Demystifying Leadership
(or How to Make the Philosophical Practical) — Part One of a Five-Part Series
Over the years I have been challenged more than once with building up an internal training and development path around leadership & management development for companies I’ve worked for, basically from scratch. Early on in one of my first endeavors into this development arena, I did a deep dive into all of the “thought leaders” at the time and decided that out of everything I found, this book called The Leadership Challenge resonated the most with me and what I was looking to accomplish in the program I was developing. James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s guide debunked the myth of the leader as a maverick rather than a team player. It also tackled the image of the leader as a special breed. Indeed, the book’s basic premise is that there are certain critical and identifiable skills that most anyone can learn and adopt in order to become an effective leader. I recognized that this approach was one that I could support and get behind as I developed a program that I felt would be well received by a population of highly educated, technical professionals who were struggling with having to transition from being just a technical expert to being a technical expert that also was responsible for a leading a team of individuals that needed not only to be guided, but inspired, motivated, and set up for success.
Over the next few posts I plan to talk to Kouzes and Posner’s core tenants and how they come together to allow anyone committed to the idea of leadership to become strong leaders and to be comfortable with what it takes to embody the qualities of a “Best-in-Class” Leader.
“If the end brings me out all right, what’s said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
Leadership is often treated as a mystical, inexplicable quality, like charisma or spirituality. But, what if leadership was actually a set of behaviors and attitudes that you can study and master? The authors conclude that with over a decade of research with thousands of leaders indicates that exemplary leadership rests upon five fundamental principles and 10 leadership commitments that make the five principles work. If you master these critical attributes, you will be able to inspire any organization, no matter how difficult the circumstances. Universally, effective leaders follow these principles:
1) They challenge the process
2) They inspire a shared vision
3) They enable others to act
4) They set an example
5) They encourage the heart
Today we’re going to look at Challenging the Process.
One of the differences between leaders and followers is that leaders are inherently inclined to challenge the processes that constrain their organizations. Because they take action, leaders seem to be in the right place at the right time. Correspondingly, leaders push innovation and change the status quo. Not a single leader that the authors interviewed focused on keeping things unchanged. In this sense, leaders are pioneers who are willing to try something new and better. They have a relatively high tolerance for risk. While leaders are not always creators or innovators, they can recognize new ideas and promote the adoption of those new concepts or practices. To be an exemplary leader, be an early adopter of ideas that are good for your organization. Leaders seem to learn best when challenged by difficult circumstances. Their resourcefulness enables them to take chances and succeed.
When employees are asked about key leadership traits, they say leaders should be honest, forward-looking, inspiring, competent and fair-minded, qualities that might induce someone to challenge the status quo. Such leaders are seen as credible, and credibility makes their challenges of the status quo more likely to succeed.
The first leadership commitment is to seek challenging opportunities to grow, change, innovate and improve. This means treating every job like an adventure rather than a task. Think from the ground up; approach every assignment like a turnaround project. Constantly question the status quo, and never accept the answer, “Because that’s how we’ve always done it.” Don’t try to think up all the solutions — send your people out to shop for ideas. Make it everyone’s job to find better ways to operate. Add adventure to everyone’s work. Learn new skills to stimulate your creativity.
As always, these thoughts are based on my personal experiences and I would love to hear from anyone that has additional perspectives in the comments. It is our collective experiences and unique perspectives that combine together to make us who we are and I for one am eager to seize that learning experience and capitalize on all that it has to offer.
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