Developing Leaders
I think leading people is one of the trickiest, most challenging, and ultimately most important things any leader can do. Yet many organizations "promote" people into leadership positions without any apparent consciousness that management and leadership are professional disciplines unto themselves, and that folks need ongoing training and support if they are going to learn to be good at it.
At the same time, people who are promoted because they were good at their last job may have little talent for the one to which they've been promoted. Where most new or advancing leaders fail is in trying to take individuals and groups to higher levels of performance, and as I've said elsewhere, to navigate conflict and change. So many times I've seen potentially excellent leaders fail because the organization promotes them and then essentially ignores their development needs. I hear stuff like, "Well, she's smart; she'll figure it out", or "I know we should be developing him, but there's just no time". When we do that we're leaving the leader's--and ultimately that part of the organization's--success up to blind luck. That's just not a very good use of your human resources.
Leadership in Denial
When I work with leaders, whether newly promoted supervisors, managers with a few years' experience, or key executives, there's almost always a point when we discuss what I consider to be a key factor in any leader's success: My belief that accepting a position of increased leadership is, at its core, a call to personal growth. I don't mean just improving professional skills--it's more than that. As responsibility, influence, the number of folks depending on us, etc. increase, so does the need for emotional and spiritual growth as well. Because "accepting leadership" results from the conscious or unconscious desire to express myself differently than I already do--which requires that I be more fully "who I am" than before.
When I tell new leaders this, they tend to give me a blank look, like "What's the matter with this guy?" Often, they need to struggle with their new duties a while before they come back and ask for help--or are sent back by someone else.
When I have this conversation with experienced managers and execs who've been around the block a few times, they often smile sagely and nod, and tell me just how right I am. But when I ask them what they're doing in support of their own growth, they answer with some variation of, "Boy, I know I should really make time for that, but..."
It's great to develop professional skills, to get that MBA in your spare time, learn how to handle financial reports better, etc. But I think it's just as important to develop the things we're personally passionate about, or have talent for, or will help us manage the emotional and spiritual demands of leadership. Leading people is not a "task"--we need to engage our hearts, intuition, compassion, humor, and even love. We need to think through our own dramas more clearly. We need to be honest and courageous in the face of our ambition and fears, and to manage our egos in the face of the reality that we can all be magnificent one moment and complete boobs the next. We need to be able to tell the uncomfortable truth when somebody's underperforming--even when that somebody is us. We need to be able to coach people to success. When we avoid doing these things--and nobody does them all the time-- we're being more accountable to our own comfort than to the business or organizational outcomes we say we want.
Here are some ideas and resources for folks engaged in developing as leaders:
Resources I use and recommend highly:
- First, Break All the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.
A great resource for anybody trying to improve human performance, productivity, and the bottom line. - Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham (again) and Donald O. Clifton.
A terrific resource to help with professional development. - The Corporate Mystic, a Guidebook for Visionaries with Their Feet on the Ground, by Gay Hendricks and Kate Ludeman.
This is practical stuff for the behaviors that inspire people to follow, especially for the "big-picture" executive who often doesn't always navigate the realities of life for the rest of us. - Orbiting the Giant Hairball, by Gordon MacKenzie.
How to influence your corporate culture without being sucked into its gravitational pull. Whimsical, funny, and ultimately pretty practical. - Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, by Warren Bennis. Over twenty years old but still a very useful perspective on how to lead.
- The Power of Personal Accountability, by Mark Samuel and Sophie Chiche.
Practical (have you noticed I like practicality?) ways to get out of your own way--to get more of what you want by taking control of your own attitudes and behaviors. One of the most important concepts I've learned is that while we don't necessarily choose what happens to us, we do get to choose how we deal with it. Mark and Sophie are experts and leaders in this field. - The World is Flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas L. Friedman.
A fascinating look at the impacts of the technology revolution on world economies, the power of international supply chains to change geopolitics, and terrorism. - The Harvard Business Review.
Get a subscription and share it with your managers and leaders. I don't always read it, but I should. I learn something useful every time.
Try something new or reintroduce yourself to an old love:
- Everybody needs to have fun or develop a creative outlet. Knitting seems to be big right now--people tell me it relaxes them. Pick up that guitar you haven't played in fifteen years. Go out and hear live music. Play basketball. Go surfing. Get out and walk. Drink less. Or drink better--sign up for that class on wine you saw in the paper. Spend a day on the production line and remember where you came from--and why you wanted to leave. Watch "The Sopranos" to learn new management tips! It doesn't really matter what you do, just try to break out of that rut you're in.
- Mentor somebody. A huge percentage of experienced leaders who mentor others report increased job satisfaction and enthusiasm for their work. And oh, by the way, organizations with strong mentoring programs tend to manage succession planning much better than those that don't. Hmmm.
- If you're sick of what you're doing and you've tried everything you can to make it better, quit doing it and go try something else. I know this can be terrifying, but think about it: would you rather face ten or twenty more years at a job you hate or the temporary discomfort of trying something new? You're going to have pain either way--do you prefer that it be long-term or short term? I highly recommend you do this with the help of a good coach.
The Journey
Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
Last point:
Here's a poem by Mary Oliver. I believe it speaks to the heart of what it takes to fully express ourselves as leaders--in our organizations and communities, but also as the leaders of our own lives. It's pasted on the door of the music studio I built in our garage, and every time I see it I find it useful.
When you get on an airplane and the flight attendants give their safety demonstration (or show the safety video), they say, "In the unlikely event of a loss of cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will fall form the overhead panel. If you are traveling with someone who needs assistance, put your own mask on first, before assisting others".
I think this is what professional and personal development is about--making sure our own "mask" is working before burning ourselves out trying to help others with theirs. Leadership is not martyrdom--it's effectively using who we are and what we know to achieve measurable outcomes. It's not always easy and it's not always fun, but the best leaders I know also seem to be very happy people.
Thank you for visiting my website. Please let me know if I can be of help as you navigate the waters of performance improvement, change, conflict, and professional development.
Willie
©2007 William Carmichael Consulting, LLC |