The Last Obstacle to Executive Development = The Executive
July 27th, 2009 by David Utts
- Recent research has shown compelling evidence that an evolved executive leader can make a huge difference in expanding profitability, performance, employee loyalty, etc.
- There is strong alignment amongst the many leadership models on the competencies an executive leader must embody to strengthen their impact.
- Based on this clarity as well as the ground breaking work of many – processes and methods have been created that are proven to add velocity onto the development process.
“The study was a real eye opener. Even after adopting the most conservative approach to determining the return on investment, we showed 700% in ROI for the coaching initiative (at Booz Allen Hamilton)”
Ed Cohen
Former Senior Director
Center for Performance Excellence
Booz Allen Hamilton
While executive coaching is only one piece to the puzzle – it is an approach that has proven we can build programs that work. Given all of this plus the recognition that we find ourselves in challenging times that are crying for more leadership – you have to wonder why organizations and their senior leadership teams are not fully embracing the journey towards greater development of their leadership?
Maybe it is because organizations and senior leadership are not aware of the evolution of the executive development profession. Yet, I believe there is a more fundamental reason. In short, the main reason is the lack of willingness or even fear on the part of leaders to enter the development journey. I have heard a number of excuses that point to this – yet most boil down to this one:
“I have worked hard to get to where I am and there is no reason for me to change at this point – anyway I have always been able to figure out what I need to do to be successful“
And there is strong validity in this statement. It is important to honor the hard work and habits that supported a senior executive to succeed. There is no doubt that continued success can be achieved without further development. But, that’s not the point. The point is human beings have tremendous capacity to expand their impact well beyond where it is today. If you get your head around that statement – what self-motivated executive would shy away from enhancing their influence? For an executive to tap into this increased capacity – they must be willing to challenge and transform many of their beliefs about themselves, their approach, and their purpose for being a leader. While a large part of the development process is exhilarating – there are times of discomfort.
Engaging in the development process requires one to take risks in trying new ways of thinking and acting so that you can expand your effectiveness. While one can be encouraged – it comes down to the willingness of the individual leader to expand their impact and embrace the risks. Many executives are rebuffed by this process. Usually this is not conscious resistance – it is unconscious based on where the person is at in their own adult development journey. In other words, they would much rather remain in the comfort zone of their current habits – even if some of them cause problems – than take a risk to shift their way of thinking and acting out of fear they may become less effective and ultimately fail.
Recent and extremely compelling research done by Bob Anderson of The Leadership Circle has revealed a strong link between leadership competency research and stages of adult development research. For those who have not heard about the later – stages of adult development research has shown that human beings continue to grow to higher orders of awareness over their lifetime. Anderson’s research has shown that there is a strong link between one of those stages of adult development and leadership competencies. In short this shows, while some may have natural inclinations towards leadership – there is a capacity for all of us to develop a leadership mindset. Whether we are ready or not for this step is another question.
When one begins to enter this leadership stage of development it is literally an upgrade in the operating system of that individual. When this natural development process unfolds – one begins to view the world differently. With this shift – the known leadership competencies begin to naturally “boot up” from the new operating system. This is a profound breakthrough in the executive development field! It shifts the focus away from skills training to experiential training that escalates the natural development process.
Anderson’s research also seems to quantify the resistance to development mentioned earlier. He found that the stage of adult development preceding growth into the leadership mindset is far more reactive. Individuals at this stage are primarily focused on how they can control the external world through key strategies they have developed over their lives. Further, individuals at this level tend not to appreciate the full value of leadership competencies seeing them as “soft”, “ineffective” or “a gift of the few (i.e. leaders are born)”
This leads us back to the quandry we began this entry with – what is the real obstacle to executive development. Bottom line, not everyone is ready or willing for the development journey. It is important for organizations to realize this in their succession strategies. Look for people with a balance of strong techical understanding and the willingness to engage in the learning necessary to succeed as a leader. To help this along it is important that the CEO also sets clear expectations that leadership development is part of an executive’s priorities. The more CEOs set such expectations and back this up with leadership development support the more likely that they will be to boost the performance and profitability of their organizations.
Tags: obstacles to leadership, ROI for executive coaching, ROI for Leadership Development
August 5th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
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