Final+paper

Team, this is the doc that I will have added to the drop box. Thanks Jason, Jill Adam for your promptness. Jill, I did complete the skills that were missing, only to find out that you had sent me something earlier on. Anyhow, I had written a bit about it just to complement. I didn;t hear from Laura. Does anyone has a format for the peer review document ? Thanks, F ( at 12:06AM 3/2/11)

1-Being a Visionary
To be the best possible leader, you must be able to create a shared vision and purpose among members of your organization in order to address needs of the present and future. A leader needs to be able to envision what does not yet exist, and see beyond the day-to-day complications to imagine the most desirable outcome. According to Lambert, leadership is not about “selling a personal vision to others” (p. 86), but is the “touchstone” from which all other actions flow. Leaders maintain focus on the shared vision and resist “temptation to make unilateral decisions that may be inconsi stent with the vision ” (p. 87).

2-Empowering Others No leader can accomplish great things without confidence in the abilities of people of his or her organization. The leader needs to be able to generate leadership qualities in the people who work in the organization by placing them in positions where they can succeed, since they are an organization’s most valuable resource. Empowered team members feel confidence, loyalty, and fulfillment, which lead to high morale and dedication to the organization.

3-Listening To be an effective leader, good communication skills are vital. The leader needs to be able to listen to the ideas and concerns of the organization’s members in order to develop a shared vision and engage in meaningful dialogue. The leader can then use the information gathered by listening to creatively solve problems and deal with the day-to-day aspects of leading the organization. 4-Problem solving Leadersmust be able to keep reciprocal communication channels opened so all constituents can freely engage in dialogue and listening. Lambert stresses that “high engagement” not only enhances participation by reducing alienation but also helps in building trusting relationships (p.88). Issues or obstacles to a common vision can be then overcome by getting the whole group working together instead of just handing them a solution for every problem.

5-Decision making Leaders nurture other’s participation in decision making processes and governance groups (Lambert, 2003). Moreover, leaders build a common cognitive decision making model so others can understand its internal mapping, evaluate consequences and take the best course of action.

6- Managing conflict
Managing conflict affects team and group building. This skill requires leaders to resolve conflict on the spot. Open communications among a team (policies, procedures, tasks, etc…) enforced with consequences may reduce conflicts within the organization. Though personnel may express differences of opinion; listen, fact finding and decision making skills can reduce conflicts.

7- Facilitating meetings
Bringing people together by fostering a collaborative space does really facilitated meetings, as people are drawn to positive environments where they feel respected and valued.

8-Presenting info
Possess high communication skills and promoting a culture of “openness” helps leaders to share reflections, protocols and so forth.

9- Coaching
Coaching applies a personal technique to the tool box of     a leader (Lambert, 2003). Bouncing ideas and questions among members of a team or group with a common goal is a beneficial approach. This form of two-way communication empowers leaders to transfer knowledge and capabilities to     subordinates and peers.

Lipton and Wellman, (2001) via Lambert state "The mentoring process can help educators to become better at problem solving and decision making, offers both support and challenge, and facilitates a professional vision"

We rated Mentoring number ten on our priorities list. While we believe that mentoring is very important for the sustainability of a strong organization. In that new leaders will be prepared to take over should the leader leave the organization. Mentoring is empowering others to develop their potential for the organizations sake. Most of our team members compared mentoring to coaching, but in a more personal focused way. "Mentoring" can also be a codeword for cronyism, and of course is potentially damaging if the leader doing the mentoring is not an effective leader.

11- Positive reinforcement

Leaders approach positive reinforcement as a way of mentoring individuals. Recognition, positive praise and personal accountability are fostered by leaders in this manner. Our group rated Positive reinforcement number eleven on our priorities list. While positive reinforcement is a proven method of increasing target behaviors, it can be perceived as manipulative or condescending if applied for the specific purpose of increasing target behaviors. To be effective, positive reinforcement should be an expression of genuine admiration and appreciation team members' talents and qualities.

12- Being creative

Creativity is the sparkle in building successful organizations; furthermore creativity is at the core of problem solving and decision making. Essentially, being creative as being open to other’s creativity is as important for leaders. Our team rated creativity twelfth on our priorities list. Our main reason for this is that we would expect that a leader would have access to creative persons on their team, and while creativity in a leader would be a positive thing, in that the leader may be able to manage his organization in an engaging fashion, it may not be indispensible. A leader would need to be able to evaluate the potential of new ideas, and to adopt or discard them wisely. Incorporating great creative ideas is what can keep an organization on the cutting edge in their field