New Water Policy and Practice Issue 4, Number 1, Fall 2017 | Page 24

New Water Policy & Practice Journal
evant guidelines, models, and case studies (see Howell 2005; Taylor 2011; Taylor,
Lincklaen Arriëns & Laing 2015) helps them to choose appropriate leadership be-
haviours to use at the right time. In addition, experienced mentors who are good
at playing this role can be effective at helping them to slow down, collaborate more
with others, be more strategic, invest time early in initiatives to build a shared vi-
sion and trusting relationships, build personal resilience, and adapt their style to
suit the situation.

Strengthening their ability to engage in self-leadership is also valuable, giv-
en their potential for ‘burnout’ when working environments with little support
and considerable resistance to change (see Taylor 2010b). Typically this includes
building knowledge and skills in reflection, stress management, and strengthening
personal resilience.
To some extent this developmental trap is a consequence of the enthusiasm
and inexperience of young water champions. These individualistic leaders can, how-
ever, make some significant mistakes early in their career which can damage their
reputation and their organisation (Taylor 2010b). Identifying these leaders early in
their career and directing them to developmental activities that are designed with
an understanding of the ‘champion phenomenon’ (Taylor et al. 2011) is a key to
success. Supervisors have a major role to play in this process as they are in the best
position to identify emerging leaders who may be at risk of falling into this trap.
3.6. The Directive Leader
3.6.1. Description
The directive leader struggles to enable others to solve problems. They have a ten-
dency to direct people how to address problems rather than using a coaching, sup-
porting, or delegating style (see Blanchard, Zigarmi & Zigarmi 1985). They usu-
ally come from a technical background (e.g. science, engineering, or information
technology) and have developed a problem-solving style which has served them
well when working as an individual to address predictable technical challenges
(Heifetz, Grashow & Linsky 2009). This style is reinforced by being seen as a “tech-
nical guru” by their colleagues and having significant expert power. In most Aus-
tralian water agencies “technical gurus” have great status.
This developmental trap commonly becomes a problem in two circumstanc-
es. The first is when they become an assigned team leader with staff and their prob-
lem-solving style leads to their staff being dependent on them. This can stifle the
professional growth and confidence of their direct reports, and results in the prob-
lem-solving leader having to spend a lot of their time reacting to requests for help.
The second circumstance relates to addressing complex challenges (also
known as adaptive challenges or wicked problems; see Heifetz & Laurie 1997; Rit-
tel & Webber 1973). Directive leaders find it difficult to switch their leadership
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