Leadership and Management Bias: How Your Behavior, Integrity, Authority, and Standards Impact Those Around You

By Sr. EdD Marc Edgar Royster

"True leaders often have a penchant for self-study, introspection, and wanting to know how to enhance their leadership acumen.

Besides, leadership takes more than 1, 2, 3 or a, b, c list of catchphrases, slogans, or nebulous how-to instructions to obtain, grow, and sustain followers. The truth is: followers don't mind getting in w

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jan 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640887404

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Leadership and Management BIAS

How Your Behavior, Integrity, Authority, and Standards Impact those around You

Marc Edgar Royster, Sr. EdD

Trilogy Christian Publishers

TUSTIN, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2019 by Marc Edgar Royster, Sr. EdD

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information, address Trilogy Christian Publishing

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, Ca 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/ TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-64088-739-8

ISBN 978-1-64088-740-4 (ebook)

Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Foreword ix

Endorsements xiii

Introduction xvii

Part 1: Behavior

Chapter 1. PDIET—A Case Study in Leadership Behavior that Impacts Growth and Sustainment 3

Chapter 2. Who You Are Versus What You Are 27

Chapter 3. Managing Performance Behavior—Evaluate,

Extrapolate, Reciprocate 47

Chapter 4. Leadership Behavior—the Faithful, the Foolish, the Fickle 65

Part 2: Integrity

Chapter 5. Is it a Heart Thing or a Hard Thing? 85

Chapter 6. What Ethos is Behind Your Pathos? 101

Chapter 7. Conflict and Change 115

Chapter 8. Leadership Integrity—the Faithful, the Foolish, the Fickle 129

Part 3: Authority

Chapter 9. Boundaries and Limitations 149

Chapter 10. Your Circle 159

Chapter 11. Why Do It, What To Do, When To Do It, and How To Do It Well 171

Chapter 12. Leadership Authority—the Faithful, the Foolish, the Fickle 191

Part 4: Standards

Chapter 13. Ground Rules 207

Chapter 14. C4: The Power Behind Sustainment 219

Chapter 15. Orienting Cultural Norms 231

Chapter 16. Leadership Standards—the Faithful, the Foolish, the Fickle 241

Conclusion: It’s Up to You 251

Notes 255

To the only wise, true, living, and sovereign God, whose awesome spirit once again touched my spirit and caused me to rise up to do His will. I am grateful to be the vessel He has chosen to complete this work. I submit this work to Him for His glory, purpose and dissemination.

Most kind and generous Father of heaven and earth, no one can discern the thoughts and intentions of a person’s heart as You can. You have declared that You know our end from our beginning, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that there is no good thing You will withhold from those who walk upright before You. You have gifted us for a purpose and have called each of us for a particular time and season. Impart now into our hearts and minds Your wisdom, knowledge, revelation and inspiration so we can know and do Your will and good pleasure, as well as walk confidently in an authentic and divinely inspired relationship with You. We ask these blessings according to Your lovingkindness and tender mercies. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name, amen.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to everyone who have always extend goodwill and find ways to offer me their well-wishes.

Sincerest appreciation to all the leaders (military, corporate, and spiritual) who influenced me directly and indirectly as well as those whom I’ve had the privilege of leading and influencing over the years.

Patsy—clear evidence of God’s favor upon me (Proverbs 18:22).

LaTosha, Marc and Toni, and Victoria—my heritage! (Psalms 127:3).

Foreword

Browse through any virtual or brick and mortar bookstore and you will find scads of leadership books, manuals, planners, and even calendars designed and authoritatively claiming to develop you as a leader. They all seek to help you accomplish every goal, tackle every situation, and catapult you past any vicissitude of life. In today’s publishing market, no group or class has been excluded from leadership training.

But in Ecclesiastes 12:12, while explaining how the act of studying can become tiresome, the wisest man that ever lived admonished a student with an interesting paradox:

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

The profundity of the middle clause, of making many books there is no end, is essential to appreciating the manuscript that you now hold in your hand.

There is an increasingly loud silence surrounding the question, Why do we need another leadership book? There are already leadership books for husbands, wives, women, men, blacks, pastors, black pastors, CEOs, new managers, soldiers, successful people, and idiots. There are leadership books for leaders, for smart people, and of course…for dummies. There is even a homeless leadership coalition, and just the other day, I ran across something called a leadership cheat sheet, which just might be the problem with much of the so-called leadership that we experience today.

If I’m allowed to rephrase the middle clause of Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 12:12, a twenty-first century rendering could read,

…of making many leadership books there is no end…

But this volume, Leadership BIAS, the magnum opus of my colleague and friend, Dr. Marc E. Royster, is cut from a different scroll. It does not discount other books on the subject. The author certainly has been blessed and benefitted by several great manuscripts on administration and government. But juxtaposing all manuscripts of this type or considering them as a whole, Leadership BIAS stands alone as the pièce de résistance. It has the unique quality of being both abridged and encyclopedic.

As with the pen of a ready writer, Royster respects the admonishment of Solomon but employs the multum non multa, principle of Pliny the Younger (61 c. 113). That is, he takes the best of what successful leadership entails and delves intensely and effectively into a few subjects rather than skimming frivolously over a wide range.

This is not a book of mere human ambition and intellect. This is the Lord’s doing, and the Word of God is completely intertwined throughout its chapters—which is why (no pun intended) I am personally biased when it comes to Leadership BIAS.

BIAS is Dr. Royster’s acronym for behavior, integrity, authority, and standards. It’s a slight play on the provincial French-English word bias which from its origin refers to a slant, a slope, prejudice, or a one-sided tendency of the mind. Royster cleverly flips the term and uses it to accent not just the negative but also the positive propensities and tendencies of great leaders, both contemporary and in holy writ. The author quips, Your BIAS can either propel or derail your leadership credibility. This fact is validated by real-life interviews as well as the author’s own experience by way of world travels as a United States army officer. Leadership BIAS is for anyone that desires to learn how to have a positive, lasting, contagious, and efficacious impact on the people around them. Transcending rudimentary skillsets such as:

taming the root causes of misconduct;

understanding how to assess observable behavior;

assessing the innovative distinctions between leader, manager, and follower; and

when to push and pull on boundaries and limitations.

This book didactically inspires and enables readers to go where most leaders have never gone before. It accentuates the need for hope and self-confidence against the backdrop of the Pauline affirmation and mantra, I can do all things through Christ…

For those interested in a more advanced study, Leadership BIAS is chockfull of independent study modules, graphs, scholarly reference notes, and Royster’s own patented PDIET analysis. This is an in-depth investigation (case study) of five intriguing behavioral themes namely personal engagement, discipleship training, inclusion, evangelism recruitment, and transparency.

Whether it’s the four approaches to leadership or his Socratic use of questions such as, Is It a Heart Thing or a Hard Thing and What Ethos is Behind Your Pathos? the study of Leadership BIAS is the Sine qua non of leadership for the student, the scholar and the consummate professional.

I recommend you get three copies: keep one for your library, use one in your study, and gift one so that you and a colleague can together begin to evaluate, extrapolate, and reciprocate the simple and vast recesses of professional leadership.

La Monte McNeese, PhD

Endorsements

A masterful work! Leadership and Management BIAS: How Your Behavior, Integrity, Authority, and Standards Impact Those around You provides invaluable information for leaders of the twenty-first century. A must read for leaders that are striving for excellence in this hour.

—Elect Lady Evangelist Bernal Campbell,

International Department of Evangelism,

Church of God in Christ

Leadership and Management BIAS is a detailed and thought-provoking analysis of the complexities of leadership from both a secular and faith-based perspective. Although there is no one way to lead, this book provides a blueprint for those who are interested in enhancing their leadership acumen. This well-articulated book takes a deep dive into the pitfalls of leadership and offers an easily digestible guide that motivates and encourages the growth and development of current and future leaders.

—Maurice L. Kemp, MPA, deputy mayor,

Miami-Dade County and former fire chief, City of Miami

Strong leadership skills are a must for any successful organization. In his latest book, author Dr. Marc E. Royster, Sr. has combined his educational background and professional experience to bring a dynamic read to the field of leadership and management resources. Leadership and Management BIAS: How Your Behavior, Integrity, Authority, and Standards Impact Those around You provides detailed empirical evidence and research-based information for building effective leadership and managerial skills. What I found most inspiring and helpful was Dr. Royster’s ability to use his vast expertise to garner relevance to leadership paradigms inclusive of church/ministry, as well as secular/professional organizations. So then the senior executive of a company, as well as the senior pastor of a church will glean a wealth of knowledge from the information that is accessible in this book. Whether you are a seasoned leader or beginning your career or ministry, you are certain to be blessed and inspired by this powerful book. Your library will not be complete without it!

—Dr. Ruth Tyson Newton, director of publications,

Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc.

This book is remarkably timely! The insightful thoughts are truly needed in today’s leadership discussions. With a society where unhealthy group segmentation is being normalized and yet every group wanting to be recognized and identified as being strong and cohesive, Leadership BIAS: How Your Behavior, Integrity, Authority, and Standards Impact Those around You speaks to the core issues that are often glossed over in leadership, and by default, humanity. We should all be able to agree on its contents, regardless of race, gender, religion, political identity, or career field.

—David L. Wilson, CLU, ChFC, president,

The Real Estate Resource Group, Inc.

Introduction

What You Need to Know Up Front!

You are a leader, which is why you may have started reading this book in the first place, but since leadership is on a spectrum, a continuum if you will, understanding where you are on that spectrum, and how your leadership biases and inclinations can propel you or derail you, this book will hopefully elevate your awareness to the potential rewards and consequences associated with your behavior, your integrity, how you handle authority, and the standards you uphold.

Contrary to what might seem to be the case, leadership is not limited to the sport arenas of winning teams nor is it only found in profitable corporate organizations or well-operated municipalities. Faith-based organizations also have leaders with the ability to harness the resources to make great gains and accomplish unusual feats.¹ A faith-based leader’s biases have the potential to have a direct impact on his or her ability to experience increase and sustain membership. Moreover, a faith-based leader’s biases can influence his or her ability to be effective in facilitating social and community related programs.² To be more specific, a faith-based leader has an opportunity to institute and/or support, enhance, or increase commerce and economic development not only in the communities they serve but to spiral out and impact other communities on a global scale. Our technological advances have been scaled to make it easier for such to be accomplished more now than ever.

Throughout the reading of this book, you will be introduced to real stories and scenarios that were observed or experienced over a span of several decades and in several industries as well as a look at quantitative and qualitative research information on leadership not to mention relevant and relatable references of leaders we read about in Old and New Testament scripture. Hence, this book is from both a pragmatic and empirical frame of reference that transcends industries, cultures, and regions. All in all, four observations will be discussed as these observations stands out and remains constant regardless of who you’re leading or who is leading you. Your BIAS can either propel or derail your leadership credibility:

Observable Behavior: Leaders who want to impact their followers and admirers must show a distinction in their behavior that is commensurate with what they expect and demand of others. To have any credibility, it’s about walking the talk first, then talking the walk along the journey. In essence, it narrows down to displaying behavior that clearly shows that you are leading by example. This includes exhibiting unequivocal competence (not necessarily experience) in managing resources and engaging followers and admirers to embrace a leadership vision.³ Leadership behavior also includes being consistent, as consistency is one indicator of competence. On the other hand, inconsistency is an indicator of incompetence. Further still, a leader’s behavior should reveal his or her penchant for coaching, which is to say being amenable to learning new ideas and approaches as well as sharing in the mentoring and grooming of others. Finally, one should be able to observe a leader’s ability and willingness to be collaborative, which is the ability to engage others to include a cross-section of other leaders i.e. civic, corporate, military, first responders, etc. for the better good of the whole.⁴

Integrity: A leader’s integrity is metaphorically like oil in a vehicle’s engine. Little or no oil in the engine will cause the engine to knock as friction can be heard between the pistons and cylinder. The other extreme is when a vehicle has dirty oil that builds up and becomes sludge, causing poor performance and subsequently damage or a lockup to the engine. No matter how pretty or shiny the vehicle is on the outside, having no oil or sludge in the engine will eventually ruin the vehicle’s performance. In like manner, a leader who lacks integrity will eventually cause performance issues for themselves, and if their leadership is fraught will layers of questionable behavior that builds up, such leader will adversely impact followers within the sphere of his or her influence.

Use of Authority: A leader must be cognizant of his or her authority. Leaders must be careful not to become dictatorial by scoffing at the idea of operating within authorized parameters, but nor should they shrink when a gray-area decision must be made. It is one thing for a leader to make a necessary command-decision or take a course of action when guidance or directives are absent, but to usurp authority or flagrantly cross a prohibited boundary or unauthorized parameter is something that can doom credibility.

Whether it’s a leader who has fiduciary responsibility in making decisions on formidable financial challenges, to those leaders who make decisions based on nuanced challenges that requires one to negotiate around conflicts and unforeseen emotional entanglements, all leaders should operate only within the spectrum of their authorization.

Standards: A leader’s values are usually what they are willing to stand firm on. But values are hard to gauge as they can often be relative. For example, a company that claims to value work/family balance yet prohibits a flexible schedule so that a mom or dad can drop off or pick up the kids from school would make an affected employee wonder about the company’s definition of valuing a work/family balance. Standards, on the other hand, can be constructively gauged, and for a leader, it narrows down to what is acceptable and unacceptable on your standard’s spectrum. It will require a conscience effort by a leader to stay above the cutoff of unacceptability.

Staying above the cutoff of unacceptability requires ground rules to be established. It requires clear, unambiguous, and descriptive communication regarding the expectations of meeting standards. For one to not adhere to their own ground rules but insist that others do makes them a hypocrite of sorts—like a person who talks the talk but doesn’t walk it.

Therefore, leaders should