Posted by:

Steve Roesler

Posts

About

About Steve Roesler:

President

I'm Steve Roesler, the guy behind the blog. Let me take a moment to give you a glimpse of who I am before telling the business story. I am married to "B" and we live 20 miles from Philadelphia in a tranquil, wooded area surrounded by lakes. (We don't live in the woods because we were asked to leave the city--we just like it here). It's a welcome break from the many days of international and domestic travel that are a part of the consulting business. I incorporated the Organization Effectiveness firm Roesler Group in 1977, specializing in communication training and development with an emphasis on improving systems, relationships, and large-scale change. My deep interest in the global nature of business and business relationships led me to a 2-year assignment with Saudi Arabian Airlines. What that really entailed was spending lengths of time developing up-and-coming managers in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Upon returning to the US I developed a clientele which has included American Express, AstraZeneca, AT&T, Batelle Labs, Computer Sciences Corporation, PECO Energy, Johnson & Johnson, Minerals Technologies, Specialty Minerals Europe and Pfizer, in addition to other for-profit corporations. Relationships within many of those firms have led to other interesting engagements with non-profits as well as church denominations. Clients are located worldwide. In addition to my Roesler Group enterprise, I've worked internally as a Manager of Management Development at Pfizer and as a Regional VP of Sales for a global training company. Prior to that I served as a Drill Instructor in the Army, musician and singer (still going strong--once you start you can't stop), and have been involved in broadcasting for more than 30 years. I'm also a co-author of "The Age of Conversation". Most of my engagements turn into long-time relationships although they start as a single project. These projects have included leading executive and cultural transitions within corporations; creating/leading leadership programs for client companies; preparing managers and executives to deliver presentations; serving as mediator for conflicts between high-level executives within organizations; and creating and leading a CEO selection process for a NYSE company. Steve Roesler Learning also continues to design and conduct organizational and management development programs on-site for clients. I am a graduate of Rowan University with an M.A. in Public Relations/Communications. I've attended various institutes for the study of human behavior, none of which equals a single day's education watching people at an airport check-in line. Over the years I've served on staff at the NTL Institute for the Applied Behavioral Sciences as well as the Wharton Executive Program.

See entire profile »

Comments

Connect

Please login or register to connect with this user.

How Do You Spot an Emerging Leader?

Like it?

Posted June 7, 2009 with 157 reads

Keywords: leadership

comments

You've seen this happen:

1. Totally random people are placed in a group.

2. They are given a task.

3. Lo and behold, a leader will emerge.

At work it may result in the acquisition of an Ocean Liner factory in Nebraska; if it's Aunt Ethel and your family, you end up eating at the Amish Country Buffet instead of Casa del Gnocchi.

What is it that prompts people to grant a person leader status?

Research and Emerging Leadership

A study published in Personality and Social Psychology suggests that leaders emerge through a combination of:

a. Their own outspoken behavior, and

b. How that outspoken behavior is perceived by the others.

Anderson and Kilduff (2009) looked at how dominant individuals in a group were perceived by others in the group. Perceived competence is important because it's difficult to become a leader if everyone in the group thinks that person is a jerk regardless of how dominant (s)he is.

Here's the punchline: Anderson and Kilduff's research shows a big gap between the actual competence of leaders vs. how they are perceived by the others.

In the second of two studies the researchers had participants compete with another group on a series of math problems. The groups were videotaped. Then, member behavior was closely examined. Dominant participants were inclined to offer more suggestions to the group. The result? These people were perceived by the group and the observers as the most competent.

Here is some very practical food for thought: The "leader's" behavior encouraged others to see that person as competent even though their suggestions to the group were no better and sometimes worse than others. So the truth of the matter is that the leaders didn't always contribute the best but their voices were usually heard first and most often.

What to Take Away

Leaders emerge through processes that are somewhat more subtle than we realize. Rather than dominating others in the traditional sense of the word, emerging leaders show their "competence" by adding greater amounts of verbal contributions to discussions. Others assume that the greater contribution means the group will more likely succeed under that person's leadership.

The next time you are part of an unstructured group, be vigilant. (Or, if you want to be the leader, be talkative!).

Note: This is about emerging leadership in random or unstructured groups. It's very real and worth being aware of.

Tip: If you hear a loud, consistent voice that is taking you in a certain direction, start adding structure by asking, "What is our real goal and what criteria do we all have?" Then take time for everyone to weigh in. The same leader may remain, but you'll know the reason why and your decison will be deliberate and purposeful.

In organizations, most groups of people don't start on random terms that produce an emergent leader. But it's useful to understand more about informal, everyday groups that can impact many other aspects of our lives, from community groups to politics.
________________________________________________

Bonus: If you want to know just how crazy "intentional" leadership development can get, then check out Dan McCarthy's "Another Too Dumb To Be True Leadership Development Program." (Maybe yelling louder and longer isn't so bad after all!)

All Things Workplace is honored to be named in the Top 10 Blogs for Advancing Your Career. Sincere thanks to über-coach Marty Nemko and Blogs.com.