“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”
– Peter F. Drucker, Author and Management Expert

Summary: The next section in our fifteen-part series on the Foundations of Leadership is Strategic Thinking. Let’s take a look at what it is, how to do it, and some useful tools to implement Strategic Thinking at the personal, family, community, and corporate levels.

The process of strategic thinking allows us to analyze situations and problems - and then prepare the plan that will take us to new levels or through a change. First, let’s look at the difference between strategic thinking and strategic planning, and put our focus on thinking. Strategic thinking is the input to planning, the creation of a vision for the future. Strategic planning, then, is the roadmap from where we are to where we want to be, the answer having appeared in our thinking process. We probably do quite a bit of strategic thinking in all aspects of our lives, but it’s necessary to put it on a formal level in order to really take action. What are the benefits of strategic thinking?

First, strategic thinking allows us to solve problems collaboratively and from varying perspectives. In a true strategic thinking process, even if the only person involved is you, different perspectives will emerge. Second, strategic thinking helps us manage change. We are able to analyze not only where we want to be after a change, but also the impacts and issues that will occur during the change. Finally, strategic thinking for its own sake creates new possibilities and opportunities. Sometimes a broad range of topic categories in a brainstorming session can lead us to fantastic new ideas.

The process itself revolves around asking questions. To start, honesty will be of great importance in the answers to the questions you’ll ask. If you’re employing strategic thinking techniques for yourself, you’ll have to take a good look in the mirror and be honest about what you see. First, you must determine strengths and weaknesses, of the person, group, or company. The best tool for this is a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Take a large sheet of paper, divide it into four quadrants, and label each as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are usually easy to determine, but what about opportunities and threats? This takes more analysis, more future predictions based on fact.

Once you’ve answered your SWOT, you have to ask, “just what is the big picture?” This is where you’ll think about where you or the organization needs to be. In a family situation, let’s say conflict arises every night at bedtime. Obviously the place you want to be is conflict-free. In filling in the big picture, don’t overcomplicate matters - yet. It’s easy to paint a picture of the ideal if you don’t cloud it with detail. Leave that for your planning process.

Next, consider all points of view. Andy Grove, the former chairman of Intel Corporation, always said that the best way to solve a problem was to take yourself and your emotions out of it - and observe it as an outsider. Of course this again means that you’ll have to take a hard look at yourself and your group. This also means that after you’ve looked at the overall situation, you may have to go back in, still as an outsider, and analyze why people feel and act they way they do when confronted with the problem.
Finally, you must determine what will drive the change when you go forward. What will drive the move from where the group is now to where it will be? Your powers of observation will come in very handy at this point - you must find out what motivates people. What inspires them to action? You can also use the observation as a way to determine the group’s capacity for the change. In a corporate environment, you may find yourself hoisting change on the wrong group, or a group that’s simply not equipped to handle it at the time. From there, the problem becomes which group to move to or how to equip the current group.

One of the best ways to begin any type of strategic thinking is to hold a brainstorming session. GE held sessions like these under Jack Welch - and they later became a formal problem solving vehicle that all business units took part in. It could be as informal as the family sitting around the kitchen table discussing the issues. Or, let’s say it’s a church group that’s about to embark on a big change in policy, doctrine, or business. In either case, you as the natural leader should strive to get everyone involved, record the honest feedback of the group, and use it to shape the vision.

Once you’ve been through the thinking process, you’ll be ready to create a plan of execution - that roadmap from where you are now to where you want to be.

Summary: In order to lead effectively, you must inspire and motivate your group. Let’s look at some actions that will do both - and move your organization forward.

Inspiration and motivation are musts for any leader. You can have perfect structures, awesome communication, and loads of emotional intelligence, but they aren’t worth much if your group is not inspired and motivated to keep moving. What are some of the ways you can inspire and motivate?

First, you should take the time to encourage others. Don’t confuse this with coaching - this is simply the act of telling people in the group that you believe in them and that their work is valuable to you and the organization. When you encourage this way, you can also cross the line into empowerment. Sometimes, you can encourage a person by telling them that you believe in their abilities to make decisions - and allow them to do it. Encouragement and empowerment go a long way to create an inspired atmosphere. Jack Welch famously said that the best way to harness people’s power is to “let them loose, let them go.”

With this newfound empowerment, you should try to create energy in other ways. For example, you must know what motivates people. In community organizations, it may be the motivation to create a better world, to help people. In your family, members could be motivated by personal factors or just the desire to do something, like playing soccer or taking ballet. In corporate situations, you may find that money, praise, or the promise of advancement motivates some people. When you look for motivation, think about your group and break it down from there. Remember that creating energy involves putting the spotlight on others’ successes. Many times, the leader of a group is the one who receives the congratulations when things go well - if the members of your group truly contributed to the effort, you should have no problem giving them credit. The fact that your group is competent will only make your leadership look brighter. With empowerment and the spotlight comes accountability. If someone falls short of a goal, you must find out why and hold that person accountable for it. It’s a way of teaching that the authority of empowerment comes with serious responsibility. We’ll talk about coaching in an upcoming Foundations of Leadership article.

Show your investment and commitment to the group. It may be easy to empower, but what do you do when a person seems to reach their zenith with nowhere else to go? It may be time to send them for education or conferences. Think about the possibility of rotating people in the group through other areas of responsibility. You, as the leader, must prove that you are committed to success and that you are willing to invest in group members to keep them. This is probably easier in corporate situations, where there may be a budget for education or rotation. What about a community organization? Think about the ways you can show investment in the group where cost may be a factor. Perhaps cross-training group members in other functions could be a way to show that you value their contributions and that you’re willing to do what it takes to keep them around. When you go home, take the time and money for soccer teams or dance lessons - as long as the accountability is there, you can prove that you want to see advancement.
The spirit of inspiration and motivation continues by driving for results. One of the best ways to do this is to set realistic but challenging goals - you’re already aware of the group’s abilities and motivations, so why not give them something to reach for? And show urgency in your drive for results - goals should always have a challenging timeline attached to them. Of course, any forward movement will almost always run across challenges and obstacles. You have to show that the momentum must continue in spite of the obstacles and challenges. You can either move the obstacles out of the way or challenge the group to come up with creative ways to go around the obstacle. Either way, you’re inspiring the group to keep moving and keep thinking. Are goals and timelines applicable outside of corporate settings? In most cases they are. Think about your community and family involvement and what kind of goals you can set in order to keep people motivated.

When you inspire and motivate a group, you’ll be surprised at the energy and loyalty you’ll create.

Summary: In the following fifteen-part series, we’ll look at the Foundations of Leadership and how to implement them personally, in family situations, in your community, and at work. The first Foundation is Emotional Intelligence.

When we look at leadership and its history, some leaders emerge with charisma, strategy, and vision as hallmarks of their style. These are absolute leadership traits, but a newer trait, called Emotional Intelligence, is making its way into leadership toolboxes as a necessity. Emotional Intelligence, or EI, is the Intelligence Quotient of social activity. Because members of today’s groups, families, communities, and corporations have a great sense of independence and a need for empowerment, leaders must act in a way that promotes authority and management while allowing for participation and empowerment. An emotionally intelligent leader knows when to exercise authority, when to allow participation, and when to keep his or her ideas, feelings, and emotions private.

Emotional intelligence relies on the ability to act maturely in leadership situations, and not just relying on charisma, instinct, or pure knowledge. A leader with emotional intelligence can look objectively at him or herself and make style adjustments that consider the environment, the group members, and the overall goal of the organization. But how can a leader practice emotionally intelligent behaviors?

One of the first ways to practice is to ask for feedback on how you’ve handled a situation, conversation, or conflict. Some leaders ask for opinions from colleagues, members of the group they are leading, and even superiors. With this information, a leader can see which behaviors worked - and which ones didn’t. Your hindsight, armed with this information, can show you how your actions moved the organization forward - or kept it from doing so. Another way to lead with EI is to create a participative environment, as opposed to an autocratic environment. For example, if you’re accustomed to making decisions alone, start meeting with your group to solicit opinions and ideas before making a decision. When you and your group become very comfortable, you can leave some decisions to the group itself.

You can also make sure every one is self-aware, starting with yourself. In the past few years, 360-degree feedback programs have become very popular in corporate organizations. You, as a leader, are asked to rate yourself in various behaviors - and members of your group are asked to rate you in the same behaviors, as well. The comparison between self-awareness and reality can definitely make a difference in your EI. Be aware of how you handle change, as well. An emotionally intelligent leader will accept change, become aware of its benefits, and champion the change with the group. On the other hand, a leader who acts without EI may criticize the change or just insist that the group go along with it. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t accept criticism of change from the group - it simply means that you can either redirect an inappropriate criticism or suggest that the person making it turns it into a constructive solution.

The further question becomes how to implement emotionally intelligent action in various areas, including personal, family, community, and corporate situations. The personal side of EI can be the most difficult - you must look at yourself and your actions. For example, if you have a disagreement with a spouse or partner, you’ll have to take the focus off of your anger with the other person - and put it on your actions. How did your actions inflame the situation? What did you say that made your spouse or partner angry? Translate this scenario into a family situation: if the disagreement is with children, ask your spouse or partner for feedback on how you handled the situation. Were you angry to the point that the children actually noticed it? Another way to act with emotional intelligence in family situations is to try a participative stance. Ask the entire family to join in on decision-making and consensus. In relation to community activity, one of the most powerful actions an emotionally intelligent leader can take is to build relationships. How do the people in the group interact with each other? Who needs what from whom? Not only should you build relationships for your own benefit, but you can also build relationships in order to be a connector. You’ll be remembered for creating cohesion instead of working against it.

Think for a moment about corporate leadership. All of the ways to act with emotional intelligence in other areas of your life are applicable at work - you can take a systematic approach and implement each type of action with your work group. When you do, you’ll see that you quickly rise above the crowd.

Summary: One of the most important foundations of leadership is communication. Let’s go beyond the basic process and find out what makes communication at the leadership level so vital.

The rudiments of communication are well known: there’s a source, an encoding, and a decoding of a message. This seems rather simple, but faulty communication is one of the biggest failures of leadership - and of projects, processes, even entire organizations. Communication at the leadership level is much more than the basics. It involves your abilities as a leader in communication, as well as your facilitation of better communication and an environment that encourages it. Let’s look at the nuts and bolts of a leader’s communication.

Our first leadership foundation was emotional intelligence or EI. EI comes in very handy in communication: you must first be assured that you say the right things at the right times. Leaders can be bold, no-holds barred communicators, and in some cases it works - think about great political and military leaders whose personal communication made them attractive. But modern leaders must be aware of all of those around them, their motivations, their “taboos”, and their “hot buttons”. Be aware of how you say things, whether it’s to your family, your community non-profit, or your employees. Use your EI as a meter for whether it’s appropriate to say what’s on your mind, edit it, or keep the thought or idea to yourself. From this EI-based communication, you’ll be able to develop clear speech that is well expressed in all situations - and to all audiences.

What about the other “half” of your communication ability as a leader? This is the listening part, where you must actively take in what’s being said. Again, it may seem simple, but think about it the next time someone is speaking to you on a rough day, when you’re stressed, or when you’re preoccupied with another problem. You must show an interest in what people are saying and show an understanding for it. Paraphrasing at intervals is a great way to do this. It’s often been said that one of Abraham Lincoln’s best leadership traits was his ability to listen - and then ask questions for clarity. When you do this, you’re not only showing an interest but you’re also making sure you’ve got all the facts straight before moving on.

After the basics comes your true leadership test. You must create an atmosphere that encourages open, honest communication between all members of the group. This is much easier said than done. You should look at yourself and the group objectively to see who is comfortable communicating and who isn’t. You should also try to find out why they are - or aren’t comfortable. Open round table discussions are often a great way to encourage communication, as are brainstorming sessions. Your group, be it a family, community, or corporate group, can be encouraged if you set up a “recrimination free” zone in which communication occurs without the threat of negative feedback. Again, look at yourself to make sure you are communicating openly at all levels of the group. Make adjustments if necessary and keep moving.

While you are creating that open atmosphere, be aware of common barriers to communication - and make bold attempts to remove them. Are there cultural barriers? If you’re working in an international group or groups from varying backgrounds, you may have misunderstandings of the communication styles of those backgrounds. Take the time to discover and educate the group. What about perception? Sometimes it’s good to ask group members about their perceptions of the atmosphere - and prepare for honesty. Is non-verbal communication an issue? Do people in the group cross their arms, yawn, or roll their eyes when someone else is talking? The hard part of this is making sure you are not the barrier to communication: do you do any of the things we’ve just discussed?

Taking communication theory into the real world is another issue. Does your family communicate in a healthy way? Can you do something to encourage it, such as bringing up a topic at the dinner table or creating a bulletin board for busy family members to connect? Community organizations sometimes lend themselves to poor communication - usually everyone involved has a “real job” and other commitments, so back and forth exchanges sometimes fall to the bottom of the list. Suggest an informal, open forum in addition to your next board meeting, where members can talk about what’s going on in their lives - and how that affects their contribution. In corporate situations, a simple brainstorming session is sometimes the best way to encourage all involved to talk. If you’re working with a project team, watch for members who don’t communicate and put them together in the same room, with your assistance as a mediator.

Communication as a leader can be simple - you must be prepared to first look at your own style and then at the style of others. Do what you can to encourage communication and it will fall into place. You’ll find that things run much smoother when everyone is talking - and listening.

Summary: The final “top five” leadership foundation in our fifteen part series is Direction and Coaching. Let’s look at why these two are important, how they are related, and how you can put them into practice.

Providing direction and coaching to a team is an essential leadership activity. Although they are separate activities, coaching and direction are closely related and can follow each other throughout the leadership cycle. First, let’s define each activity. Coaching, either for good work or not-so-good work, is in effect the act of letting a person know that what they do is important to you. Coaching allows you to give feedback and help a person achieve their goals. Direction, on the other hand, is the process of laying out those goals, verbalizing your vision, and helping the team figure out “where we need to be”.

When you coach, the first thing to do is assess each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. As a leader with a “bird’s eye” view, you can probably do that pretty easily - how does each person deal with empowerment, “fuzzy” situations and interaction with the team? How does each person exhibit leadership behaviors, and which behaviors can be strengthened? You may also need to zero in on issues that are keeping the person or the team from progressing. Once you know the answers to these questions, privately give feedback to the team members. Remember that coaching feedback must first of all be timely - don’t let a good (or not so good) event go before you provide feedback. Do it immediately. The coaching you provide must also be specific. Explain in detail the action that’s causing you to have the conversation, and then explain how the person can either keep up the good work or improve. You’ll find that timely and specific coaching will be extremely useful to the team member - and to you. Finally, part of coaching is development. Give each individual a challenge or two - stretch their goals once they’ve proven themselves. Alternatively, you can provide opportunities for advancement in the form of rotational assignment, training, or seminars.

Your direction, given in between the coaching sessions, can foster your vision for the team. Obviously you have to enunciate that vision clearly for the team - consider talking about the vision in your coaching sessions. When the vision is clear, take the time to set clear priorities - in the overall picture, what comes first, second, and third on the priority list? Next in setting a direction is the clarification of roles and responsibilities. Too often leaders forget to do this under the guise of empowerment. Before a team can feel empowered, they must know what each individual’s role is. But once you’ve defined roles, you can empower the team based on your assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. So your direction starts with a description of the vision and roles and responsibilities, but it continues with the empowerment of the group. Keep each person on track via your coaching sessions. It’s easy to see how coaching and direction interact with each other consistently.

When you coach, you provide motivation. But you also provide the ability to correct an uncertain path and identify potential paths. For example, you may find out during your coaching sessions which person has a potential for development, which is a subject matter expert, and which is a “dead end road”. When you add the direction element, you’re providing new challenges, keeping high performers from getting bored, and making the vision real and tangible for everyone involved.

How can you put coaching and direction into action? Let’s start with you. Developing yourself is a great way to coach and direct. In our Leadership Foundations series, we’ve already talked about taking an objective look at yourself and your abilities. Don’t leave it as a list of strengths and opportunities - act on it by creating a self-development plan. The best thing about a self-development plan is that it works in all areas of your life.

What about coaching and direction at a community level? Try mentoring a person in your community or organization. You can look for someone who is in the same industry, the same church group, or the same sports organization. As you develop yourself, you can take the time to coach and provide direction to another person. In families, coaching is probably one of the more important aspects of this leadership foundation. If you don’t see desired behavior in children, for example, take the time to explain what it is you’re looking for. In many situations, family included, leaders just forget to put a point on the map and say, “this is where we want to be.”

Take the time to provide coaching and direction at work, at home, in the community, and most importantly, to yourself.

Summary: Creating a culture of leadership is more than adding leadership training and naming the organiation a leadership organization. Here are a few ways to truly create a culture of leadership - and create a pool of talented leaders for your organization.

Many organizational managers assume that by adding leadership training or a leadership development program that they are able to create a culture that accepts leadership. The move from non-existent leadership to a leadership culture takes time - and a few steps in between. Let’s look at how you can create a culture of leadership.

First, you, as the organizational leader, must acknowledge the existence of leadership potential. It sounds simple, but many leaders do not want to admit that they are replaceable - that someone or more than one person would be capable of taking the reins once they’re gone. Don’t be that leader - seek out and recognize that the organization has talent. Acknowledge that the talent will one day be capable of taking over your vision and moving the organization forward. By making this acknowledgment, you’re telling your mid- and senior-level leaders that a path exists. And you’re telling new hires that the sky is the limit in your organization.

Next, clearly outline what a leader in your organization “looks like” - and hold people to the standard. The list of leadership competencies is a long one. You’ll never find one leader who executes all competencies perfectly. So, you must determine the competencies that mesh well with your organization and its climate. Don’t forget to decide which competencies lend themselves to your vision for the organization and where you see the organization in the future - even after you’ve gone. You should also consider the functional leadership competencies that go along with your organization’s line of business. If you choose too widely, you’ll end up with a picture of a leader who doesn’t exist. Once you’ve determined the competencies, lay them out for the organization. Simply put, you can say that a leader in your organization has these competencies and displays these behaviors. As people move into leadership roles, hold them to the standard.

We’ve already mentioned the fact that organizations do create leadership training and development programs - and you should do that to build a leadership culture. The program should be ongoing and consist of various levels - from “beginning” leadership to the advanced. In fact, your leadership program should begin reaching down into the lowest levels of the organization right away. For example, offer a leadership program to new-hires that details what your leader “looks like”. It’s the seed that will keep leadership growing through all levels. Your program should include seminars, networking, and even real-time project management at the higher levels. By creating a multi-level program, you’re keeping the leadership machinery in motion - and giving the organization a sense that anyone can move up to the leadership ranks.

Now that you’ve got your program, put your mid- and senior-level leaders through the program. You should even include yourself. This way, the message goes out loud and clear that your organization expects the same standard of leadership from everyone - executives included. Any cultural shift should start from the top. If they don’t buy in, how do you expect the lower levels to buy in? It may be an unpopular decision with your executive team, but you’ll be taking big strides in creating the culture of leadership.

At this point, it’s important to explain why you’re making the shift to leadership. The explanation shouldn’t just be afforded to executives and managers but to all levels of the organization. Explain that you’re looking to give everyone an opportunity to advance - and to learn what it takes to do so. Outline the fact that you’re looking for bench strength for all leadership positions - including your own. Not only this, a leadership orientation prepares you for succession planning at all levels, as well as talent management. The benefits to the organization are numerous and it’s your job to explain them.

Finally, focus on the success of the program. When you have a successful advancement due to the leadership program, highlight it publicly. Or, let’s say one of your leadership teams “in training” solve a business problem in their project assignment. Showcase this development as related to the culture of leadership at your organization. When the members of your organization see that the program and its culture are successful, you’ll have no trouble keeping your talent pipeline full.

There are many ways to move to a leadership culture. Follow these steps in the beginning and you’ll find that the transition is simple and beneficial.

Summary: It’s not enough to create a culture of leadership and do nothing with the results. If you plan to develop leaders, you need to develop a leadership bench, or leadership pool. Here are some ways to create your leadership bench.

Creating a leadership bench takes the skill of a coach and the precision of an engineer. But there are five distinct steps you can take to build your leadership bench - and keep it moving.

First, and most obvious, you must create and maintain a leadership development program. This isn’t simply an order to the training department to create leadership courses. You must obtain buy-in from your management team by showing the benefits: the leadership bench, succession planning, talent management, and career pathing. Your program should begin with classroom training -at all levels, if possible. Everyone in your organization should know what your definition of a leader is - and how to get there. But as you move up the ranks, leadership development should be ongoing, challenging, and not necessarily a sure thing. The program should include real-time projects, seminars, assessment, and evaluation. Program participants who slip should be coached back up - or out. Once someone is in the leadership program, he or she should continue to improve in all aspects.

Second, create a succession plan. Many organizational leaders have a succession plan that resides in their heads. This is not the best place for a succession plan - and you must have the input of the rest of the management team. From your leadership program participants, identify where strengths and opportunities lie. Find out what makes these people tick - it’s possible you have an operations manager whose first love is marketing. The idea here is that you should know who your talent is and what motivates each one of them. But more importantly is the fact that your succession plan, drawing on the strength of your leadership bench, will help determine where people go in the event of planned or unplanned losses of leadership. You won’t have to worry about who would take your place or the places of other seniors or executives, just in case. With this plan in place, you’re building your leadership bench.

Third, conduct regular talent review. This step is twofold: you should be conducting regular talent review both outside and inside your leadership development program. The outside review and assessment should be your tool for identifying potential leaders - and grooming them for the leadership bench. The inside review and assessment, as we’ve mentioned, should focus on maintaining the standards your organization requires of its leaders. Identify high professional and high potential leaders as well - high professionals can be counted on to lead within their field of expertise while high potentials can probably be moved from one area of expertise to another if necessary. With this evaluation and assessment, you’ll be able to fill your bench with “A” level players and coach “B” level players into the “A” position. The beneficial side effect of this approach is that “C” or “D” players will either strive to achieve a higher level or self-select themselves out of your organization. By conducting regular review, you’re keeping your leadership bench ready and always manned.

Fourth, consider rotational assignment within your leadership bench. Some organizations see merit in moving high potential leaders into temporary positions - to expose them to other areas of specialization within the organization. Doing this will also help you separate your high potential leaders from your high professional leaders - and also to focus on creating succession planning for both areas. Once a leader comes off of a rotational assignment, he or she adds further strength to your leadership bench.

Finally, meet with your leadership team regularly to assess the bench, make changes to standards, or to consider how quickly (or slowly) you need to add to talent to the bench. This ensures continued buy-in and weigh-in on the leadership bench and its members.

As we mentioned earlier, building a leadership bench takes coaching and precision. In the precision category, you and your team have to manage the bench to make sure it’s not too big or too small. If you have a huge bench with too many members, they’ll start to look for opportunity elsewhere. After all, as you move up in the organization, there are only so many slots available for potential leaders. But if your bench is too small, you could find yourself in trouble if the business expands or changes rapidly.

Focusing on these steps will help you build your leadership bench and ensure leadership continuation for years to come.

I have been thinking about how character plays into the success and failure of Leaders.  It is such a fundamental aspect of leadership that it has a tendency to overshadow many of the other essential tools that leaders need.

In developing a leader, I have concluded that the following needs to be done:

1. Find Right.  Find the right candidate and insure that they share those fundamental beliefs that are relevant and central to the organization
2. Train Right.  Few leaders are prepared ‘out-the-box’.  They need help.  They need to refine their skills.  They need coaching to to perfect their abilities.  In short, training for the long view
3. Track Right.  Peter Drucker suggests that you cannot manage anything without measuring.  The same applies to leadership.  Developing and measuring metrics provides a benchmark to leadership (sometimes called ‘high-potential’ candidates).

Few leaders are born.  Most are made.  Start with a solid character and you will find it as an excellent foundation to the balance of the skills that a leader needs.

I have created a new events page for programs that I am apart of.

You are welcome to participate in programs that I am apart of. For more information, please view the information to the following event:

Developing a Culture of Leadership
Driving Performance & Delivering Results