Check out the June 3rd "The Boardroom" article on Leadership - Personal, Public, Organizational on the CCG Blog (www.capconsult.blogspot.com).
The Ballston Journal (http://www.theballstonjournal.com/) - Thanks for the opportunity Angela!
Monday, June 28, 2010
leadership - Personal, Public, Organizational
The following article appeared in the June 3rd issue of The Ballston Journal.
Leadership – Personal, Public, Organizational
In previous articles I have focused on a variety of issues that leaders and managers face in dealing with the present and the future. Lately I have been drawn more and more to considering the fundamental traits and characteristics of Leadership, and differentiating Leadership and Leaders from positions, power, or authority.
I believe that at some basic level, we all have the need and opportunity to develop and exhibit leadership characteristics at three levels: personal, public, and organizational.
What are the characteristics of leadership? From my life’s work, research, observations, and application, I would suggest that first and foremost, leadership is about the future: not just tomorrow or next month, but next year, the next decade, and beyond. Leadership is about dealing with uncertainty, ambiguity, and possibilities. Leadership is about creating and inspiring. A colleague of mine from Atlanta works with organizational leaders to measure leadership to implement change; he describes leadership as “aligning, barrier removing, alliance building, and motivating.” This colleague differentiates leadership from management, where the activities are “planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.”
From a personal perspective, each of us are faced with challenges and opportunities. Literally all of us pause and consider our careers and goals at various stages throughout our lives. We consider where we are today, but more importantly, where we want to be five or ten years from now. Personal leadership is creating your own inspiring vision and sharing that with others. Personal management is taking that inspiring vision and developing your action plan, organizing the tasks and controlling your actions to ensure that you execute your plan and achieve your vision. You may not have thought of it in this way, but leadership and management are both required to achieve your vision and dreams. You may excel at developing an inspiring, compelling vision, or you may excel at defining and executing a plan, or you may be good at both. I encourage you to find mentors, coaches, or facilitators who can help you focus on the area where you most need support.
In considering public leadership it seems we do not have to look very hard to see examples of the lack of future-focused leadership. Perhaps this is the result of the political systems and parties we have created which tend to be focused on short-term wins and the next election cycle. Political leaders with one- or two-year terms are often driven to short-term thinking and actions, and many of them spend the majority of their time and effort attempting to micro-manage activities and focus on particular special interests rather than focusing on their leadership role for their entire constituencies. In this regard, we all have an opportunity to demonstrate public leadership by getting involved in our communities by assisting the elected officials in determining what we truly want for our local and regional areas. If we do choose to get involved, we then demonstrate our individual leadership by the time horizon and breadth of our input and actions. If we remain focused on the long term affects of the issues and input, and the resulting decisions, then we are exhibiting leadership for sustainability.
When you think about organization leadership, think about people you know or have heard of that are recognized as truly great leaders. These leaders inspired their organizations to provide outstanding products and services to their customers while taking care of their employees and other stakeholders. (In this context, stakeholders includes everyone who has an interest in the long term success of the organization.) What are the traits that these leaders possessed, cultivated, and exhibited?
Through my personal experience in working for several such organizational leaders in a variety of capacities, I have discovered the following common traits:
• They always think far beyond themselves and the present day when establishing a long- term vision (10 years or more into the future) and formulating strategic level objectives.
• They always include a cross section of the entire organization when formulating the vision and implementation action plan.
• They always ensure that their team includes people who were very different from themselves in personality, thinking types/styles, and skills.
• They create diverse yet balanced teams to leverage every ones strengths.
• They foster collaboration and contribution from everyone and include them in all aspects of defining and implementing the short term action plan to achieve the long term vision.
• They focus on the “What” is desired and best for the organization, more so than the “How” do we get there.
• They inspire and support everyone in the organization to figure out the “How” of achieving the vision.
The traits outlined above equally apply to leaders of small and medium size organizations. Great leaders in every organization develop a very keen sense and ability to clearly differentiate and move between their leadership role and the appropriate focus on management tasks of organizing and controlling day to day activities.
It seems that lately, leadership is often viewed only from the perspective of authority and power. I would like to offer a bit different view. I will grant that there are positions of authority in personal relationships, public service, and organizations. However, simply because someone is in a position of authority does not mean they are really leaders and exhibiting leadership qualities. Likewise, there are many leaders who are not in top positions or positions of authority within organizations or public service. As for power, I believe the same is true. My experience is that real leaders do not hold power. They develop and release power throughout the organization by their inclusive collaborations, vision development, and resulting action plans which inspire and motivate (thus empower) stakeholders.
Leadership – Personal, Public, Organizational
In previous articles I have focused on a variety of issues that leaders and managers face in dealing with the present and the future. Lately I have been drawn more and more to considering the fundamental traits and characteristics of Leadership, and differentiating Leadership and Leaders from positions, power, or authority.
I believe that at some basic level, we all have the need and opportunity to develop and exhibit leadership characteristics at three levels: personal, public, and organizational.
What are the characteristics of leadership? From my life’s work, research, observations, and application, I would suggest that first and foremost, leadership is about the future: not just tomorrow or next month, but next year, the next decade, and beyond. Leadership is about dealing with uncertainty, ambiguity, and possibilities. Leadership is about creating and inspiring. A colleague of mine from Atlanta works with organizational leaders to measure leadership to implement change; he describes leadership as “aligning, barrier removing, alliance building, and motivating.” This colleague differentiates leadership from management, where the activities are “planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.”
From a personal perspective, each of us are faced with challenges and opportunities. Literally all of us pause and consider our careers and goals at various stages throughout our lives. We consider where we are today, but more importantly, where we want to be five or ten years from now. Personal leadership is creating your own inspiring vision and sharing that with others. Personal management is taking that inspiring vision and developing your action plan, organizing the tasks and controlling your actions to ensure that you execute your plan and achieve your vision. You may not have thought of it in this way, but leadership and management are both required to achieve your vision and dreams. You may excel at developing an inspiring, compelling vision, or you may excel at defining and executing a plan, or you may be good at both. I encourage you to find mentors, coaches, or facilitators who can help you focus on the area where you most need support.
In considering public leadership it seems we do not have to look very hard to see examples of the lack of future-focused leadership. Perhaps this is the result of the political systems and parties we have created which tend to be focused on short-term wins and the next election cycle. Political leaders with one- or two-year terms are often driven to short-term thinking and actions, and many of them spend the majority of their time and effort attempting to micro-manage activities and focus on particular special interests rather than focusing on their leadership role for their entire constituencies. In this regard, we all have an opportunity to demonstrate public leadership by getting involved in our communities by assisting the elected officials in determining what we truly want for our local and regional areas. If we do choose to get involved, we then demonstrate our individual leadership by the time horizon and breadth of our input and actions. If we remain focused on the long term affects of the issues and input, and the resulting decisions, then we are exhibiting leadership for sustainability.
When you think about organization leadership, think about people you know or have heard of that are recognized as truly great leaders. These leaders inspired their organizations to provide outstanding products and services to their customers while taking care of their employees and other stakeholders. (In this context, stakeholders includes everyone who has an interest in the long term success of the organization.) What are the traits that these leaders possessed, cultivated, and exhibited?
Through my personal experience in working for several such organizational leaders in a variety of capacities, I have discovered the following common traits:
• They always think far beyond themselves and the present day when establishing a long- term vision (10 years or more into the future) and formulating strategic level objectives.
• They always include a cross section of the entire organization when formulating the vision and implementation action plan.
• They always ensure that their team includes people who were very different from themselves in personality, thinking types/styles, and skills.
• They create diverse yet balanced teams to leverage every ones strengths.
• They foster collaboration and contribution from everyone and include them in all aspects of defining and implementing the short term action plan to achieve the long term vision.
• They focus on the “What” is desired and best for the organization, more so than the “How” do we get there.
• They inspire and support everyone in the organization to figure out the “How” of achieving the vision.
The traits outlined above equally apply to leaders of small and medium size organizations. Great leaders in every organization develop a very keen sense and ability to clearly differentiate and move between their leadership role and the appropriate focus on management tasks of organizing and controlling day to day activities.
It seems that lately, leadership is often viewed only from the perspective of authority and power. I would like to offer a bit different view. I will grant that there are positions of authority in personal relationships, public service, and organizations. However, simply because someone is in a position of authority does not mean they are really leaders and exhibiting leadership qualities. Likewise, there are many leaders who are not in top positions or positions of authority within organizations or public service. As for power, I believe the same is true. My experience is that real leaders do not hold power. They develop and release power throughout the organization by their inclusive collaborations, vision development, and resulting action plans which inspire and motivate (thus empower) stakeholders.
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