The current economic environment is in a constant state of flux. The storm-tossed sea of complexities that leaders today have to face is increasing at a much higher rate than the actual pace of individual and collective development. This exponential rise in the complexities has caused a significant increase in the stress of the employees. Most of the leaders, whether they realize it, or not, are over their heads and have failed to account for the conscious shift required to create and maintain the high-performance level. These complexities have put leadership effectiveness at a deluxe.Â
Thus, A Universal Model of Leadership was developed to provide a systemic approach in developing effective leaders and an organization’s leadership system. This model clarifies how leaders develop and how different factors increase the speed of this development. Even though this model deals with the developmental pace, it excludes quick fixes to prove that true development necessitates a long-term, tactical, consistent approach to produce more effective leaders and improved business performance.Â
The universal model of leadership stands strong on the structure of the progressive stages of leadership: egocentric reactive creative integral and unitive. Each stage shows a more mature, more efficient and more high-performing individual. Let us now discover the actual layout of The Universal Model of Leadership.
Table of Contents
Structure
The universal leadership model was developed in a circle that has an outer and an inner game. This circle was divided by drawing a vertical and a horizontal axis to create four quadrants- Quadrant 1, 2, 3, and 4. The vertical axis represents the leader’s developmental stage. The inner game shows the leaders’ level of maturity that propitiates the outer game- the effectiveness. The horizontal axis, on the other hand, represents task and relationship to form the basic structure of The universal model of Leadership. An effective leader is measured in terms of how effectively he manages to accomplish the task and establish a better relationship.
Task-creative
Quadrant one underlines Task-creative leaders. These leaders are known for creatively managing tasks. They are purpose-driven and have a great focus on vision. They have the special ability to look at things in a new way that is different from what others perceive and comprehend. They achieve their goals by systematic improvements and effective executions. This quadrant is quite popular amongst coaches and world-class sports athletes. It is where leaders focus on developing people’s skills and supporting the physical and psychological factors that ignite creativity along with top performance.
People-creative
The second quadrant highlights People-creative leaders. A people-creative leader tends to manage people creatively by using different methods of engagement and empowerment to bring out the best in them. They focus on people’s inner development rather than the task in hand. The main understanding is that no productive change can take place without a prior shift in the consciousness of the individuals.
People-reactive
Quadrant three underlines People-reactive leaders. This quadrant deals with the deeply hidden territory of the internal aspect of change. It represents what happens when individuals come together. The leaders engage with people reactively in a way of people-orientation by being heart-centered. These leaders lead with authenticity, humility, transparency, and service. They are aware of how words and actions are interpreted and have the foresight of everything they do. The only drawback this holds is that it gives too much power in the service of being liked and accepted by individuals.
Task-reactive
The last quadrant represents the Task-reactive leader who manages tasks reactively. The primary focus of leadership shifts from the people to the task. They get the work done by being overpowering, over-controlling, and driving the organization beyond sustainable limits. Such leaders lose the intricate touch of connectivity with their employees as there is a lot of focus on task efficiency.
The Universal Model of Leadership forms the basic framework of Leadership for developing effective Leaders all around the globe. It helps leaders to develop their personalities and boost their skills. It increases the pace of development of leaders in an ever-changing scenario where organizations and businesses are moving at a train speed. Leaders should aim at achieving this speed by developing their skills and being more effective.
Effective leadership is directly proportional to effective organization. Research has shown that leadership capabilities are highly dependent on the stage of development of the leaders proving the importance of the inner game of the universal leadership circle. The universal model increases the potential of existing leaders and businesses by going beyond skills and Technical know-how to character growth.
In conclusion, leadership is a process that requires constant attention to the pace of growth of the economy. If organizations do not give proper attention to the development of effective leaders when the leadership agenda is going to face a hard crash.
