Leadership
is an interactive conversation that pulls people
towardbecoming
comfortable
with the language of personal responsibility and
commitment.
Leadership
is not just for people at the top.
Everyone
can learn to lead by discovering the power that lies within each one of us to make a
difference and being prepared when the call to lead comes.
Albert Einstein once said, "We should take care not
to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles but no personality. It
cannot lead; it can only serve."Leaders know and science has discovered emotionality's deeper
purpose: the timewornmechanisms of emotion allow two human beings to receive the
contents of each other's minds. Emotion
is the messenger of
love;
it is the vehicle that carries every signal from
one brimming heart to another.
Leadership is applicable to all facets of life: a
competency that you can learn to expand yourperspective, set the context of a goal,
understand the dynamics of human behavior and take the initiative to get
to where you want to
be.
Self-coachinghelps you
develop your leadership
skills,
clarify your values and guiding principles and build your reputation.
Self-knowledgeprovides the
personal integrity to engage in productive and authentic
relationships.
Here
are five guiding principles that guide respectful
conversations:
1. When peers connect change happens. Effective
coaching can happen on the dance floor of conversation.
2. It's OK to begin a conversation by confronting the
other person with questions that seem awkward but set the stage for a respectful
exchange. Why waste time on small talk? Just ask to-the-point
information-seeking questions, like: "What are you here for? How do you wantto spend our
time together?"
3. Conversations are not meant to be structured. Be
open to conversations that you are unprepared for and focused on theinterests of the other person (not your purpose).
4. Don't get pulled into solving problems that may
not matter to the other person. Allow time for the person to get to what's really
important. Provide spaces where they can express their doubts and fears by being a
thoughtful listener--without taking on the responsibility to fix or debate the
issue. After all, you have invited the person to talk about what matters to her or him,
not you, so allow time for the articulation of those thoughts and
feelings.
5. Personal transformation happens when the right
questions get asked--not by providing answers. When you focus on the solution,
you are trying to sell the person something. When you allow people to answer their own
questions, they discover what they were not aware of---and what is needed to
move forward. Personal transformation leads corporate transformation--one
person at a time.
That is why leadership
development is not an
event.
It is a process of participating in respectful conversations where the leader
recognizeshis or her own feelings and those of others in building safe and trustingrelationships.
For human beings, feeling deeply is synonymous with
being alive.
"I'm most effective with one-on-one coaching. I would
guess I coach 100 to 200 employees in a given month. I
don't really think you can do the kind of leadership I do
on a formal basis. It has to be genuine. I don't think
you can force a human connection." Brad Anderson, CEO of
Best Buy
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As leaders, we must hold ourselves to a higher
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Although
the executive education debate still rages on whether
leadership is
learned or innate,
there is no doubt that the subject is being taught.
In October 2003,
BusinessWeek reported that 134 companies from
20 nations spent $210 million to enroll 21,000
employees in executive leadership programs. Since
leadership
development is
not an event, that's a significant investment in
classroom activities that may or may not produce
company leaders or even better managers.
Beginning in October
2005, the University of Michigan Executive Education
Program (rated third in open enrollment behind Harvard
and Pennsylvania's Wharton programs) is offering a
3-day "Becoming an Exceptional Coach" for $4,350.
Compare that classroom training with six-months
of weekly personal executive
coaching
for only $6,000 to create a positive leadership
mindset and a positive work environment.
A survey of 3,000
leaders and associates in 117 organizations reports
that 63% plan to increase spending on leadership
development programs that 75% of HR executives
surveyed don't give a high quality rating
to.
The paradox of
spending more on what's not working is due to
leadership development being seen as a classroom
event. Yet, you don't fix people by sending them off
to training. Managers need ongoing coaching to get in
the habit of being good leaders.
The survey reported
that two-thirds of the respondents said leaders at
their company exhibited at least one potentially fatal
flaw or "derailer"--a personality attribute that
interferes with leadership effectiveness. Derailers
are more personality-oriented than skill-based and are
more difficult to change than teaching someone a new
skill.
For all the money
spent on them, we still don't know if leadership
programs work.
Bottom
Line:
Leadership development is self-development. Learning
how to not micromanage, not be overly concrete, not
fail to explicitly state expectations and other
unproductive inter-personal behavior only happens
through the increased self-awareness gained in a
personal coaching or mentoring
relationship.
“The crux of
leadership development that works is self-directed
learning:
intentionally developing or strengthening an aspect of
who you are or who you want to be, or
both.”
Primal
Leadership by Daniel
Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee (Harvard
Business School Press)
Sources:Leadership Paradox by Warren Bennis in October 1,
2004, CIO/Insight and Assessment of the state of
corporate leadership by Bridgeville, PA-based
Development Dimensions
International
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