In the "new world" business environment that
is evolving with dizzying speed, the search for strong leadership has taken on
more urgency--and companies are discovering that the traditional approach to
creating leaders may be in need of some retooling.
Often the people who lead a company are not the people in the positions we
would most expect. Some times this is good, and some times it is
bad. The people in positions that require leadership should have the
qualities we look for in good manager, or executive. But where are they
supposed to get these skills? Few colleges offer good leadership training,
and so many of your most qualified staff members may be lacking in leadership
skills. Griffin can help. We offer programs ranging from one on one
leadership programs, group leadership programs, on-site, off-site and
retreats. Our staff members come from the YMCA, corporate, and entrepreneur
roles.
The traditional approach to creating leaders may be
in need of some retooling.
In his book John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do (Harvard Business
School Press, 1999), Harvard professor John Kotter contends that most
organizations today lack leadership--and it has little to do with a paucity of
talent, intelligence, or experience.
"Instead of nurturing talent, encouraging people to lead, and to learn
from mistakes and successes," Kotter says, "organizations all too
often ignore leadership potential, offer no relevant training or role models,
and punish those who make small errors while trying to lead. Individuals, too,
get in their own way by failing to assess developmental needs realistically and
to proactively seek means of meeting those needs."
There is certainly no shortage of books that explore a hundred different ways
to train leaders. But is leadership something that can be achieved by reading a
book or taking a class, or is something more integral required?
"Once you find yourself in a leadership role, you discover that neither
the books nor the MBA degree help you in the ways you thought they would,"
says Earl Hinton, vice president of developmental services for Fidelity
Investments. "The things you've learned that are the most valuable are what
you've learned outside of the company, in the family, in your community, in
church. You just have to know how to translate them."
Fidelity, he says, views leadership training from multiple perspectives.
While the company has not abandoned the classic training approach, there is now
more emphasis on the whole person and "everything that comes in the door
with them each day."
Gordon Curtis, of Curtis Consulting in Marblehead, MA, specializes in
advising, coaching, and training for startups. He says his experience over the
years has led him to conclude that "leadership training" is virtually
an oxymoron. "In order for true leadership behavior to improve, it has to
come from within and can't be imposed by traditional training," he says.
"A person has to find the motivation to alter their behavior, and that has
to come from within."
Leader, Know Thyself
The idea that leaders need to burrow into their own character, understand who
they are and what they believe, seems to be catching on industry-wide. One of
its proponents is Kevin Cashman, founder and CEO of LeaderSource and author of Leadership
From the Inside Out (Executive Excellence, 1999). Cashman believes that
leadership originates in the character of a person and isn't something achieved
solely through the outward acquisition of skills. People who have a solid grasp
of their weaknesses and strengths have what Cashman calls
"authenticity," a key component in good leadership, he says.
This view resonates with Rick Maybury, president of Peak Performance Group in
Gloucester, MA. He sees the ability to self-analyze and make changes as vital
leadership traits. Leaders who know they are weak in a particular area,
therefore, may choose to follow someone who is strong in that area.
"Leaders who aren't married to their own way of doing things are able to
drive an organization," he says.
A good example of authentic leadership, Maybury says, can be found in Jack
Welch, former CEO of General Electric. "If you look at what he did in the
80s and 90s, he made a ton of mistakes," says Maybury. "But he never
made the same mistake twice. That was one of his gifts. When he talked about
himself, he would say he wasn't brilliant … he would get his ideas by making
connections with people, talking to his colleagues, talking to the attendant at
the gas station."
Kotter agrees. Effective leaders, he writes, "spend a lot of time just
talking to other people, including people who are not their subordinates. They
deal in a broad sweep of topics rather than just their functional specialty, are
much more likely to ask questions than to give orders, and actually make 'big'
policy decisions only rarely. They engage in the kind of chit-chat and joking
that cements relationships."
And while this all may seem like a casual form of leadership, the effective
leader will actually accomp
