- by Guest Blogger Joanne Goveas, Learning Advisor, Rotman Executive Programs
The business landscape changes more quickly than ever now,
and we are facing massive changes in the demographics of the workforce as well
as disruption. So what is it that makes
some leaders so much more successful than others?
When you think of leaders who are widely recognized for
their work, there’s always something that sets them apart – a personal style, a
unique approach, and a self-awareness that is difficult to develop. But it can
be done! So what do you need to break through to the next level?
A different way of
thinking about leadership
Leadership isn’t a one size fits all proposition. Different
leadership styles work better for different leaders and different organizational cultures. So when you’re developing
your leadership skills, you should think about it from a very personal
perspective. What are your particular strengths and weaknesses? Where should
you devote more time? How are you assessing what you need to work on as well as
the progress you’ve made a few months later?
You can’t address your personal development in a short
period of time and then carry on as normal. True leadership comes from an
ongoing process of continual self-assessment and re-alignment.
The right management,
leadership, and engagement models and systems for your personal style
There are a lot of historical and new leadership models, and
they may have worked for you in the past, but they all have the same flaw: they’re
not yours. A model is only a
construct – it can’t accurately represent reality. Instead of getting locked in
to a single model, combine models, even if they seem to be in opposition to
each other. Keep an eye out for new models from which you can borrow bits and
pieces.
The best leadership model is one that you piece together
yourself, integrating from other models the parts and pieces that work best for
you and your context. Give yourself the time to create and develop a new
insight before moving ahead.
A more conscious and
intentional manner of leading
Soft skills are some of the hardest skills to learn.
Cognitive intelligence will help you handle the day to day quantitative
challenges – financial reports and operational issues, for example – but
emotional intelligence will give you the capability to use emotions to
facilitate performance. By understanding the causes of emotions in yourself and
others, you’ll be able to see underneath what people say or do and address the
real issues at hand.
And part of that is being conscious of how you come off to
others, as well. What messages are your words and actions communicating other
than the bare facts? How does your attitude or emotional state change your
message? Take the time to pause and reflect before answering or offering your
own input. You’ll be surprised by the results.
Self-awareness and
wellness strategies
Too often people say leadership when they mean management.
Management focuses on external forces and how you can best direct and support
your staff. Leadership starts with you. How self-aware are you? Are you
balanced physically, emotionally, mentally? Are you resilient?
To keep up with the high demands of senior leadership
positions, you need a mindfulness strategy and practice that will ensure your
wellness and ability to defeat overwhelm. Integrating mindfulness practices
into your daily routine can either be the easiest part of your leadership
development or the hardest, but either way it is one of the most important
facets.
A coach who knows how
to ask the right questions
The benefits of mentorship and coaching are invaluable.
Finding the right coach means finding someone who will do more than just offer
solutions. The right coach should instead ask you the right questions so you
can discover the solutions or next steps that work best for you.
A coach who immediately offers advice or solutions instead
of asking questions might not get to the real issue at hand. Your challenges
are personal and specific, and they should be treated that way by both you and
your coach.
Intensive programs can deliver skills and present new
theories, but for real progress, you need to change the way you think about and
engage in the act of leadership. A longer, more thorough program that follows
up with your progress and personal journey is key to making real change and
accomplishing your leadership goals.
Rotman’s Executive Leadership program
* combines a thorough pre-program assessment, a five-day intensive and multiple
touchpoints over an eight-month period to truly develop your personal
capabilities. The next offering begins October17, 2016.
[Joanne Goveas, Learning Advisor at Rotman Executive
Programs, is an experienced and trusted advisor in
executive education. Her mandate is to help executives and professionals find
the right executive education plan for themselves and their organization.
IPAC has invited Joanne to post about Executive training, as part of our new blog series on OpenGov = OpenMinds. Look for more posts
on professional development workshops, leadership, digital government, and available training to raise your game to
the executive level.]
*If you have problems clicking the link above, please copy and paste the following URL into your browser: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment/Executive-Programs/CoursesWorkshops/Programs/LEAD
Today, the concept of leadership has become increasingly more nuanced and varied than in past years. We’ve heard about servant leadership, collaborative leadership, bureaucratic leadership, leadership by example, team leadership, democratic leadership, autocratic leadership, narcissistic leadership, facilitative leadership and many other types. When I did a quick scan of the Harvard Business Review it yielded over 8,000 leadership articles and over 50 variations in leadership style. I found these could be simplified into 2 basic categories -- leader as cause (including both functional and dysfunctional leadership) and leader as catalyst. As a result of this wide variety of meanings, the term 'leadership' is like one of those words that can mean anything to anybody.
ReplyDeleteHowever in terms of popular usage, the term 'leader' continues to refer to the person who has all the knowledge, resources and power to get things done. They have all the answers. They are in charge. They can kick butt (or shower praise) when they need to. Unfortunately, in today's world it's not leadership that's needed when knowledge, resources and power are widely distributed. What's needed is stewardship (more in keeping with the various ideas of catalytic leadership) and the notion of how can I help you achieve your goals and purposes? Leadership actually gets in the way.
According to Barbara Kellerman at the Kennedy School “We are no more capable today of making good leaders, or reducing the effects of bad leaders, than we were forty years ago... The leadership industry is a fraud.” We'd all be better off if we spent more time thinking about the skills and practices of stewardship than perpetuating the antiquated notion that in today's world leaders make a difference (other than a negative one).
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Chris. Always great to hear from actively engaged professionals who live and breathe what they write about.
We had a very a propos picture and comment posted on our LinkedIn group in response to this article: http://starecat.com/content/wp-content/uploads/boss-leader-difference-climbing-a-mountain.jpg
I think it acknowledges the point that both you and the author are trying to make very succinctly: that leadership is a chameleon's word now. As any parent knows, the job description of a person who manages other people does not even come close to fulfilling the actual job requirements. No one ever tells you how to navigate the most difficult and sensitive situations and personalities, which come with conflicting political, personal and ethical interests.
Every position where you manage others is widely different from another, and does not necessarily entail "leading", whereas many have been leaders to others while not holding any position in a management role...
The chameleon effect that professionals are experiencing is one of many situations that is subject to a common phenomenon of the sign being separated from its signifier. That is when "leadership" means something different to every person you ask, and the expressions of "leadership" differ in as many ways. Many "isms" suffer from this effect (think of your politically charged "isms" which I won't mention as their meaning is so widely spread out, that the mere mention of them might derail this post!)
The point is, and I hope our author would agree, that both practitioners and trainers have realized that the antiquated notion of "leader" is no longer the dominant meaning shared by majority of professionals. So how do professionals function in a changing work landscape that is also subject to a changing landscape of meaning? It is not a simple pill that is the solution to that question, as you both aptly point out, but rather a large shared effort that we all share in reorganizing our professional landscape.
I have heard many terms used to replace “leadership”, including your suggested term “stewardship”, and I have also watched many people go to great efforts to re-define “leadership” for the changing landscape of our professionals contexts, however the “experience” of leadership is not an individuated one, but a shared one…and this speaks to both of your points – that the shared experience of both the “leader-steward” and the “lead-follower” is actually more about co-leading and promoting and learning we previously thought. (See one of my personal favourite YouTube examples of this expression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_qO7NFp4-s)
The last decade has seen a surge in intelligent ways to address this – and there are many intelligent ways to address this – as many intelligent chameleon ways to address it as there are intelligent chameleon leadership requirements. It is absolutely worth it to address them, and not pointless. Just because we can’t see the end point or destination in this process, by no means negates the purpose behind it. Sometimes your best indicator of current success is that it feels right to the people involved.
Like the men in the YouTube video link above, you feel it when something is working, and you work it until it no longer feels right.
Thank you again to our bloggers and commenters.
People can respond and comment here or by contacting IPAC at manderson@ipac.ca