Abstract:

The leadership concept has been extensively studied in the business field as a factor affecting the profits of companies and enterprises. However, since it is a relational aspect, leadership influences the performance of all kind of organisations, including education centres and sport clubs. Therefore, leadership should be approached from a generic point of view, with special emphasis on the relationships between managers and workers, teachers and students, coaches and athletes, and any in-charge people and their collaborators.

Among the various styles that have been studied, the transformational leadership is based on leaders which identify the need of change, create a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and execute the change with the commitment of the members of the group. Thus, this definition needs complementary tools in order to provide potential leaders with specific skills to carry out this leadership style. In this context, this work presents the 7Ps methodology that has been developed around the idea that the best tool to produce the desired actions (changes) in an organization is by generating powerful conversations between the leaders and their collaborators. In this way, we use the term convers(a)ctions.

The 7Ps methodology explores seven levels of performance:
1) Presence,
2) Prospecting,
3) Possibilities,
4) emPowerment,
5) emPathy,
6) Process, and
7) Perspective.

1) “Presence” is the first requirement to create a powerful convers(a)ction. It consists of calming our mind to have it fully conscious of the moment in order to control our attention. In this way, the leader can be connected to the conversation right now and right here.
2) “Prospecting” concerns the skill of making the adequate questions. A respectful attitude is needed when leaders explore the interlocutor´s emotional territory to prospect for what is important for him or her.
3) “Possibilities” is related with the ability of project the future as a scenario of opportunities in order to design the present actions focused on the desired goal.
4) “EmPowerment” stars by recognizing the talent inside people. In this way, transformational leaders help collaborators to discover their potential and act as an inspiration to dare to be the person he or she wants to be.
5) “EmPathy” is the feeling of understanding and sharing another person's experiences and emotions. Empathic leaders do not judge or opine but transmit interest and concern.
6) “Process” is related to emotions. If a conversation consists of language and emotions, emotion processing is required to be conscious of our emotional states.
7) “Perspective” refers to the planning of actions from the perspective of commitment.
In summary, this work reports on a new tool for transformational leaders under the point of view that powerful convers(a)tions generate the needed changes.

Keywords:

Transformational leadership, convers(a)ctions, 7Ps, management tool.