Mottos of Success 2.0: For Managers and Leaders

By Jouni Laukkanen

Mottos of Success 2.0 - For Managers and Leaders by Jouni Laukkanen is an extensive guide to leadership and the development of managers. The book addresses various dimensions of leadership, such as effective decision-making, supporting an open culture, workplace dynamics, and change management. Laukkanen provides concrete advice and strategies that help leaders understand the needs of their subordinates, create more effective organizations, and improve staff engagement. The book includes both theoretical and practical perspectives and is aimed at everyone interested in leadership. This work offers tools for self-improvement and organizational development, inspires new ways of thinking, and helps build a successful business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Jan 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9789528081227

Jouni Laukkanen

Jouni Laukkanen has worked for over 15 years in engineering and consulting roles and has been employed in both small businesses and international publicly traded company. He currently leads the Finnish energy services of an international engineering and consultancy firm. He has extensive experience in leading various teams and departments and has developed his own leadership philosophy from diverse perspectives. He combines practical technical experience with sales and leadership expertise, thus offering readers a profound insight into the challenges and opportunities of leadership.

Book preview

1 LEADERSHIP IS A SUPPORT FUNCTION

Effective leadership lays the foundation for an organization's success. Instead of being seen as a separate entity or at the top of the hierarchy, leadership should function as a bridge-builder and enabler between employees and various parts of the organization. Leaders are responsible for creating an environment where employees can thrive, innovate and express their full potential.

This involves open communication, clear goals, and most importantly, a trustful atmosphere where employees feel safe to try and suggest innovative ideas without fear of failure. By focusing their resources and expertise on supporting employees, leaders not only reduce obstacles in daily work but also inspire and empower everyone to contribute to the organization's goals.

Leadership is not just about managing financial statements and strategies; it primarily involves leading people. It is the ability to inspire, motivate and support others in achieving common goals. When leaders understand their role as enablers of the productive level, they set the entire organization on a stronger path towards sustainable success.

Fundamentally, management should function as a support function for the executing level. Management itself rarely produces anything directly; it is a cost that should support the productive level of the company to achieve the best possible results.

When management overly focuses on maintaining internal structures and supporting bureaucracy, the organization's ability to respond swiftly and effectively to changing market conditions weakens. This shift in focus away from the employees, who are the key contributors to the company's results, can lead to a situation where internal processes become self-serving.

This might manifest as excessive reporting requirements or slowed decision-making, as simple matters require multiple levels of approval. Such bureaucratic sluggishness hampers employees' ability to meet customer needs and adapt to market changes.

Support functions like HR, IT, and similar departments should form a foundation upon which productive work is built. Rather than seeing these functions as bureaucratic burdens, they can function as catalysts that enable and enhance work efficiency. For example, HR can develop training programs to improve employee skills and career development, while IT can ensure that technological tools are up-to-date and supportive of productivity.

Leadership can turn bureaucratic challenges into opportunities, viewing them not as obstacles but as frameworks for creative and efficient operation. By focusing on reducing bureaucracy and streamlining processes, management can free up employees’ time and energy to focus on customer needs and achieving company goals.

An organization should strive to create a culture where everyone understands their role as part of a larger whole. Leadership needs to turn the hierarchy into a service for the main goal – creating value for customers – by supporting those closest to the operation and customer experience. This ensures that the entire organization moves cohesively towards a common goal, with each part supporting and enhancing the whole's functionality.

From the perspective of the executing level, there are three types of leadership:

I would argue that most supervisors are harmless but at the same time useless. This is normally tolerable, but the ideal situation would, of course, be to have a useful supervisor and leadership in general. If you recognize that you are in an organization where you find the leadership harmful, it is wise to consider changing the organization.

Below are two images of diverse types of leaders and different work environments. Which one do you think would have a useful leader and which one a harmful leader?

1.1 Useful Leadership

With the aid of useful leadership, an organization can not only overcome its daily challenges but also focus on the future and strive for continuous improvement. The key characteristic of such leadership is the ability to identify and unlock the organization's latent strengths, transforming them into strategic advantages. This type of leadership is evident in the ability to recognize market changes and turn them into opportunities, as well as in creating an innovative atmosphere where every employee feels valued and clearly sees their contribution to the company's success.

When leadership functions correctly, it not only delegates tasks and monitors performance but also inspires subordinates to take responsibility and make independent, impactful decisions.

Under good leadership, employees feel that their ideas and opinions matter, which in turn increases their commitment and sense of responsibility. In this environment, each employee is more than just a part of the production process; they are active contributors to business development and improving results.

Good leadership understands that people are the organization's most valuable asset. It focuses on creating a corporate culture that fosters openness, trust, and collaboration—a culture where failures are not just seen as mistakes but as learning opportunities. The role of leadership is to ensure that such a culture is embedded at all levels of the organization. Only when every individual in the workforce feels they can contribute to the company's goals without fear of failure can the organization perform at its best.

While good leadership cannot replace all other aspects of operation, it provides a foundation for everything else. Effective leadership sets clear goals, provides necessary resources and support, and celebrates achievements, creating an environment where employees are motivated to excel. This type of leadership not only propels the organization forward but also ensures that the journey is fruitful, and all parties remain on the shared path towards common goals.

Useful leadership is an ideal state. This book aims to make you think deeply about your actions and what is enormously important in business and organizational activities. By focusing on the right things, leadership steers the organization in the right direction without overly involving itself in the executing level's tasks.

A leader who does not listen to subordinates will soon find themselves surrounded by silent employees. In such a scenario, the operational staff will only do what is instructed, stifling innovative and developmental activities. The most innovative and development-minded individuals are likely to have already switched employers.

Good leadership traits do not come naturally to everyone but can be developed and strengthened over time. A good leader is always ready to learn and grow. It is important to objectively assess one's leadership quality.

The roles of a manager and a leader can differ. A manager's role often involves more administrative tasks and process management, while a leader's role may be more focused on vision, strategy, and leading people.

Important qualities shared by managers and leaders include decision-making ability, reliability, fairness, and communication skills. For employees, signs of good leadership within an organization include clear goals, functional and appropriate tools, coaching support, involvement in decision-making, effective two-way communication, and recognition and reward for superior performance.

Overall, leadership can support the operational level by creating an encouraging and supportive work environment where they can succeed and develop. This enhances organizational efficiency, productivity and employee engagement.

Assessing my own leadership quality may not be unbiased. My goal has often been to make myself unnecessary by distributing responsibility, ensuring peace for those doing the work, and focusing on developing our actions and the way we operate. Ideally, I would spend more time on this, but real-world time constraints and many demanding tasks make it challenging. Authoring this book, I feel a sting in my heart that I teach something I have not fully achieved. Yet, the world is not finished, and the main thing is that we are continually developing towards our goals and a better-functioning organization.

1.2 Useless Leadership

If leadership is neutral or passive, an organization's inherent momentum may carry it through even tough times. This survival often relies on a strong corporate culture, a legacy of visionary leadership or stemming from the employees' own commitment and collaboration.

A culture where employees share common values and goals can mitigate leadership deficiencies by providing a unified direction and purpose. The strength of such a culture is evident when employees make daily decisions aligned with collectively agreed principles, compensating for the lack of clear leadership. In these scenarios, team autonomy and accountability become crucial.

In such circumstances, there is a risk that without active leadership, an organization's direction and focus can gradually blur, leading to inefficiency or a loss of purpose over time. An organization must maintain its ability to self-regulate and continually innovate. This requires strong internal communication, emphasis on collaboration, and constant learning.

Although useless leadership may not actively harm operations, it fails to utilize potential for improved performance and innovation. Ineffectual leadership can be costly by missing opportunities that a dynamic, strategic leadership could leverage. Recognizing the risks of passive leadership and continuously developing it is vital for survival and success in a competitive business environment.

If leadership is deemed useless, questions arise about its necessity and the justification for compensating leaders.

1.3 Harmful Leadership

The worst scenario in an organization is when leadership creates obstacles for those trying to work. Overbearing restrictions can lead to frustration and a decline in motivation, poisoning the work environment. Excessive control and negativity diminish employees' ability to perform effectively and their willingness to take risks and innovate. When the operational staff perceives leadership as more of a barrier than support, their belief in their ability to contribute to the company's goals diminishes.

The unfortunate truth is that operational staff rarely influence leadership appointments, leaving them to adapt to management styles that may not best serve work or company interests.

Harmful leaders may hide inadequacies behind convincing speech and charisma, impressing upper management or owners while masking the reality of situations. This issue is exacerbated when owners or higher management are disconnected from daily operations and only see a superficial picture. Recognizing harmful leadership requires upper management to understand frontline challenges and listen to employee experiences to facilitate a return to effective and inspiring operations.

When detrimental leadership creates the illusion of competence, they can remain in their roles for extended periods and may even ascend in the organizational hierarchy. This issue becomes pronounced when owners or upper management are not actively involved with day-to-day operations and only have a superficial understanding of the situation. Uncovering the reality requires higher-ups to deeply understand the challenges at the operational level and listen to employee experiences. Identifying harmful leadership and implementing necessary changes can lead to a return to an effective and inspiring operational model that supports the success and well-being of all members of the organization.

Middle management acting as a shit umbrella – a protective layer – is crucial, especially when there are problems at the top. This layer shields staff from negative influences, allowing focus on work without added stress. Managers should reflect on how to truly assist subordinates in improving performance, finding motivation, and self-development, beyond just when questioned by higher-ups. Effective middle management that takes care of their team's well-being creates optimal conditions for productive work.

Middle management, while protecting their teams from negative impacts, can paradoxically also hinder positive changes. They might resist upper management's efforts to advance the company through new practices or strategies, withholding information or ignoring new directives. This resistance may stem from fear of change, perceived threats to their status, or feeling overwhelmed without adequate support, leading to a defensive stance against the proposed changes.

To overcome obstacles in change management, it is crucial to engage all organizational levels, recognizing middle managers as change agents and equipping them with the necessary tools. Regular communication, training, and a sharp vision can help them understand the importance of change. Upper management must be receptive to feedback, valuing the insights of middle managers who are close to the customers and operational staff. Successful change requires a culture that supports positive transformation across the organization.

Effective middle management understands their teams' needs, acting as a communication conduit between subordinates and upper management. They adapt upper management's decisions into manageable tasks, fostering a space where creativity and innovation flourish. This approach enhances team motivation and dedication, leading to success even when higher management levels are suboptimal.

In company feedback surveys, asking the operational staff how leadership and support functions have concretely aided their daily tasks can be insightful. If the staff struggles to identify received support, it suggests the need for reflection and improvement in leadership or communication. The accompanying image highlights signs of detrimental leadership. Self-evaluation against these indicators can reveal the nature of one's leadership; if all boxes are checked positively, the leadership is not harmful (or the issues are unrecognized).

An authoritarian leader makes all decisions alone, disregarding the input or perspectives of subordinates or the team. This style leaves employees feeling undervalued or unheard and can lead to poor decisions if the leader ignores others' views.

A detrimental leader fails to communicate expectations, goals, or decisions clearly, causing confusion and inefficiency. This can result in employees being unsure of what is expected of them or the direction in which the company is headed.

A leader who treats employees unfairly or favors certain individuals or groups creates a negative work environment. This can lead to low job satisfaction, high employee turnover, and deficient performance. Feedback, both positive and constructive, is crucial, yet often challenging to provide. Insufficient feedback can leave employees uncertain about their performance and how to improve it.

A leader who micromanages, showing a lack of trust in their employees' ability to work independently, can cause stress and lower self-esteem, hindering growth and development. A consistently negative, critical, or pessimistic leader demotivates and creates a toxic atmosphere. An empathetic leader, failing to consider employees' needs and feelings, may lead to low job satisfaction and high turnover.

The effects of harmful leadership manifest in various aspects of organizational operation. The accompanying image lists characteristics of such leadership. To identify and address it, it is vital to monitor these traits. Addressing harmful leadership might necessitate changes in organizational culture, leadership training, and responsiveness to employee feedback, crucial for organizational success.

Do you recognize these challenges in your organization?

2 DECISION-MAKING POWER BELONGS TO THE STAKEHOLDERS

Decision-making power belongs to the stakeholders is a key principle for effective operation and engagement in an