Leadership Development: A Perspective on Leadership Styles
When we do management and leadership development, we like to invite the managers involved, as well as employee leaders, to look at extremes of leadership styles. The process also distinguishes somewhat between management and leadership.
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Ed Oakley Making Managers Into Leaders
Nice site. There’s some good information on here. I’ll be checking back regularly.
Hi Ed,
Very interesting concept and one I have been exposed to from another trainer.
The servant leadership was first introduced to me by Ken Balnchard and latter in common sense selliong. The sales organization I am leading has the inverse Prramid as the basis for management.
Morey
Excellent video, very inspiring and very timely. Right length. The flip chart could have been closer to the camera..minor detail.
Keep up the good work!. I look forward to more.
Eva
Hi Ed,
I remember your presentation at the Quantum Leap Celebration.
You have a beautiful and engaging way of presenting material I have feared to be tedious and boring in the past.
I love the way you create an exciting story in this brief presentation, give a lot of valuable information, and leave me hungry for more.
Thank you!!
Susan Kano, Berkeley, CA
Good information. The video was just long enough to provide valuable jewels of information. I hope there is s continuation of the servant leadership topic, since there is so much more to servant leadership than just the asking style. All-in-all I thought it would be useful for managers to view and understand.
Good stuff. I came into my position with that, “you will do it my way additude,” and it did not work well for me at all. I am now at the stage of gaining trust and respect, while choosing the things I enforce carfully.
Thank you.
The message is good-should be required material for any leader/manager. Great way to market yourself too!
A very efficient way to remind of ‘basic truths in leadership’ – visual transmission providing for higher impact than any newsletter could make. I also like the familiar office ambience (no podium). Looking forward to the next ‘pearl of the day’.
Georg
Thank you, Ed! Video was fantastic! The conversational training style was refreshing and held my attention. You spoke with clarity and confidence. Timing was just right. I loved the blend of theory and stories. Excellent job of “re-mixing” what many of us may have learned over the years, but longed to hear in a new way. The low-tech backdrop felt safe and inviting; like sitting in the home of a trusted friend. Great effort…impressive result!
Ed,
I found that I’m more of a manager than a Leader. This is an area I will be looking at more closely this year.
Thanks.
Really enjoyed the video. We’ve always tried to incorporate both types of management. We want our employees to feel their ideas and suggestions matter. Keep up the good work - I’m looking forward to the next video.
Hello Ed;
Good information, but would recommend a few changes.
I may have mentioned to this forum before that I work in an organization that seems to beg for managers rather than leaders. Is that even possible or is my perception flawed? That is, we can’t lead people because they don’t want it. They want to have their tasks defined for them; be told exactly what to do. This training is thought provoking but I have an overlying question at to whether a manager can be a leader amongst people who do not want (or appear to want) to be led?
A friend forwarded information on your series to me. I have signed up and look forward to the future installments. We have worked with your company in the past and always find your efforts valuable and effective. Keep ‘em coming. I intend to pass this on.
Thanks!
I liked the video. The length was perfect, it was a good concept and you’re a great presenter. I think this concept could have been shorter and tied into another concept to strengthen it. It was hard for me to keep paying attention because it was a little slow. I definitely want you to continue the videos, just trying to help with the feedback.
Thanks!
Thanks for the opportunity to reveiw this video. It is definitely an interesting concept and I plan to share it with my managers.
Very informative yet brief and to the point. I
Very informative ,yet brief and to the point.
I make good use of both aspects of leadership style in the work environment. As a result, I have seen the effectiveness as well as an increase in the degree of participation in solving solutions. I am forwardng the video to my peers. Thanks
Short, to the point. Agree that the flip chart should be closer to the camera, or perhaps zoom and direction controls could be added to enable the view to pan back and forth. I like the blend of the situational leadership concept - felt like it should get more flip chart “time”.
Your message is right in line with the overarching theme of our Leadership Development Series. It is the critical skills of human interaction that our task-talented managers seem to lack. I welcome this mini-module method of reinforcing key components of true leadership, and I look forward to sharing your series with my colleagues. Thank you.
Ed, I agree with many of the comments which have been provided. The length is perfect and the message a good one. The challenge from my view, will it be adequate to effect behavior. This is harder to address, but believe the length is right, so you may choose to repeat the message from different angles in future videos. I like the approach. Thanks
Jesus said “If you want to be the greatest in the kingdom of God, you need to become the servant of all”.
The model of servant leadership depicted in the video supports his statement rather well. And, Ed’s real life example proves its effectiveness.
Just like our relationship to God, both models of leadership, telling and asking, are essential to the overall success of life.
Excellent presentation Ed.
Excellant video! An interesting concept that is personally very timely. I am also experiencing problems with ideas not being provided from the lower levels.
I realize that I am more of a manager than a leader.
I will be looking at the service leader model more closely in the future.
Ed
Thank you for the “bite” size nugget on Leadership Styles. Clear & concise and very easy to understand your approach to Manager vs Leadership roles in organizations.
Would suggest that you might like to consider a one page handout that would accompany the video. All those who watch the material could build their own Leadership workbook. Just a “thought”
Good stuff. Looking forward to the next video.
I enjoyed it. It gave a balance to the leadership styles. It let me know when to use what style. Servant leader style seems to be the most effective and should be used the most often. I would add time considerations not just control in order to address some other reasons why control style is used most often in todays world. It takes a lot more time to get to a decision because of relationship building that happens in servant leadership then the control/style of leadership. Servant leader seems to be long term focused and control style is short term focused and with the way most managers/leaders move around and change jobs no wonder the control style is more widely used instead of servant leadership as you suggested.
Thank you Ed for the excellent informative short video. The visual representation of EL material is more effective than a newsletter to drive home leadership concepts. Looking forward to the next one.
Ed - Well done! I appreciate the fact that you funneled the “manager/leader style” concept down to the “value of asking questions vs. giving direction.” Kudos also for painting the pictures of too much of one style as well as a real life example of what success looks like with your personal testimony at HP. Good advice also on when to use the different styles so that you build respect and trust depending on calm or crisis. In future videos, maybe you could spend time on the tactics of asking the right question/s. Look forward to the next snippet.
Ed - a good comparative of “manager vs leader”. The viseo was just the right length to hold my interest. Thanks.
Thanks, good first installment. I think it would have helped to explain this can help move managers to leaders with the information. I never did get a specific name for the “bottom up style”, supportive? asking? or empowering? I will share the concepts and information in leadership training in my organization. Thanks again I am awaiting the second installment. I agree you need a package of management/leadership styles to be most effective and the two you described are part of the package.
I enjoyed the video presentation…very engaging presentation style. Just the right length to impart valuable wisdom of balancing leading with directing. Thank you and I look forward to the next video.
Insightful.
Great video, Ed. It was concise and your personal story will help viewers remember the message. Looking forward to the next video.
Great presentation, right on the mark. Great way to simply explain the different leadership styles. The real life scenarios made it more revelant and relatable. I look forward to more.
This was quite good and informative. It reinforced what I learned in a course on “situational leadership”.
Excellent video. Good comparison of the manager versus
leader management styles. I find that alot a managers naturally lean toward the manager style and need to focus on being a servant leader and ask questions.
This type of communication and training has a strong, positive value. I’m not sure how you plan to market this longer term, but I believe this is a valuable tool that at the very least can be used as a mechanism to advertise your other products and services.
Content and presentation were very good, as we would expect from Ed and EL. The length was good. This could be used to open a meeting with 15 minutes of training before moving on to another agenda or additional training.
Visually, some additional work could be done, as was suggested previously. The centering of the presenter and flipchart were a little off, and the lighting left some shadowing. But nothing major.
Overall, very good. Thanks for including us in the pilot.
Savant leadership story at HP was best part of this presentation.
Your great at driving the point home with a story.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Short. To the point. Good real life example. Left with a single concept to keep in mind. Didn’t take away from a busy schedule. Keep them coming.
Ed,
I really enjoyed the video.
Thank you for offering a valuable lesson in Leadership
setting at my office desk.
Joyce
Good graphics but I agree a zoom in/zoom out on the chart to emphasize the two style diagrams is important. I like the practical story telling, a good leadership trait as opposed to managing the audience. I suggest deeper explanation of how someone can evaluate the type of organization they work within. I cannot always be done thorugh org chart analysis. I also suggest general tips on how to influence change to the right management structure.
Dear Ed
A very interesting video! I strong leadership is not an easy subject to understand, however, you are able and creative to make things more simple to understand. Your video idea is great! congratulations!
Some suggestions:
1. To read Joseph Nye on The Powers to Lead. I think it can give you some good insight for your videos.
2. Sound system to be improved - not clear in your video
3. You should try to dress up something in blue, believe me or not, this makes a big difference when talking in public - your video is public.
4. see points made by our colleague Patrick above.
Keep on with your work, it is always a pleasure to come to your website.
Dear Ed,
Thanks for leading by helping others to understand these principles in a quick and clear fashion. I agree with so many of the above comments, and want to add that the video could be used with a group of managers as a dicussion starter. Short videos with a clear message are not only valuable to an individual, but also to a group seeking a deeper discussion.
Keep these up and thanks for making them available for free. It helps those with tight budgets continue to learn.
KISA a “Keep It Simple Approach” as stated previously short and to the point. Too many of us have sat in all day seminars to get one point. You presented one major point, stated it, discussed it, gave examples, well done.
In agreement with some previous critiques:
1) Improved sound system
2) Improved video quality
3) relaxed setting good, chianti wine bottles
with candles bad
4) Suggest power point with laser pointer
Thank you for the opportunity to review this video. The video was brief, but significant information was related during the showing. This type of video is ideal for short training sessions.
I liked the format and the length. It did not take too much time out of my day to watch it. The content was especially appropriate concerning some issues we are currently facing, too.
No intrusion at all, thanks for the reminder. Great message, really appreciate you sharing your experience. Thank you. I liked the length, able to squeeze a little quadrant II activity into a busy day.
I enjoyed the topic and the mothod in which it was delivered. With such a busy schedule at work it allowed me to view it at home on my own time. I like the opportunity it gave me to share it with my co-workers.
What Worked: The video was effective for me because it was “human” and engaging. It was short enough for me to fit into my workday schedule “on the fly”. The flipchart/visuals were vital. The content was relevant especially in today’s climate..I’m a staunch believer in servant-style leadership. What could be even better: The volume could be higher. (The intro video was louder so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my system.) The flipchart could be closer for improved readability. The content could conclude with an actionable takeaway or a list of actionable best-practices or a “challenge” to prompt the viewers to execute. I look forward to the next video! Brandon- Austin, TX
Thank you very much for including me in this. the information is very interesting and useful. I will be more aware of my actions to better determine my management style and focus more from a leader perspective.
Ed,
Your personal testimony made a powerful illustration for applying servant leadership. That’s what we’re looking for; practical application of leadership!
Thanks
Dear Ed,
Congratulations! I’m hispanic and my english
is not that good but in the way you presented
this video so clear,was very useful to me.
I understand that not everybody is born to be
a leader, but I consider myself with leadership qualities, But what I din’t know until now the
two different kind of leadership styles and
according to what you show in your video I put
myself in the servant leader model and by knowing this you opened my eyes to understand
better the problem that we have in the organization I belong to. that all members dosn’t like the President and is because she’s more like the manager model.
Thank you for your valuable instruction I enjoyed this vido a lot and I’ looking forward to see the next ones
The blessing of God be upon you.
Myrta Rios
Nice work Ed. Your presentation skills are well suited for videos like this. Good topic, however pretty basic if you are already familiar with the concept. Five to eight minutes would be better with links to additonal content, videos, tools etc. Would like to see takeaway tools, action items, how will you apply etc. To make it more engaging would be great to add different camera angles, close ups to flipchart…..however those are extras as the content is good on its own.
Good video – right length, and the verbal message was effectively backed up by diagrams and story-telling. On the scale of natural styles I’m more naturally a question asker. Some challenges for me are finding the right question, and dealing with a team in which some members prefer to be directed and some prefer to be asked.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this video. The information was very interesting and valuable. Good Job-Great idea!!!. This type of video is ideal for short training sessions.
Excellent video. This change is leadership style is evolving in the Government today. In DOT/FAA the Air Traffic Organization, ATO, has recognized the effectiveness of decreasing the layers between the leader and the customer and the leader balancing between the two styles Ed mentioned. Good video.
I enjoyed the presentation style and the length was right. Any critiques I had were already stated by others. It was the first and I know they will improve! Look forward to the ones to come.
Hi Ed,
Excellent presentation. Your conversational method of presentation is very engaging. The Servant model is extremely effective and leaders and managers would be far ahead of the pack by learning it from you.
Excellent presentation!
This is a good presentation of this topic. I am in a Masters Program in Management so this concept is not new to me. The presentation reinforced my understanding and appears to be an effective way to present the material.
I enjoyed the video and your personal insights. The servant model is a very powerful leadership style. This is an important message, especially for our new leaders, as they are anxious to prove themselves; it is natural for them to relate to the manager/control model.
What worked: The video of short and effective, easy fit into the workday.
What could improve: Audible portion of the video.
Hi Ed,
It’s nice to be reminded from time to time of the power of leadership and teams. Too often we get trapped up in our daily tasks that we overlook some of the fundemental concepts that have made us successful. Thanks for the reminder and the battery recharge.
Hi Ed,
This is a good start. Unfortunately, the viedo cut off after about 3 minutes while you were in mid sentence, so I am not sure what the final message you were giving is. What I did see is clearly laid out and easy to grasp. That being said, I reacted to the the term “servant leader” because I find the word “servant” negatively and wonder if other would have a hang-up like I do. For me servant is someone who has no choice in what they are being directed to do.
Great to the point video and concept…Let’s not ever lose sight of the fact that “Servent Leadership” is a personality characteristic anchored in humility, compassion, respect, and love. While many of us as leaders are drivers, with at least a fuzzy vision of what we want to accomplish, it is just simply stated, our vision. It is easy to lose the great around us in our singleminded drive to pursue our goals. I’d really like Servent Leadership taught, not as a style and a goal, but as a how-to…
Good video, much stronger impact than reading the text. Manager and servant leader both can work depend on culture. background bookshelf and shadow is distracting.
Great teaching, thank you.
Nice video. I look forward to more information. It would really be nice, if you started a brief series on each chapter of your book (Enlightened Leadership). It would be nice if you spoke about, the most important issues in each chapter. Thanks.
Hi Ed,
The video can easily be followed and understood. A lot of food for thoughts and basic truth concerning change management. Since I work a lot in Eastern Europe I am faced with an even bigger change step and you help me with the explanation of the differences between both ways to behave.
Thank you.
Ed: Great video and information. I like your approach and style and you pack a lot of good stuff into a short but effective video. Thanks for sharing.
Ken
Nice “bite” size nugget that was very informative.
Hi Ed -
This is a great vehicle to communicate your 20+ years of leadership knowledge to a wider audience. These insights will help many leaders and organizations reach their full potential. I’m glad to see you in action again.
With warm regards,
Adam
Ed, Thank you, as usual your presentation and material was excellent. I intend to adapt and expand the material for teachers, where their classroom is their business and they are the leader. The students are the closeest to the questions about effective teaching strategies.
Thank you,
Where have you been all my career?? Finally a perspective that makes a difference in “management”! I have tried to sell a similar approach here but I am penned in by the “top down” approach. You said the key word toward the end of this training - Relationships. Leadership works best when we build relationships. Thanks!
This video makes perfect sense, and I recently had the opportunity to use enlightened leadership concepts to deal with some difficult change at work, and it worked. I went to my #1 whiney employee and met with him individually to obtain his support and ideas for implementing the new policy that I knew would be unpopular. He came up with a compromise that we were able to sell to my boss, and together we got the rest of my employees to work out the details in a positive manner.
Good information. There are a number of upper level managers that should see this. We have a number of managers that would be well served to hear and practice the leadership model more often.
The video would not play. When I click on play the play arrow disappears and the screen goes blank. I click on rewind and it goes back to the arrow and then goes blank again, and so on and so on, etc.
Not sure why it isn’t working!
first & foremost, I’m working for 17 years in retail business. Great perspective of view, it build’s a strong relationship for individual and it’s enlightened a good follower and leadership in the business my honor to adapt & share it to my friends. I will look forward for a big picture in the future.
Very Good video.
Good presentation. I liked the “single top focus” and the presentation of leader vs manager.
On the technical/production side of things: (a) looks good in full screen - many streaming videos do not; (b) I think the voice track should be boosted a bit - not the recording level, but the mix level; (c) I wish the camera angle had been moved to the right some.
Great idea to have short leadership videos! Do keep them short! Time is a scarce commodity. Will these videos be available to download on iPods?
Good leadership reminder. Perfect length.
A great example of two extreme management/leadership styles and when each should be used–tell vs. ask.
Thanks, Ed. Have seen this concept before but would be useful especially for new leaders who may not have as many mentors and leadership development class opportunites as we used to have.
Thank you …….. David
Thanks, Ed. Have seen this concept before but would be useful especially for new leaders who may not have as many mentors and leadership development class opportunites as we used to have.
Thank you …….. David
Thanks Ed. I can use this as I work with a control type manager. It helped my insights a great deal.