2. About me
Sarah Erwin
• In IT Industry since 2000
• MSU’s executive MBA class of 2012
• Third-degree black belt in Okinawan karate
• Operations Manager for Gravity Works Design &
Development
13. Sources of power
Expert power
• Having knowledge that is valued
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eD8RhPDU5Y (4:54)
14. Sources of power
Expert power
“Alright, listen up. Until we can close that
portal our priority's containment. Barton, I
want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call
out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the
perimeter. Anything gets more than three
blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to
ash. Thor, you gotta try and bottleneck that
portal. Slow 'em down. You got the lightning.
Light ‘em up. [Turns to Black Widow.] You and
me, we stay here on the ground, keep the
fighting here.
And Hulk? Smash.”
15. Sources of power
Reward power
• Based on the individual's ability to reward desirable behavior
24. Leadership styles
Pacesetting style
• Use when:
– Team is already motivated and skilled
– Needs quick results
• But:
– Overwhelm team members
– Squelch innovation
25. Leadership styles
Authoritative style
• Mobilizes the team toward a common vision
• Focuses on end goals
• Leaves the means up to each individual.
• “Come with me.”
27. Leadership styles
Affiliative style
• Creates emotional bonds that bring a feeling of belonging
• “People come first.”
• Women tend to use this style naturally
28. Leadership styles
Affiliative style
• Best when:
– Times of stress
– Team needs to heal from a trauma
– Team needs to rebuild trust
• Bad:
– Sole reliance fosters mediocre performance and a lack of direction
30. Leadership styles
Coaching style
• Best when:
– Team needs to build lasting personal strength
• Bad:
– Team is defiant and unwilling to change or learn
– Leader lacks proficiency
32. Leadership styles
Coercive style
• Best:
– In times of crisis
– Helps control a problem teammate when everything else has failed
• Bad:
– Avoid in almost every other case
• Alienation
• Stifles flexibility and inventiveness
34. Leadership styles
Democratic/Participative
• Best when:
– Team needs to buy into or have ownership of a decision, plan, or goal
– Leader needs fresh ideas from qualified teammates
• Bad:
– When time is of the essence
– When teammates are not informed enough to offer guidance
35. Which is best?
It depends and can change from interaction to
interaction.
36. Wait, what?
Different people need different motivation at
different times.
Look at your situation, yourself, and most especially your team.
Put yourself in their shoes. Who are they? What do they need?
37. But… really?
Styles are like playing cards. Having a handful of them allows you
to choose the right one to play.
39. Scrutiny
YOU WILL BE SCRUTINIZED CONSTANTLY!
• Think about how you look at professors, bosses, anyone in a
leadership position.
• Cut others some slack.
40. Strategies
Your Character
• Be consistently 100% honest
• Be honest with yourself; know what you do know and what you
don’t
• DO NOT try to cover up what you don’t know
• Ask for help when you need it
• Engage in continuous learning
41. Strategies
Your Actions
• Prepare and start the day with a game plan (i.e., to-dos)
• Learn people’s first names and greet everyone, every day, as a
priority
42. Strategies
Your Actions
• Focus your efforts
– Pick your issues and your time
• Fight for doing the right thing
– If you know about it, you’re responsible for it
– If you can identify a problem, you can identify a solution
43. Strategies
Your Actions
• Treat people with respect and tell them when they’ve done a
good job
– this is not about you
• Praise publically, reprimand privately
44. Strategies
Your Team
• Lead by example
– Hold yourself to a higher standard
• Set expectations and boundaries for jobs and provide necessary
information
• Get the right people involved and on the right page
• Work through issues with people
– Listen first, then discuss
• Explain why or how decisions are made
45. Strategies
Your Reputation
• Be completely clear about your follow-up; what you will and
won’t do
• Follow through with personal commitments or come back,
explain, take the pain, and learn from it
46. Strategies
Women have problems with these
• Say “I don’t know; I’ll find out”
– Downplay their own competence
• If you know, say it/do it with confidence
– Loud enough for others to hear
– To the group, not your neighbor
– Without minimizing words or qualifiers
47. Strategies
Women have problems with these
• Make decisions when you need to
– Socialized to please
– Accusations of being too pushy are designed to keep you quiet
– Know where you want to go and only take steps that lead in that
direction
– Learn to say “no”
48. Confidence
Be comfortable defying expectations
– “Never forget what you are, for surely the world
will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never
be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it
will never be used to hurt you.” – George R. R.
Martin
49. Strategies
Women have problems with these
• Maintain confidences and trust of those who are absent
• Do not turn statements into questions
– Softer approach, but doing so relinquishes ownership of and outcomes
for your idea
– Use “I propose we…” or “I’m interested in…”
• Capitalize on relationships
– Women don’t want to “take advantage”
– Men rely on relationships to open doors for them (success by affiliation),
which is why they build relationships in the first place
50. Strategies
Women have problems with these
• Choose your own behavior, demonstrate a positive attitude and
work to influence others
– DO NOT react to other people
– Women tend to stay in their safety zone for fear of getting in over their
heads
• Take high-profile assignments
– If offered a new position or assignment, take it. Others have confidence
you can do the job, you should too.
51. Strategies
Women have problems with these
• Focus on the issue, not the person
– DO NOT make conflict personal and emotional
• Don’t apologize or ask permission
– Conflict-reducing technique
– Assume equality and inform others of your intentions
– Save apologies for big-time mistakes
• Apologize once then
• Move to problem-solving mode
52. Wow, that’s a lot of stuff
Leadership is a lifelong challenge
• All of these things above
• Everything I’ve talked about
• Live them
• Every day
53. Even better
Leadership is a lifelong challenge
• “If you're dumb, surround yourself with smart people. If you're
smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with
you.” -Isaac Jaffe “Sports Night”
54. Finally
Leadership is a lifelong challenge
• You have to forge an identity for yourself that successfully
integrates all of the different styles, sources of power, and
strategies. It must work in all aspects of your life and be
believable.
