Attitude Change

In order to increase the ability of a team to accomplish a goal, the leader must first gain the all-important "buy-in" factor. The one consistent barrier to achieving the goal of having a team working as a cohesive unit is that perceptions and attitudes of team members might have to be altered prior to execution. In my opinion, possession of, or the development of this skill and the ability of a leader to execute this task is the first step in the process of becoming an effective leader. Leaders put focus on cause and effectively build advocacy among their team in order to produce long-lasting perception changes and desired results. How does this process take place? Here is a chart that I found online that I think does a pretty good job of displaying the process that individuals go through in determining whether or not they are going to change their attitude about a subject.

Chart originally from - http://chiron.valdosta.edu/mawhately/767/attitude.htm

The ability of a leader to accomplish a change in attitudes comes down to their individual leadership skill level. You might know people in leadership positions who do not have to work very hard at this or to whom this skill comes naturally. On the other hand, and good news for all in a leadership capacity, is the fact that this skill can be learned, practiced and professionally developed. Yes, leadership is a skill and can be developed through studying, practicing and developing one's own ability. I have yet to come across a subject matter expert who thinks otherwise. Maxwell, Blanchard and others all agree on this topic. I have even been an eye-witness to some amazing transformations and professional growth in some individuals who are within The Employment Guide and http://www.employmentguide.com/ organization. These experiences add weight to the argument that leadership skills can be developed. Have I changed your attitude about that yet?

Prior to setting out to achieve a specific task or goal, a leader must have a clear understanding of the perceptions and attitudes on his or her team. Even if a leader does not gain 100% buy-in from their team from the beginning, this process will allow for greater clarity of internal obstacles. This knowledge is very powerful and should give the leader more control of the guidance of their organization as they navigate towards exceeding his or her goals. Start the leadership process at this point and you will focus up front on what could become your biggest obstacle to success. By-pass this process and you are likely to end up with conflicts in opinions that give way to doing battle internally verses with the competition.

What has been your experience with this issue?