What type of leader are you?

Part 2. Define the type of leader you are or like to follow.  Transformational, participative or democratic leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also want each person to fulfill their potential. This style draws on people’s knowledge and skills, and creates a group commitment to the resulting goals.  It works best when the direction the organization should take is unclear.  Leaders with this style often have high ethical and moral standards that lead to positive changes in those who follow.

Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic and passionate about their goals, values and vision such as Richard Branson.

Authoritarian leaders make decisions independently with little or no input from the rest of the group.  They are sometimes referred to as commanding.  This is classic model of “military” style leadership – probably the most often used, but the least often effective. since it rarely involves praise and frequently employs criticism, under-cutting morale and job satisfaction.

Delegative leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-making up to group members.  Here the team takes control of the situation.

A toxic leader is someone who has responsibility over a group of people or an organization, and who abuses the leader-follower relationship by leaving the group or organization in a worse-off condition.  I'm sure you have seen this in your past.

Narcissistic leadership has been documented whereby leaders demonstrate an egotistical preoccupation with self, personal preferences, aspirations, needs, success, and how he/she is perceived by others.   It is not very enjoyable to work in this environment.

What type of leader are you?

Part 1. What is leadership?  What defines a true leader?  Are they born or is this a learned trait?  Perhaps effective leadership can result from both nature (i.e., innate talents) as well as nuture (i.e., acquired skills).

The "Great man" leaders are deemed heroic, mythic and destined to rise to leadership when needed as opposed to those who learned the traits. This style is exemplified by the late Steve Jobs. 

Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born and focuses on the actions of leaders. 

Participative theories vary in that  leaders retain the right to allow the input of others.  This is often called collaborative and is the kind of leadership style I use. 

Transactional theories focus on the role of supervision, organization and group performance. These theories base leadership on a system of rewards and punishments.  

Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished.  How often have you seen this in play where you work?

So where do you fit in?  Stay tuned for Part 2.

E-Marketing: Challenges Ahead

It all starts with W5

What is the selling feature you are trying to convey and do your customers understand your "value" statement?  What strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats do you foresee in the immediate future and down the road so to speak.

Who is your target audience and how are you communicating with them to attract AND retain them?

Why would a potential customer want your product or service over someone else's?

Where do your customers buy their products.  Do they receive a  great buying experience - so much so that they will become repeat purchases and eventually loyal brand followers?

When do your customers prefer to shop and what source of media do they prefer.  Remember demographics - this is key.  Younger buyers behave differently than mature buyers for example.  Do you use and monitor feedback from your website or Facebook page properly to increase sales?

Social Media Marketing: Challenges Ahead

Social media is here and it's time to face the challenges and take advantage of this huge opportunity.  Life as we know it is changing and we better embrace this movement or face the consequences.  Both personal and business practices are changing our lives - they way we spend our time and the manner in which news travels. 

Facebook still commands about half of the social media logins market having gained significant market share from Google and Yahoo over the past 2 years.  Who's left -Twitter, U-Tube and LinkedIn also dominate both business professionals as well as consumers. 

These very same consumers look at website content - they follow their favorite brands with hope to see advertisements, promotions and give-a-ways that they can take advantage of. 

QR codes - the new smart phone scanning technology that takes you to a company or person's website, is catching on fast from billboards to point of sale material to  QR code stickers placed beside UPC stickers.

New products are being tested through comments from Facebook pages and even new recipes or flavors are being chosen by the public - what a fabulous venue to get your customer involved. 

Buddy Media, the social media engagement company, recently completed a study of 320 top brands on Twitter — Fortune 1000 companies like Coke, American Eagle, Microsoft, and Nike — looking at what works and what doesn’t to get maximum engagement, and the greatest degree of virality.  One of the surprising findings is that the best times to engage on Twitter is almost opposite the best times to engage on Facebook.

Studies consistently portray consumers buying patterns being significantly affected by promotions on company websites that they follow.

Good news and fast customer responses can turn a potential disaster into something good.   You must be transparent - that is tell honestly what is going on.  Your brand's personality is your biggest asset when running a social media campaign -- but only if you're authentic and believable.