In this video produced for The Maryland Chamber of Commerce I focus on the foundation of leadership – your personal power. I have said many times that in order to develop as a leader you must make it personal and bring your unique purpose, passion and presence to the role. Without this foundation leadership can not take hold in you. You are a leader by title only unless this foundation is clarified and leveraged. Enjoy the video and please offer your comments.

This is a follow up to Part I of “A Call to Leadership” Video Series.  During the first segment I spent part of the time discussing the pathway that both leaders and organizations must take to develop extraordinary leadership.  Yet, there are a few questions I left out that are at the tips of the tongues of many who I speak to on the topic of leadership development.

What is “Development” About Anyway?

I do not like the word development because it implies there is something missing in us.  Which is not the case really.  This term comes from an old outdated therapy model that examines our failings rather than our greatness.   “Empowerment”  is really what leadership development is all about because true leaders understand who they are and why they are leading.  To engage in a “development” or empowerment path you must answer the following questions: (more…)

In an earlier entry “The Rising Power of the Feminine in Executive Leadership” – I highlighted solid research showing that companies with women in top leadership positions have stronger relationships with customers and shareholders and a more diverse and profitable business ¹.

A recent article in Forbes shows that most US Corporations are still not realizing the power that women bring.  The article highlights some sobering statistics as follows:

• Research done between 2004-2010 indicates that over 33% of women are leaving the workforce each year for various reasons.  For example in 2009 74% left for child care reasons, 16% left because their careers were stalled and a whopping 89% left because no executive in the organization was sponsoring their journey to success ².
• While 89% planned to resume their careers after a hiatus – only 40% of the women looking to reenter the work force after only 2 years found full time employment ³.
• Women who return to full-time work face a lower job title, a decrease in management and overall responsibilities and a striking financial penalty. Women who off-ramped for two years faced a 14% salary gap. The penalty tripled to 46% for those that left for three or more years ⁴.

This is just another symptom of organizations cutting their nose of despite their face.  Then there is the other side of the coin where an organization takes a talented woman leader and instead of leveraging her strengths and interests – they try to force her into a leadership position that does not fit because they want to show the world they are supporting the promotion of women.  While this shows some thoughtfulness – it is also misguided.

Those organizations who continue down this path just might find that this decision comes back to haunt them.  Why do I say this? Because another statistic shows that the majority of small businesses rising today are lead by women.  If your organization takes no action to change its trajectory – you might just find a fierce yet compassionate competitor lead by a woman eating your lunch.

Whether everyone sees it or not we are facing a major transformation in the way business is conducted worldwide.  If we do not take advantage of the lessons this difficult time has taught us – we will miss a huge opportunity.  To fully leverage this opportunity we need leadership and true leadership integrates a results focus along with a collaborative orientation (among other things).  We do not have enough male leaders who embody both sides of this equation and thus this is why there is a deep need for strong women leaders who for the most part have the capacity to embody both.   Men reading this might react negatively yet this is not about male bashing.  It is about finding balance and having leaders who can model the full power of leadership for everyone.  The question is will enough large organizations recognize the importance of such balance?  If not, there will be a revolution and for those who do not join – you will miss huge opportunities now and the pain of not joining will be greater down the road for you and your organization.

As I have said before, the essential purpose of leadership is to create.   The fundamental tool of creation for a leader is their vision for the market place as well as the vision they hold for their organizational culture.  As a creator the leader takes 100% responsibility for the outcome of the vision.  Now please allow me to distinguish between taking 100% responsibility with taking the world on your shoulders.  They are quite different.

Taking everything on your shoulders and taking on all the stress around the success or failure of the business is not the point.   The point owning the vision and holding the expectancy it will unfold.  If a leader has developed a compelling vision and has done a great job of instilling this vision into their people – while mistakes will happen – in the end the vision will become reality.  Yet, if the leader begins to complain about how the market place is behaving, the problems with the economy, or begins to blame low performers for all the woos in the business – they are missing the point of being a leader as well as the power of vision.

If the market is not responding – a true leader does not blame the market.  They collect the best minds and ask what do we have to do to engage the market more effectively so people get who we are and want to do business with us?   If the economy is tanking and business is off – the true leader takes responsibility by examining with his top people the model they are using to develop business and will shift their approach to succeed or do better than they have in the tough economy.  If there is an issue with low performance – a true leader coaches the boss of that direct report to get to the bottom of it or they themselves explore what the issue is.   If there is not a fit – they let the person go.  If it is a coaching issue they work towards a new commitment with that employee to engage at a higher level and make sure that there will be rewards if they do and consequences if they do not.

The fundamental key here is making sure your people are enrolled in the vision and know their part in fulfilling it.  If the vision has come alive – the true leader knows with certainty it is only a matter of time before things line up.  They embrace the responsibility for creating an environment that is brutally honest about what the challenges are while also inspiring others to reach further to fulfill the mission and key priorities.  They also expect their best people to take 100% responsibility for the vision as well.

If you are reading this you are likely a successful executive or emerging leader.  The question is  who is managing your long term career aspirations?  The knee jerk reaction might be “well I am.”  Yet, I suggest you answer a few questions – honestly – to make sure:

• Have you discovered your underlying purpose for work or why you show up every day to work?
• Given that purpose – have you connected passionately to what the highest expression of that purpose would be?
• Do you feel a sense of independence from your organization, boss or senior executives as far as directing your career?
• Are you free from the idea that “I must pay my dues before I am in the position to set my course?”

If you answered a resounding yes to each of those questions – congratulations.  You are most likely in full charge of your destiny.  If you answered no to one or more of these you may be cheating yourself and your organization from your best efforts.  When I ask my clients to face these questions and I confront them on any of the questions they answer no to – I usually get a miffed look at first.  They may say “but I am reliant on my organization to direct me – they know the best place and my job is to follow their lead.”   When I ask why that is – the answers get more interesting.  Typical answers are:

• Well if I was too forceful with where I felt I fit and would be most satisfied – my job might be in jeopardy
• I really never thought about what I wanted and really don’t have an answer to what I want.
• Well I know what I really want but am afraid if I go for it I will not be able to support my family and lifestyle.

Yet, in my experience when people understand their purpose, passionately hold a vision for the impact they would like to have, and set a course to unfold that – not only are they happier – they perform at a much higher level.  Also, it is rare that if I am talking to a technical person that they want to become Picasso.   While there are some cases when a person realizes they must make a major change – in most cases they are in their sweet spot yet have an underlying desire to shift their focus a bit and usually in a way that adds value to the organization they are with. And yes – it can be a challenge to influence the powers to be to support a person in changing direction.  Yet, again, in most every case where a person has stuck to their guns – both the individual and organization benefit.

The bottom line is – life is too short to allow others to dictate your life and that includes your career!  After all we spend over 2000 hours each year working which equates to almost a quarter of our total time!  I believe doing what you love and loving what you do is a birthright and we are at a time in history when we truly have the power of choice.   So ask yourself – on a scale from 1 to 10 how fulfilled am I really every day at work?  If you are below an 8 – I would take a serious look at the questions above and if you do not like your answers I suggest you spend the time to take your career back!