So you want to be a better leader?

Today I was talking to a prospective client about how to construct a leadership development program in their fast-growing biotech company. As we were talking I was moved to bring up a development pattern that I sometimes use with clients. And on the drive home, I thought this might be of use to others. So here it is ...

The core structure of any leadership development, in my experience, follows the path of these questions:

1. What is being asked of you as a leader? For the sake of what (and whom) do you want to be a better leader? What do you want to offer as a leader?
2. What do you need to do to fulfill your leadership role? What commitments must you fulfill? What are the gaps in your current abilities?
3. What new conversations do you need to be in? With whom? (Don't forget about new conversations with yourself!)
4. How do you need to show up in those conversations so that they are successful? What lifestyle will enable you to show up that way?
5. Given your answers to this, what do you need to do differently right now? What old habits must you undo? What new practices must you start?

What I find that works about this structure is that it pin points the areas to work on as a leader in a way that is grounded in what you, as a leader, must do to be successful. In other words, this approach is pragmatic and generative.

Often I see leadership development approaches that start with a list of leadership competencies. And boy do the competencies look great. Wouldn't it be great if we had such super leaders? But describing competencies doesn't get you anything. It doesn't pin point where you need to actually develop in terms that are actionable, pragmatic, and generative.

Take care,

-Steve

Comments

[Russ Volckmann]

Can you clarify why this applies just to leaders? Seems to me this is about any relationship oriented individual.

[Steve]

Agreed. I see leadership in the way that Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus do in their classic "Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge" when they say right from the start that "the process of becoming a leader is much the same as becoming an integrated human being."

So the generative structure I've outlined here could be used by anyone.

The move suggested in this post is to make development personal instead of making it about a set of impersonal leadership competencies. Why? Because only ever happens in ways that are personal.