Black+White Thinking » Training

How Leadership Styles Affect Productivity

ebrown — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:44:53 +0000

By E. Brown

There are 4 primary leadership styles, many of which you can find within most businesses or organizations around the world. These styles are: Dictatorial, Authoritative, Consultative, and Participative.

Each of the leadership styles have impact on reforming and/or creating company culture. There are short-term and long-term effects for each style. For instance, the authoritative style may produce great results in a short amount of time. However, excessive use of authority will decrease productivity in the long-term. People either get fed up and leave or fall into a malaise of hum-drum repetitive tasks without creativity and innovation.

All the while, a participative style will be unproductive in the short-term. But, the longer this style of leading, the more productive a company can become.

Many leaders never make it to a point of high productivity.

Leadership Styles: Dictatorial, Authoritative, Consultative, and Participative

ebrown — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:25:42 +0000

By E. Brown

One of the first leadership books a friend recommended I read was by Myron Rush. He was kind enough to let me read his copy. After I returned the book I searched for a personal copy. I finally found a used one on an obscure Web site that an acquaintance directed me to.

While thumbing through it the other day I was reminded of differing approaches to management. Here is an excerpt and list that I am sure you can relate to.

Leadership Styles

Definitions and descriptions of leaderships styles range from the very simple to the very complex. Leadership styles can be identified by how authority is used, how a leader relates to others, employees minds and muscles are used, and how a leader communicates.

Retain Your Online Audience

ebrown — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:30:13 +0000

Outside of the corporate and university eLearning models user retention often runs amuck. It is common to experience as much as 20-50% attrition writes David P. Diaz. In some cases I have witnessed as much as 30-70% for those organizations that do not attempt to stem the flow of abandonment.

Considered the most significant barriers to online learning are:

Technical problems
Cost of and access to the Internet
Time and support for studies
Personal motivation
Technical skills
Academic skills
Social interactions
Administrative/instructor issues

From Keith Tyler-Smith’s Abstract – Early Attrition among First Time eLearners: A Review of Factors that
Contribute to Drop-out, Withdrawal and Non-completion Rates of Adult
Learners undertaking eLearning Programmes

Some favorable strategies I have given to companies in need have been the following…

What Non-Profits Need To Know About Online Learning and Relationship Building

ebrown — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:22:03 +0000

By: E. Brown

As more and more non-profits head into the world of computer based learning, training, and relationship management, they often venture into territory that is very new and very unfamiliar. Listed here are some (not all) of the potential issues non-profit organizations need to consider before forging out to build their new online initiatives.

We hope you find this article helpful.

Online Training: Why Do Non-Profits Sit On The Fence?

ebrown — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:35:42 +0000

By E. Brown

I have talked with numerous Not-For-Profit (NFP) organizations about online learning and knowledge management. Almost all are interested in the subjects and would like to distribute their content online for learning and training. Yet, they are all sitting on the fence when it comes to execution.I was reminded of this again while at breakfast the other day. I ran into an acquaintance who knew of a VC that wanted to invest in online learning to reach an international audience. His issues were the same. All the NFP’s he had met with were waffling when it came to “doing the deal” and taking the eLearning plunge.

Why?

Getting In The Game
I witnessed this same attitude when the Web bubble started to grow in the early 90’s. Many NFP’s watched from the sidelines. I made three observations as to why this attitude prevailed:

They didn’t understand the technology and were intimidated by change
Many were simply waiting for “critical mass” before jumping onboard
Most had not planned on the cost of the technology infrastructure or outsourcing

Hello world!

dblack — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:54:57 +0000

Donald O. Black founded Black+White in 2007 after 23 years of senior nonprofit leadership experience. He has assembled a seasoned and talented team to serve either with in-house expertise or through a managed network of best of class experts that provide targeted services and products to our client base. As a collective force, they have worked with many causes that serve both the nation and the world.