The Leader’s Way: The Art of Leadership

The challenges and possibilities of the 21st century impel us to look at leadership in a new light. Historically, we have focused on becoming a true leader by developing an intellectual understanding of it - of what works and does not work.

Frequently we have limited the power and meaning of leadership by assuming that we can only be leaders if there are followers. We have focused on intellect, but not intuition; knowledge, but not wisdom.

Formal education and intellectual understanding do not teach us how to incorporate all aspects of ourselves - mind, body, heart, and spirit - into living leadership so that we can be most helpful to our countries, communities, organizations, families, friends and selves. By incorporating all aspects of ourselves as leaders we are able to be of greater service and we become truly fulfilled human beings.

Leadership is not as much about learning to be a leader as it is about allowing discovery and manifestation of your authentic inner leadership qualities. Gandhi said: "Be the change you want to create." It has been my observation that leaders who create positive change demonstrate vision, passion, courage, integrity, wisdom and authenticity.

Leaders create positive change not by what they know, but simply by who they are. Development as a leader and as a person are, therefore, inseparable. As business people who care about making a positive difference in our world, it is important that we give attention to our inner spiritual and emotional growth and not just our intellectual learning.

We must not shrink from our individual potential to make a difference as a leader. Our contribution may manifest as the opportunity to be a positive role model, even if not in a formal leadership position or we may be in a formal leadership position.

It is important to keep our sense of perspective and remember that little things can make a big difference. Sometimes in our “bigger is better” culture we get caught up by the expectation that what we do must be large or newsworthy to matter. Opportunities to be a leader abound for all of us each day no matter what our occupation or situation in life.

The challenge is to be alert for those opportunities and take the time for those actions that allow us to lead, teach, and most of all live what we want to create in our world. One way to do this is to frequently ask yourself “How can I make a positive difference or be an example in this situation right now?”

In Leadership With Soul, Bolman and Deal say “Leadership is giving. Leadership is an ethic, a gift of oneself. . . Your quest as a leader is a journey to find the treasure of your true self and then to return home to. . . help transform the kingdom and in the process your own life.”

Leadership begins with leading yourself. The journey to leadership, inner and outer, is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards are great and the joys many. What will you do today as a leader to help make your company and the world a better place?

To see interviews with CEOs and other leaders, I invite you to visit my web site at www.executiveevolution.com.

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Meetings Don’t Have to Be Frustrating Time Wasters!

One of the biggest complaints in the business world is about time spent in meetings. And, indeed, that is the issue. Time is often spent rather than invested, because meetings are poorly conducted. The outputs are inadequate in relation to the time and effort involved. But meetings are not inherently bad. They are one of the best ways to make quality decisions and get buy-in from people when they are conducted well.

Here are some hints to help you in your meeting management. They are not rocket science, but surprisingly few people follow them well. Be the role model in your workplace on how to do this well!

If you are a manager or leader who conducts meetings where you ask for input or do group problem solving and decision making, then take a look at this month’s tools section.

Basic Meeting Management Hints

1. Use the correct brainstorming techniques (list below) every time you are gathering input on an issue. This requires discipline and focus by the facilitator and the group. Be tenacious!

2. Start and end your meetings on time. Starting late encourages habitual late-comers to continue that behavior and discourages those who come on time. Finishing late creates conflicts with other priorities and encourages bad feelings about meetings in general.

3. Remember -- It is every participant's responsibility to make the meeting productive and enjoyable. The entire group is in this together and responsible for the results and outputs regardless of their individual jobs.

4. Keep the group focused on what is best overall for the organization you are working on, whether company, division or other, not what's best only for them or their own part of the organization.

5. Hold information pieces not needed for current process until the end of the meeting so that people are not distracted and reading them while the rest of the meeting is on.

6. Make a separate follow-up list of any "hot" or urgent items that come up that are not part of this discussion, but do need follow-up. Agree on by whom and by when those will be addressed. Don’t let these become discussion side trips that derail what the meeting is intended for. Create a “parking lot” list for these to be handled later.

7. At the beginning of any session where all participants do not know each other, the facilitator should have each person introduce themselves and what they do briefly.

8. Active enthusiasm and high energy from the facilitator helps to move the process along.

9. At appropriate intervals, acknowledge together the positive results that the group has accomplished so far.

10. Monitor group fatigue levels, including your own, and stop if people get so tired they can't function, even if some things have to be finished later. Plan for reasonable food and rest breaks, with no longer than two hour stretches without some break.

Guidelines for Brainstorming

1. Identify the specific topic under discussion. Write issue (one only) under discussion at top of clean flip chart page at beginning of that discussion.

2. Request all possible ideas, as many and as rapidly as possible from everybody. Record all of the ideas generated exactly as offered, making no judgments and allowing none by the group at this point and with no discussion. Remember, no idea is too crazy in the initial jotting down phase. A kernel of genius often exists in apparently wild or impractical ideas. Emphasize thinking outside current practices and models.

3. After you get all ideas for a single issue on flip chart sheets (or as you fill up each sheet), post in sequence along one wall where everyone can read (so write large enough) as material for the discussion.

4. Now discuss the ideas looking for combinations of whole or partial ideas to get the best answer or solution. Definition of Synergy: 1+1=3 or the whole is greater than mere sum of the parts. Open discussion is a must with all opinions valued and a consensus decision of the highest quality is the objective.

5. When you get consensus on an issue, write the issue name on a separate flip chart sheet along with the group’s conclusion about it and post separate from the original brainstorm sheets, which may be taken down at this point. It is helpful to pick one wall in your meeting room as the place where you post in sequence the final conclusions.

Tip of the Month

Increase your impact as a leader and as a human being. Ask yourself each time you find yourself in challenging situations how you can serve as a role model or lead in other ways. Be creative! At the end of every day, ask yourself how you were a leader in some positive way that day. Learn from observing yourself and others. Be that person who creates far reaching "positive ripples".

Tool of the Month

When you are the formal leader/manager of a group and the facilitator of the meeting

1. If you as a manager are facilitating a meeting wherein you are asking for input on an issue, you should take care to request all input from the group before offering your own on any given subject, with the exception of any opening statements or information needed to create the context for the discussion. Only offer your input first when it is necessary to get a discussion going because no one else will speak up. Be patient and wait out the silences for a bit before you jump in.

2. Actively solicit input from all group members. Be sure all inputs and opinions are acknowledged and given a fair hearing even if they are not yours or the majority of the group.

3. Remember, when someone in authority offers an answer, the tendency of groups is to consciously or unconsciously shut down their own thinking processes. The job of the manager/facilitator here is to achieve the highest level of participation, which, in turn, produces both commitment and better quality outcomes.

This Month's Offer

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About Marie

Marie Kane is President of Executive Evolution. As a corporate consultant and executive coach since 1981 Marie has helped clients create “Superb Organizations” through unleashing the potential of teams, improving leadership, executive, and management performance and creating plans that develop and implement effective competitive strategies. She has helped companies leverage their people talent by hiring, retaining and developing the best people for the job as well as creating optimum culture and effective change management. Marie offers a variety of profiles and assessments, including 360’s. She is the author of the Teams Evolving and Mastering Success (TEAMS) team assessment and development tool and the creator of “The Leader’s Way – Discovering the Inner Art of Leadership” program. Marie may be reached by email or by phone at 770-461-3820.

To find out more about Marie, visit www.executiveevolution.com and view the Meet Marie and Client Testimonials pages.

Sneak Preview

Sometime in August, I will be premiering two downloadable publications in the product section of my web site. One will be a proven process for conflict resolution and relationship enhancement that I have developed over the years and used highly successfully for my clients. The other will be a comprehensive discussion and workbook on the important differences between teams and work groups and how to use this knowledge and the processes that go with it to your advantage. Operate more effectively, get better results and invest your resources wisely using this information.

E2 Members, be on the look out as you’ll get first crack at this at a discount available only to you. If you’re not an E2 member, then click here to join. It’s free!

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