Developing Leadership Capacities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Developing Leadership Capacities - Essay Example an seeing the leader as a co-equal of followers Transformational Theory Gives emphasis on the role of leadership in initiating and implementing change Attaches too much importance to the leader as a catalyst of change rather than to all the stakeholders as creators and performers of change Applying Theory U to Cross-Functional Team Leadership One theory of leadership which can help leaders positively transform cross-functional teams is theory U. The first step, going down the U’s left part, is referred to as ‘sensing’ or building up a perceived image of the organization’s present reality that should be understood and transformed (Scharmer, 2009). In a cross-functional team, it is important to develop highly committed members. ... The important questions to answer are: (1) what the team desires to create, (2) why it is important, (3) how to accomplish this, (4) who is responsible, and (5) when and where to perform this. By employing ‘sensing’, the leader of a cross-functional team is able to achieve its goal of improving service to key customers by (Kahane, 2010): (1) discovering shared ideas and perspective by sharing the story and situation that brought highly diverse people together in one team; (2) motivating and being an inspiration to the team; (3) training in deep-dive (‘do what you love, love what you do’ principle) processes and discussion interviews; (4) recognizing key stakeholders that have to be visited and known. Apparently, when relating to the team and the environment, a leader should set in motion and bring in the ‘four channels of listening’: â€Å"(1) listening from what you know, (2) from what surprises you, (3) from empathizing with the interviewee, and (4) listening from her or his authentic source or highest future possibility† (Anonymous, 2012, p. 10). Through ‘sensing’, a leader will be able to uncover the highest potential of every member of the cross-functional team with an open heart and mind. The second step is ‘presencing’, or a more profound understanding of one’s duty and function in the organization; after profoundly engrossing oneself in the perspectives and situations that are appropriate to a setting and its greatest future prospect, ‘presencing’ concentrates on tapping on a more profound source of understanding (Scharmer, 2009). In order for a leader of a cross-functional team to carry out the ‘presencing’ step successfully s/he should form circles where in s/he commits one