Five Ways to Develop the Transformational Leader Within You

October 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Today, leaders must deal with complexity, ambiguity and constant change. If leaders are to be successful, they must possess not only mental maturity, but also maturity of heart, mind and the human spirit. Tall order for us mere mortals, huh? The good news is that transformational leaders, those who truly make a difference, are developed, not born. How can you become a transformational leader? New research is showing surprising answers to this question.

Individuals who achieve more advanced stages of adult development are more effective leaders, according to the research of many visionary thinkers. Dr. Daniel Goleman has extensively documented the positive effect of improved emotional intelligence, one measurement of adult development, on leadership performance. Other researchers have created models of adult development, such as Bill Torbert, Susanne Cook-Greuter, Richard Barrett and Jim Collins (author of “Good to Great”). Their work demonstrates that an individual who can think globally, act with wisdom and compassion, and create climates of innovation is more effective in business. And, the proof is in the organizations they lead, which enjoy organizational longevity, positive work environments, long-term profitability and high stakeholder value.

Therefore, it behooves any leader who aspires to become a transformational leader to look inside himself and focus on his own personal development. The results will be reflected in the quality of that leader’s life and in the performance of his organization. By working on his own mental, emotional, physical and spiritual development, the leader will affect change in the life of his organization.

Please note: Leaders are found at all levels of an organization and in all walks of life; leadership is not the exclusive domain of managers and executives. Some of the most effective leaders I know do not have a managerial title, but lead by their example, their maturity and their ability to speak the truth. Be a leader from wherever you sit!

Here are five ways to develop yourself on the inside so you become a more effective leader on the outside:

1. Increase your self awareness.
All personal growth begins with self-awareness. The plethora of individual assessments currently on the market attests to the basic human desire and need to learn more about yourself. Leadership assessments, like the Leadership Values Assessment that Brio Leadership can administer, can be very helpful in gaining a better understanding of your skills and strengths. Other assessments that might prove useful are StrengthsFinder (you can access the online assessment with the code found in the book, StrengthsFinder 2.0) and the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal (also available online with the code found in the Emotional Intelligence Quickbook).

In order to understand yourself more clearly, you need to seek out other people’s perception of you. Ken Blanchard says, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” This is because we cannot fully know ourselves through self-observation – the view is too recursive. Consider engaging a coach or your human resources department to conduct a 360o survey that solicits input about your strengths and blindspots from your boss, peers and employees. (Brio Leadership offers such a feedback mechanism in its coaching services.) Put the feedback through a calm filter of truth and make changes where it is warranted. Thank the people who participated in the survey and report the results to them. That way, they will be encouraged to provide feedback in the future.

2. Increase your emotional maturity.
Read books on emotional intelligence, such as “Primal Leadership” by Daniel Goleman or “Emotional Intelligence 2.0” by Travis Bradberry, Jean Greaves, and Patrick M. Lencioni. Identify the emotional triggers that cause you to react inappropriately, consider a variety of more effective responses and repeatedly visualize yourself choosing one of the more effective actions. Train yourself to pause before reacting to an emotional trigger so you can choose a considered response.

3. Embrace “both/and” thinking.
“Both/and” thinking is a way to hold ambiguity in your mind and not reduce a complex situation to black and white solutions. It is the opposite of dualistic thinking, which focuses too narrowly on dichotomies such as right/wrong and either/or. Instead, consider shades of gray and possibilities that are foreign to you. This will improve your ability to innovate and make more informed, rather than knee-jerk, decisions. Try to understand people who think differently than you do. Accept complexity and have the patience to wait for a solution to present itself. Listen deeply for the hidden meaning in what people say to you.

4. Eschew fear-based decision-making.
Learn to be a non-anxious presence – a presence that does not get sucked into negative emotions, judgments or worry. Do not wrap a blanket of fear and limited thinking around you. Instead, be positive and forward-looking, expecting the best from people and situations. Before making a decision, ask yourself, what would be the most compassionate response to this dilemma? What would Jesus – or Buddha, Moses, Gandhi, Mother Theresa (fill in your compassionate role model’s name here) – do in this situation? What can I do to serve the greater good?

5. Think globally, act locally – in that order.
Transformational leaders are always looking at the BIG big picture. They not only consider the welfare of their team and their company, but they include the welfare of all stakeholders, the community and the next generation. These are the people who are looking to leave a legacy of compassion, enduring values and innovation in their organizations. They think of the big picture, then act locally in a way that serves the common good. Questions to ask yourself are: How can I act in a way that serves the common good? How can I transcend my own self-interest in order to create something that will outlast my lifetime?

Transformational leadership begins on the inside, with your heart, mind, body and human spirit. You, too, can become a transformational leader!


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What are your personal core values?

September 21, 2009 | 1 Comment

values-based leadershipWould you like to be known as a person who makes decisions according to her values?  Would you like to be an authentic leader? Would you like to be in charge of creating the future that you desire? If any of these is your desire, defining your personal core values is essential to developing your leadership qualities.

Authentic leaders know themselves: They define their own core values, they understand the behaviors that embody their values and they recognize the emotional triggers that may sidetrack them from living in integrity. Taking stock of your tendencies and highest aspirations may seem like busy-work for a harried worker or executive; to the contrary, it is foundational inner work for the leader who wishes to lead with integrity. When your core values are the bedrock of your decision-making, you live in alignment with your ideals and create a future of your own design.

Effective leaders need to understand their personal core values in order to act with integrity, not react according to past experiences or emotional triggers.  Value-based decision-making allows leaders to shape their own destiny, one choice at a time.  If you react, you reinforce previous behaviors and continue the patterns of the past.  However, if you act according to your values, you choose a future that is aligned to your highest ideals.

How does a leader define his core values?  Remember first that core values are the 3-5 most important, encompassing values that you live by. A good way to start, however, is by identifying your top ten values, then distilling those to a handful that are easy to remember.

Although the process is straightforward, it may take some time to work it to your satisfaction.  Let these concepts percolate through your mind over several days, then carve out some quiet time to write down your conclusions.

Here’s how to define your core values.

  1. Think of past decisions that were successful AND made you feel good about yourself.  Using these as an indicator, identify the values that drove those decisions. Then add values to include the values that you wish to embody in the future. Create a list of about ten values. You might choose from this list or create your own: accountability, work/life balance, compassion, creativity, efficiency, excellence, fairness, family, financial gain, future generations, fun, honesty, integrity, making a difference, personal growth and fulfillment, power, respect, success, wisdom.
  2. Now, create a matrix that lists your top ten values, a description of what it means to you and an example of actions you take to live by that value.  Here is an excerpt from my list of top ten values:
    Value: What this means to me: Example actions I take to live this value:
    Integrity Doing what I say I will do, according to my code of honor I refund a client if they accidentally overpay me.
    Compassion Acting with love and the best interests of the people involved; creating a win-win situation. I express my desires and vision in a way that respects the desires of the other person.
  3. Once you have your top ten values, step back and look at them through the following filters:
    1. Group similar values together. Find a word or phrase that describes the grouped values.
    2. Prioritize the remaining values by asking yourself these two important question: 1) Which of these are the most important to me?  2) What values do I want to be remembered for at the end of my life?
    3. Ensure that the top 3-5 include values that relate to your own personal development, to serving your family/customers and to contributing to society at large.  This helps you create well-rounded values and a legacy.
    4. Lastly, make sure that the values you choose are achievable for you.  It helps no one if you are not truly committed and able to live your values.
  4. Post your list of Core Values in a prominent place, perhaps near your desk or computer.  Live with them for a few days to make sure they resonate with you.  When satisfied, re-post the Core Values again so you can refer to them in future decision-making and as a daily reminder.

The best leaders know themselves.  They take the time to inspect their values, their motives and they understand their tendencies. Create your own Core Values and use them as a compass on your journey to living, and leading, in wholeness.


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Who bears the flag in your organization?

August 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment

j0432949 People love to work for organizations in which there is a clear mission or purpose to their work, where employees are recognized for their contributions, and where there is a sense of caring from management. A company needs just one focal person to bear the flag, as a Civil War flag bearer would ride in front of a cavalry unit, showing the way into battle with a symbol of pride. Whether or not you like the simile of business as a battle, the comparison holds: Someone must bear the flag that represents the mission and purpose – the pride – of the organization and rally the troops around it. Who bears the flag in your organization? Could it be you?

I interviewed a colleague who recently voluntarily left his job because of two things: the flag bearer in his organization had resigned six months previously and because that person’s replacement had assigned a micro-managing and abusive new boss to my colleague’s office. The combination of these two elements was deadly: It took only 24 hours after the last time his boss yelled profanities at him for this successful professional to decide to quit his job. And, he got a new job offer within 2.5 months – all in this allegedly bleak job market!

My colleague described the role of the flag-bearer in his organization, who was the executive vice president (EVP) of the division. This EVP regularly traveled to and met with the employees in all the North American offices in the company. He communicated frequently with the employees through emails that clarified goals, purpose and vision of the organization. My colleague remarked, “There were no doubts or shadows left in his communications. Everyone knew where they and the company stood.” In addition, the EVP sent employees of all ranks personal thank you notes for their hard work, he made it his business to know about employee’s family situations, and helped individuals with their personal issues. He encouraged and made it possible for employees to get involved in industry organizations in order to give their time and assistance and be consistent in their service.

Once this EVP resigned, things went downhill quickly for my colleague. There was no formal announcement of the EVP’s resignation, and the replacement EVP did nothing to communicate her new vision and goals for the organization, either in person or through electronic means. She did, however, assign a new and inexperienced manager (remember the profanities that flew in a heated conversation) to my colleague’s office, and that was the beginning of the end. The lack of a flag-bearer in this organization ultimately caused my colleague to resign.

What does it take to be a flag-bearer? Can you be one? Any leader can influence those around and below her in the organization. In teasing out the lessons from this story, we learn that a flag-bearer must:

  • Communicate the mission, vision and goals of the organization in multiple and repeated ways
  • Show interest in the careers and lives of those who work for him or her
  • Express appreciation for the employee’s hard work and accomplishments
  • Encourage workers to volunteer for worthy causes or charities outside of the company.

By following these simple-but-not-easy guidelines, you can be the flag-bearer in your organization. The results will be a more engaged workforce, less attrition of valuable employees and higher productivity in your workgroup. So, what’s keeping you from picking up the flag, waving it in front of your workers and colleagues in the charge, and keeping their eyes on the purpose and vision of your company?

The flag-bearer leader is also known as an integrator/inspirer, or level five on the seven levels of leadership consciousness. To learn more about the seven levels of consciousness and how it can help your organizations and the leaders in it achieve outstanding performance, please send us a note stating “more info about values”.


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Valuable Workplaces: Constructing a Values-Based Business

June 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

clip_image001[6]Recently, the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Jigme Thinley, was asked the cause of the current economic crisis. His answer: “Greed, insatiable human greed.” This statement is significant coming from a country where government programs are justified on their ability to produce happiness.

This highlights the contrast between values such as the pursuit of happiness (a value first espoused in the United States’ Declaration of Independence) and greed. In order to resolve the current economic crisis, businesses must inspect their operational values and ensure that greed or profitability is not the only one in evidence. It seems that we didn’t learn this during the early 2000’s when we watched corporations such as Enron and WorldCom self-destruct under the influence of greed and the pursuit of profits, at the expense of integrity, honesty and compassion. It is time that we learned to do better. Being an unabashedly proud capitalist, I am the first to espouse profitability as an important corporate value (otherwise, there would be no corporation) but there is trouble when profitability is the foremost – or only – value in operation.

The trouble is, valuing profitability above all else may create short-term benefits but produces long-term disadvantages. It does nothing to contribute to employee engagement and happiness. Employees need to find meaning in their work and understand how it helps others. Modeling values such as integrity, wisdom, compassion and forgiveness creates a positive, happy work environment and contributes to the long-term profitability of the company. James Collins and Jerry Porras document the exceptional financial performance of what they call visionary companies in their book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.

How can an organization create a positive, values-based climate? It employs a balancing act that creates organizational well-being. The five elements that need balancing are represented in the holistic well-being diagram shown above: values, body, heart, mind and spirit. Some of you may recognize this diagram from a previous article I wrote about individual well-being. What can be applied to the person can also be applied to the organization. Let’s explore these elements briefly:

  1. Values: An organization defines its values through its vision and mission statements and perhaps a values statement. These strategic documents are common to most companies and need no further explanation. However, what is uncommon is a dedication to living the espoused values, using them to make everyday decisions, and executive commitment to walking the talk. We know that when leaders model the organization’s values and explicitly use them in their decision-making, the rest of the organization follows suit.
    • Self-assessment questions: Leaders, are you modeling the values of your organization? Do you consciously base your decisions on corporate values? Do you hold people accountable to the organizational values, and recognize others when they do?
  1. Body: The corporation or organization must take care of the basic physical needs of its employees. This includes paying fair wages, providing adequate employee benefits and creating a safe and comfortable work environment. This includes also making sound business and financial decisions, which contribute to the fiscal health of the organization.
    • Self-assessment questions: Is your work environment ergonomically sound? Are your employees paid at or above marketplace averages? Is the organization using its financial resources wisely and producing a healthy profit margin?
  1. Heart: The heart pillar represents the emotional intelligence and the quality of interpersonal relationships in the organization. It assumes that leaders treat employees with compassion, respect, forgiveness and fairness. This element can be measured by the number of positive values in operation in the workplace, which contribute to employee loyalty and therefore customer loyalty. This progression looks like this:

Employee treatment = Employee loyalty = Customer treatment = Customer loyalty

    • Self-assessment questions: Is there an absence of fear and suspicion in your workplace? Are employees comfortable expressing their opinions and offering suggestions? Do managers create an environment of trust and respect?
  1. Mind: The organization can create an environment of continuous learning and discovery. This is accomplished on both an individual and corporate level. The organization should be open to feedback and take action upon receiving it. For employees, it is important to know that the employer will offer job-related training and the opportunity to advance in their careers.
    • Self-assessment questions: Is there a defined career path for all employees? Are employees offered continual learning and training opportunities? Does the organization seek feedback on its performance from both employees and customers? Do managers act on the feedback received?
  1. Spirit: The human spirit longs to serve others, find meaning in work and to make a difference in the world. In order for work to be meaningful, it must provide an opportunity to serve others, both inside and outside the organization. The spirit is fed by working for an organization that stands true to its vision and mission and lives its values everyday.
    • Self-assessment questions: Do employees understand the overall mission of the company? Do employees understand how they contribute to the mission? Are employees provided opportunities to serve their community through their actual work and through charitable activities? Does the leadership discuss and act on ways to make a difference in the local and global community?

Construct your organization on the solid foundation of values while caring for the body, heart, mind and spirit, and you will create a sustainable and ethical business that enjoys long-term profitability!


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Put a Stop to Labeling

October 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The human brain is wired to instantly categorize everything we perceive.  This is a good thing in life threatening situations, as when you are about to step on a coiled rattlesnake on the ground and your brain calls out an immediate "Freeze!" warning to all muscles.  Other times, however, that instant categorization mechanism that says "coiled snake-like object on ground equals danger!" can trip you up.  What if the snake turns out to be a harmless garden hose?  Your brain has sent a danger signal to your body for no reason.  As you reach higher stages of emotional, moral and spiritual development, you need to check the brain’s instinctual tendency to label items or people as "good" or "bad", "safe" or "dangerous", "us" or "them".  To create a spiritually intelligent workplace, we need to put a stop to labeling by using our higher spiritual powers.

This requires an evolution from duality thinking to "both/and" thinking.  The instinctual part of the brain will continue to instantly categorize things but it is up to the executive function of the brain to translate those black and white judgments into inclusive, non-judgmental and holistic viewpoint. Once this translation is complete, the individual can now act in a considered, inclusive way. It looks like this:

end of labeling

Step three is critical.  This is where the person’s vigilant "observer mind" catches itself doing its normal categorizing. The observer mind is that part of you that is divinely connected and represents your highest self. "Oops," says the observer mind, "Let’s not go there.  What other perspective or viewpoint could I take that is more spiritually mature?" The brain reconsiders, assuming a broader, whole-cosmos perspective, and then chooses the best reaction to the stimulus.  A good way to help your brain assume this whole-cosmos perspective is outlined in a previous post on the heavenly perspective.

This process goes slowly at first, as you engage the observer mind more actively. This requires spiritual will and perseverance to train your mind to catch itself as it jumps to conclusions that may not serve your highest truth.  Persevere! Keep at it!  There are precious rewards, such as increased love, compassion and inner peace, in making progress toward retraining your brain.

This is what the process looks like when you have made progress in re-training your brain to stop labeling:

end of labeling2

The brain takes the high road, so to speak, and bounces lightly into the categorizing and labeling stages but quickly advances to the inclusive thinking. 

You might even get so advanced as to skip steps two and three altogether.  Bravo to you if you are here in your reactions:

end of labeling3

Here are some labels that I’d like to adopt a more inclusive, whole-cosmos perspective of:

Christian vs. Muslim
Theist vs. Atheist
Republican vs. Democrat
Rich vs. Poor
Managers vs. Employees
Man vs. Woman
Straight vs. Gay
Good vs. Evil

I propose that, instead of labeling, we start thinking of all people as simply "children of God", "the Divine’s people" or "souls on a journey together".  Easier said than done, huh?


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Seven Characteristics of an Authentic Leader

August 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment

clip_image002Being an authentic leader is a cornerstone of building a spiritually intelligent workplace. To be authentic is to be real, to be genuine. If we consider that the opposite of authentic is phony or fake, then most people would vote for authenticity. It’s like a counterfeit coin, which doesn’t buy us anything once it is discovered, whereas an authentic coin is highly valuable. Personal authenticity breeds trust, commitment and loyalty in a work group. Teams that practice authenticity are stronger, more productive and experience less interpersonal friction than those that are – well, inauthentic.

Teams that empower each person to lead in their own way tend to be authentic, too. I am a firm believer that any person, not just the designated manager, can lead from where they sit in the organizational chart. I’ve seen teams accomplish great things as they rally around a peer who leads and has great influence because of their personal authenticity.

So, what characterizes authentic leaders? They have the following seven qualities:

  1. Awareness and development of personal strengths: The authentic leader has a high degree of self-awareness and understands her strengths. She has developed her innate talents into strengths by practicing them and building a body of knowledge in that area. She may have discovered her strengths through honest self-assessment or been aided by participating in a course of study such as Brio Leadership’s In-Powering People and Teams training. She knows that she is brilliant when she works in her strengths, and is dull and unhappy when she is not.
  2. Awareness and acknowledgement of personal weaknesses: Along with understanding strengths comes self-awareness of one’s weaknesses. The authentic leader recognizes his weaknesses, as indicated by those tasks that he neither enjoys nor excels at. For example, some people do not perform well when asked to do detailed, repetitive work such as bookkeeping. The authentic leader acknowledges his weaknesses and finds ways to mitigate them, often by delegating those tasks to others.
  3. Values-based decision-making: The leader knows her own values and makes decisions based on them. The leader’s values allow her to make forward-thinking decisions that keep the team or organization true to its mission. Says Richard Barrett, author of Liberating the Corporate Soul, “Values are the anchors we use to make decisions so we can weather a storm. They keep us aligned with our authentic self.”[1] An authentic leader will also make sure that her values are aligned with those of the organization she works for.
  4. Integrity: Integrity is doing what you say you will do, being trustworthy and keeping confidences. You can count on authentic leaders to be good for their word. Integrity is the foundation for building high-performance teams. Teams that work in a trustworthy environment will produce much better results than those that are characterized by suspicion and a lack of trust.
  5. Empathy and respect for others: Authenticity means not only being true to yourself, but respecting others and being empathetic to their individual circumstances. An authentic person knows that all team members are not alike, and that our differences, when respected and acknowledged, can make the team stronger. Authenticity is the ability to listen empathetically and with an open heart to the stories, backgrounds and needs of others.
  6. Courage: This is the ability to stand up for what you think is right, to make unpopular decisions, and to speak up respectfully when you disagree with what others are saying, even if it is your manager. I once had a manager who complained that all her direct reports “only blow me sunshine,” meaning that they told her only the good news. She was requesting more courage on the part of her direct reports.
  7. Emotional management: Lest we think that being authentic means to inappropriately express all emotions as they are felt, we must address the need for emotional management. The authentic leader will not hide his true feelings, but will have enough self-control to respond rather than react to emotional triggers. He will know better than to lash out at others when angry, but will be able to express anger in a way that is productive, and with timing that will ensure maximum impact. A leader that expresses anger often and inappropriately will only be feared, not respected – and we know for a fact that human beings do not produce their best work when fearful. The leader who acknowledges his feelings in a way that respects the other person will engender loyalty in his team.

Are you an authentic leader? To find out, ask yourself if you display these seven characteristics. If you fail in one or more of these qualities, think of how you might develop it in yourself. Your team and your organization will profit from your efforts to become more authentic.

[1] http://www.valuescentre.com/docs/ValuesBasedLeadership.pdf


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