imperatives: • Moral Imperative • Legal Imperative • Reputation Imperative • Pragmatic Imperative • Change Imperative • Global Imperative

The King III Report:

The generally accepted Code of Conduct refers to the recommendations of a document known as the King III Report. The King III Report provides guidelines to businesses to how best run their organisations ethically, corporate citizenship and sustainable development as well as how to integrate these into daily business activities. As such it is the generally accepted Code of Conduct in South Africa.

Published by the Institute of Directors in September 2009, the document contains a blueprint for ethics and good corporate governance (how to run your company).

The King Committee on Governance has highlighted several key areas, including sustainability, risk management and IT governance:

• Sustainability • Risk management • IT governance

• Disclosure of remuneration • No ‘one size fits all’

The Role of a Code of Ethics:

It is usually two components combined in one document: • Values Statement

• Code of Conduct

Source of Ethics:

Certain industries have specific requirements regarding ethics, especially with regards to conflict of interest and other ethical dilemmas; and resulting codes of conflict reflect this.

Ethical Principles:

Adhering to ethical principles is clearly “doing what is right,” but it is not that simple. Ethical principles are based on the organisational values, and values are never absolute. In other words, they are based on judgments and individual points of view.

Responding to a Breach of the Ethical Principles:

The response to a breach of the ethical principles should be documented in a procedure and communicated to all employees and their managers. There is no reason why an ethical breach should not be treated as a disciplinary issue and the existing disciplinary procedure followed.

Corporate Code of Ethics:

Ethical decisions are not easy to make; it is a complex process affected by many factors. The best way to deal with ethical decisions is to make sure you deal with facts and consider the consequences of your decisions. When having to make an ethical decision you need to follow a process which should ideally be documented:

• Investigate the facts and issues surrounding the case.

• Consider all external and internal parties involved and the implications to all. • Consider obligations and identify possible solutions.

• Implement solutions and document actions. • Evaluate effectiveness and future prevention.

Personal Values and Ethics:

Here is a process that can be followed to accomplish this balance:

• Take an inventory of your or an employee’s personal ethics. Ask the following questions, among others:

o What values do I/he/she hold? o What beliefs does I/he/she have?

o How do these values and beliefs apply to the business world?

• Observe organisational ethics. Everyone in the organisation should be familiar with the code of ethics. It is also important to make careful observation of the implied ethical standards at play within the organisation.

• Compare personal and organisational ethics. Think of specific ways in which values can contribute to the business. For example, suppose the organisation does not limit the number of sick days an employee may take per year. Although employees have been given the freedom to call in sick as much as they want, personal values probably tell them to call in sick only when necessary. In this way the organisation benefits from personal values.

Conflict of Interest:

Not complying with ethics can have severe consequences for an organisation. In addition, employees and shareholders take notice of an organisation’s unethical activities. Another reason for acting ethically involves government interactions with businesses. When an organisation has protected the environment and acted in the best interest of the community, the government is likely to be more lenient with the organisation. Unfortunately, it is not an organisation that acts unethically but the people who form part of that organisation. Employees and management could behave unethically for a number of reasons:

• Personal gain • Profit pressures • Global operations • Customer care • Employee Safety

SESSION 3: TIME MANAGEMENT

Learning Outcomes:

• The purpose of a task list for yourself and one’s team is explained using examples. • A task list is produced for the team sequenced to meet organisational

requirements.

• Information and documentation required are recorded on the task list and flagged for further action.

• Criteria for prioritising tasks are explained according to organisational, personal goals and values.

• Information is recorded systematically in the diary according to generally accepted practice.

• Resources and the acquisition thereof are identified according to the task list. • Use and maintain a diary.

• Implement and maintain a personal and team task list.

Introduction:

Time management, like the management of other resources, benefits from analysis and planning. To understand and apply time management principles, you must not only know how you use time, but also what problems you encounter in using it wisely and what causes them (HOW< PROBLEMS & CAUSES). From this base you can learn to improve your effectiveness and efficiency through better time management. Time management is a personal process and must fit your style and circumstances. It takes strong commitment to change old habits; however, this choice is available and yours for the taking.

Benefits of Time Management:

• Increases productivity. • Identifies priorities. • Accomplishes goals.

A Time Management Profile:

To start managing your time more effectively, you need to create a personal time management profile. A time management profile is created by doing a self-analysis of how you spend your time and then evaluating it against how you should be spending

your time. This would then give you a starting point to managing your time more effectively.

Common Time Management Misconceptions:

• To do a job properly, do it yourself. • There is only one right way to do a job. • Time management is a waste of time. • A good time manager lacks creativity.

Managing Time Wasters:

A Time-Waster is anything that that decreases your productivity and your effectiveness. It usually causes a shift in attention away from your priorities. There are three major categories of Time-Wasters:

1. Lack of planning.

2. Lack of self-management.

3. Lack of control over the work environment.

Strategies to Save Time:

• Manage the decision-making process, not the decisions. • Concentrate on doing only one task at a time.

• Establish daily, short-term, mid-term, and long-term priorities.

• Handle correspondence expeditiously with quick, short letters and memos. • Throw unneeded things away.

• Establish personal deadlines and ones for the organisation.

• Do not waste other people’s time – you are probably wasting your own as well. • Ensure all meetings have a purpose, time limit, and include only essential people. • Maintain accurate calendars; abide by them.

• Know when to stop a task, policy, or procedure.

• Delegate everything possible and empower subordinates. • Use checklists and To-Do lists.

Procrastination:

Procrastination means repeatedly deferring or delaying action. We do it in order to: • Put off unpleasant tasks especially those involving people in sensitive or emotional

situations.

• Avoid difficult or large tasks which do not fit naturally into our day-to-day work pattern.

• Avoid unfamiliar activities especially those where the outcome is unknown, or we do not know what to do if a mistake is made.

Principles of Time Management:

There are five key principles for time management:

1. Preparation:

Two important facets of preparation are an individual’s prime time and an individual’s energy level.

2. Balance aspects of life:

You need to create a sense of balance between the various aspects of your life and of work. This principle is often called total “lebensraum.” You need to ensure that you create a balance between working time and family time.

Remember that one's overall health and wellness require attention to six important life areas:

• Physical (exercise, nutrition, sleep) • Intellectual (cultural, aesthetic)

• Social (intimate and social relationships) • Career (school and career goal directed work) • Emotional (expression of feelings, desires) • Spiritual (quest for meaning)

3. Planning:

The key to successful time management is planning and then protecting the planned time. People who say that they have no time do not plan or fail to protect planned time. If you plan what to do and when, and then stick to it, then you will have time.

Planning is a proactive way to manage your days. To plan is to outline a course of action to achieve an intended result.

In order to plan effectively all factors that may have an influence on the implementation of the plan should be taken into consideration, such as: • Finances

• Manpower • Change • Approval

4. Prioritising tasks:

Priorities are your objectives ranked in order of importance. Priorities can either have the characteristic of having long-range importance or short-range urgency.

The Pareto Principle: “A small number of causes (20%) are responsible for a large part of the effect (80%)”. The relationship between input and output is not balanced.

5. Delegation:

Delegation is one of the most important management skills and one of the easiest to get wrong. Delegation can be defined as: Giving someone you trust one of your tasks to do. In giving the person the task to do, you give him/her the authority to make certain decisions and the responsibility to complete the task to certain standards.

Creating a Time Management Plan:

By creating a work plan, you can determine which areas of work you tend to neglect and in which areas you tend to spend too much time.

• Commit your plans to paper. • Keep track of time.

• Create your ideal schedule. • Modify your current schedule.

The Process of Prioritising

U R G E N T I M P O R T A N T Low High High

Obstacles for creating a Time Management Plan:

• Projects taking longer than anticipated. • Crises.

Steps for Creating a Time Management Plan:

The more defined our goals are the more likely you are to achieve them. Vague goals are difficult to achieve. If you cannot define it, how do you know when you have achieved it?

Goals should be SMART:

S specific Is the goal defined so I know when I have achieved it? M measurable Is the goal, or its achievement quantifiable?

A achievable Is achieving the goal even possible? R relevant Is achieving the goal important to me?

T time bound Does the goal have a time frame attached to it? 2. Determine objectives to meet your goals:

• State each goal as a positive statement. • Be precise.

• Set priorities.

• Keep operational goals small.

• Set performance goals, not outcome goals. • Set realistic goals.

• Do not set goals too low.

3. Create a strategy:

• Once you have identified your goals and the objectives of those goals, you need to create a strategy.

• Write down all possible ways to accomplish your goals.

• Determine who needs to be involved in the implementation of your plan to achieve these goals, as well as what tools you’ll need.

• Determine how much time each possible strategy will take you, • And choose the best strategy after discussing it with others involved.

4. Implement the strategy:

After you have chosen the best strategy, decide when you should implement it by determining where your goals fit in to your list of priorities.

Gather all tools, talk with the others involved in your plan, and implement it by

delegating tasks you can delegate and ensuring that each team member understands what is expected of them.

5. Re-evaluate and re-prioritise when necessary:

Business is dynamic and as a manager it is your responsibility to ensure that in order to meet operational requirements your time management plan is flexible enough to meet new challenges head-on.

Translate your Goals into Work Plans:

“Plan your work and work your plan” is an old but effective saying.

Now that you know how to manage your time you are ready to start building a work plan.

PLANNING = What you have to do SCHEDULING = When you have to do it When planning and scheduling you must:

• Ask questions to make sure everything is covered.

• Encourage participation from team members to make them part of the process and ensure that you have their buy-in.

• Create awareness by communicating key aspects of the planning process to stakeholders.

• Prompt action by asking team members to participate in the information gathering process.

• Solve problems that may potentially impact negatively on the work plan before implementation.

• Formalise decisions by finalising your plan and,

Elements of a Work Schedule:

Elements related to planning and scheduling include any of the following: • Company strategy and goals

• Execution strategy

• Work breakdown structure

• Organisation breakdown structure • Critical path method

• Schedule bar chart • Procurement schedule • Resource histogram • Budgets and cash-flow • Communication plan • Quality plan

• Risk management plan

Developing the Work Plan:

Proper work planning consists of reviewing: • The scope of work.

• Stakeholder requirements.

• Allocation and division of responsibility.

• Objectives/work packages/major activities to be performed. • Determine a preferred sequence.

• Identify constraints limiting effective delivery.

Planning Actions:

As a departure point it is necessary to remember that project planning requires two fundamental actions: Breaking down the work and allocating the resources.

Scheduling the Work Plan:

• Sequence the work by prioritising and putting deliverables and the related objectives and activities into a logical flow or order.

• Attach time frames to the deliverables and activities. In order to schedule the flow of the work, a specific duration should have been allocated to each activity.

Before the total duration (according to calendar or workdays) of a work plan can be documented, a decision regarding the chosen “time-measurement yardstick” should be taken.

Procurement and Resource Planning:

Procurement management deals with the acquirement of goods and services required to perform the work. As part of your plan, you need to prepare a procurement schedule; out of it flows the activities needed to control this function.

Tools for Planning:

Having a work plan is not enough, you also need to plan your own time on a day-to-day basis. Planning is either long-term or short-term. In this book, long-term plans describe what you expect to accomplish during the next three months as well as with any project whose duration exceeds a week. Short-term plans cover what you expect to accomplish today or this week, including steps toward longer-term objectives.

Short-term planning aids: • A To-Do-List

A 'To-Do List' is a list of all the tasks that you need to do. It consolidates all the jobs that you have to do into one list. You can then prioritise these tasks into order of importance. This allows you to tackle the most important ones first.

• Weekly Planner

Use a simple weekly planner to manage and protect your planned activities. You'll manage your time by managing your activities - that means protecting the time slots you plan for your tasks. Time management is mainly dependent on planning activities into time slots and then protecting the activities from interruptions, whether from other people or your own distractions.

• Diary

- Write everything into your diary in pencil - this can then be erased when and if dates and times change.

- Enter all key events for the year into your diary - include public holidays, booked holidays, special company dates (e.g. year end, month end), birthdays, social meetings, reminders about dentist/eye check-ups, car, subscription renewals etc.

- Enter all meetings into your diary - showing start times, estimated finishing times, travel times, location (with phone number if outside the office), and who is going to be at the meeting; both from your company and others.

- Book meetings with yourself - just because you don’t have a meeting with another person does not mean you don't need time to work or think in peace and quiet.

- Devise a series of colours that will allow you to indicate in the diary which times are for you alone, which are with others, and which are free.

- Agree to rules with others on when they can allocate time in your diary - for themselves or for others.