The Leadership Coaching Blog

Following on from my blog post last week discussing the article by Rob Goffe (Professor of Organisational Behaviour @ London Business school) and Gareth Jones (visiting professor @ INSEAD) I wanted to explore where they think they’re at odds with much of today’s leadership thinking.

They say that the majority think that effective leadership rests on full  self knowledge, but that their observations of leaders suggest that few develop full self knowledge.  That effective leaders have an overarching sense of purpose and sufficient self knowlwdge of their potential leadership assets.  ‘They don’t know it all, but they know enough!’

That being the case they believe that leaders need to recognise some fundamental truths in order to become more effective.  These are:

• That leadership is situational - what is required of leaders will always be influenced by their  situation. However, they do acknowledge that the situation the leader inherits is simply a starting point - that the actions of leaders help to alter their situation and that effective leaders go further, by using their personal leadership assets to reframe situations to the benefit of those they lead.
• That leadership is non hierarchical - just because you have reached the top of your organisation, or have an organisational ‘title’, this doesn’t automatuically make you a leader.  Great organisations have leaders at all levels.

That you cannot be a leader without followers - leadership is a relationship built actively by both parties.  ’Good leaders manage relationships by knowing when to be close to people and when to be distant - to keep people focused on goals and address poor performance.  Crucially, they are able to create this distance without pulling rank.’

According to Goffe and Jones, this management of social distance means that leaders are not easily stereotyped, because they both show emotions and withhold them; get close and stay apart; are like us but different.  This means that they’re often seen as enigmatic or ‘authentic chameleons.’

These leaders need to be skilled communicators who pay careful attention to how they are seen and heard, who build compelling stories about themselves and their contexts, and identify communication channels that work for them - whether that be platform presentations or intimate face to face meetings.

So, there are some fundamental principles of leadership that do apply across the board e.g leaders need to motivate followers to feel that their work is significant and part of something bigger.  But above all followers look for leaders who are authentic, and this authenticity froms the foundation of the relationship; without it there can’t be much trust on either side.

Have you ever wondered why ‘success’ isn’t natural for most of us; why ‘failing’, ‘trying’ or ‘procrastinating’ is the norm?  Why only 3% of the world’s population own 97% of the world’s wealth? (By the way, I include myself in the other 97% here, although I’m in the process of changing that!)

The biggest difference is that the 3% make a habit of doing the things they don’t like to do.

Now nobody enjoys doing the things they don’t want to do, so why do the 3% take action?  They take action because they don’t focus on the process, which may be difficult and unpleasant and will often lead to procrastination.

What they focus on is the result, how they will benefit from taking the action.

This simple shift in focus turns the average into the extraordinary.

So what’s one thing that you don’t want to do today, but if you did would move you forward in your life, your leadership role or your business?

If you focus on doing at least one thing a day that you don’t want to do but know in your heart that you really must do to succeed, then you’ll be developing a wonderful ‘success’ habit.

I’ve been re-reading an article from People Management magazine which was basically posing the question - “Given the general hunger for good Leadership, why are leaders in such short supply?” The writers (Rob Goffe and Gareth Jones) put forward 2 main reasons:

1. Organisations desire leaders but structure themselves in ways that kill leadership - they encourage conformists or role players with little sense of who they are and what they stand for.
2. People’s understanding of leadership is blinkered - they focus on the characteristics of leaders and what they do to others, rather than seeing it as something they do ‘with others.’

What I believe they are saying here is that leadership should always be viewed as a relationship between the leader and the led. That there is no set recipe to follow, and that attempting to imitate other successful leaders is doomed to fail - this is because what will work for one leader will not necessarily work for another.

In many ways I agree with this - as aspiring leaders need to discover what it is about themselves that they can mobilise in a leadership context, and not purely rely on trying to ‘do’ what others do.

On the other hand, I do think that this can be a useful way of testing your effectiveness as a leader and coming to terms with your true self - in terms of what feels comfortable and natural, and what feels forced.

Anyway, there was more to this article than I have time to get down here, so will try to come back to it shortly

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy christmas. 

Have a wonderful break, indulge yourself; spend time with loved ones; and be ready to come back in the New Year re-energised and passionate about the year ahead!

Whilst scanning an article on this legendary industrialist and business leader I noted the leadership principles on which he based his success.  These were:

1. Lead by example - never ask people to do something you wouldn’t do yourself
2. Trust and stand up for your people
3. Always admit when you make a mistake
4. Push credit down the line and blame up the line to lift self belief in the organisation
5. Integrity is more important than popularity
6. Be consistent and you will gain popularity
7. Manage change and keep people’s hearts and minds involved
8. Never fail to make a decision
9. Keep changing - change is risk, but the biggest risk is not to change at all

Not a bad list for all leaders to keep in mind!

I heard recently that if you have a pet fish that’s sick you treat the water not the fish….

What’s that got to do with me and my environment you might ask?  Well, maybe a lot.

Your success depends to a significant degree on your environment, so in that respect you’re just like the fish!  Therefore it’s extremely important that you create a supportive environment for yourself.

You’ll notice I said that you “create” it for yourself, rather than it just automatically “being there.”  Because we might be doing a lot of the right things, but still not be succeeding, as a result of the environment we’re
operating in.

You need to pay attention to your environment now and check out whether it’s supporting you or hindering you.  By environment I mean your physical, emotional and your intellectual environment.

• Is your work place, your office or your home somewhere you love to be?  If not what can you do about
  it?
• Do you have supportive family, friends and work colleagues?  If not what do you need?  Start asking for it!
• Are you feeding your brain protein every day, or just sweets or candy?  Are you being stimulated or
  are you stuck in your comfort zone?  What can you learn, think about or plan today that will stimulate your brain?

Remember, you need to create an environment that supports you; an environment that supports you at the level you want to be, rather than at the level you are now!

I had a major cull of magazines waiting to be read yesterday, and tore part of a page from a CIPD magazine - a box detailing what it means to be an authentic leader - which struck a chord.

Unfortunately, I didn’t keep a record of the article it belonged to, so can’t attribute it to anyone!

• Authentic Leaders do what they say - and practise what they preach.  Nothing betrays aspiring leaders as much as trying to persuade others to do things that they would never do themselves.  But an ability to do what you say is not enough on its own.
• Authentic Leadership also involves an element of coherence.   In other words, despite the need to play different roles at different times for different audiences, authentic leaders display a ‘real self’ that holds these separate performances together.
• Authentic leadership involves a kind of comfort with self, which is often hard to attain.  To be a more effective leader, you must be skilled at ‘being yourself.’

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

I found this piece on a site while surfing - I think it’s from a Success magazine interview with Colin Powell at the end of 2005.  Powell’s 12 Leadership tips are taken from the article “Leadership – From the battlefields to the boardroom: Colin powell explains how to be a leader worth following.”  It makes interesting reading.

1. Never be afraid to make people mad -  Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group.  Some decisions you make may upset certain individuals; this is inevitable. Trying to be nice to everybody will only invite mediocrity and compromise your goals as leader.
2. The day the soldiers stop bringing their problems is the day you have stopped leading them - Make yourself accessible and available.  Too often, asking for help is seen as a sign of weakness, which leads to cover-ups and poor performance.  Show your concern for the people below you.
3. Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites - Always question what the experts say if you don’t understand.  Don’t assume that they know more than you, and certainly don’t be cowed into accepting something that you don’t fully understand.
4. Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard - Learn from the pros; seek them out as mentors and partners.   But if you don’t agree with what they’re saying, let them know.  Reputations shouldn’t be a hindrance to progress.
5. Never neglect the details. When everyone’s mind is distracted, the leader must be doubly vigilant.   All the ideas and visions in the world are worthless if they can’t be implemented rapidly and efficiently.  Good leaders delegate and empower others liberally, but they pay attention to
   the details every day.
6. You don’t know what you can get away with until you try - Don’t wait for permission—just get things done.  If you ask too many people, one of them will say no. So don’t ask.
7. Keep looking below surface appearances - Don’t assume that today’s realities will continue tomorrow in a tidy, linear, and predictable fashion.  Take steps to solve problems as—or, if possible, before—they emerge.
8. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds - Surround yourself with the brightest and the best. It will make the difference between organization and  achievement.
9. Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it - Change is stifled by people who cling to their turf.  Effective leaders create a climate where people’s worth is determined by their willingness to learn new skills and new  responsibilities.
10. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier - Leaders who cast blame or whine engender those same behaviours among their staff.  Have an attitude that says, ‘We can change things here, we can achieve our goals, we can be the best.’
11. Have fun in your command. Take leave when you’ve earned it.  Spend time with your family - Finding the right balance is essential; a happy home life means greater productivity in the workplace.
12. Command is lonely - The buck stops here.  The essence of leadership is the willingness to make the tough decisions.  Prepare to be lonely.

Nobody’s perfect, not even management, as the Ken Blanchard Companies found out when they asked 1,400 executives what they think are the biggest mistakes or failings leaders make or have. They include some old favourites:

• Failing to provide appropriate feedback, especially praise and redirection.
• Failing to involve others in processes.
• Failing to use a leadership style that is appropriate to the personnel, task or situation.
• Failing to set clear and understood goals and objectives.
• Failing to train and develop their staff.
• Inappropriate use of communication, especially listening, and a tendency to ignore alternative viewpoints.
• A tendency to give too much or too little supervision, direction or delegation.
• A general lack of management skills, such as problem solving, decision making and consensus building.
• A tendency to provide too little or inappropriate support.
• A lack of accountability, especially in holding staff accountable for agreed goals and behaviour.

How well are you doing in these areas?

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being poor) where do you rate yourself in each of these areas?

I know that these mistakes and failings are common; in fact, my coaching programmes are often set up to tackle these - so that Leaders and Managers can raise their awareness of themselves, and their own styles and drivers, in order to get clear on what they need to do for themselves first i.e. I take the holistic approach to leadership.

Once they’ve done this they can then concentrate on doing the same for their followers - provide clarity, focus and direction; engage with and empower their staff; and hold them to account for agreed standards and targets.

In this way they develop and improve their own behaviours and skills, and encourage the same in others.

The following leadership quotes are by Peter Drucker:

“Leadership is not magnetic personality — that can just as well be a glib tongue.  It is not “making friends and influencing people” — that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal  limitations.”

“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.”   And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.”    They don’t think “I”.  They think “we”; they think “team.”  They understand their job to be to make the team function.   They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” gets the credit….  This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done. ”

“No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it.   It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.”

“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

I agree that leaders need to take time out to shape their own and their team or company vision; that they need to inspire others with their own vision and show how it fits with the company vision.  They need to develop trusting relationships in order to get others to perform to their potential and achieve the company vision and goals.  In addition, they need to know what to focus their attention on, and be able to get the best from themselves.