Primal Leadership

Realizing the Power of your Emotional Intelligence

a Review of the Book published 2002 by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

Leadership Strategy is what Primal Leadership is all about and it is still relevant today. I believe it is directly related to starting & growing a business. I believe that personal effectiveness & leadership skills are key. These soft skills translate into huge gains on projects, business, and in life. Of all the factors on a project, one of the few things we can control 100% is how we interact with other people on that project. Here are some ideas on that

Leadership Styles (or lack thereof) are easy to recognize in others & yourself. Each strategy is like a tool in the toolbox, and they are called for at different times. Here they are from a business professional’s point of view:

The 4 (+) styles of Leadership
1. Visionary – Set a positive direction for the team.
§ “We are going to change the world for the better”. “In 5 years the world will look back and say how did we live without this?”
2. Coaching – Mentor team members and connect their goals with the company’s.
§ Get to know team members personally and encourage their learning & growth.
§ Powerful tool for loyalty & team spirit.
§ Allow team members to define their own goals.
3. Affiliative – Connect people to each other.
§ Involves team building, finding common ground, uniting individuals.
4. Democratic – Get everyone’s input and make decisions together.
§ This is practically required in any new technology fields, when balancing priorities across stake holders, gathering requirements, & considering design approaches.
§ Leading group meetings is a chance to exercise this skill.
§ When done correctly, short & long-term planning meetings are democratic, because everyone provides input.

The 2 Styles of other Leadership
1. Pusher Management
§ Meet challenging goals through taking high risks.
§ Common in engineering disciplines like App or SW development.
§ Often seen in start-ups and entrepreneurial activities.
§ Often leads to low quality output, and long term negative results.
§ Can lead to early burnout of team.
2. Command – Provide clear & concise direction. (ie, military)
§ Useful in crisis or timely situations.
§ Can be close minded & abusive – (ie, “My way or the highway”)
§ An archaic “command & control” mode of operation – which worked in the early industrial era.
§ Stifles creative thinking and the culture of info sharing & trust.

Holistic Life Plan for improving leadership & happiness is talked about in the middle part of this Audio Book. I was encouraged to listen to this Audio Book, because these leadership skills are learned by practicing them.

Comments: Do you have ideas, based on the principles of this book?