IE Publishing: From Team Leadership To Self-Leadership

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This document is one of the 1000 copies authorized for use only by professor Andrea de Paramo in OLJ Leadership - OLJ Leadership at IE from 04-16-2020 to 09-30-2020
CO2-312-I
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FROM TEAM LEADERSHIP TO SELF-LEADERSHIP
Original written by Professors Ignacio Álvarez de Mon and Remedios Torrijos at IE Business School.
Original version, Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Latest version, December 1, 2017 (RL).
Published by the IE Business Publishing department. María de Molina 13, 28006 – Madrid, Spain.
©2009 IE. Total or partial publication of this document without the express, written consent of IE is prohibited.
LEADING: MANAGING PEOPLE WITH A HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH

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What was your company like ten years ago? What will it be like ten more from now? Undoubtedly,
today your company is different from what it was and what it will be. There will be things that remain
unchanged but other things will radically change. “Change.” That is the keyword. It is what remains
constant in organizations’ and people's future nowadays.
Already in 1988, Professor Alejandro Llano 1 pointed out the new top values among young Spanish
professionals who were joining the job market: professional development, personal growth while
doing their job, a desire to create and share, being part of an company that knows how to recognize
the value of individual employees’ contributions, taking on new challenges as part of an ongoing
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learning process, etc. Nowadays, many Human Resources professionals find it harder and harder to
attract and retain talent. When choosing a job, the salary and the company's status, name and
prestige are still important factors but are no longer the only ones.
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On the other hand, the current social, economic and work environment is controlled by processes of
rapid change where people are the protagonists, both at the beginning and at the end. For instance:
 IBM was considered a big company that everyone knew, where a typical big boss (a male, of
course) spent his whole life (his professional life) to support his traditional family. Today at IBM,
50% of its employees (about 320,000) have been there for less than five years; 40% are remote
workers or do not have a permanent physical workplace; and 30% are women (some of them,
like in Spain, are at the senior-most level).
 It is more and more common for work destinations to change and to be temporary. On average,
senior managers at European companies stay at their jobs for four to five years. Forty-five
percent of them seek employment at other companies.
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 Unfortunately, mental health problems at work are taking the spotlight. Between 50 and 60
percent of work-related stress is related to emotional stress. These problems cost the EU 20,000
million euros per year.
As people in managerial positions at our companies, what can we do when facing this important
change? Firstly, we must recognize, identify it and accept it, especially if there is no other option.
Secondly, we must prepare ourselves in order to respond to it as best as possible. The
transformations we are talking about greatly affect employees on a personal level and their ability to
manage them has become a key competitive advantage in the business world. Due to the personal,
private and critical nature of the change we are talking about, we need both the commitment of
1
Llano, A., La nueva sensibilidad, Espasa Universidad, Madrid, 1988.
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FROM TEAM LEADERSHIP TO SELF-LEADERSHIP CO2-312-I
management and employees in order to face it with a chance of success 2. This explains why
leadership now plays an increasingly important role in managerial work. Leaders work using a web
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of interpersonal relationships where instead of having power over others, they depend on them more
and more 3.
The success of this oh-so-difficult relationship between a supervisor and a subordinate determines
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each one’s level of satisfaction and willingness to face the challenges they come across on a daily
basis at work with an optimistic attitude. Let’s put ourselves in the boss’ shoes: What do my team
members need in order to be happy at work and, therefore, be more willing to improve their
performance?
Each case is unique and each situation is different, but after many years of research, some
researchers 4 have proven that outstanding managers create a work environment where employees
value the following aspects from most to least:
1.- Knowing what is expected of them.

2.- Having the resources needed to do their job.
3.- Having the chance to put their strengths into practice every day.
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4.- Receiving recognition for a job well done.
5.- Their supervisor taking merely human aspects into consideration.
6.- Perceiving that their boss cares about the professional development of his team members.
7.- Seeing that their opinions are taken into account.
8.- Seeing that their work is important for the company’s mission and purpose.
9.- Appreciating everyone’s commitment to high-quality work.
10.- Having a good friend at work.
11.- Being able to talk with someone about personal progress.
12.- Having opportunities to learn and grow.
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If this were the right recipe, would simply accepting it and putting it into practice tomorrow be enough?
Of course not. These types of initiatives cannot be taken without strongly believing in them first. If we
want to lead people as people, we must start by recognizing ourselves and acting like it. Being and
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acting are aspects that go hand in hand. Being a person and acting like a person requires you to
identify and assess all aspects of human beings: intellectual, psychological, emotional and even
spiritual. From there, leading becomes more about sharing common concerns, challenges, desires
and needs than about managing.
Surely, right now at a desk overflowing with papers, there must be a reader wondering: Is the
professional environment a proper place to put all of these ideas into practice? Our opinion about it
is clear and cut and dried and our answer is too: of course it is. This does not mean that it will be
easy for whoever tries it. We know that many of the reflections that we are going to share in this book
are not easy to put into practice and whoever tries to will sometimes feel like they are swimming
against the current. But we are sure that if they know how to apply them, there is usually a great
result, both on a human and professional level.
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LEADING IS NOT THE SAME AS MANAGING
Peter Drucker 5 already said a while ago that what we know about management is no longer valid:
“Managers will have to learn to forget what they knew about how to manage as quickly as they learn
new things they must know. In current circumstances, more leadership and less management is
needed.”
2
Senge, P.M., La danza del cambio, Gestión 2000, Barcelona, 2000.
3
Kotter, J.P., Qué hacen los líderes, Gestión 2000, Barcelona, 2000.
4
Kofman, F., Metamanagement, Volume I , Granica, Barcelona, 2001.
5
Drucker, P.F, Ejecutivos, empresarios y dirigentes. Mc Graw Hill, Mexico, D.F., 1996. Note: The quote has been translated
from Spanish to English.
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WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
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The best way to answer this question is by asking ourselves another one: What do leaders do?
Peter Senge 6 believes that in a learning organization, that is to say, an organization where all
members are capable of learning on an ongoing basis, “Leaders are designers, teachers and
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stewards. They are responsible for building organizations where people continually expand their
capabilities to understand complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models.”
Leaders deal with very unique matters that we are not used to dealing with and even less so in a
professional environment: vision, emotion, motivation, passion, ideals, connection, empathy,
enthusiasm, hope, imagination, credibility, commitment, etc. Perhaps this is why some authors 7 think
that in many bureaucratic and inefficient organizations that are lacking real leadership, one of the
greatest barriers to change is that people who have never created a problem or challenged the status
quo (which they tend to call “management capacity”) are precisely the ones who are promoted and
take on top leadership positions.
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WHAT DIFFERENCES ARE THERE BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT?
Or, if you like, what makes a leader different from a manager?
Warren Bennis 8 thinks:
 The manager administers; the leader innovates.

 The manager maintains; the leader develops.
The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
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 The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
 The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
 The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
 The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.
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However, Kotter 9 offers us a more eclectic or complementary vision of both sides: “Increasingly,
those in managerial jobs can be usefully thought of as people who create agendas with both plans
and budgets (the management part) and visions and strategies (the leadership part), as people who
develop implementation networks both through hierarchy (management) and a complex web of
aligned relationships (leadership), and who execute both through controls (management) and
inspiration (leadership).”
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM A LEADER?
In other words, what do people want from their leaders?

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Fredy Kofman 10 points out four key aspects:
1.- Purpose, direction and meaning: something that gives meaning to what we do and why we do
it.
2.- Confidence: mainly based on our skills.
3.- Optimism: the firm belief that the goals that have been set are achievable.
4.- Results: which come from being action-oriented.
6
Senge, P.M., La quinta disciplina, Granica, Barcelona, 1998.
7
García, S., Simon, L.D., La dirección por valores, McGraw Hill, Madrid, 2000.
8
Bennis, W.G., Dirigir personas es como adiestrar gatos, Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces, Madrid 2001.
9
Op. cit.
10
Op. cit.
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Kouzes and Posner 11 have asked people from over 30 countries who represent all the sectors and
positions you can possibly imagine what they look for and admire in a leader, that is to say, a person
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who they would willingly follow. People have answered consistently since 1980, and even today, the
answers are the same. The characteristics they look for in a leader are honesty, forward-looking,
competent and inspiring.
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Leaders are people who remove obstacles and pave the way for the people who depend on them.
Unfortunately, there are too many managers who not only remove obstacles but are also obstacles
themselves 12. Leaders gain authority by helping others and sacrificing themselves for them.
Goleman and Boyatzis 13 understand that a leader’s key task is to arouse positive emotions in their
team members, creating a favorable emotional climate which is imperative for unleashing the best in
them. According to these authors, at its root, the primal task of leadership is emotional, understanding
that emotion does not work against reason; it is a part of it. The best leaders understand the
extraordinary role that emotions play in the workplace. The studies that both researchers carried out
show that the emotional climate of an organization accounts for between 20 and 30 percent of its
performance.
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These points lead many people 14 to agree that our success as managers depend less and less on
our ability to analyze, reason and debate and more on our ability to appeal to people’s imagination,
hopes and desires.
WHO CAN BE A LEADER?
For Sims 15, like many other authors, the answer is clear: “True leadership comes from within a
person, not from the outside.” We are talking about a new kind of leadership, which facilitates the
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self-leadership energy within each person.
When you are confident and secure about your self-leadership skills, you have more strength and
are more eager to inspire leadership in others, increasing their ability to collaborate with others and
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helping them to effectively create their own destiny. The best way to lead, in this sense, is by example
and by being a positive model of personal mastery.
The implications of this understanding of leadership in the professional world are countless. What
stands out is the possibility of helping professionals find rewards intrinsic to the work they do,
focusing more on internal sources of motivation in the work they carry out, which are more constant,
long-lasting and can be controlled by each person.
As we continue delving into and expanding our research on what leadership is and its implications
according to the main experts on the topic, the conclusion we reach is consolidated: leadership is a
process that ordinary people begin when they give the best of themselves to others. From this point
of view, each and every one of us has potential qualities to be a leader that can emerge at a given
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time under the right conditions.
HOW A PERSON FITS INTO AN ORGANIZATION THROUGH THE SEARCH FOR

COMMITMENT
The Dictionary of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language defines the word commitment as an
obligation that restricts freedom of action, a pledge. If we stick to this definition, we must think about
what has to happen for a person to make a commitment to someone about something. In this case,
11
Kouzes, J.M., Posner, B. Z., Management del siglo XXI, Pearson Educación, S.A., Madrid, 2000.
12
Hunter, J.C., La paradoja, Ediciones Urano S.A., Barcelona, 1999.
13
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., El líder resonante crea más, Plaza & Janes, Barcelona, 2002.
14
Ridderstrale, J., Nordstrom, K., Funky business, Prentice Hall, Madrid, 2000.
15
Sims, H.P., Naviz, C., El superliderazgo, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 1993.
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the “something” would be the person’s job and the “someone” would be the company where the
person works.
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“Organizations are the sum of small personal plans that find a breeding ground to develop within a
community.”
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Do you agree with this statement? Does it have something to do with the situation you experience in
your organization? We are aware that it reflects an ideal that will seem very far from many people’s
reality. Nevertheless, we believe that in order to talk about commitment, we must adopt the most
ambitious approach possible, at least at first. Later, difficulties of daily life will pop up, and it will be
tempting for us to lower our standards. In any case, our starting point, in this matter and others, tends
to be a key variable that affects what will happen in the future.
In response to the spirit of the sentence stated above, we propose the reader the following three-
part analysis:
1.- Commitment to oneself.

2.- Commitment to the team. lis
3.- Commitment to the organization.
As a starting point, we think the proper and most balanced way of making a commitment should
include the three aspects mentioned above.
COMMITMENT TO ONESELF: THE PERSONAL PLAN CALLED “ME”
“Organizations are the people who are in them.”

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“Individual performance, in each one’s sphere of influence, can make a difference.”
What do you think, dear reader, about these two statements? Do you agree with them? If your answer
is, basically, yes, that means that you believe in the freedom of the individual to determine his destiny
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and, through his specific actions, his ability to affect and change what is to come 16. An affirmative
answer to these two questions is based on two principles that support it: personalization and
responsibility (which goes hand in hand with freedom, its counterpart).
According to the principle of personalization, we cannot turn organizations where we work into
abstract entities, autonomous machines independent of those who govern, participate in and run
them. The opposite would mean falling into a process of alienation 17. In other words, “erasing” the
person behind whom the greatest atrocities can be hidden, justified simply because the fact that “this
organization is like that,” “this is how things are done here,” or “If I don’t do it, someone else will do
it for me.”
Under the principle of responsibility, everything we do or stop doing has an impact on us and what
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surrounds us. No matter the circumstances, the more adverse they are, the more valid this principle
is. The actions we take, within our scope of influence, change our environment and, what is more
impressive is they change us and everyone who interacts with us.
I encourage readers to think about a specific tough situation, where the circumstances weren't
exactly favorable for someone close to them. How did this person react in that situation? What was
his or her response? What effect did the response have on the person and others? What would
another person have done in that situation? It is important to understand that as people, we act
according to our own ways of thinking, which do not have to be the same or similar to other people’s.
From this point of view, we must freely and responsibly recognize our personal plan as something
that is truly ours.
16
Frankl, V.E., El hombre en busca de sentido, Herder, Barcelona, 1987.
17
Álvarez de Mon, I., ¿Alineación o alienación?, HDBR, no. 2405, Ediciones Deusto, Nov. 2004.
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WHO DRAWS UP OUR PERSONAL PLAN? VICTIM OR PROTAGONIST?
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Here is a little exercise for you to do:
 Describe a professional or personal situation that had a poor outcome that is still negatively
affecting you in a significant way.
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 Think about that situation and answer the following questions:
o What circumstance or people caused the situation?

o What did those people do exactly?
o What consequences did it have for you?
o How did they make you feel?
o What punishment do they deserve?
o What should those people do to change the situation?
o How do you feel now?
 Now, thinking about that situation again, answer these questions:
o
o
o
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Describe the challenge you faced.
How prepared were you to face this challenge?
What was your response?
o What were the consequences (negative consequences) of your behavior?
o Can you think of another response that could have been more effective?
o Is there a lesson you can learn from this experience for the future?
o How do you feel now?
We all have a victim and protagonist hidden inside of us. The issue is which role we usually play and
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what are the results. The first questions in the exercise are for our victim. The second ones are for
our protagonist. The victim always looks beyond himself to find the causes of things that happen to
him. The protagonist looks within himself. Both tend to find causes. So, what is the difference
between the two? The causes that the victim finds make him feel powerless, while the ones the
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protagonist finds usually prepare him to respond better to a similar situation next time. The victim
reflects: “Why does this have to happen TO ME?” On the other hand, the protagonist thinks: “Could
I have done things differently?”
Let’s call our protagonist, who feels free and personally responsible for everything that happens to
him, and let’s ask him:
HOW CAN WE DRAW UP OUR PERSONAL PLAN?
In order to answer this question, Jorge Bucay 18, along with our protagonist, invites us to ask
ourselves three more questions:
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1.- Who am I?
2.- Who am I with?
3.- Where am I going?
The first question, “Who am I?” refers to our IDENTITY,of who we are. We know it by identifying our
existential VALUES, what we truly consider important in our lives. We also discover it if we analyze
our BEHAVIORS and EXPECTATIONS regarding others.
The second question, “Who am I with?” refers to our COMPANIONS, the people who are on our
journey with us, people who we relate to and who we consider important.
18
Bucay, J., El camino de la autodependencia, Grijalbo, Barcelona, 2002.
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We can combine both aspects in the following chart and try to answer the questions that are raised:
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IDENTITY:
Values Behaviors Expectations

What is important What must I do What do I expect?
for me regarding...? about...?
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COMPANIONS:
My subordinates:
My supervisors:
My colleagues:
My clients:
My organization:
My... (others):
Our personal plan is completed by answering the third question: Where am I going? This aspect tells
us about the PATH of our lives, the place to where our steps are taking us, more or less consciously.
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In this regard, we invite the reader to do the following visualization exercise:
Imagine what you will be like as a professional ten years from now:
What would you like to be like?

What would you like to do?
Who would you like to work with?
What steps would you have to take to get there?
What difficulties could you encounter?
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How could you overcome them?
Thinking about difficulties, we encourage you to put them into three categories 19:
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1.- The things you have direct control and that you can personally try to change.
2.- The things you have indirect control and if you want to change them, you must influence others.
3.- The things you have no real control and that you can only hope are taken care as best as
possible.
Saint Augustine said it like this, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
To wrap up this section, here are three more questions:
1.- PRIORITIZATION Where should I start?

2.- ACTION When should I start?
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3.- FEELINGS How do I feel?
Ideally, you should start with what makes you less effective as a person and as a professional every
time you put it off. When: now. Once you start, you will feel something: embrace it, identify it, take
advantage of it and if at the end of the day it is good that is the best sign that you are on the right
track.
COMMITMENT TO THE TEAM: INTERPERSONAL PLAN
Commitment takes on a new meaning when it comes to teamwork. The role that an individual plays
has a different connotation from the time when others, with their own roles, interact with and depend
19
Covey, S.R., Los siete hábitos de la gente altamente eficaz, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 2004.
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on the individual. Interaction and interdependence are possibly the most distinguishing
characteristics of teamwork regarding the individual.
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IS TEAMWORK NECESSARY?
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Not always. It is more efficient to deal with many situations in the workplace by yourself. When a
specific matter depends on a specific person who holds the key to managing it properly, teamwork
will probably be more of an impediment than added value.
We must not let teamwork turn into something where many professionals do not want, can’t or aren’t
allowed to do their work properly. The prevailing, but not sufficiently justified, need for consensus in
many organizations is causing numerous initiatives of individuals with ideas to die of starvation in
long, boring and ineffective meetings specialized in not making any decisions.
WHY DO WE HAVE SO MANY MEETINGS?

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Supposedly, one of the ways that teamwork is embraced is through work meetings: “No self-
respecting team can stop meeting.” One of the most widespread organizational diseases is
“meetingitus” and in some cases, “acute meetingitus:” Out of the last ten meetings you went to, how
many were worthwhile? Were they needed, well organized, and efficient? Did they provide added
value and was progress made? In how many of them did you feel like you could be making much
better use of your time by doing something else?
What makes us incapable of organizing effective meetings? We all know the requirements of an
effective meeting:
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1.- Justify why it is needed. The person who calls the meeting should be obligated to prove why it
is necessary: What justifies you wanting to take up people’s time and requesting I attend the
meeting? Can what you want to address in this meeting be handled in a more efficient way? If
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more than one convener were to seriously ask themselves these two simple questions before
calling a meeting, we would save a lot of time on a daily basis.
2.- Work before the meeting. It involves thinking about and answering these questions:
Who must attend the meeting and why?
What work that is done before the meeting should attendees bring?
What is the agenda? What topics must be discussed and in what order?
How long should the meeting last?
What results will lead us to believe the meeting has been effective?
3.- During the meeting:

Who will lead/moderate the meeting?
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How can I get everyone to participate and give their opinion?

How can I ensure we make progress and that we don't get stuck?
Who will take care of the meeting agenda?
How do I know if the objectives that were set have been met?
4.- After the meeting:

What are the conclusions of the meeting?
What are the next steps to take? Who should take them?
After a certain amount of time and depending on the progress that has been made:
Did it make sense to have a meeting?
Does it make sense to have another one?
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SO, WHAT VALUE DOES TEAMWORK ADD?
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“...The lone helmsman, whatever his ability, is prone to mistakes and oversights which reﬂect the
limitations of his knowledge and experience. The management team has become a stable
alternative, a way of managing a company efficiently, so long as the right combination of people can
be found.” 20
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An omnipotent superman who knows and can do everything does not exist, even less so in today’s
world with so many changes and new developments in all areas which call for experts in their fields.
The most difficult task of being the team leader is getting people to join forces so that everyone rows
in the same direction.
WHAT IS SYNERGY?
1 + 1 = 3 or 3,000. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That is the biggest strength of
teamwork, its major advantage. There are three conditions that must be met so that this strength
does not become a weakness. lis
1.- Each one must be one and not half or less than one. Each team member must provide value on
their own, individually.
2.- Each team member should feel that their uniqueness (what makes them different) is respected.
3.- Everyone must work together in the same direction.

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WHAT MAKES A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS BECOME A HIGH-PERFORMING TEAM?
Working as a team is not easy and doing it effectively is even less easy.
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In the middle of World War II, a group of top scientists, led by someone named Professor
Oppenheimer who proved to be an even better manager than a scientist in the end, achieved what
could have been considered a true miracle at the time: the creation of the atomic bomb. They were
part of what was called the Manhattan Project. Their work was critical in ending the war and, looking
beyond ethical considerations which are not the subject of this document, it is an example of good
organization, skill and effectiveness as a team.
What conditions fueled this level of operational excellence? As we are taking a look at them, we will
see that, although it is not easy, all teams are able to adjust when there are these conditions:
1. MISSION: Something to strive for and that gives meaning to everyday work. It is something that
inspires and motivates people to give their all, which can’t be measured or expressed in numbers;
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it is what expresses our wishes and desires in the workplace the most. The members of Project
Manhattan had their mission: to win the war. What is the mission that inspires your team? What
war must your team win?
2. OBJECTIVES: They turn the mission into something tangible and operational that allows us to
focus our daily work and follow up on possible deviations. The team’s success will depend on to
what extent the objectives are met. The objective of Oppenheimer’s group was clear and specific:
to build an atomic bomb. Do you know what your team's objectives are? What is your bomb?
20
Belbin, R.M., Equipos directivos: el porqué de su éxito o fracaso, Belbin Associates, Bilbao, 1981. Note: The quote has
been translated from Spanish to English.
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1.- LEADERSHIP: Someone who is in charge of the team, who encourages and acts as a model,
who organizes the members and takes responsibility for progress and the goals that have been
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set being attained. In the Manhattan Project, there were two leaders: a soldier, General Groves,
who oversaw the Pentagon project prior to Project Manhattan and a scientist, Oppenheimer. To
a large extent, the success of the company depended on proper teamwork between both
leaders, which was not always easy. Who leads your team? What is their leadership based on?
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2.- TALENT: The scientists participating in the Manhattan Project were the best specialists in their
fields. Do you have reliable people on your team who know how to do their job well and like
doing it?
3.- TEAM SPIRIT: There were unwritten rules between Oppenheimer and his team members when
it came to attitude and behavior: transparency, a willingness to share, a desire to collaborate,
putting in a lot of effort, the ability to disagree and debate, ongoing communication, support,
solidarity, and constantly challenging the current situation in order to improve. What are the
official or unwritten rules that your team follows? What are the key attitudes that all your team
members have in common?
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4.- INCENTIVES: The greatest incentive for each and every one of the people involved in the
Manhattan Project was, on the one hand, participating in one of the most challenging and
prestigious professional initiatives at the time and, on the other hand, contributing to their
respective countries winning the war against a common enemy. Incentives can be of a different
nature, for example, financial. What incentives do your team members have to be a part of the
team?
5.- RESULTS: Make no mistake, what showed that Oppenheimer's group was a high-performing
team achieving the result that justified the team being made in the first place: the atomic bomb.
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What result, if achieved, would justify your team’s work and would make it a high-performing
team?
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IS A TEAM MORE EFFECTIVE DUE TO THE DIVERSITY OF ITS TEAM MEMBERS?
Diversity (understood as all kinds of differences) is a factor that is complex and difficult to manage.
When people have different points of view, personal characteristics, experiences, cultures, sexes,
nationalities, races, educational backgrounds, etc., reaching an agreement is more difficult, but once
an agreement is reached, it is much more valuable. Research has shown that teams that perform
the best, and worst, are the most diverse.
We can analyze diversity from two perspectives:
1.- TECHNICAL: the activities that each team member carries out from a purely technical point of
view. In this regard, as managers of the work group, we must make sure there are people with
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complimentary skills and the skills required to effectively carry out the task.
2.- FUNCTIONAL: the roles of each team member in the organization as well in personal
interactions. In this regard, complementarity is as important as it is on a technical level.
IDENTIFYING YOUR TEAM’S ROLE PROFILES.
Next, we provide you a description of the main profiles of functional roles that can make up a team,
according to professor Belbin’s model. 21
21
Belbin, R.M., Roles de equipo en el trabajo, Belbin Associates, Bilbao, 1993.
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Belbin’s eight team roles

ROLE DESCRIPTION
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Plant Imaginative, nonconformist, solves difficult

problems.
Resource investigator Outgoing, enthusiastic, has good
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communication skills. Explores opportunities.
Develops contacts.
Coordinator Mature, a good organizer, confident. Clarifies
goals. Encourages decision-making. Delegates
well.
Shaper Challenging, dynamic, works well under
pressure. Has the drive to overcome obstacles.
Monitor evaluator Sober, strategic and able to analyze and
discern. Weighs all the options and judges them
accurately.
Teamworker lis Cooperative, perceptive and diplomatic.
Listens, takes care of interpersonal
relationships, avoids confrontation and friction,
deescalates.
Implementer Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient.
Turns ideas into practical actions.
Finisher Determined to finish things. Constant,
persistent. Searches for errors and omissions.
Does everything promptly.
b
You must bear in mind that, according to this model, all the profiles are needed to form the best team
possible, based on the following aspects:
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 CREATIVITY: (combining the plant and the resource investigator) to foster an efficient process
of discovery and innovation.
 ANALYSIS: (combining the monitor evaluator and the finisher) to achieve a practical and viable
approach.
 DRIVE: (combining the implementer and the shaper) to make sure the project is carried out.
 HARMONY: (combining the coordinator and the team worker) to make sure the team is efficient
and that problems are solved in a constructive way.
Other possible aspects, with their respective profile combinations, are:

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 PROBLEM SOLVING (plant and monitor evaluator).

 WORKFLOW: (finisher and implementer).
 DIRECTION (coordinator and shaper).
 CONNECTION (investigator and team worker).
Based on this model, can you identify the profiles and aspects your team has and which are missing?
What are the possible consequences of the particular combination of your team members’ profiles?
COMMITMENT TO THE ORGANIZATION: THE COLLECTIVE PLAN
Once we analyze commitment to oneself, on an individual level, and commitment to the team, and
on a group level, we can move on and explore professionals’ commitment to the organization where
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they work. What does this commitment involve? What does it mean? What elements should we take
into account when weighing and measuring it?
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In order to be able to respond satisfactorily to any of these questions, we must be aware of the
different dimensions that exist in all organizations and how they affect us as individuals related to it.
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DIMENSIONS OF AN ORGANIZATION
1.- STRATEGY: the organization’s mission and vision; strategies; short-, medium-, and long-term
objectives; plans; and current and future developments. How and what the organization aims to
be and in what time frame.
2.- STRUCTURE: organization chart, structure, groups that are powerful and influential, a hierarchy
and a representative system. Who is who, who depends on whom and depending on what in the
organization.
3.- PROCEDURES: how things are carried out, what procedures are used, routines and dominant
policies on every matter, what criteria are followed.
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4.- MANAGEMENT: how the organization is managed, how the person in charge manages, what
management styles predominate.
5.- COMPETENCES: the knowledge, skills and competencies required to work in this organization,
depending on the person’s position.
6.- STAFF: the kind of people who work in the organization, the main characteristics that define
them as people
b
7.- CULTURE: How would we describe the organization? What its most characteristic features be?
Its values which many of the professionals working there would share. This dimension is at the
core of all the others.
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In contrast to these seven dimensions, we must analyze two more:
1.- CONTEXT: the circumstances (internal and external) that surround the organization and that
can directly or indirectly influence it and its future development.
2.- INDIVIDUAL: oneself, as an individual, with the his quirks and special characteristics, more or
less on good terms with the organization where he carries out his work.
The more an individual identifies with an organization where he works, the more committed he is to
it. He can identify with none, some or all of the dimensions of the organization. Furthermore,
depending on the case, the organization’s level of internal coherence between all its dimensions will
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vary. Is there an ideal situation? Yes, but it is very difficult to achieve: an individual who completely
identifies with all the dimensions of the organization which are coherently interrelated. Everything
that moves us further away from that ideal situation hinders us from being as efficient as possible
and makes us more inefficient.
MANAGEMENT SKILLS FOR PERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT: MOTIVATION, COMMUNICATION AND COACHING
What do professionals who manage well other professionals do? How do they get them to do their
best? What allows them to be able to find a balance between achieving business objectives and the
satisfaction and personal well-being of their people?
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Professor Benjamin Zander 22, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, gives us a clue when
he tells us that his work involves discovering and drawing out the potential of others, what he calls
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“awakening the possibility” in other people. According to him, a symphony is an ensemble of voices
and instruments that sound together in harmony. The more powerful he makes people around him,
the more powerful Zander feels. In fact, his work is truly about getting others to do something since,
as a conductor, he does not directly make any sound.
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What would happen in our daily lives if we started to put this abundance mindset into practice? How
much would our interpersonal relationships and professional effectiveness improve if we decided to
stop being stingy with others based on a scarcity mindset?
The challenge is complicated and requires intense and coordinated personal efforts in at least three
areas:
 MOTIVATION: we must reconsider what really motivates people and what makes them willing
to give the best of themselves indefinitely.
 COMMUNICATION: opening up to the world of possibilities requires having “conversations for

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possibility.” We must silence our inner voice that says “I can’t do it.” What we say to ourselves
and how we say it makes a difference.
 COACHING: When facing a tough situation, we all have needed a friend to listen to us, support
us or give us advice about what to do. Through coaching, we can make it easier for others to
get where they want to go, and from there, to give their best to their colleagues and the rest of
the organization.
b
THREE LEVELS OF MOTIVATION: EXTRINSIC, INTRINSIC AND TRANSCENDENT
Frederick Herzberg 23, with his theory of extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, provides us a model that
we can use to understand the factors that motivate humans to do what they do in their personal and
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professional lives.
Based on this model, we propose the following exercise: put the 12 motivating factors shown below
in order based on how important they are to you at this point in your professional career.
MOTIVATING FACTORS
1.- Work conditions

2.- Salary
3.- Nature of the work itself
4.- Personal growth
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5.- Relationships with colleagues

6.- Challenge
7.- Achievement
8.- Security
9.- Responsibility
10.- Initiative
11.- Company policies
12.- Relationships with supervisors
22
Zander, B., Zander, R.S., El arte de lo posible. Transformar la vida personal y profesional, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona,
2001.
23
Herzberg, F., Work and the nature of man, World Publishing Company, 1966.
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Once you have put them in order, take a look at the two blocks below. In which block are most of the
factors that are the most important to you?
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EXTRINSIC MOTIVATING FACTORS
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1.- Work conditions
2.- Salary
3.- Relationships with colleagues
4.- Security
5.- Company policies
6.- Relationships with supervisors
INTRINSIC MOTIVATING FACTORS
1.- Nature of the work itself

2.- Personal growth lis
3.- Challenge
4.- Achievement
5.- Responsibility
6.- Initiative
What is the difference between one and the other?
According to Herzberg, extrinsic motivating factors arise from outside of the individual and are not
directly related to the work carried out so we have less control over them. On the contrary, intrinsic
b
factors originate inside the individual, are “intrinsically” related to the task performed and as long as
we have the option of choosing the type of work we do, we can have more control over them.
Herzberg explains both groups of factors from two qualitatively different perspectives. Extrinsic or
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hygiene factors do not motivate people; they demotivate them. For example, if you don't earn the
amount of money you think you deserve, you will be demotivated. However, the fact that you earn
enough money, or even more than you could want, is not enough to motivate you. People who are
truly motivated at their work are motivated by intrinsic or motivating factors. In other words, extrinsic
motivating factors are needed but are not enough to motivate; to be truly motivated, there must also
be intrinsic factors. In fact, if you think about anyone you know who you think is highly motivated at
your work, you will see how the key and foundation of that motivation is related to some intrinsic
factor.
What practical conclusions can we draw from all this? Herzberg inspires us to draw at least two:
 As workers, we must be aware that in the first place, our motivation depends on ourselves. If
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this is the case, it is better to focus our motivation on the factors we have a certain level of
control over, that is, the intrinsic ones. In addition, usually, people who focus their motivation on
these types of factors also end up coping with the others quite well, the extrinsic ones.
 As entrepreneurs or managers responsible for managing others, be aware that intrinsic

motivational factors last longer. That is to say, they are less permanent and financially cheaper.
If this is the case, why are you blatantly putting more emphasis on extrinsic factors when it
comes to motivating people? The only reason we can think of is that motivating people based
on intrinsic motivational factors requires a new style of management or leadership involving
having a closer relationship with employees and being more concerned about balancing their
personal interests with the interests of the organization. There are not very many managers who
are prepared and, above all, aware enough for that type of management.
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TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATION
g
Have you ever felt immense and personal satisfaction from knowing that your work has made
someone’s life better, even if it is just a little bit better? If you have experienced that feeling, you know
what we are talking about. It is tough to find a type of motivation that is more powerful than motivation
coming from being aware that what you do provides value to others. This motivation “transcends”
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our own being and mixes with that of others.
As Covey 24 puts it, leadership is affirming people’s worth so clearly that they are inspired to see it in
themselves. As Goethe says, “If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you
treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and
could be.”
When it comes to transcendent motivation, you do not see clients, you see people waiting for you to
help them solve their problems. You do not see subordinates, you see collaborators and a
relationship where you both help each other. You do not even see bosses, you see coworkers with
greater responsibility than you who you can help carry out tasks.
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With Grameen Bank and his microcredit concept, Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2006, is a living example of this philosophy.
The bank has worked with more than 46,000 villages in Bangladesh, has 1,267 branches and over
12,000 employees. It has granted over 4,500 million dollars in loans of twelve to fifteen dollars. Each
year, it grants nearly 500 million dollars in loans and 3.7 million people, 96 percent of whom are
women, make the decision that they can do something to change their lives and their family's lives.
It offers loans to beggars, who become clients, to help them get off the street and start doing
business. And all of this is done while being economically efficient and profitable.
b
Surely, a big part of Yunus’ secret and the secret of people like him is the fact that when he looks,
he does not see a “beggar.” He sees a person with the potential to escape the situation he is in if
given the chance. This is what is called the Pygmalion effect 25, where we can see people separate
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from their behavior, and by doing so, we affirm their fundamental and unconditional worth as people
and we allow them to do their best.
I encourage you, dear reader, to try to put some of these ideas into practice in your daily life. Once
you have tried, take a look at the result they have given you. Now we will give you some little tips
that can help you with this task of motivating yourself and, therefore, motivating the people who work
with you.
JOB ENRICHMENT (YOUR JOB AND OTHER PEOPLE’S JOBS)
 It helps people see the MEANING of the work they do. How? It allows them to see the meaning
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of what they do and how and where their work fits in with the work of others. It helps them be
experts and to feel like experts and encourages them to do new things or the same old things
in a different way.
 It encourages people to have the degree of AUTONOMY needed to do their job well. How? By
delegating tasks, allowing them to take on responsibilities and encouraging them to participate
and make decisions.
 It makes people aware of what they CONTRIBUTE and of their achievements. How? By
explicitly acknowledging their contributions, thanking them, offering them your support,
communicating and providing constant feedback.
24
Covey, S.R., El octavo hábito, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 2005.
25
Livingstone, J.S., Pygmalion in management, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1969.
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Do you know what the result of these "small" but powerful actions can be in your daily life? Put it to
the test, put yourself to the test, put them to the test and you will see. Most, but not all, people are
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comforted and motivated by seeing that what they do has MEANING, feeling FREE while doing it
and knowing that they are an EXPERT at it.
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COMMUNICATION: CONVERSATIONS FOR POSSIBILITY
Communication mainly involves sharing information, feelings, thoughts, opinions, ideas,

experiences, etc. Our communication with another person will be like our relationship with him or her
and vice versa. Asking what we want to get out of communication with others is the same as asking
what we want to get out of our relationship with others. Fulfilling and deep relationships
(communication) allows you to be who you truly are openly and without illusions, fears or
reservations. The most honest, balanced and, ultimately, effective people are able to keep this type
of relationship.
If we thought of every conversation we started with someone as something that could open up the
door to thousands of possibilities that we do not know about but are waiting to be discovered, we
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would be more selective about the conversations we have, more demanding about the aim of them
and more positive when dealing with them.
What must communication have in order to be high quality? What are the characteristics of
conversations for possibility?
COMMUNICATION AS COMMITMENT
b
Does what we are going to talk about with a certain person really matter to us? Or in other words,
does that person matter? Depending on our level of commitment to or involvement with the other
person, and therefore, what we have to speak with them about, John Powell 26 describes five levels
of communication:
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1. Level 5: cliché conversation
Superficial, routine communication with another person in which we pretend to be interested in order
to be polite. We are not interested in the other person; we want to get rid of him. “How are you? What
about your family? Let’s see when we can meet up.”
2. Level 4: talking about others
When we talk about other people, we avoid talking about ourselves. We reveal almost nothing about
ourselves. We tend to resort to gossip, trivial things and other people’s business. We don't reveal
anything about ourselves and we don't ask others anything about themselves.
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3. Level 3: ideas and opinions
Here we start to share something more about ourselves as people. Even so, communication at this
level is still subject to strict censorship. We share our ideas, opinions and decisions but we want to
be sure that they are going to be accepted, that we are going to be accepted.
4. Level 2: feelings and emotions
We share the things that differentiate ourselves the most from others and make us stand out as
individuals. Here we talk with our heart just as much as with our head. It is not usual to have
conversations at this level at work. In professional settings, we tend to repress our feelings and
26
Powell, J.,¿Por qué temo decirte quién soy?, Sal Terrae, Santander, 1989.
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emotions and have an exclusively rational approach to people and the conversations we have with
them. Other types of approaches expose us too much. What do we gain by avoiding these
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conversations? Distance and a false sense of security from not exposing ourselves to the other
person. What do we lose? The possibility of having conversations and relationships that are really
worth our while. Of course, we will look for all kinds of excuse to not communicate at this level: “We
don’t get paid to do that,” “We don't go to work to make friends,” “If you want company, buy a puppy,”
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“Feelings and emotions should be left at home,” “You give them an inch and they’ll take a mile,” etc.
5. Level 1: peak communication
Transparency and sincerity predominate. We completely trust the other person and there is mutual
understanding. The interlocutors are on the same wavelength and oftentimes, they don’t need to say
anything at all to know what the other is thinking. Do you have any relationships where you
communicate like this? With your significant other, your best friend, etc.? What about at work? Have
you had any relationships where you communicate like this? At this level, we no longer have to
pretend to be who we are not. We are simply ourselves and we are calm, peaceful and relaxed.
Each one of these levels has to do with how involved you are with the other person. All successful
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and high-level communication starts with wanting to have it. That is the key: each person has to find
their own motives for communicating with others.
OPEN-MINDEDNESS
With an open mind, communication is understood as a process of exchanging information, where we

can know, more or less, where we are starting from but we don't know where we will end. Our desire
to share is stronger than our desire to impose ourselves on the other person. Our desire to reach a
b
mutually beneficial truth is stronger than our desire to defend our own truth. People who are aware
of their opinions and the roots of their opinions can, at the same time, be aware of others’ opinions
and manage them better. Open-mindedness has a lot to do with respecting differences and the basic
dignity that every human being has simply for being human. By being open-minded, you understand
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the complexity and ambiguity of situations better and you are more prepared to know how to face
them.
EMPATHY
“Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes.” It is so easy to say and so tough to put into practice.
Empathy means that, by communicating with other people, we increase our ability to understand
their situation, feelings, thoughts and behavior. Understanding does not mean sharing or agreeing.
If I empathize with another person’s situation, it is easier for the other person to empathize with my
situation, and then, I can influence them. But this game goes back and forth. It is a double-edged
sword because the other person might end up influencing me too. Can I come to terms with it? Can
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I recognize that perhaps I was wrong? Can I confess that all this time my position has been wrong?
What happens to my self-esteem, dignity, personal security and the meaning of things as I
understood them until now? What about my sense of self?
EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Negative emotions (anger, resentment, anxiety, fear, frustration, feeling worthless, insecurity, etc.)
take up our attention and they make work harder for people who have them. The better they feel, the
better people work. Feeling good is the perfect lubricant for personal effectiveness, assimilating
information that affects us better and applying the rules of logic more effectively. Knowing how to
share emotions and moods makes people work more happily together and they end up performing
better.
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BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN JUDGEMENTS
g
Often times, our judgements about what others say, and not what others objectively say, control our
actions in the communication process. Letting people’s actions and attitudes towards us get to us
affects us more than the actions and attitudes themselves. As the saying goes, “No one can make
you feel inferior without your consent.” In order for communication to be more clear, the first thing we
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must get rid of are our own judgements. As Epictetus said, “It's not what happens to you, but how
you react to it that matters.”
INTEGRITY: KEEPING COMMITMENTS
The golden rule of communication is to not make commitments that you cannot keep and to respect
the ones that you have made as much as possible. Breaking a commitment is one of the most harmful
things we can do to a personal relationship (communication) that, surely, we want to be based on
trust.
KNOWING HOW TO APOLOGIZE

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Asking for forgiveness, in a timely and appropriate matter, is a sure way to gain credibility and our
coworkers’ respect and trust. Apologizing is a sign of personal strength and security, and if the
apology is sincere, it tends to improve the relationship with the person to whom we are apologizing.
People tend not to apologize or ask for forgiveness when they have an insecure and arrogant attitude.
They believe that apologizing or asking for forgiveness is an attack on their ego. It is a very stupid
way to protect their ego because, among other things, it tends to be quite obvious. People who are
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overly concerned about their ego tend to see an apology as an unjustifiable sign of softness and
weakness. They are wrong; everyone but them can see that they are wrong. But of course, they will
never admit it.
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FEEDBACK: HOW CAN WE TELL OTHERS WHAT WE THINK WE MUST TELL

THEM EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT EASY TO DO?
Sometimes we feel we have to tell someone something and we don't really know what or how to do
it. Like all communication processes, feedback has rules and following them tends to lead to good
results.
What is feedback?
It is communicating information to another person or other people about what we think about their
behavior and the effect of their behavior on different aspects that affect the person/people and their
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relationship with others: results, tasks, processes, attitudes, expectations, etc. Feedback can be the
perfect tool to learn about oneself and others. Through feedback, we are mirror-holders, we help the
other person to get to know themselves better and to get to know us better.
How should we give negative feedback?
The dilemma is how to keep a balance between needing someone to know our negative opinion
about something that we think they are not doing well while protecting the individual’s self-esteem
from being seriously damaged, and thus, their ability to be able to work better in the future. We must
do all of this while also trying to maintain a good interpersonal relationship.
People are oftentimes unfit for these situations and act two ways:
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1.- In an inhibited manner: not saying anything about the behavior that bothers them about the other
person.
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2.- In an aggressive manner: demanding that the other person change their behavior, even using
sarcasm, threats or intimation or putting the other person down.
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There is a third alternative that tends to be much more effective:
3.- being assertive—being able to directly say what you think, feel, need or want without hurting or
humiliating others and without feeling embarrassed by it. This style helps you to achieve
objectives but without sacrificing personal relationships.
The keys to being assertive are:
 Differentiating between facts and judgements.

 Learning how to give and receive feedback.
Exercise: “It is obvious that...I suppose that...”

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Sit face-to-face with a co-worker (or any person you choose, in any other setting) and have a
conversation for a couple of minutes about what each person observes about the other that seems
obvious (unquestionable, clear) and what that observation leads the person to suppose. The way it
would work is: “It is obvious that you are wearing a red shirt, I suppose you are a daring person.”
They will go back and forth saying this kind of sentence about each other for about two minutes.
After the exercise is over, what have you realized? Possibly that
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 It is difficult to be face-to-face and, above all, to look at each other. We do not have this type of
contact and closeness with someone very often.
 It is much easier to express “I suppose” than “it is obvious.” There are countless obvious things
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but our ability to see the obvious is very limited. We immediately do what we are used to. We
start making assumptions and we forget to observe.
 Just as what is “obvious” is indisputable and clear, what we “suppose” is much more subjective,
judgmental and, often, false; we only think it, but it is not true about the other person.
How can you give feedback effectively?
Here are some suggestions:
1.- Take into account your situation, circumstances, personal characteristics and, above all, the
other person’s.
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2.- Say specific things, not general or ambiguous ones.

3.- Only describe, don’t make judgements.
4.- Base things on facts, not on assumptions.
5.- Ask questions, listen, ask for the other person’s opinion before forming ours.
6.- Find out if our interpretations are correct or not.
7.- Recognize that opinions, judgements and interpretations are our own (I think, I believe, It seems
to me).
8.- Avoid labeling people and avoid discrediting them even more.
9.- Focus the feedback on behavior that can be changed.
10.- Disclosure: sharing something that happened to us or an experience in the past that can help
the other person to feel understood and to understand us.
11.- Showing that we are willing to help the other person improve what we have given him feedback
on.
12.- Reciprocity: also being open to receiving feedback from the other person.
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How can you receive feedback effectively?
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Knowing how to receive feedback will allow us to access very valuable information that others have
about us and, on the other hand, will open the door to us being able to give feedback. Some possible
keys are:
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1.- Listen to the criticism, be open to it.
2.- If necessary, summarize the feedback.
3.- Ask for clarification about what we don't understand.
4.- Think about if there are more people who have given us the same feedback.
5.- No matter if I accept or reject feedback, I must do it assertively and constructively.
6.- Be aware of the emotional burden of the person giving the feedback.
7.- If I don't agree with how it is done, I can suggest a change.
8.- Don’t see feedback as something we must do. In the end, it is our choice whether to accept it
or not.
EXAMPLE OF INEFFECTIVE FEEDBACK: lis

• “You not responding to our clients is causing us to lose their trust.”
• “If you don’t respond to their complaints more quickly, we are going to lose them.”
• “I would advise you to be more loyal to the department. I want you to change your attitude and
to respond to our clients more quickly.”
EXAMPLE OF EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK:

b
• “Three clients have complained to me this month that you haven't responded to their
complaints.”
• “What happened? What is your version of the story?”

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• “I’m worried because they have threatened to go to our competitors if we don't respond more
quickly.”
• “Together, we need to gain back their trust and show them that we can take care of their needs
before they even ask us to. Do you have an idea of how to do it? For example, what do you
think if we offer to do an operational analysis for free? Can you take care of doing the analysis?
When can you have it ready?”
COACHING: GROW HELPING OTHERS TO GROW

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Coaching has become a tool that is being used more and more to help people develop in
organizations. Therefore, it is a tool that contributes to the development of organizations themselves.
Coaching responds to a new way of understanding the relationship between a company and an
employee, where the close-minded idea of a company man who only reacts to external stimuli is
disappearing. Nowadays, knowledgeable professionals who are responsible for their role and their
place in the system and who are capable of managing themselves through ongoing learning are
becoming more common. Personal development lets you get to know yourself and discover your
potential and how you can contribute to meeting the needs of the organization. 27
That is why, at its philosophical roots, coaching requires a shift in the organizational paradigm.
27
De Anca, C., Vázquez Vega, A., La gestión de la diversidad en la organización global.
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 It means going from a hierarchy to high-quality relationships between a boss and his team
members where there is support. We can only grow when there is trust.
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 From control and dependence to teamwork. Autonomy and shared responsibility.
 From censorship and threats to honest and constructive feedback. Communication and
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transparency.
 From extrinsic motivations to intrinsic and transcendent ones.
 From acceptance and obedience to self-leadership.
 From egoism to collaboration.
SO, WHAT IS COACHING?
“Coaching is a process that aims to unlock the potential that we all have within through
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accompaniment, where the facilitator or coach supports the person or coachee through self-
awareness and action.” 28
WHAT DOES POTENTIAL MEAN?
Abraham Maslow, an author well known for his work on human motivation, relates the concept of
potential with the concepts of identity and development: “...I believe that helping a person to move
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toward full humanness proceeds inevitably via awareness of one’s identity. A very important part of
this task is to become aware of what one is biologically, temperamentally, constitutionally, as a
member of a species, of one’s capacities, desires, needs, and also of one’s vocation, what one is
fitted for, what one’s destiny is.” 29
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In your work environment: What percentage of people’s potential capability to do things is used at
work? When we ask this question, most of the participants in our training courses think between 40
percent and 60 percent. What is this perception based on? People with talents (artistic, creative,
technical, intellectual, operational, etc.) that they develop outside the workplace but who do not have
an opportunity to use them.
What are the reasons for this flagrant underutilization of capabilities? There are two types of
barriers—external and internal—that keep individuals from fully developing in their organizations.
Among the external obstacles, the ones that are mentioned the most are the limitations of the position
or the task not being challenging enough, the company’s rigid structure and restrictive practices, lack
of motivation and bosses’ inadequate management styles. The internal barriers that are mentioned
the most are fear of failure, lack of confidence and low self-esteem.
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28
Whitmore, J., Coaching, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 2003. Note: The quote has been translated from Spanish to English.
29
Maslow A.H., La amplitud potencial de la naturaleza humana, Ed. Trillas, S.A., Mexico D.F., 1982.
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DIMENSIONS OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Robert Dilts 30 provides us a model to try to explore our possible personal and professional
inefficiencies. It involves drawing out people’s strengths, helping them bypass personal barriers and
limits. The ultimate goal is for them to achieve their personal best and, if they desire, to be able to
give the best of themselves to others.
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The model consists of seven dimensions ordered by level of specificity (from more general to more
specific) and depth (from the most superficial to the deepest).
1.- Environment
2.- Results
3.- Behavior
4.- Capabilities
5.- Beliefs
6.- Identity
7.- Purpose
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Once we have the model in front of us, in order to apply it we need to reflect:
Think about a situation (personal or professional) that was important to you where you did not achieve
the results you wanted. Not having the ability to deal with this situation was/is a source of personal
ineffectiveness and dissatisfaction that you would like to mitigate or eliminate in the future. From that
moment, you must analyze the situation using the seven dimensions of the model, aiming to identify
which dimension or dimensions may be the key to your inefficiency until now. Of course, we can
apply this model to ourselves or we can apply it to others.
b
ENVIRONMENT, RESULTS AND BEHAVIORS: WHERE, WHEN AND WHAT?
What are the key characteristics of where you are (organization, department, team, etc.)? What
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important circumstances were there at that time which you must consider? Taking into account what
was mentioned above, what objectives or results have you proposed to achieve and/or you have
been asked to achieve? What specific actions must you take in order to achieve it? What are the
most predictable effects of these actions?
The scope of all of our jobs involves a certain level of responsibility that means we must provide
certain results by taking certain actions, trying to overcome limitations and taking advantage of
opportunities in each situation. From the very beginning, it is important to know who everyone is,
where they are, what they need, and what they can provide others. It is critical to know which
environmental factors can help us or be obstacles when it comes to achieving the objectives we have
set for ourselves.
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In order to make this personal positioning exercise as easy as possible, you should bear in mind that
“the map is not the territory.”
What does that mean?
 People usually respond to their perception of reality, that is, their particular way of seeing it,
which, for them, becomes reality.
 All people have their own map (perception) of the world and, in principle, no map is more real
or true than another.
30
Dilts, R., Coaching, Urano, Barcelona, 2004.
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 My actions do not matter at all if I don’t know how they will affect other people, no matter what
my intention is, and that depends on other people’s map.
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 The most effective maps are usually ones that have more information and a wider range of
options.
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CAPABILITIES: HOW?
Let’s suppose we already have an idea about what we are going to do, where we are going to do it,
the time we will do it, the circumstances and the effect it may have. The next question is: How are
we going to do it? In many cases, putting things into practice is the hardest of all.
People who are skilled, competent and capable of doing something have a predisposition—natural
or acquired—to do said thing well. We must start with an initial assumption: we all possess, at least
potentially, the resources we need to act effectively. From there, people choose the best options
depending on the possibilities and capabilities they perceive as being available in their own mental
model. Any behavior, as crazy or extravagant as it may seem, is the best available option to that
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person at a given time according to their mental model. If the person was given a more appropriate
option, according to his own mental model, he would automatically choose it.
Personal change (improvement) can be the result of expanding or enriching a person’s mental model,
his map, by using an appropriate option or by activating a potential option. In this regard, in order for
a person to improve their capabilities, whatever they may be, learning to do things well (external
competence) is just as important as them believing that they know how to do things well and can do
things well (internal competence).
b
In the managerial field, when we talk about capabilities, we are referring to managerial skills and, in
principle; people who master them have a greater advantage over people who don't. What are these
skills?: motivation, communication, empathy, leadership, decision making, presentations, persuasion
and influence, change management, teamwork, conflict and stress management, etc.
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BELIEFS: WHY?
As Ortega y Gasset said 31, “We have ideas, but we find ourselves placed in our beliefs.” But what
are beliefs? Once again, Ortega says, “Beliefs are all those things we absolutely count on, even
though we do not think about them. On the grounds of the sheer fact of being certain they exist, and
that they are as we believe, we do not call them into question; rather, we behave automatically while
taking them into account.”
Why are they so important? “Beliefs constitute the base of our life, the land on which we live. Because
they present us what for us is reality itself. All our conduct, including the intellectual life, depends on
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the system of our authentic beliefs. In beliefs we live, we move and we are. In them lies latent, as
implications of whatever specifically we do or we think. When we truly believe something, we do not
have any idea about that thing, but we simply count on it.”
Paradoxically, although some “do not believe it,” this Spanish philosopher's opinion is that “we are
all believers”: “The man, at heart, is believing, or which is equal, the deepest stratum of our life, the
spirit that maintains and carries all the others, is formed by beliefs.”
There are a number of distorted beliefs that people oftentimes have that limit their development,
happiness and ability to live life to the fullest: Many emotional and psychological problems are related
31
Ortega y Gasset, J., Ideas y creencias, Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 1986. Note: Quotes have been translated from Spanish
to English.
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to these irrational or illogical beliefs. They are beliefs that oftentimes come from learning experiences
in a person’s first years of life. 32
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We should always question the validity of our beliefs, especially in view of how they could possibly
affect our personal effectiveness. We, therefore, highlight two main types of beliefs:
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 Empowering: they are beliefs that make us more effective when it comes to successfully facing
different challenges in our life.
 Limiting: they are beliefs that are as intense and strong as empowering ones but in a completely
opposite way.
Like Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you're right.” Perhaps
what we have talked about reminds some people of the following story (a summarized version) by
Jorge Bucay 33:
THE CHAINED ELEPHANT lis

“When I was a small boy, I loved going to the circus. Animal acts were my favorite. I was quite
impressed by the elephant. The elephant’s part of the show was a display of his huge weight,
his immense size and power… Then, after his act and a bit before returning to the stage, he
was standing tied to a tiny stake driven into the ground. A chain was wrapped around his foot.
It seemed quite obvious that this animal, which was capable of ripping trees off the ground with
his own strength, could easily rip out the stake and escape. The mystery was clear: What keeps
him there then? Why doesn’t he run away?
b
The circus elephant doesn’t escape because he has been tied to a stake since he was very,
very young. I closed my eyes and imagined the little newborn elephant chained to the stake. I’m
sure that at that time the elephant pushed, pulled and struggled trying to free himself and despite
all his effort, he failed. The stake was too strong for him. The elephant would go to sleep
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exhausted and the next day he would try again, and a third day, and a fourth day... Until one
day, a horrible day for him, the animal accepted his powerlessness and accepted his fate.
This huge and powerful elephant that we see in the circus does not run away because the poor
animal believes that he CAN'T. He has memories of his helplessness, of the powerlessness he
felt shortly after being born. And the worst of all is that he has never tried to seriously question
this memory. He never ever tried to test his strength again.”
IDENTITY: WHO?
Here is the big question: Who am I? Yes, yes...Who am I?

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“What a question,” more than one person will think. It is even more difficult to answer if we cannot
resort to external elements, no matter how important they may be: what I do for a living (work), what
I like (hobbies), who accompanies me (wife, husband, significant other, etc.), who depends on me
(children), who I feel the best with (friends), etc.
If we take away everything we have called “external elements,” what is left? Or rather, who is left?
The most intimate, authentic, personal, internal and essential expression of the self. This self
manifests itself in what you feel, think and believe about things, about all the things that happen to
you and to others. What makes us laugh? What makes us cry, scream, dream, sleep, sing, etc.?
What makes us think? What makes us believe and what do we believe in? The reaction we have to
32
Powell, J., Plenamente humano, plenamente vivo, Sal Terrae, Santander, 1993.
33
Bucay, J., Déjame que te cuente. RBA. Barcelona, 2002. Note: The quote has been translated from Spanish to English.
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things that happen to us is what shows who we are the most. Let’s say, from a practical point of view,
whoever is used to moaning ends up becoming a moaner.
g
If the first question is “Who am I?”, the second one could be “What is stopping me from being more
myself?” Abraham Maslow, on the one hand, and Carl Rogers, on the other hand, point out two big
reasons why people find it very difficult to be more themselves:
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1.- Fear: “We fear our highest possibilities (as well as our lowest ones). We are generally afraid to
become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under the most perfect
conditions, under conditions of greatest courage. We enjoy and even thrill to the god-like
possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments. And yet we simultaneously shiver with
weakness, awe and fear before these same possibilities.” 34
2.- Shallowness “In my relationships with people, I have found that it does not help, in the long run
to act as though I were something that I am not. It does not make me helpful in my attempts to
build up constructive relationships with other individuals. (...) most of the mistakes I make in
personal relationships, most of the times in which I fail to be of help to other individuals, can be
accounted for in terms of the fact that I have, for some defensive reason, behaved in one way
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at a surface level, while in reality, my feelings run in a contrary direction.” 35
TRANSCENDENCE: WHY?
Why am I here? No matter where we ask this question (at home, at work, with friends, etc.), when
we ask it, it is very possible that our perspective will change. “What is my mission here?” is another
way of putting it.
b
The transcendent meaning of our existence, in any context we want to express it (personal or
professional), is, depending on how you look at it, the starting or ending point of all our actions. That
is where everything else comes from: who we are, what we believe in, what we know, what we do,
what we achieve and where we achieve it.
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“The course of life marks the sense that someone wants to give to their own existence. And you get
the compass by answering a simple question:
What am I living for?

Not ‘Why am I living?’
Not ‘How am I living?’
Not ‘With whom am I living?’
36
Not ‘What am I making a living from?’ What am I living for?”
Delving into this idea, Viktor Frankl 37 believes that humans will end up finding the true meaning of
their existence when they stop asking themselves “What can life offer me” and start asking “What
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can I contribute to life?” With this way of thinking, even extreme suffering can make sense.
34
Op. Cit.
35
Rogers, C.R., El proceso de convertirse en persona., Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 1972.
36
Bucay, J., El camino de la felicidad, Debolsillo, Barcelona, 2002. Note: The quote has been translated from Spanish to
English.
37
Op. cit.
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CONCLUSIONS
g
We have reached the end of this document, dear reader, and we don't want to say goodbye without
leaving you a summary of some reflections:
1.- We live in a context of change, on all levels (individual, social, family, business, economic,
hin
political, etc.). More than ever, this ongoing change requires us to rethink what a person is and
what role he must play in organizations that want to give a satisfactory response to the change.
Therefore, it is increasingly more pertinent to talk about leadership and how it is connected to
business management.
2.- Management has to do with resources, leadership has to do with people.
3.- According to many studies and research that has been done on leadership, experts agree that
the basic qualities that a good leader should have are they must be honest, forward-looking,
enthusiastic and be capable of doing things.
4.- In principle, we can all be leaders and that is why we must start by leading ourselves (which is
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not easy). Leading is very difficult but potentially, everyone can do it.
5.- Above all, a leader leads by example.
6.- Nowadays, many businesses seek the commitment of their employees. In order for this
commitment to be built on solid and mutually satisfactory bases, it must be developed in three
successive and complementary stages: commitment to oneself, commitment to the team and
commitment to the organization.
b
7.- Commitment to oneself means each person responsibly taking their professional destiny into
their own hands. Our "protagonist” must take the helm, preventing our “victim” from capturing
and immobilizing us.
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8.- Who am I? Who am I with? Where am I going? Answering these questions satisfactorily is part
of building our personal and professional life plan.
9.- We must not make teamwork an unquestionable dogma. Being skeptical and demanding when
it comes to teamwork will allow us to discover and require the proper conditions to make
teamwork a rewarding experience.
10.- People confuse teamwork with having a meeting. If meetings had to meet the minimum
requirements that every meeting should fulfill in order to be effective, we would have fewer
meetings and would take much more advantage of our time.
11.- Synergy: it is true that “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” as long as each person
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adds value and everyone focuses their efforts in the same direction.
12.- Two very important ingredients for all high-performing teams: being on the same page about
WHAT we want to achieve and having different ways of HOW to achieve it.
13.- A person finding an organization that is a perfect fit is nearly impossible, but it is possible to
aspire to be on the same wavelength when it comes to aspects that are very important for the
individual. Giving up on being on the same wavelength as a certain organization and staying at
it is basically giving up on yourself.
14.- The development of organizations and the people who work at them are two complementary
perspectives of the same reality, controlled by aspects such as change, growth, learning and
evolution.
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15.- For some reason, money motivates all people to some extent (extrinsic motivation). Some
people are more motivated by what they do to earn money (intrinsic motivation). There are even
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people who are even more motivated by what other people get thanks to what they do to earn
money (transcendent motivation). If there are people who are one hundred percent motivated
by what they do, why don't we also aspire to be that motivated? Why don't we encourage others
to experience it as well?
hin
16.- Each person should take full responsibility for their motivation and contribute to others’
motivation as much as possible. Unfortunately, we would often be satisfied just by not having to
deal with aspects that demotivate us a lot.
17.- People are more likely to be motivated by their work when they see that what they do has
meaning, are free to do their work and feel competent doing it.
18.- There are more chances of our communication (relationship) with others to be rich, deep,
interesting and productive as long as we don't take it upon ourselves to ruin these chances from
the beginning. Each person has to find their own motives for communicating with others.
Important motives will result in high-level communication.
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19.- Open-mindedness, emotional connection and an ethical foundation are the three key
requirements for all trust-based communication (relationships).
20.- Assertive communication starts with separating facts from judgements. It leads individuals to
improve their skills, actions and results and it preserves or even improves the quality of
interpersonal relationships.
21.- Coaching is based on very specific philosophical underpinnings: under the right conditions at
b
the right time and in the right place, all humans can change.
22.- Coaching is contributing to unleashing each person’s potential for improvement, which every
individual has, through accompaniment, self-awareness and action.
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23.- At one time or another, personal development involves asking ourselves the following questions:
Where am I? What do I want to achieve? What must I do? What do I know how to do? What do
I believe in? Who am I? Why am I here?
Lastly, dear reader, take into consideration that there is nothing more practical than a good theory;
nothing that you have read in this document will truly be meaningful until you try to apply it. The
people who have written these words encourage you to put them into practice. TAKE ACTION and,
while doing so, reflect, learn and take action again.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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- Alvarez de Mon, I., ¿Alineación o alienación?, HDBR, no. 2405, Ediciones Deusto, Nov. 2004.
- Belbin, R.M., Equipos directivos: el porqué de su éxito o fracaso., Belbin Associates, Bilbao,
1981.
- Belbin, R.M., Roles de equipo en el trabajo., Belbin Associates, Bilbao, 1993.
hin
- Bennis, W.G., Dirigir personas es como adiestrar gatos. Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces.
Madrid 2001.
- Bucay, J., Déjame que te cuente. RBA. Barcelona, 2002.
- Bucay, J., El camino de la autodependencia, Grijalbo, Barcelona, 2002.
- Bucay, J., El camino de la felicidad, Debolsillo, Barcelona, 2002.
- Covey, S.R., Los siete hábitos de la gente eficaz, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 2004.
- Covey, S.R., El octavo hábito, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 2005.
- De Anca, C., Vázquez Vega, A., La gestión de la diversidad en la organización global. Prentice
Hall, Madrid, 2005.
- Dilts, R.B., Coaching, Urano. Barcelona, 2004.
- Drucker, P.F., Ejecutivos. Empresarios y Dirigentes. Mc Graw Hill, Mexico, D.F., 1996.
- Frankl, V.E., El hombre en busca de sentido, Herder, Barcelona, 1987.
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- García, S., Simon, L.D., La dirección por valores, McGraw Hill, Madrid, 2000.
- Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., El líder resonante crea más, Plaza & Janes, Barcelona, 2002.
- Herzberg, F., Work and the nature of man, World Publishing Company, 1966.
- Hunter, J.C., La paradoja, Ediciones Urano S.A., Barcelona, 1999.
- Kofman, F., Metamanagement, Volume I , Granica, Barcelona, 2001.
- Kotter, J.P., Qué hacen los líderes, Gestión 2000, Barcelona, 2000.
- Kouzes, J.M., Posner, B. Z., Management del siglo XXI, Pearson Educación, S.A., Madrid, 2000.
- Livingstone, J.S., Pygmalion in management, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1969.
- Llano, A., La nueva sensibilidad, Espasa Universidad, Madrid, 1988.
b
- Maslow, A.H., La amplitud potencial de la naturaleza humana, A, H., Ed. Trillas, S.A., Mexico
D.F., 1982.
- Ortega y Gasset, J., Ideas y creencias, Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 1986.
- Powell, J., Plenamente humano, plenamente vivo, Sal Terrae, Santander, 1993.
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- Powell, J.,¿Por qué temo decirte quién soy?, Sal Terrae, Santander, 1989.
- Ridderstrale, J., Nordstrom, K., Funky Business, Prentice Hall, Madrid, 2000.
- Rogers, C.R., El proceso de convertirse en persona., Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 1972.
- Senge, P.M., La danza del cambio, Gestión 2000, Barcelona, 2000.
- Senge, P.M., La quinta disciplina, Granica, Barcelona, 1998.
- Sims, H.P., El superliderazgo, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 1993.
- Whitmore, J., Coaching, Paidós Empresa, Barcelona, 2003.
- Zander, B., Zander, R.S., El arte de lo posible. Transformar la vida personal y profesional, Paidós
Empresa, Barcelona, 2000.
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LEADING: MANAGING PEOPLE WITH A HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACH

1.- Knowing what is expected of them.

LEADING IS NOT THE SAME AS MANAGING

Or, if you like, what makes a leader different from a manager?

Warren Bennis 8 thinks:

 The manager administers; the leader innovates.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM A LEADER?

In other words, what do people want from their leaders?

Fredy Kofman 10 points out four key aspects:

WHO CAN BE A LEADER?

time under the right conditions.

HOW A PERSON FITS INTO AN ORGANIZATION THROUGH THE SEARCH FOR

1.- Commitment to oneself.

COMMITMENT TO ONESELF: THE PERSONAL PLAN CALLED “ME”

“Organizations are the people who are in them.”

WHO DRAWS UP OUR PERSONAL PLAN? VICTIM OR PROTAGONIST?

o What circumstance or people caused the situation?

 Now, thinking about that situation again, answer these questions:

HOW CAN WE DRAW UP OUR PERSONAL PLAN?

Values Behaviors Expectations

What would you like to be like?

To wrap up this section, here are three more questions:

1.- PRIORITIZATION Where should I start?

3.- FEELINGS How do I feel?

COMMITMENT TO THE TEAM: INTERPERSONAL PLAN

WHY DO WE HAVE SO MANY MEETINGS?

3.- During the meeting:

How can I get everyone to participate and give their opinion?

4.- After the meeting:

SO, WHAT VALUE DOES TEAMWORK ADD?

3.- Everyone must work together in the same direction.

IS A TEAM MORE EFFECTIVE DUE TO THE DIVERSITY OF ITS TEAM MEMBERS?

We can analyze diversity from two perspectives:

IDENTIFYING YOUR TEAM’S ROLE PROFILES.

Belbin’s eight team roles

Plant Imaginative, nonconformist, solves difficult

Other possible aspects, with their respective profile combinations, are:

 PROBLEM SOLVING (plant and monitor evaluator).

COMMITMENT TO THE ORGANIZATION: THE COLLECTIVE PLAN

In contrast to these seven dimensions, we must analyze two more:

MANAGEMENT SKILLS FOR PERSONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL

 COMMUNICATION: opening up to the world of possibilities requires having “conversations for

1.- Work conditions

5.- Relationships with colleagues

EXTRINSIC MOTIVATING FACTORS

INTRINSIC MOTIVATING FACTORS

1.- Nature of the work itself

What is the difference between one and the other?

 As entrepreneurs or managers responsible for managing others, be aware that intrinsic

JOB ENRICHMENT (YOUR JOB AND OTHER PEOPLE’S JOBS)

and knowing that they are an EXPERT at it.

Communication mainly involves sharing information, feelings, thoughts, opinions, ideas,

1. Level 5: cliché conversation

2. Level 4: talking about others

3. Level 3: ideas and opinions

4. Level 2: feelings and emotions

5. Level 1: peak communication

With an open mind, communication is understood as a process of exchanging information, where we

EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN JUDGEMENTS

INTEGRITY: KEEPING COMMITMENTS

KNOWING HOW TO APOLOGIZE