DEVELOP YOUR LEADERS WITH A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE

My experience, my reading and leaders' opinions in The Leadership Intensive Workshop I ran with colleagues, show me there is a new model of leadership emerging.The old one casts a large shadow but it is a fading shadow. 

The new leadership model has these elements among others:

--High degree of collaboration in order to see the whole picture so that one system or function isn't messing things up for another AND to create new ideas through thinking and creating together.

--More intuitive/instinctual decision making. Data can never make the decision
  for you. Or if research and data alone can make the decision, then it is not
  a decision that will take you far. It already was an easy decision. The future is
  not knowable and demands a leap of some kind that is not a sure thing.

--Multi-tasking will continue to be demanded. And yes, research shows that 
  single focus is best. A better definition of what I am talking about is the 
  ability to switch focus quickly and effectively, not doing everything at once.

--Frequent and numerous transitions will be the norm and need to be done
  without disruption.  Teams will come and go. Projects will live and die.
  Meetings and travel into different geographic and company cultures will
  increase. Recalibrating constantly will be a skill for leaders.  

--The ability to be clear about the demands facing the company and why they 
   matter will be paramount in order to allow people to be free to meet 
   those demands in many,many possible ways. The "how" will have to quit
   being dictated.               

--Trusting professional relationships will be necessary to allow nimble 
  timely action.  I don't mean happy, fun, kind relationships, but rather
  deep trust that can be leaned into so that bold action can occur.

--The ability to simplify complexity so that coherent action can be taken
  across a large company will be needed.  It has to be developed, not
  "sold"  so that the understanding is in the DNA of the company, not driven
  from the surface.


The blind spot here is that you may have battling leadership models at play in your company.  This causes symptoms like action grid-lock, profound disagreement on the "how" versus the "what", and loss of high potential talent who can't live with outdated leadership anymore.  

Don't be blind to the need to be explicit about your companies leadership
model so that you are not literally working at cross purposes. One way to do this is to collect a bunch of models and have your top group cherry pick what they believe is effective and needed.  And then add some too.  Don't rely on outdated tools to define leadership now. Build a new one that takes you into
the future.

What would you put on the list for a new leadership model?
I'll share it here.  Let's make explicit what is just beginning to emerge.
And, thank goodness.

MAYBE WE DO NEED MORE OUTRAGE

Frankly, I was cleaning-up my email when I saw a title that made
me see red. It was in Smart-Brief on Leaderhsip. I skipped over it assuming it
was normal leadership fare when the literal words hit me AND I got mad and then amazed that such a tired old leadership model just won't go away.
I think I have been fooled by the freedom and pace of innovative companies into thinking something new was going on. Mostly just chaos masked by short term success, rather than progressive steady engagement of adults wanting to get the same thing done and everyone benefitting.  

Anyway, here is the title that got me going and my response on Facebook that got other people going.

"Use Soft Power to Keep Your Employees on Track!"
 OK--It still makes me nuts to read it.
 Here's what I said:

 1. YOUR power doesn't make associates do anything. It's their power that
  gets things done.  
  2.  KEEP your employees on track??? What? Are they  2 years old?  Plus it  
  doesn't work for two year-olds either.
  3.  YOUR employees?? NO NO NO NO NO. They are not yours. They belong   
  to themselves.
  4. ON TRACK?  Pretty narrow point of view.  Head down. Follow the path--to
  mediocrity. Please don't think. It's so messy."

And I add:
Quit thinking carrot and stick. Both are juvenile and demeaning.
Work WITH people. Make it possible with agreed on goals, agreed on 
tasks that make sense, compensation that grows evenly if differently and
adult to adult relationships where everyone learns and develops.
This is not utopia folks. It's just actually kind of mundane management for a healthy organization.

Blind spot?  You are sitting on a volcano of potential.  Use it or the fire goes out or the whole thing erupts!!

I AM THINKING OF ALL THE THINGS YOU DON'T SAY

As a top leader, you learn to tone it down.
You moderate enthusiasm, anger, commitment, all kinds of strong statements.
With reason.
You are one of the most watched, maneuvered, puzzled over, people in your company. Your words weigh too much. You have to be guarded.

You know the complications of the organizational reality.
You know there is very little black and white.
You want people to trust and respect your word.
You know the "truth" of a situation can change quickly.

The danger for you is becoming muffled and losing the power of your voice.
The tendency is to begin using lots of words to say very little.
The pit fall can be not knowing what you are truly thinking and feeling, much less saying. You don't hear your own truth.

Some things I hear in my work that are not said.

--If you don't make big changes, I will have to ask you to leave even though you are a top executive and colleague.  We have reached that point.  Are you clear about those changes?  Can you, will you make them?

--I am downright discouraged about what we can get done if we don't stop passing the buck for bad results and here is who I see doing it. Stop it.

--I can't be the only optimist for this group. And, by the way, it can't be fake optimism. Like the fight or leave the fight.

--I need your help.

--I don't see the answer. Yet. 

--Do we have the courage to do the right thing for our business and customers rather than being led by Wall Street?

--I'm sorry.

--Let's reconsider.

--I've changed my mind.

--Collaboration seems so slow, it makes me nuts.

--I have to have fun and hope or this job isn't worth it.

--I'm bored.

--I don't enjoy my team.

One way to hear what you may not be saying is to have a colleague or coach with whom you can be honest, be blunt, be irreverent, be angry, be idealistic, be cynical and laugh your head off. So you can hear what you want to say and then choose to say it loud and clear.

THE POWER OF "I'M SORRY"

When you feel the burden of guiding a large company you can get hooked on 
being right. You begin to think you should be right, you should know what you are doing all the time and that people want you to be better than you are.
So, you begin to act like you just might be right and better than you are. Or you get scared about the false self you are projecting and retreat.

I know you are aware that you screw-up. I've heard you laugh about it,
agonize about it, and shrug it off.  Mostly, I've seen you work hard to make right whatever you have made wrong.

But sometimes, you miss a step.  You don't publicly acknowledge your mistake and apologize.  Easier to fix it than to apologize.

---I'm sorry I left your name of the recognition list.
Your work was great. I'm sending a new list but wanted you to know I felt bad about it.

---I'm sorry I called you out about "xyz" plan in the meeting.
I wish I would have waited to do it alone with you.
Not what I like to do.

---I'm sorry that the Board Meeting wasn't up to snuff
You as Chairman should have a productive meeting.
Let's plan it more specifically for next time

---I'm sorry your time got cut short for the presentation  I know you spent months on it.  I appreciate the effort.  

If you can think of an apology that makes you cringe, it is probably the one you need to make. Saying a true "I'm sorry" is not easy.  That's why it's so powerful