How Effective Is Your Organization's Leadership?
It was his belief and therefore the belief of most of his executives, that if you have reached the top of the organization and have been working for over 20 years, there isn’t a lot you can learn. You need to execute and deliver results and if you can’t do that, then you will be replaced. When Bob was asked about his leadership ability he said that he was a good leader, sometimes a great leader but could still do some things better. It was suggested to him that he get some feedback and coaching about his leadership effectiveness, however, he replied, “I am sure there are things I can still learn but it isn’t a priority for me right now.”
Making Leadership Development A Priority
If it isn’t a priority for the CEO, do you think it will be a priority for others? Everything cascades down through an organization. Many times the next level of leaders, many of whom may be looking to take the top spot, don't want to appear to have weaknesses. And they will not become vulnerable enough to seek feedback that may expose those weaknesses.
Additionally, if the only time leadership effectiveness is questioned is when a person does not deliver results, the organization will create a cultural belief that leadership effectiveness assessment and development is for the weak leaders who don’t know how to lead. 360-degree assessments and coaches can be associated with only those leaders who are in trouble.
Does Bob understand that great leadership effectiveness has a direct impact on the bottom line and to drive exceptional business results, he could greatly benefit from exceptional leadership? From my own experience, I have seen that developing your leadership ability from good to great is possible nearly 100% of the time. If Bob makes developing his leadership effectiveness a priority, it will be a priority for his team and their teams.
How To Develop Your Leaders
The number one way to develop your leaders is to develop yourself and to let people know it is a priority for the business that they become the best leaders possible.
As Bob thought more about the leadership effectiveness of his team, he realized he had some people who were brilliant technically but didn’t lead people effectively. Some of his team had blind spots and were largely unaware of their lack of people leadership skills. When he reviewed a list of “10 fatal flaws that consistently lead to leadership failure” (From Zenger Folkman), he began to realize that he needed to address the issue.
10 Fatal Flaws
- Not inspiring due to a lack of energy and enthusiasm
- Accepting mediocre performance in place of excellent results
- Lack of clear vision and direction
- Loss of trust stemming from perceived bad judgment and poor decisions
- Not a collaborative team player
- Not a good role model (failure to walk the talk)
- No self-development and learning from mistakes
- Lacking interpersonal skills
- Resistant to new ideas, thus did not lead change or innovate
- Focus is on self, not the development of others
The end of the story is that he realized after more reflection that even though he felt he was a good leader, getting better would be helpful for the organization. It didn't take a long time for him to see that it was an act of leadership for him to "go first'" and be vulnerable enough to ask for feedback through a 360-degree assessment.
Good news! Bob was actually a better leader than he thought and the assessment showed it. He had not used strength-based development before and he became invigorated when it was suggested he take one of his emerging strengths and take it to the next level. He, like most CEOs and leaders who have improved, noticed what a positive effect it had on the organization. He led more effectively and those around him also led more effectively.
It's simple math: 2 x 2 = 4; 4 x 2 = 8; 8 x 2 = 16. Effective leaders who create more effective leaders transform their organization’s ability to deliver results.
What is life calling for you to do? Is it time you address the issue? Are you developing yourself? Do you have a person(s) on your team that is technically brilliant but not leading others effectively? Would it be helpful to have an assessment of their leadership ability (blind spots and strengths) and a plan to develop them?
A CEO's leadership is more important than even they can imagine. Be the leader everyone wants to follow. Give your people a gift and become the best boss ever!
Originally published at donfrericks.com.
