Autocratic Leadership
What’s Autocratic Management?

Autocratic leadership is a classical leadership style with the following characteristics:

1. Manager seeks to make as many decisions as doable

2. Manager seeks to have probably the most authority and management in resolution making

3. Manager seeks to retain duty relatively than utilise complete delegation

4. Session with other colleagues in minimal and decision making becomes a solitary process

5. Managers are less concerned with investing their own leadership growth, and prefer to easily work on the duty at hand.

The autocratic leadership model is seen as an quaint technique. It has existed as long as managers have commanded subordinates, and continues to be employed by many leaders across the globe. The rationale autocratic leadership survives, even whether it is outdated, is as a result of it’s intuitive, carries prompt advantages, and comes natural to many leaders. Many leaders who start pursuing leadership improvement are sometimes making an attempt to enhance upon their organisations autocratic leadership style.
What Are The Benefits Of The Autocratic Management Type?

Regardless of having many critics, the autocratic leadership kinds supply many advantages to managers who use them. These include:

Reduced stress due to increased control. The place the manager finally has vital authorized and private responsibility for a venture, it’ll comfort them and scale back their stress levels to know that they have control over their fate.

A more productive group ‘while the leader is watching’. The oversight that an autocratic supervisor exerts over a crew improves their working pace and makes them much less more likely to slack. This is excellent for poorly motivated staff who have little concern or curiosity within the quality or velocity of work performed.

Improved logistics of operations. Having one leader with heavy involvement in lots of areas makes it extra possible that issues are noticed prematurely and deadlines met. This makes autocratic leadership very best for one-off initiatives with tight deadlines, or difficult work environments where efficient cooperation is vital to success.

Sooner decision making. When just one individual makes selections with minimal consultation, choices are made faster, which can permit the management workforce to answer modifications in the enterprise setting extra quickly.
What Are The Disadvantages Of The Autocratic Leadership Model?

Quick-termistic method to management. While main autocratically will allow quicker selections to be made in the quick time period, by robbing subordinates of the opportunity to gain experience and begin on their very own leadership improvement,  and learn from their mistakes, the manager is actually de-skilling their workforce which is able to result in poorer selections and productiveness in the lengthy run.

Manager perceived as having poor leadership skills. While the autocratic model has merits when utilized in sure environments (as highlighted under), autocratic leadership fashion is straightforward but unpopular. Managers with poor leadership expertise with typically revert to this model by default.

Elevated workload for the manager. By taking on as much accountability and involvement as doable, an autocratic leader naturally works at their full capacity, which may lead to long run stress and health issues and could damage working relationships with colleagues. This hyper-deal with work comes on the expense of good leadership development.

People dislike being ordered around. Additionally they dislike being proven very little trust and faith. In consequence, the autocratic leadership style can result in a demotivated workforce. This ends in the paradox that autocratic leadership styles are a superb answer for demotivated workers, but in lots of circumstances, it is the leadership fashion alone that demotivates them in the first place. Era Y workers significantly dislike this style.

Groups change into dependent upon their leader. After turning into conditioned to obtain orders and act upon them perfectly, staff lose initiative and the arrogance to make selections on their own. This ends in teams of employees who develop into ineffective at running operations in the event that they free contact with their leader. This is the results of a scarcity of time devoted to leadership growth on the employees part.
When is the Autocratic Leadership Model Effective?

Following on from the deserves and disadvantages listed above, the autocratic leadership style is useful within the following work conditions:

1. Short term tasks with a extremely technical, advanced or dangerous element.

2. Work environments the place spans of management are extensive and therefore the manager has little time to dedicate to each employee.

3. Industries the place workers have to carry out low-skilled, monotonous and repetitive tasks and generally have low levels of motivation.

4. Projects where the work performed must be accomplished to actual specs and/or with a good deadline.

5. Companies that endure from a high employee turnover, i.e. where time and assets devoted to leadership development would be largely wasted. Though one might argue that a lack of leadership growth within the first place precipitated the high turnover.
Democratic Management
What is Democratic Leadership?

Democratic Leadership is the leadership model that promotes the sharing of accountability, the train of delegation and continuous consultation. The type has the next characteristics: 1. Supervisor seeks consultation on all major issues and decisions. 2. Supervisor successfully delegate tasks to subordinates and give them full control and responsibility for those tasks. 3. Supervisor welcomes feedback on the results of intiatives and the work environment. 4. Supervisor encourages others to develop into leaders and be involved in leadership development.
What Are The Advantages Of The Democratic Leadership Type?

Constructive work environment. A culture the place junior workers are given truthful amount of duty and are allowed to problem themselves is one where workers are extra enthused to work and revel in what they do.

Profitable initiatives. The method of consultation and suggestions naturally ends in higher determination making and more effective operations. Firms run beneath democratic leadership are inclined to run into fewer grave mistake and catastrophes. To put it merely – people inform a democratic chief when something is going badly improper, whereas workers are encouraged to easily cover it from an autocrat.

Artistic thinking. The free movement of ideas and constructive work surroundings is the perfect catalyst for creative thinking. The benefits of this aren’t just relevant for creative industries, as a result of creative pondering is required to resolve problems in every single organisation, whatever it’s nature.

Reduction of friction and workplace politics. By allowing subordinates to use their ideas and even more importantly – achieve credit score for them, you’re neatly reducing the quantity of pressure employees generate with their manager. When autocratic leaders refuse to listen to their employees, or blatantly ignore their concepts, they are effectively asking for folks to talk behind their again and try to undermine or supercede them.

Lowered worker turnover. When workers feel empowered by leadership improvement, an organization will expertise lower rates of worker turnover which has quite a few benefits. A company that invests in leadership improvement for its staff, is investing in their future, and this is appreciated by a large majority of the workforce.
What Are The Disadvantages Of The Democratic Management Model?

Prolonged and ‘boring’ resolution making. Looking for session over every decision can result in a course of so sluggish that it might cause opportunities to be missed, or hazards avoided too late.

Hazard of pseudo participation. Many managers merely faux to comply with a democratic leadership model merely to score a degree within the eyes of their subordinates. Workers are fast to grasp when their ideas aren’t actually valued, and that the manager is merely following procedure in asking for solutions, however by no means actually implementing them. In other words, they’re merely exerting autocratic leadership in disguise.
When Is The Democratic Leadership Style Effective?

Now you’ve heard about the advantages and downsides of this leadership style, let’s have a look at the place its really carried out in the business world.

1. Democratic leadership is applied to an extent within the manufacturing trade, to permit workers to present their ideas on how processes can grow to be leaner and more efficient. Whereas ‘Fordism’ remains to be utilized in some factories throughout the country, truth is that manufacturing managers at the moment are actually beginning to harness the motivational bonuses associated with not treating staff like robots anymore.

2. Democratic leadershp is effective in proffessional organisations the place the emphasis is clearly on training, professional & leadership growth and quality of labor performed. Democratic procedures are merely only one cog within the effective leadership mechanisms corporations like The Massive Four have created over the years.

3. Non revenue organisations also tremendously benefit from drawing upon the inventive energies of all their staff to bring about cost chopping methods or fund raising ideas.

4. As previously talked about, artistic industries equivalent to advertising and television enjoy alot of advantages from the free circulate of ideas that democratic leadership brings.
Bureaucratic Leadership
What Is Bureaucratic Leadership?

The bureaucratic leadership type is concerned with guaranteeing staff comply with guidelines and procedures accurately and consistently. Bureaucratic leadership normally has the next characteristics:

1. Leaders expect a employees to show a proper, business-like perspective within the workplace and between each other.

2. Managers achieve instant authority with their position, because rules demand that workers pay them sure priveledges, reminiscent of with the ability to log off on all main decisions. Consequently, leaders undergo from ‘position power’. Management improvement turns into pointless, as a result of solely titles and roles provide any real control or power.

3. Staff are rewarded for their potential to adhere to the rules and observe procedure perfectly.

4. Bureaucratic systems normally step by step develop over an extended time period, and therefore are more generally present in giant & outdated businesses.
What Are The Benefits Of The Bureaucratic Management Model?

Elevated safety. In harmful workplaces where procedures save lives, a bureaucratic management model might help implement well being and safety rules.

High quality work. Some duties, such as completing proffessional work or medical examinations, need to be finished in a meticulous vogue to be completed correctly. Laziness can lead to poor work, and hence one resolution is to enforce the rules through the bureacratic leadership style.

Final control. An setting whereby workers are intrinsically motivated to comply with guidelines with a view to be promoted and succeed results in the tightest control management can ever assume over a company. This management can be used to chop costs or enhance productivity.
What Are The Disadvantages Of The Bureaucratic Management Type?

Dehumanises the business. Bureacratic companies tend to take away as a lot potential for ‘human error’ out of the picture as possible. Sadly this also has the effect of removing all of the enjoyment and reward that comes from deciding the right way to do a task and carrying out it.

Lack of self-fulfillment. The bureaucratic approach of working hampers staff efforts to turn out to be profitable and unbiased, because the system becomes too contraining.

Parkinson’s Law. Cyril Northcote Parkinson made the scientific statement that the number of workers in bureaucracies elevated by an average of 5%-7% per 12 months “no matter any variation within the quantity of labor (if any) to be done.””. He explains this development by two forces: (1) “An official needs to multiply subordinates, not rivals” and (2) “Officials make work for every other.” Parkinson’s findings suggest that bureaucratic leadership encourages inefficiency and waste of internal assets in the lengthy run.

‘Position power’ obessession. After working in an surroundings that reinforces the concept authority is created by rules which in turn assist senior positions. Staff turn out to be connected to the idea that merely being in a job place creates authority. This will result in intense office politics, arrogant leaders and little incentive to perform well once an employee has landed a high job.

Lack of creativity. It goes without saying that a rule-based tradition hinders creativity and encourages employees to simply perform puppet-like work somewhat than think independently. This may occasionally end in a lack of growth in the enterprise as a result of workers merely not thinking out of the box or in search of new areas to develop.

Poor communication. A common function of a bureaucratic system is an advanced network of communication lines. Managers who don’t wish to be ‘bothered’ by junior employees merely create procedures that allow them to avoid communicating with these beneath them. ‘Go through the formal course of’, ‘Speak to my secretary’ and ‘My schedule is full’ are widespread rule-primarily based excuses for blocked contact. Limitations to communication can hinder the success of any company. For example, the board may be charging ahead with a doomed product just because their shop floor staff can’t cross on the message that customers are giving very detrimental feedback.
When Is The Bureaucratic Leadership Type Efficient?

Bureaucratic leadership is present in extremely giant corporations similar to Common Electrical, Daimler and Normal Motors. Nonetheless these cultures have evolved due to the age and measurement of those companies, and are usually blamed for the sluggish growth and up to date failures at these companies.

1. Governmental our bodies often have bureaucratic programs, and while these are often despised by the public, they ensure accountability to the tax payer and truthful remedy for all. Extreme kind-filling also serves the purpose of passing effort from the federal government authority (with a tight funds) onto the individual, helping to save lots of costs.

2. Dangerous workplaces similar to mines, oil rigs, development websites and movie sets all profit from the tight control over well being and security that guidelines offer.

This guide to online courses will contain the next topics:

1. When are online leadership courses the best option?

2. How you can tell which online courses are real, and which are scams

3. What is the distinction between a leadership diploma from College vs a Faculty?

4. How a lot does an online leadership course price?

5. Do online leadership courses require practical palms-on experience?

6. Which leadership courses online does Leadership Professional Recommend?

Before I start this article, let me spotlight that I’ve no connections (affiliate or different) with any of the online leadership course suppliers referenced in this article, and I’m offering impartial advice. This is applicable in reverse too, as I cannot be held accountable for data held on external websites linked to in this article for which I’ve no control or responsibility over whatsoever.

1. When are online leadership courses the best choice?

On-line leadership courses are often taken because different leadership training choices, similar to leadership courses, leadership coaching, or leadership growth programmes are too expensive or not flexible enough for the customers needs. It’s best to probably look online when you want to spend beneath £1,000 for a leadership course, or if you are working full time and usually are not capable of attend evening classes within the local area.

2. Learn how to tell which online courses are actual, and which are scams

Having the ability to tell which online leadership courses are respectable and respected qualifications, as apposed to false websites created by fraudsters is changing into more and more difficult. Nevertheless as a seasoned web veteran, I can cross on a few suggestions that will aid you discover whether or not the dream course is the truth is a worthless piece of paper.

Tip 1: Verify the Google PageRank of the website. Google pagerank is Google’s measure of how vital a web page is on the web. A rating of 0-2 suggests a page just isn’t linked to by very many other important web sites, nonetheless a rating of 6-10 ensures that the location is extremely reputable. Navigate to the home page of the online course supplier you search to purchase a course from. Then enter the online tackle of that homepage into the sphere in this pagerank checker site. If the pagerank of their homepage is 2 or less, there’s a very excessive probability that the college has little actual presence on the internet. If the pagerank is 3-10, then this take a look at is less conclusive.

Tip 2: Test the Alexa rating of the website. Alexa rating (A service run finally by Amazon.com) is an estimator of the variety of visits a website has. So again, copy the homepage tackle of the course provider, and paste now into the sitesearch function of Alexa. This could display the worldwide Alexa site visitors rank of the website. If this figure is greater than 300,000 then the website most likely receives not more than 2,000 guests per day. If the web site is ranked within the prime 100,000 then this implies the positioning receives a high quantity of traffic (5,000+ per day) which suggests authenticity.

Tip three: Verifiy accreditation with the accreditation authority. If a course supplier claims to be accredited by an state-run national body, then make sure to give them a call and check. If the accreditation organisation will not be authorities-linked, then consider the authenticity of that web site using the same ideas here, as often criminals create complete accreditation networks simply to lend the aura of authenticity to their empty words.

Tip 4: Take an in depth have a look at the price. Does it seem like suspiciously low? Understand that even £500 for a course that accommodates several hours of one-to-one phonecalls with a tutor is a bargain. If the positioning guarantees tons of of hours of studying, with a price tag of lower than £200, you need to be wary. ‘Schools’ that price themselves like this aren’t essentially deceptive or scamming folks, but their degrees will usually carry no actual recognition.

Tip 5: Look out for warning bells in the wording. Does the course appear obsessed concerning the idea of certificates and having the ability to present proof to anyone who calls? Does the wording highlight that “The certificate is not going to include the words ‘On-line’”.  These are both warning flags that suggest the product itself is simply a decent-trying fake certificate slightly than a real qualification that may develop your leadership skills. Individuals who obtain these are merely trying to artificially pad their CV so as to land a job, and are harming the community of leaders who commit time to creating their leadership qualities.

Tip 6: Scan for spelling mistakes, this is an prompt hint that the web site has not had a lot time spent on it.

Tip 7: Look for contact particulars, addresses and telephone numbers. If the location solely contains a type to fill in, be worried. If the website only contains one telephone quantity, that is also a warning flag – and means that the course supplier is only constructed to make sales and to not handle participant queries.

These 7 ideas should enable even a web newbie to return to an inexpensive evaluation of a course supplier’s validity. In case you are nonetheless fully unsure, do not hesitate to get in touch with me (by way of my contact web page)  and I might be able to give a second opinion by either vouching for the positioning, or warning you to stay away. There should still be web sites I cannot confidently conclude upon however.

3. What’s the difference between a leadership degree from University vs a Faculty?

The important thing distinction is recognition and employability. If you are fascinated with gaining a leadership qualification to assist you in performing your job accurately, there isn’t any reason for you to discriminate between the two. However in the event you’re looking for a good course that may present a stable profession improvement mark in your CV, then sticking with a large or medium sized university will ensure your qualification has some bite behind it, and will not be met with cynisism.

4. How a lot does an online leadership course cost?

Leadership course costs range widely, from £39.ninety nine for a 3 hours introduction to leadership concept from LearnDirect (here), to £2,000 a 12 months for half time leadership-associated bachelors degrees or masters. It heavily depends upon what level of data you wish to acquire from a course, and over what time period you’re ready to study.

5. Do online leadership courses require sensible palms-on experience?

Generally speaking, online courses reminiscent of diplomas make no such requirements. All work is graded based mostly on information-primarily based studying reminiscent of essays and exams. Only courses with a physical grounding at a campus or native college will doubtless ask you to engage in real case studies and feedback the results. The benefit of this type of studying out-weighs information alone, and this demonstrates the commerce off between the conevience of online courses, and educational merits of fulltime courses.

6. Which leadership courses online does Management Knowledgeable Advocate?

We’re at the moment researching the totally different online leadership courses out there to UK and Worldwide members, and can update this article is due course. Leadership Training

The Ultimate Leadership Guide is a brilliantly fresh way of approaching personal development. Most people who spend £1′000s on personal development products over the years often give the books and courses one read through and then leave it on their bookshelves. The Ultimate Leadership Guide remains on your desktop and encourages a regular approach to your personal growth and the development of your leadership skills.

The aim of The Ultimate Leadership Guide is to deliver the core principles and knowledge from each book in less than 3 minutes per day. This means that content is condensed and easy to re-visit, meaning that you’re far more likely to remember and put these expert theories and ideas into practise.

To grab a free trial of the Ultimate Leadership Guide visit Leadership Expert – the vendor of this product. They offer a free taster of what the Ultimate Leadership Guide has to offer. You won’t even have to enter any payment details to qualify for the trial, its a genuine try-before-you-buy offer.

Leadership Resources
More Leadership Resources

Even More Leadership Resources
Extra Leadership Resources

These links point mainly at my user profiles on those sites – It’s the sites themselves that are interesting. As IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson Jr. said in his book, “Father, Son & Co.”, “There wasn’t a single, solitary and extra special soul in the company who grasped even a hundredth of the potential the computer had.” Try a couple out, become a user and see whether you get any results!

The leader is not threatened in the least by the expertise and diversity of his or her team. Rather, a good team leader engages his or her teammates in a discussion about what quality looks like, what is needed to perform and complete the job, and empowers the team members to always strive for quality improvement.

Let’s break all that down into its component parts. The first is a clearly defined leader. I believe every team must have a leader. There must be someone who is in charge and makes the ultimate decisions.

Team members may take turns being the leader as long as everyone is clear who the leader is on any given day. Another variation of that theme is to have certain people be the leader for projects that are in their area of expertise. However, in every event, there can be no question among teammates who is the leader for that day or project.

The leader needs to have a vision. This is similar to Covey’s second habit, “Begin with the end in mind.” A true leader creates the end product twice—once mentality and then in its actual form. It is impossible to lead toward a fuzzy vision. People are simply not inspired to follow uncertainty.

Having the vision is not enough to inspire teammates to strive toward the same goal. A good team leader knows how to help each teammate see how the end product or service will be useful and what, exactly, their individual contribution is toward that end.

How does the janitor contribute to fans’ enjoyment at a professional baseball game? By providing a clean, neat bathroom experience—that’s how. If the janitor sees himself as a critical cog in the big picture goal and he receives positive recognition for it, then he is more likely to perform his job with enthusiasm.

Another component of being able to inspire one’s teammates is having a clearly defined mission that everyone, preferably, has had a part in developing, but if not, then at least team members can agree to the previously established team mission.

This becomes important in times of conflict between team members. When there is a dispute to be solved, it is helpful to have an already established way to measure the solution. Solutions are always held up against the mission and whether or not it will move the team closer or further from the ultimate goal.

The other advantage of having a mission that has been agreed upon by all team members is that it can enhance cooperation. One of the most difficult things to manage on a team is an individual ego. There can be petty jealousies and a competitive spirit that can kill the cooperation of the best team. The mission statement is a way to minimize this potential for disaster.

The mission remains the focus that everything else is compared to. An individual’s action is either helpful or hurtful to the mission and dealt with accordingly. The group’s goal must always be placed above any individual’s desires or ego. Jealousy and backstabbing have no useful place on a team.

A good leader is in no way threatened by the expertise and diversity of his or her team. The best leaders are always seeking information from the front line people who are doing the actual work. Without information from team members, the leader’s hands are tied behind his or her back.

It is also critical to use team members in their areas of expertise. Leaders can’t know everything about everything. There will be team members who have skills and abilities that surpass those of the leader in certain areas. A good leader will ask for help when it is prudent.

This is also a time to value diversity. Having a team made up of people who all do the same jobs in pretty much the same way really has no value. One person could more easily do the job than assembling a homogenous team.

The value of a team comes from its heterogeneity. Getting feedback and suggestions from people who do things differently is what will spark the creativity and the genius of the team. This is what masterminding is all about. Tap into the wealth that is already there.

Finally, a good leader holds the bar high. He or she does not ask his team to be average or mediocre. Average and mediocre can be easily replaced. The leader asks his or her team to collectively do their very best and when they are done, the leader asks them to always strive for continuous improvement. The work is never done. The team should always be evaluating what has been implemented and be comfortable making suggestions for ways to do it even better.

Previously, I mentioned that a good leader empowers his or her teammates. Creating a need-satisfying environment does this. Team members must get along and know that the leader and the company have their best interests at heart. They must feel important, listened to and respected. They must have the freedom to make choices within the context of their assignments and they must have some fun in their work.

It is also critical for team members to feel safe. This means that they are not fearful in any way. The team leader is critical in fostering this environment for the empowerment of the entire team.

Live By Your Own Techniques. How can you lead your team into working with enthusiasm and energy if you don’t work with these qualities yourself? How can you encourage a culture of continuous improvement if you never come up with new ideas yourself?

People hate obeying hypocrites. As a member of a team, there is just nothing more enfuriating than being bossed around by a team leader who manages to ignore every piece of advice that comes out of their own mouth! The only thing you will achieve by living by a different standard to your team mates is in building resentment.

By acting in line with what you expect from your team mates, you create social pressure that encourages them to act in the same way. For instance if the team leader on the job starts working long hours near deadline, then other team members will feel like they’re slacking if they don’t do the same. On the flip side – when you openly breach your own standards, you are planting in your team mates head, justification for them to behave against your wishes with a detrimental effect for the team.  You could condense this point into this one maxim: ‘obey yourself as you would like your team mates to obey you’‘.

Let us focus on the practical application of this turbo charger in relation to enthusing and inspiring your team mates. How do you show enthusiam without looking over-eager?

1. Pay great interest in your teams work and compliment individuals for thorough work.
2. Display your enthuasiam in manner and tone of voice.
3. Be punctual and well organised.
4. Visibly dedicate higher-than-average time and energy to the project.
5. Encourage improvement and creative thinking by constantly striving to improve your own work

So there you have it. Display confidence in your own techniques by becoming a beacon of example to others, and let the infectious power of inspiration and energy spread across the culture of the team! This technique along with other Teamwork Tips on this website will hopefully allow you to focus more on your own work than worrying about the short comings of other team members. If you live by your own strategies, your skill as a leader will improve several-fold, leaving you with piece of mind and a more productive team.

Speak in terms of their Dreams. A carefree retirement, running their own business, getting married. These are probably 3 of the most common long term goals of members of your team, and unfortunately, none of these seem quite in line with what the needs of the ‘team’ are.

As well as having these goals, your team mates will probably have some form of  ‘plan’ in their mind as to how they wish to achieve them – and you can bet this action plan won’t help your organistation…right? Thats where you’d be wrong. These ‘alternative’ goals can actually be used to benefit your team and increase productivity. You simply need to apply the technique below.

To start putting this Teamwork Tip into practise, you need to be talking to each member of your team individually and in your conversation, explain to your fellow team mates that their current task will take them one small yet significant step closer towards their dreams.

Easier said than done? Well read on for an example of this technique in practise.

Imagine that your team mates desire is to leave your company and take up a higher position in a rival firm. This is a fairly common vision, so would be helpful as an example. You need to look at the task in hand and examine which elements would help your collegue achieve his move. The answer of course lies in the transferable skills that they would gain from the current task. You could describe in detail how this would boost his CV and give them an edge over other applicants. The key action that will really cement this attitude in their mind, would be for you to visbily tailor the work they are set so that it would fit his transferable skill needs more closely. For example you could give him extra responsibility, noting that he would be able to directly refer to this in his CV. You see how you’d actually be doing the opposite of what most team leaders would do, namely isolate and discourage the employee’s move? You are taking the opposite action, and that’s why you’re getting the opposite result – motivation. The more you speak in terms of the other persons dreams, the more attention you will capture, and the more effectively you can manage your team.

To conclude.

• Understand your collegues long term goals
• Analyse what benefits in the current task are available to help them achieve the goal.
• Be seen to tailor the work you give them to better fit their needs

If you carry out all three steps, your team mate will without doubt become far more focused on their work. They won’t be working for money, or due to pressure, but because of their own internal drive to succeed at enabling their deepest desires to come true. And that form of motivation, is priceless.

2. How to handle competitive team mates. Competitiveness is often seen as a negative characteristic; often associated with immorality, aggression and self-centred behaviour. Part of this stigma exists for a very valid reason, but there’s no denying that competitive spirit is a brilliant motivation tool. Humans are hardwired to be very competitive creatures. In life we naturally we have to compete for everything, including jobs, partners and even restaurant tables! We all have a competitive spirit to some extent, although it is more prevalant in certain people than others.

But firstly, lets take a quick look at what competitiveness is. From a teamwork point of view, there are actually two types: Constructive and Destructive.

‘Constructive’ Competitiveness.

Constructive competitiveness occurs when the individual is competing against an ‘outside’ threat that is remote from the team, for example, another team or company. Constructive competitiveness also covers when the individual competes against themselves. This type brings a positive benefit to the team because if the team succeeds, the competitor is too remote for there to be any negative consequences for the team. For instance if a marketing team for Loreal successful bring a product to market; beating the equivilant team from Procter and Gamble, then from Loreal’s point of view, it’s win win.

‘Destructive’ Competitiveness.

Destructive competitiveness occurs when close peers, collegues or family compete. So for most teamwork cases, this would include competition within the team. While it’s true that some leaders could pull this off well, on the whole you’ll do well to avoid it. When both competitors reside in the same team, then it guarantees that the team will feel the effects of the winner and the loser, which effectively cancel out. As pressure increases, team members may start withholding infomation from one another, or even subtley sabotageing or undermining the other’s efforts. In this kind of environment, success is only a selfish gain, and the overall effect on the team is negative. Enron encouraged this level of competitiveness by routinely laying off those who featured in the lowest 10% performing employees.

How to encourage constructive competitiveness

If you want to unleash the competitiveness in a positive way within your friends or collegues:

* Give your employees a solid reputation to uphold
* Compare your employees to their external rivals and challenge them to beat them.
* Set your worker a tough goal to meet, and support with praise.

Our natural competitiveness will instinctly take over once the right challenge has been set. No-one can resist the opportunity to prove an admirer right, or accept a tough personal challenge and excel above others.

Remembering my warning before about destructive competitiveness; a ‘rival’ to beat must exist outside of your organisation, or so remote from the individual that there will be no negativity between them. If you successfully set your own friends or team mates challenges such as these, you will fill them with a sense of motivation and enthuasiasm that would only come them taking on a competitive challenge and personally striving to win!