Five Tenets of Leadership Success

August 19, 2013 by

five-tenets-leadership-success-todd-nielsenLeaders are an integral part of our society. In many elementary classrooms there is a boy or a girl line leader to lead the class to the restroom, lunch, and recess. There are even the leaders in the game Simon Says. In this game all who participate must repeat the action of the leader. As children get older leadership transforms into something more complex. Leaders don’t just lead by actions, they lead in their thoughts, ideas, and morals – but what will leadership in the future look like?

“Will this new generation of leaders be innovators or followers?” Asked Forbes Contributor, Henry Doss. The answer is simple, it lies in education. In his recent article he shares five keys to educating the next generation of leaders.

  1. Language – to ensure that the leaders of the future do not embrace the “status quo” they must be strong communicators. Ideally leaders will be able to solve dilemmas and convey ideas with the written and spoken word. Furthermore, they are able to communicate with grace and confidence.
  2. Leadership – When Doss speaks of leadership, he is not speaking of leadership in the conventional sense. He states that the leaders of tomorrow must learn how to fail before they can learn to be successful. He also states that the education of today is success-driven. Education must give students the opportunity to take on challenges, risk it all, and fail.
  3. Authenticity – Leaders can not be authentic without being self-aware. Change is a constant and leaders must sense when change is happening or when change is needed, and they must be able to adapt to change, and change quickly. Therefore education should cause students to be more self-aware and to be aware of change around them.
  4. Breadth – Today’s college experience limits what a student can study. Colleges classify areas of study into majors, and students must choose which areas they would like to focus on. The problem with this focus is that students chose a major, and after graduation it may be difficult  to find a career in their major. However change is constant and what is available in today’s job field may not be available in the future.
  5. Resilience – As we mentioned above, not all students are able to find a career in their field of study. Likewise, after graduation. Graduates will hold many jobs often in different fields. This necessitates that leaders be resilient, and education needs to teach them to “turn on a dime.”

While these five points are written in the context of students and a younger generation, they certainly still apply to all of us. As we embrace these and many other tenets of leadership, we will be more prepared to take on any challenge, and to create a better future that we can be proud of.

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The Vulnerable Leader

March 12, 2013 by

Vulnerable-Leader-Lora-CrestanLeadership is not easy. In fact, if you are doing it right, it is downright difficult.  Learning to lead is an ongoing process that evolves with you.  Many skills and talents are molded together to create the leader you are today.  Your personality and the experience you have had either as a leader or with the leaders around you will definitely contribute to who you are as a leader.  We are clearly influenced by leaders and their actions, whether directly or in the media – a great leveler when it comes to viewing leaders as they truly are.

Think about this though.  Have you progressed in your leadership development so that you know it is okay to be vulnerable?

Vulnerable is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as ‘being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally’.  As leaders, we need to accept that we are human – being vulnerable is part of that.

Being vulnerable is not:

–        A sign of weakness or indecision

–        Becoming a doormat and allowing others to walk all over you

–        Crying at the drop of a hat

–        Taking unnecessary risks that could harm you or your organization

–        Abdicating responsibility

Being vulnerable as a leader is:

–        Letting others know you need help and asking for it

–        Listening to feedback and incorporating it into your next steps or development plans

–        Understanding that not everyone will ‘like’ you and dealing with the emotions that comes with that acknowledgement

–        Being empathetic and compassionate with your team, your family, your clients and your vendors – consistently and authentically

–        Allowing yourself opportunities to reflect and review your past performance and behaviour and seeking guidance for change

In quite the opposite direction, a leader needs to be confident to show their vulnerable side- this includes self-awareness that shows the leader can be multi-faceted and certainly focused at the same time.  It may not be easy to reconcile this in your mind.  As a human being, many emotions collide and keeping them bottled up really is not a good idea.  Finding ways to express emotions like frustration, confusion, regret, happiness, joy and all the rest is an art developed by experience.  Take some time to think about the many ways in which you interact with clients and colleagues.

Do you focus on building relationships instead of making transactions?  This applies to both clients and team members.  With clients, it is clear – get to know them and build the relationship so that they trust you.  As soon as trust develops, the relationship is now a two-way street and no longer about a transaction but about making both parties better.  The same applies to relationships with your team – it is not about strictly giving direction (the transaction – they do what we say). Now you are venturing into tapping into who does what best, or who needs to stretch and grow in new directions because you have gotten to know them and understand who they are and the direction in which they would like to move.

Are you interested in listening and truly understanding as opposed to glossing over objections to close the sale?  If you truly listen, you are doing so with your whole body – and seeing as well as hearing what is being said.  If you are only trying to close the sale and get the dollars, they most certainly will not stick in the future as there has not been a true effort to build trust.  By taking time to listen, even though you may not get the sale today, you have been open and vulnerable to rejection and allow the other party to learn more about you.

As a leader, you are charged with guiding others to move forward through your example. Lora Crestan Tweet this!

This could be an individual or an entire company.  How you act will define how others act.  How you develop relationships will be reflected in how your team learns to, and then builds relationships.  Your ability and courage to show vulnerability will provide a more open environment in your organization, allowing for change, personal growth and stronger bonds to develop.

 How you act will define how others act”.

Are you a Vulnerable Leader? Describe to us how you became one.

 

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Leadership …In An Unstable World!

March 26, 2012 by

Leadership In An Unstable WorldWhat makes an effective leader! Better still, what makes an effective leader at a time of rapid and continual change? Definitions abound and yet, in reality, they are largely inadequate in describing what is truly required in the face of the kind of change we currently experience globally … and, ultimately, locally.

This is because our experience of that change is personal, it is individual and it impacts our feelings, emotions, thoughts and behaviours on a constant basis! I experience this every day, as will you, and my reflections on how I’ve approached this over time, including in a recent role as a leader within a voluntary and community organization in England, lead me to conclude that the best leadership approach is one that mirrors my emotional intelligence, enables me to exercise my influence … and demonstrates my authenticity!

Leadership is a state of being. It is the human factor that people – peers, staff and colleagues in your organization and outside of it – will respond to most positively, especially when times are both challenging and stressful! So, reflecting on this, how do I continue to deliver effective leadership at such times?

I Connect Leadership and Vision

I ensure that I constantly relate our work back to our organization’s vision and the values that underpins this. If opportunities don’t align with the vision, I don’t go for them. I don’t want ‘mission drift’ and our organization to end up chasing money rather than providing projects and activity that truly add real value for our customers.

I Am Visible, Approachable and Adaptive

I walk the job – I have always believed in this mantra and still do it. I have an ‘open door’ policy that means when it is closed I am not available … but otherwise come on in! I encourage challenge and comment, listen actively and then take decisive action. I believe in the exercise of influence rather than power and ‘Bridging’ and ‘Attracting’ [Thanks to Cynthia @savvyinfluencer] are my main styles! I will involve others, manage feelings, seek to collaborate, build trust, and help people to focus people on vision and mutual goals.

I Promote Our Organization’s Image and Reputation

I manage the image and reputation of our organization by ensuring that we are clear about who our customers are and what their needs/wants/interests are; that we are certain that our offer meets those needs and, where possible, wants and interests; and, that our approach as an organisation delivers our offer in the most economic, effective and efficient way.

I Demonstrate the Impact of Our Work

I believe in delivering evidence-based interventions for our customers. This is what defines real impact for them and so I demand effective needs analysis. This has to be regularly reviewed and should underpin any offer that we make as an organization. I am also a devotee of effective performance management – not counting numbers for numbers sake, but in gaining a proper perspective on what works and what doesn’t … and fine tuning outcomes and impact as a consequence.

I Invest In My People

It has always seemed ironic that, the very time organizations most need to and should invest in their staff, is usually when workforce development slows or investment is curtailed. This strikes me as a false economy – the financial climate is a cyclical thing and the demand for goods and services will return – often in new and different ways. So, how well geared do you need to be to meet those opportunities that will eventually appear?

I Constantly Scan Both Internal and External Environments

I am alert and sensitive to what is happening both within and without my organization. Externally, new policies, approaches, ideas and techniques abound and the ways in which they will or might impact on our organization needs to be assessed, judged and responded to. Internally, I ‘touch and feel’ the organisation, through regular staff and customer contact, summary reporting, ‘walking the job’, and digesting quantities of information in a variety of formats. I regulate how much detail I work with though, as I see my role as ‘big picture’, vision, mission and direction of travel … and not micro-management!

I Keep Learning

I believe that organisational life, like our own individual lives, is a journey, during which we are and should remain lifelong learners. I am a profound believer in the notion of Learning Power and am an accredited practitioner in the Inventory tool that helps people understand their Learning Power … and how this might be improved. I apply this thinking wherever I can … however we also each bear a real responsibility too for our own learning and its application in the everyday.

In reflecting on my learning, I regularly ask myself these three great leadership questions:

  1. What am I doing to make people feel like they belong?
  2. What am I doing to help people realise they matter?
  3. How am I helping people work together?

If I can answer these successfully on any given day, then I believe I am leading effectively. How are you doing with your reflections?

Connect with John Thurlbeck: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook

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