Aborting the Hunt - Four Dimensions of Leadership

Leadership. To some it remains intriguing, others feel they have been swamped with theories, models, research studies, and the still growing industry of leadership books, coaches, and institutes, yet others wonder what the fuss is all about. But we probably all agree that the world of business and beyond, especially the world beyond business, is a much better world when led by great leaders, at every level and whatever model or theory you adhere to.

In 2010 Mark Bodnarczuk, Executive Director of research center for the study of organizational culture the Breckenridge Institute, wrote an article called Four Dimensions of Leadership. Two beliefs in this article, or better, in his leadership thinking, appeal to me. First, that “leadership is one of the most valuable of human activities.” A statement so true, and often not considered to its full extent. Leadership is the most valuable of human activities, I believe, in schools, in sports, in the community, in politics, in business, and not to forget, in the family.

Amidst the overwhelming industry called leadership, many still seem to be looking to and often even longing to identify the basic building blocks that define effective, outstanding leadership. I consider this at least remarkable, knowing that the world is a very diverse place, knowing that a specific context, particular circumstances, a specific culture and a specific time period are highly formative and require very different things from leaders. And they should. Why do we aim to unravel the keys to remarkable leadership? What purpose would it serve to settle for a certain set of characteristics, strengths, qualities or whatever we want to call them? We all know that the ability to envision, inspire, bring together, look beyond etc. is essential in great leadership. As Bodnarczuk discusses in his article, leaders do not operate in a vacuum. They are, instead, “embedded within specific historical contexts, business situations, and the organizational structures, systems, and culture within which people lead.” For the purpose of recruiting, growing, and nurturing leaders, it is, of course, important to know what to look for (when recruiting) and how to grow and assess leaders. No question about it. And the Breckenridge model with four interdependent dimensions of leadership, the second aspect of Bodnarczuk’s leadership thinking that appeals to me, can be useful:

• Expertise, Experience, and Wisdom, including education, expertise, a track record of effectively leading organizations, and experience in specific industries and markets.
• Problem Solving Ability: intellectual horsepower needed to effectively perform and deal with complexity.
• Personality, Core Beliefs and Values, which manifests itself in behavioral and action patterns, intrinsic motivations, and which includes how a leader views himself, others, and the world around him or her.
• Awareness of Self and Others, and anything that happens between self and others, with an intuitive knowing in the here-and-now at its core.

I think these four dimensions entail all relevant parts of leadership without being rigid and overly descriptive of what a great leader should believe, think, do, feel, accomplish. I greatly appreciate Bodnarczuk’s statement that leadership and leadership development is a “complex, interdependent process that involves a person’s natural abilities, talents, personality, and level of awareness, working together within the specific historical context and business situation in which people are embedded.” So let’s stop hunting for more models and golden tips and characteristics and let’s start doing and being the leader that we want to see in others. Step by step, through successes and through failures, with a decent scoop of common sense and courage, with an open to new perspectives, and a willingness to stumble, fall, and get up again doing things differently next time.

Recognition, loyalty, engagement and Valentine's Day

As I tweeted early this morning, I truly hope that you show your appreciation and care to loved ones, employees, and co-workers throughout the year, authentically, and not just today, because your calendar happens to show a certain hyped up date.

Demonstrating interest, appreciation and loyalty towards your employees, including mustering the courage and taking the time to provide them with difficult feedback that lights up blind spots and opens new perspectives, has many positive effects.

- It increases engagement, defining an engaged employee as one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work. Someone who will therefore act in a way that furthers the organization's interest. A loyal and devoted employee.

- It encourages integrity, which, as discussed in a previous post, I think consists of identity, authenticity, alignment, and accountability and results in effective, ethical, and engaging work and results.

- It increases accountability once clear expectations are set and communicated and once all parties understand and support the why and what of these expectations as well as how they will be measured and supported.

I'm sure it's clear from the above that engagement, integrity, and accountability are intertwined, as most (or all) of our world is. That's the beauty and the complexity of the world of organizational effectiveness and beyond.

In today's HBR post Bill Taylor refers to Vince Lombardi's most important principle: Love is more powerful than hate:"The love I'm speaking of is loyalty, which is the greatest of loves," Lombardi told his audiences. "Teamwork, the love that one man has for another and that he respects the dignity of another...I am not speaking of detraction. You show me a man who belittles another and I will show you a man who is not a leader...Heart power is the strength of your company."

Seems to me a perfect, powerful principle to keep in your heart and your actions on Valentine's Day and any other day of the year. Wishing you an abundance of Heart Power.

Thoughts on Dealing with Change and Transitions

Change is the essence of development for individuals, for groups, and for organizations. Change is a process, not an event – it’s any situation that asks for significant adjustment by the individual, such as is the case with a new job, starting a business, marriage or divorce, a reorganization, a promotion, relocation to a different country, or the death of a loved one. Whether you are dealing with self-inflicted, desired, involuntary, or forced change, in order to embrace and manage ‘the new’ you have to be able to let go of the old, but also, to incorporate the old in the new. This takes time, focus, energy, and much more. In many cases, the biggest challenge during a transition or change process is caused by what happens in your head. Your beliefs and your thoughts about change and about new experiences to a large extent determine the outcome of the change, which means you can exert quite a bit of control over changes and transitions you’re facing.

The following thoughts on dealing with transitions and change stem from 20 years of experience in the field of training & development, coaching, and counseling in many different types of organizations, and, of course, from life, which provides us with one transition after another.

1.   Simplify

In the relatively stable economic and business environment of the last decade, the negative impact of unnecessary complex business models or change processes went almost undetected. The economic downturn, however, is challenging all that businesses do, such as how they execute their business strategy and how they deliver change. In today’s harsh, interconnected, and vastly changing business climate many organizations find themselves ill prepared to cope with the challenges they get thrown. I believe this, at least in part, to be due to models, strategies, change programs, and systems that are unnecessarily complex and thereby inflexible and ineffective. Business model simplification has gained increasing interest and should be applied to change and transition programs in order for them to be successful. It’s not just your organization - your change program and tools too need to be agile and flexible in order to adjust to rapidly changing economic, political, and business factors. If not, your business will likely suffer from overlapping management structures, from people and administrative functions that do not add value, and from poor implementation of strategy and change.

Tip: For the ‘what and how’ of business simplification I suggest you work with experienced consultants with expertise in this field. An interesting article related to this topic is posted on Harvard Business Review Blog by Chris Zook: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/02/desperately_seeking_simplicity.html

2.   Reframing

If you reframe a question, you can open up your thinking and your choices to many more possibilities than when you remain stuck in that one question or just one perspective. Some of the most interesting breakthroughs in science, technology, political negotiations, or during a crime investigation by a team of detectives come from reframing questions. Every question leads to particular lines of thinking, to a specific inquiry, and to a certain kind of research. Don’t limit yourself to just one.

Tip: Change the question and new horizons arise.
 

3.   Drivers Ed

Just as you don’t wake up at 16 to find you can drive a car, so it goes with dealing with change and transitions. Wanting something badly can be a great start, but without a decent plan, without awareness of all that’s at play including your own beliefs, attitudes, and choices, without consistent training, and without adjustments based on feedback, you’ll be a danger on the road and successful change will be yours to wait for. Just like some companies (or better: their leaders) cannot find the right strategic path, others have difficulty successfully executing their strategy, and yet others execute their strategy well for a while but then lose their way for many different reasons, so do people when facing challenges related to change and transitions.  

Tip: Develop a strategy for the change you’re facing. Test it, adjust it, stick to it, and search for ways to secure and sustain value.

4.   Failing upwards

Any sport is built around pushing limits. You practice, rehearse, and persevere until you reach your top and then you push that top even further.
You exercise, train, climb, and fall, and if you aren’t falling chances are high that you are not improving. When you push your sport or business forward, you are likely experiencing more failures than successes in certain stages of the transition. You can learn to carry yourself through failure with confidence and competence which enables you to manage transitions and change effectively. And if you are in a leading position, support and enable your people to reveal their challenges and problems. Most people don’t like revealing problems because they fear it makes them look weak and incompetent. Employees rather reveal their “great performance” but without accountability there will be little collaboration and growth.  Know and explore your ideological comfort zone and decide to regularly step out of it, accepting falls, bruises, and mistakes as part of the process.

Tip:
Start asking questions like “Even though we are transitioning and performing well, what’s not working or can be improved in your team?” or “What is your greatest personal challenge or concern we should be addressing today?”

Just four thoughts on dealing with change and transitions. Use them to your advantage.