Everyone has a leadership style, and no two leaders are exactly alike. There have been thousands of studies on leadership, and there are various opinions on how to categorize leaders. This particular article will classify leaders based off of three categories: Leaders that listen, Leaders that communicate, and leaders that observe. These categories are based off the experiences of the influential leaders that surround LT~CRS.

The Leader That Listens-

These are leaders that really have the ability to not only listen to their employees, but also truly care about the things their employees say. These are the leaders that shake the hand of someone once and remember the clients name, their kid’s names, and where they went for vacation last summer. These leaders often make their followers more productive because they know what makes each member of their team tick. An example of a leader that exhibits this type of leadership is Warren Buffet.

The Leader That Communicates-

These are leaders which keep their team informed. They are constantly organizing, storing, and disseminating information to their followers. As well as communicating often, they are the leaders that communicate effectively. They have no issues speaking on stage and inspiring large audiences. An example of a leader that exhibits this type of leadership is Martin Luther King.

The Leader That Observes-

These are leaders that deeply observe aspects of their business and work to resolve the problems that they see. They are the group that tends to innovate because they look more closely than the other two groups. This leadership groups’ personalities vary the most because they can be quite/shy or have a extroverted personality. An example of this type of leader would be Woodrow Wilson.

Although sometimes leaders fit into several of these categories, it is rare that a leader does them all well. Often, we see leaders lacking in at least one of these aspects. Although all of these styles are all equally beneficial, it is safe to say that the leader that observes is often not as acknowledged. These professionals are usually technically inclined and their works includes many facts that are difficult for the average follower to understand.

So what are a couple of options if you are lacking a particular skill set? Well, of course there is always training. But training takes time, and why in the long run will be best for long term improvement, lacks a bit in short term gain.

But there is an option to get a more immediate gain or effect. In order for those leaders to seek more recognition in their industries, it may help them to gain partners who are experts in the other two categories. Partners who can listen to others about the issues the organization faces as well as communicate effectively to resolve those problems. That way the leaders can notice the problems, and the partners can make it easier for the leader to make a solution come to fruition. This can have a significant and immediate impact to productivity, efficiency and most often sustainable bottom line improvements.

US Based Executives ‘question business value’ of tech spend.

Recently I was exposed to a survey taken by multiple senior finance executives regarding their opinions and facts surrounding the cost of IT and communications. Overall the “gist” of the information gathered clearly shows technology is needed,  but do not believe they are getting the types of info they need, and the spend or “burn rate” was grossly negligent to the ROI.

Below are some of the highlights or the articles finer points.

After reading…what are you opinions or thoughts on high communication spend rates or the mismanagement of technology costs in business?

• Senior finance executives say their companies are weak at converting business spend to technology value.

• Almost none of those surveyed (3%) rate their companies as “excellent”, according to a new survey of more than 150 senior finance executives by CFO Research in collaboration with consultants AlixPartners.

• The survey also finds that more than two-thirds of financial executives (66%) give their companies a “C” or “D” grade when it comes to measuring financial returns from discretionary IT projects, such as big data ones, designed to improve or add to a company’s business and profits. Only 5% gave their companies an “A”.

• Meanwhile, at the other end of the IT spectrum, the survey reveals that “keep-it-running” IT costs – non-discretionary support and maintenance systems – are cannibalizing funds available for business-improving IT.

• A plurality of respondents (49%) estimates that, over the past two years, their company has maintained approximately a 70-30 ratio of keep-it-running to improve-the-business IT spending, and of that amount, a solid majority – 63% – believes that their company’s spending is weighted too heavily toward keep-it-running IT services, and that a greater share should be directed to improve-the-business IT projects.

• The survey goes on to show that, despite massive IT investments in recent years, companies are not getting enough of the kind of information they need to successfully run and grow their businesses.

• “The message from CFOs and other senior finance executives is loud and clear – companies are spending too much on IT, and they’re not getting the business information that they truly need,” said Meade Monger, managing director at AlixPartners and co-lead of the firm’s Information Management Services unit.

By Todd Larsen CEO Limitless Technology~CRS  April, 10th, 2013

Limitless Technology~CRS

Delivering expert results on: telecom auditing, telecom contract management, telecom expense management, and telecom billing optimization services.

www.limitlesstechnology.com