The Right Questions Podcast

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to identify, comprehend, manage, and handle emotions. This ability starts with recognising and managing one’s own emotions and then those of others. Emotional intelligence is also known as Emotional Quotient or EQ. The term has been around since the 1960s but was made popular in 1995 by Daniel Goleman and his best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence.

EQ (or EI) differs from IQ. IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient and IQ is a score of a person's problem-solving ability, measured through standardised psychometric tests. IQ assesses a person’s capacity for reasoning – which is useful – but what IQ does not assess is how a person interacts with others. That is where EQ becomes important.

If you want to find out more about emotional intelligence then please do check out the full article on the website by following this link:
https://therightquestions.co/why-emotional-intelligence-is-vital-and-how-to-develop-yours/

If you are interested in the breathing techniques referred to in the podcast then you will find out more here:
https://therightquestions.co/the-best-breathing-techniques-to-reduce-anxiety/

The picture of an iceberg helps us to visualise culture and the link between behaviours and beliefs. An iceberg has less mass above the water (this visible part) as compared to the greater mass that lies below the surface (which is generally unseen). 

The main idea behind the iceberg model is that in the same way as a physical iceberg, with any culture, there are obvious things such as behaviours that are visible, but there are lots of things hidden below the surface within a group that drive these behaviours. In this way, the iceberg model is a simple metaphor for describing organisational culture.

For further information on the subject please use the following link:
https://therightquestions.co/the-iceberg-model-of-organisational-culture/

Here is a short introduction to some of the most important leadership theories, trends, and models. These can all be instructive in understanding your own leadership style, broadening your expertise, and giving you tools to improve as a manager.

The models covered in the podcast include:

1. Great Man theory
2. Control and domination, power, and influence
3. Leadership traits and skills
4. Action-centred leadership
5. Transactional and Transformational leadership theory
6. Situational leadership theory (flexible leadership)
7. Values-based leadership
8. Servant leadership theory
9. Toxic or bad leaders
10. Authentic leadership theory

The Tuckman Team Development Model 

So, what are the stages of team development?

Studies have shown that a group needs to evolve through certain steps to become an effective team. The most well-known (and memorable) theoretical model of this development process is the Tuckman Model.

Bruce Tuckman did research that demonstrated that every team goes through various stages. He first identified four stages and then, upon further research, amended this to five stages of team development.

These five stages of team development are:

1.     Forming

2.     Storming

3.     Norming

4.     Performing

5.     Adjourning

A manager can do things to speed the process through these steps to the performing stage.

If you would like more detail on the model and real-life examples then click on the link to the accompanying article: https://therightquestions.co/how-to-develop-a-group-of-individuals-into-an-effective-team/

What is an authentic leader?

Authentic leadership is a relatively new leadership theory in the behavioural school of leadership theories. In many ways, it is largely the coming together of other leadership models. But it does put an emphasis on being true to self that differentiates it from other approaches.

Taken at face value authentic leadership could be misleading or even damaging. After all, a toxic leader can be true to himself or herself and still be a bad leader. That is why true authentic leadership is about self-awareness, not just being true to self. It is also why an authentic leader also displays all four of the leadership traits associated with the true authentic leader.

Bill George is the name most associated with this theory after publishing his book Authentic Leadership in 2003. He approached the subject from the practitioner point of view, making the case for responsible leadership as compared to the fake, hubristic, greedy or power-grabbing leadership that he observed in various spheres of management.

The subject has gained traction in academia but if you read the various papers, you will see there is no one agreed definition of authentic leadership. There is however growing consensus around the four key qualities of an authentic leader. These are:

·       Self-awareness

·       Balance

·       Transparency

·       Morality

You can find out by following the link to the full article on the website at:
https://therightquestions.co/what-does-it-mean-to-be-an-authentic-leader/

What is transformational leadership?

 Transformational leadership is distinct from transactional leadership. Transactional leadership plays to the needs of individuals, using rewards, and where necessary punishments, to ensure performance and the achievement of a goal. The approach plays on our basic needs, as per Maslow’s hierarchy, to ensure compliance.

Transformational leadership, by contrast, goes beyond just self-interest. It seeks to draw people to the highest point on the Maslow triangle — that of self-actualisation. To achieve this the transformational leader needs to inspire their team with a vision. This vision is so compelling that it encourages people to stretch themselves as individuals, to come together as a team, and to work together for long-lasting change.

To find out more follow this link to the full article on the website:
https://therightquestions.co/how-to-grow-from-transactional-to-transformational-leadership/

Transactional leadership is a management style linked to behavioural leadership theory. In other words, it focuses on influencing people’s actions. 

This method relies on people’s needs and a ‘give and take’ approach to keep the team on track. In this way, it is closely linked to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The rewards and punishments reflect a trade of basic human needs. The manager barters with the team, dangling the carrot of incentives such as wages or recognition while holding the stick of contract, discipline, or expulsion to maintain cohesion.

But, transactional leadership rarely gets the best from anyone. Once people have their basic needs covered — such as enough food to eat, basic shelter and security — just increasing a person’s potential resources does not necessarily lead to a proportional increase in productivity.

Therefore transactional leadership can be used to manage predictable situations but for complex problems, or when you want to develop high performing teams, other approaches are more likely to be successful.

You can find out more by following this link:

https://therightquestions.co/what-you-need-to-know-about-transactional-leadership/

The idea of servant leadership was popularized by Robert K Greenleaf in his book by the same name. His phrase, the ‘servant as leader’ has been shortened over time to ‘servant leader’

The servant as a leader is different to the leader who seeks power, fame and fortune.  The servant-leader is not driven to acquire power or possessions but motivated instead to serve the community, to serve others.

This episode introduces the key themes of servant leadership and how it is relevant to all of us. If you would like to find out more then visit the website by following this link:

https://therightquestions.co/why-servant-leadership-is-so-powerful/

What is situational leadership?

To be a good leader, you need to know how to vary your leadership style depending upon the circumstances. This is called situational leadership. Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed the most well-known model for situational leadership. This model helps to show the most appropriate form of leadership, depending upon the nature of the task and the competency and commitment of the team. In simple terms, it breaks down into four key leadership styles: directive, delegating, supporting, and coaching.

This podcast gives an introduction to understanding the situational leadership model and applying the 4 different management styles.

For more information go the The Right Questions website. You can use the following link:

https://therightquestions.co/situational-leadership-how-leaders-can-adapt-their-leadership-style/

The action-centred leadership model is a simple and effective theory that was developed by John Adair. It focusses on balancing the needs of three core management responsibilitiesof task, team and individual.

He also devised a useful mnemonic (PICSIE ) to help with core management functions. 

PICSIE stands for:

·       Plan

·       Initiate

·       Control

·       Support

·       Inform

·       Evaluate

As the framework is practical and easy to apply it is a great resource for any leader but particularly those new to management responsibility.

You can find a fuller explanation of the model here:
https://therightquestions.co/how-to-be-an-action-centred-leader/