Leaders Are 100% Responsible

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.

Who Is Managing Your Career?

• 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!

Passion Brings Huge ROI!

Again, many resonate with this idea of passion but then ask but is there a return on investment from engaging it – is it not better for me to focus on my business model?   Well first there is a huge return on investment that comes from fully engaging your passion because the more you are connected to it the more bandwidth you have to succeed.   The more you are connected to it – the bigger your ideas, the better you will apply your business model, the more opportunities you attract and the more courage you will have to break through barriers that will stop most people.

Now the caveat is – at first – really connecting to your passion can be scary because the more traditional approach in business is to mute our passion.  When my clients first unveil their passion – they can become concerned it is too out there or unrealistic.  Yet, in every case – yes EVERY CASE – when my clients or anyone I know decides to live from this place – they experience far more success, freedom and fulfillment as well as far less stress and struggle.

My guess is if you have read this far – that this all resonates.  You may be secretively living from this place or feel a sense of power when you think about working and living from this place.  I also think this is not new news.  Many speakers and coaches talk about engaging your passion but how do you discover what it is?  In my next entry I will give you the fundamental questions and practices you need to do to fully engage your passion on a daily basis.  Come back in two days and the exercise will be posted.

Are You Ready to Evolve Your Impact?

Take Your First Step Toward True Evolution of Your Impact!

Ever wonder why you repeat the same negative thoughts in your head? Why you keep coming back for more from hurtful family members, friends, or significant others? Why you keep falling into the same detrimental habits or limiting attitudes—even when you know that they are going to make you feel bad?

Dr. Joe Dispenza has spent decades studying the human mind—how it works, how it stores information, and why it perpetuates the same behavioral patterns over and over. In the acclaimed film What the Bleep Do We Know!? he began to explain how the brain evolves—by learning new skills, developing the ability to concentrate in the midst of chaos, and even healing the body and the psyche.

Evolve Your Brain presents this information in depth, while helping you take control of your mind, explaining how thoughts can create chemical reactions that keep you addicted to patterns and feelings—including ones that make you unhappy. And when you know how these bad habits are created, it’s possible to not only break these patterns, but also reprogram and evolve your brain, so that new, positive, and beneficial habits can take over.

This is something you can start to do right now. You and only you have the power to change your mind and evolve your brain for a better life—for good.  This book is also written in common sense language and the principles are explained in common sense ways.

Success is Inside Out!

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

At first take – it does not appear these two quotes are related but they very much are!   For example, we are at a time of year when millions are inspired to set big goals both personally and professionally that they feel will lead them to a happier and more successful life experience.   Unfortunately, by the time February ends – many of our resolutions and the hope we felt will be a distant memory.   Why is this?  It is because the New Year generates a mood of hope in many.  It is an opportunity to make a fresh beginning!  Those making resolutions are tapping into this hope yet over days and weeks that follow the hope – we get hit by the tyrant of the urgent and our grand ideas shaped at the new year no longer seem “realistic”  in the face our “reality.” As Mr. Einstein says, insanity is doing the same thing over and over – expecting different results!

Now, I am all for setting goals and big ones!   In fact, as human beings we are quite goal directed and we accomplish many things effortlessly because of our unique gifts that others find amazing.  That being said, we do not apply the underlying principles that allow for success in one area of life in other areas where we are frustrated with!   One of these powers is our imagination.  Imagination is the foundation of vision, of great athletic accomplishment, and of great breakthroughs in our life and businesses. Most Goal Setting Approaches Do Not Take Into Account The True Human Powers That Allow Goal Setting to Be More Effective!

What if Results from Goal Setting Come With Far Less Effort?

This can become your common experience!  Yet, it takes a different approach to make it so and involves taking time to reflect, engage our imagination and become intentional.   For the most part, these are true powers we have as human beings that for the most part go untapped.  Yet, when they are, the produce far more powerful outcomes than traditional goal setting and strategic planning.  And these are no longer woo-woo or touchy feeling concepts – the power of intentionality and imagination has been proven in cross discipline research that includes medicine, quantum physics, biology, psychology and spirituality.  In short, the power of the mind is far underutilized.   A pioneer in exposing these powers, Maxwell Maltz, MD, said it just about as succinctly as you can.  Paraphrasing Maltz “The brain is stupid and waiting for your instructions – if you do not take charge of the instructions – your programming will.“  And bottom line, when we do not tap into this and take charge – we are using a very small portion of our true power to achieve and live a fulfilling life!   We are allowing the messages we took in from a young age to run the show and many of these messages for what Maltz calls “our failure mechanisms.”

As I mentioned in my last article on “Power Networking” – research studies have proven time and again the power of our imagination and the use of intentionality and this research comes solid science that includes quantum physics, medicine, biology, athletics, business/sales and general success psychology.

Creating Your Unique Success Mechanism

You have far more power to draw success to you than you realize.  When we begin to take charge of the programming of our brain through our imagination and intention – we turn our brains into success mechanisms!  To do so means we have to do things a bit differently and find the time to take for engaging our imagination and taking time to reflect.  Yes, I know you are grumbling “when am I going to find the time?”   Well if you want more success and fulfillment – you can not afford not to find the time.  Quite frankly, in my experience and in the experience of many others – it is time well spent!   By taking the time you are engaging in power moves that will generate results.  It goes against the grain of what you think you may know but then again science and research does not lie!   Here is a general overview of how to begin to build and fortify  your success mechanism:

1. Yes, first take time to consider what you care about the most and set your goals.   Don’t worry so much about being S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely).  That is old school but we can take something away from this.  For me it is MST.  First, when you are creating goals think first about what will be the most important end measures that will indicate success (amount of money, number of new customers, new ideas, experiences that matter, etc.).   And yes be as specific as possible because this will aid in engaging your imagination!  Finally, provide a time frame. As for achievable and realistic – I leave that to you.  Maltz indicated that we must match our goals to our sense of self and this means understanding our strengths and limitations.  As your self-image grows in strength you will be able to expand what you can go after.
2. Be honest with yourself by looking at both the things that will support your success as well as those things that may generate obstacles to it. When you consider supports and obstacles – look at them from an internal and external perspective.  Externally they are usually the things we may or may not be able to influence (e.g. the economy, emerging opportunities, corporate edicts, supportive relationships, negative relationships, etc.).  Internally you want to honestly assess your strengths and blindspots (e.g. habits that support or don’t support you, internal beliefs about success, etc.).  Now this is not about “buying into the limitations” or getting overly enamored with the positives.  It is about being brutally honest about things so that you can reframe what you must to succeed.
3. Yes – develop a plan that breaks down actions you can take daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly etc. This can be a very general plan (e.g. make contact with all my legacy clients and set meetings with at least 60% of them) or more specific (e.g. I will make five calls a day or attend 3 networking events per month).   When establishing sub goals – first look at how you will measure success incrementally (e.g. senior leadership knows I am ready to take on a larger role and realize my capabilities, I engage in 5 meaningful conversations that lead to next steps, etc.).  Pick measures that you feel are most leveraged at getting you to your larger goal.
4. Engage your enthusiasm for the goal each day! Do not only read it – take 10 minutes to imagine it coming true, experience the feeling of satisfaction you will have when it happens, see how it positively impacts you and others, feel the passion for it.   In essence when you do this you are filling your tank with fuel while you are opening your mind to look for ways – not already thought of to succeed (remember your brain is stupid and waiting for instructions!).   This is tapping the imagination in a powerful way.
5. Beware – your failure mechanism may rear its ugly head! While holding a strong intention – obstacles may appear in your mind and may seem very real.  This is part of the work of reprograming your mindset.  A way to develop a practice to deal with this is to set an intention each day or week for how you want to be in forwarding your goal.  As you go through your day – things will happen that might derail you or your gremlins who do not believe in your success may rattle around in your head!   At the end of the day ask yourself these questions:

• On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being absolute focus) how did I do in holding my intention today?
• What if anything distracted me and how did I deal with it?
• If I felt stopped or delayed – what was I telling myself?
• Were those words supportive or destructive to my efforts?
• If they were destructive – how can I reframe those beliefs in order to support my efforts more powerfully?

That is a formula that works for me and my clients.   Yes, it means you will likely have to buy into what is proven but seems irrational to your training.  But look at it this way – are you as successful and fulfilled as you want to be right now?  If the answer is no – try the process diligently for 30 days and let the results speak for themselves!

And feel free to call me 410-381-9155 or email me dutts@executiveskillworks.com – And please offer any comments you would like!  For those locally, I hope that you will join me for my upcoming session “Unveiling True Human Powers That Lead to Greater Success and Impact”

You Control Much More Than You Think!

By Bruce H. Lipton, PhD

The revelations in Dr Bruce Lipton’s research is a major breakthrough that will change the way we think about what influences our personal success and fulfillment .  For years we have considered DNA and our genes as major determinants of our destiny – mentally, physically and emotionally.    With the revelations from his and many other biologists research, Dr. Lipton turns this major hypothesis on its ear.

Lipton shows that genes and DNA do not control our biology, that instead DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell, including the energetic messages emanating from our thoughts. Using simple language, illustrations, humor, and everyday examples, he demonstrates how the new science of Epigenetics is revolutionizing our understanding of the link between mind and matter and the profound effects it has on our personal lives and the collective life of our species.

This research aligns with the findings of quantum physics and indicates that the world forms around us according to how we perceive it.  For example, if we expect success and hold positive internal beliefs about our ability to achieve – we do.   When we expect less of ourselves or buy into the fact that because our father had heart decease – we significantly increase the likelihood that we will live up to those expectations. According the Dr Lipton – genes merely set up possibilities for us that may or may not be activated based on how we structure our internal (belief structure) and external (what surrounds us) environment.

This research has major implications for organizations and leaders because it makes a powerful case for challenging the assumptions that run our cultures and that orient our leaders.   The book calls on each of us to become more conscious of our belief systems so that we can mold them to be consistent with our desired outcomes.  Not because it is a good thing to do but because it has major implications on how successful and happy we will become.  This is one of those books that is a must for any leader interested in realizing their vision!

To Order: Follow This Link or Click Book Cover Above

I Think Therefore I Am

I have labeled these three orientations as:

• The Achiever
• The Intellectual
• The Relater

In our last entry we took a deeper look at the key qualities and the leveraged developmental path for The Achiever.  In this entry we will examine The Intellectual.

To the Intellectual – Knowing is everything and in the business environment they pride themselves as experts and relish the challenge of solving complex issues. When The Intellectual is acting from a reactive stance they can be described as arrogant, critical and distant ¹.  While you may value the stunning speed at which they can understand and surgically break down and fix the complex – you are likely not to appreciate this when you are the subject of their criticism.  In the later case one can feel “sliced and diced.”

The Intellectual’s Fundamental Beliefs include the following ²:

• I value my expertise and the smarter I am the more worth while I feel.
• If I am right – others will likely be wrong.
• I am safe and acceptable if I am smart enough and able to “fly under the radar”.
• I find value in myself when I am right and can point to the weaknesses of others.
• I do not suffer fools gladly.
• At a deep level I want to connect with others yet fear intimacy.
• Before I engage – I like to hold back so I can understand how things are unfolding.

Again, Intellectuals love to admire the problem – to the point that they can enter analysis paralysis. While Achievers are more ready, fire, aim – Intellectuals are more ready, ready, aim, aim, aim, ready, aim…fire (maybe).  Intellectuals can easily see the flaws in another’s thinking, speaking, and actions.  Their love of learning tends to be in the realm of absorbing more around their technical specialty rather than other areas.  While Intellectuals can show up anywhere – you will likely find many in the medical, engineering, accounting and technology fields.   Most professional services firms find that they have a disproportional population of Intellectuals and this poses a particular leadership development challenge.  I will speak to about this more below.

Intellectuals at Their Worst

At their worst Intellectuals emit a distant, condescending, and cold towards others. They tend to be quite negative – seeing all that is wrong with the world.  They are eternal pessimists and it seems they are unable to appreciate the positive actions others take.  When they speak it can be a fire storm of criticism and those at the top of the organization do not escape their ire.  Intellectuals in a highly reactive space want to keep their heads low, play it safe and are risk adverse.  They see themselves as superior to others and because they can move faster than most others in understanding a problem and seeing solutions they tend to be very impatient. It is very hard to even tolerate being around them at their worst.

Evolved Intellectuals

As they develop an intellectuals power to discern grow up.  If they understand the vision they can highlight the obstacles as well as the assets that the organization can leverage to move closer to the vision.  They have a powerful lense on the details that may visionaries and entrepreneurs lack – therefore they can really help the organization execute.  At their best Intellectuals are also the center in a storm of controversy – helping others find level heads.  If you position them around something they deeply care about – they can become great champions for the cause.  As they season – their expertise turns to wisdom and this can lead to great innovations.  Deep inside they do care for others and while they will never be the life of the party if they can awaken their hearts – the distance people have felt around them can narrow.  As their consciousness raises – they become very loyal, conscientious and dependable.

The Intellectual’s Developmental Path

As with any orientation – the key to development is to place the Intellectual into a circumstance that helps them appreciate their strengths while seeing the limitations of the “trap doors” they can fall into. Again, a primary focus in development must be on an individual’s strengths.  We have highlighted many of an Intellectual’s strengths above but in short they are discernment, detachment, deep caring and a rich interior life.  Ultimately, an Intellectual must come to grips with their desire to be right and which means others are wrong.  This requires an expansion in their self-awareness that allows for an increase in self-honesty and authenticity.  They must learn to look inward at themselves and acknowledge bot their strengths as well as culpability.  Ultimately it comes down to not taking themselves too seriously, learning how to leverage their strengths for the sake of the common good, and realizing the power others bring to the table that compliments their expertise.  Highly evolved Intellectuals can be very keen at understanding the whole system as well as the details that makes it work.  Seasoning these gifts provides insights that help the organization sustain a very high level of execution towards the vision.

As mentioned above, intellectuals pose a special challenge in leadership development and most professional organizations have their share of this mindset.  The key challenge is that intellectuals tend to be quite protected from outside influences and can often be in denial of their longing to connect because there is so much fear around connecting.  That being said, the following strategies can support the Intellectual in bringing out their best.

Key Leadership Developmental Strategies for the Intellectual

Focus on Raising Their Awareness and Embracing Their Whole Authentic Selves

While raising awareness is important for leadership development for all orientations – it is a particularly powerful experience for Intellectuals.  Remember they have razor sharp discernment yet this has rarely been directed towards themselves.  While Intellectuals can judge others harshly – they likely hold themselves to even higher standards and thus are likely harder on themselves. Yet, while they be aware of the stress caused by this – they rarely have done very little reflection on their own self talk. Helping the Intellectual to understand the context for using their expertise and taking action is an important first step.  For example, ask them to think about your corporate values or operating guidelines and ask them what makes sense about them?  Second, look for a method of providing them direct feedback on their behaviors against those values.  In providing feedback to ensure they understand why they are valued while providing them with tough messages about how their behaviors are minimizing their impact.   If you slam them too hard (which can be tempting with one at their worst) they will tend to hide more and become even more risk adverse.  However, if you show appreciation with one hand yet express concern for how they are leading on the other hand you may just open a door way that helps the intellectual develop.  You can do this by:

• • Understand more what are they seeking from leadership and from coming to work each day – recognition will likely be at the top of their list.
  • Help them see how part of their behavior can harm this.
  • Provide 360 feedback that shows how their behavior is negatively impacting others.
  • Provide coaching to help them moderate their pessimistic side and strengthen the positives they bring.

Find Out What They Care Deeply About

By coming to an understanding about what they care deeply about you can redirect their energy to make a difference in this area.  For example, what are their pet peeves about the way business is done, how clients are serve, or how quality is monitored.  Turn this into a positive by asking “If it were different – what would that look like?”  Ask them to take on the role of improving quality, service approach, etc. yet require them to do so in a way that includes and inspires others while moderating their criticism.  Again, coaching can be invaluable to supporting this.

Help Them Lower Their Standards

Help them focus on results – rather than process.  In most cases, the Intellectuals standards are higher than anyone else around them.  Help them see the efficiency involved in achieving more and analyzing less.  Again, look at areas where this actually caused problems.  The more you can ground these situations in facts the better (e.g. after this project we had 5 people ask never to work with you again).  Going forward you or their coach can ask “Let’s look at what we are ultimately trying to achieve here and the time line.”  Get them to take ownership of the outcome and the time line and support them to let go of unnecessary details and analysis.

Help Them to Relax and Be More Spontaneous!

Encourage them to take time off, find a creative outlet and have fun!  Again, they have a natural ability to create a rich internal world and can be very creative.  Finding a way for them to find a place to express this will tend to “loosen them up.”  If they take to this – it will also enhance their own personal fulfillment and turn their immense knowledge into potent wisdom.

Develop Them As Mentors

Intellectuals can create very strong relationships with a few.  Leverage this by asking them to become a key mentor both in their technical expertise AND in how to approach the work.  Helping them apply the former will season their expertise and applying the later will usually help them see the value of walking their talk.

Assist Them In Recognizing Their Caring Nature

It is important that the Intellectual comes to acknowledge they truly do care about others. As they loosen their judgments about the world around them – they will be able to recognize this.  Being in a mentoring role and/or having them support efforts around what they truly care about will help here.  Yet, when the time is right actually getting them to admit this out loud can be a powerful insight that can be used to approach others differently.  When they start doing this and are able to really connect – something very special can occur in their approach to leading.

Metaphorically, Intellectuals show us why soft skills are critical to leveraging technical horsepower.  Ultimately clients and staff could care less how brilliant we are or how technically sound our solutions are.  What customers care most about is that we understand their issues and care enough to do what is necessary to solve them.  Our expertise is merely a ticket that gets us in the room – but our execution and the care we show for the relationship is what keeps us there.  In the same way, our staffs want to be in a context that strengthens their abilities and inspires them.  A seasoned and proactive Intellectual in leadership who gets this adds tremendous value to their organizations.

In our next entry, we will discuss “The Relater.“

For the Achiever - Winning is Everything!

As indicated in my last entry, the development of leadership capacity in an individual is an issue of human development.  In other words, leaders are not born they are made.  Yet, just as one size does not fit all – there is no one style of leadership that fits everyone.  By understanding specific developmental pathways and how they related to leadership enables us to help executive leaders add velocity towards increasing their leadership impact.

In short, the pathway of development into a strong executive leader involves moving from a more reactive stance to one that is more proactive and creative.  It is an issue of evolving and transforming into higher orders of who you already are.  There are three primary developmental orientations: ¹:

• The Achiever
• The Intellectual
• The Relate

Over the next three entries I will take each of these orientations – one at a time – and describe the fundamental beliefs and approaches this orientation has to accomplish tasks as well as working with people.  I will also highlight the most natural developmental path for each orientation. While I will focus on each of these orientations individually – it is important to note that all individuals are unique in a couple of ways.  First, many will feel an affinity for more than one of these orientations and in my experience there are mixes.  Second and most importantly, everyone is at a different level of development.  Some will have broken through towards the more proactive level and others may find themselves more aligned with the reactive stance for each orientation.  Yet, a first step in any leader’s development must taking the time to understand where they are at now.  Looking at these three stances separately will allow you to gain a better grasp of your fundamental orientation.  In this entry I will focus on “The Achiever.”

For the Achiever – winning is everything and business is a competition! In their reactive stance, achievers experience that they are their results and become extremely frustrated when they are not in power or able to control the outcome.  Does that resonate at all for you?  If so, read on…

The Achiever’s Fundamental Beliefs include the following: ²

• I am safe when I am in charge.
• If I win I am worthy.
• My results are me.
• I don’t trust others to do it as well as I can do.
• There are winners and losers – I will do anything to be a winner.
• When others admire me – it proves my value.
• Not being better than others minimizes my sense of success and fulfillment.
• failure feels like death (or is death) to me.

Achievers strive for perfection in all they do.  They also tend to have very high standards and expect others to align with theirs.  Achievers love power and take charge when ever they can.  When out of power they are quite uncomfortable. They also tend to be very direct and blunt in their speaking.

Achievers tend to be quick to anger when things do not work out as expected yet they also let go of it pretty quickly.  They become very focused during crisis and feel a call to arms to solve what ever has emerged.  They embrace change and tend to be averse to rules – especially ones that get in the way of producing results.

Achievers at Their Worst:

At their worst the Achiever demeans those around them and does not take into account the feelings or aspirations of their direct reports.  They are aggressive, controlling, thoughtless, offensive, intimidating and deflect any negative feedback about themselves coming from others.  They believe they are fine as they are.  If they are in a position of authority they are very difficult to work for.

The Evolved Achiever

At their highest and best, Achievers are  are strong, powerful, effective, capable and responsible people with true leadership qualities. People feel safe turning the world over to highly developed Achievers because everyone is sure they are capable of structuring it efficiently and running it well…and they often are. Positive Achievers are great delegaters who get complex projects done. They can inspire great things from those they lead. They are generous and magnanimous and always willing to help someone else succeed in their own right.  Achievers can achieve what Jim Collins calls “Level 5 Leadership.” They can be extremely humble while at the same time extremely results focused ³.

The Achiever’s Developmental Path

The Achiever embodies many inherent gifts.  If you want to get things accomplished especially under fire – the Achiever excels.  They are strong influencers.  They excel in crisies but as they evolve they can also become great visionaries.

Research has clearly shown that in order to succeed in any developmental process we must be able to focus on an individual’s strengths.  Transforming strengths to higher and more effective levels also tends to remove other bllindspots and mitigates achilles heels.  For example, leveraging an Achiever’s focus on results to a more strategic level will help them value relationships more because they realize they can not get things done with others and in order to do that – they must shift their approach.

On the other hand, an Achiever who is on the more negative end of the spectrum is pretty inculcated.  The best chance of helping them embrace development is to generate a positive “shock” to their system that opens them up to learning more.

Leadership Development Strategies for The Achiever

Raise the water line

Achievers love challenges and if the challenge is big enough it will both excite them and open them more up to the learning process.  Achievers appreciate practical approaches that will help them achieve their results faster.  So if you want to support the development of an achiever put them in a situation that challenges their limits and give them support that will push them to try new approaches to improve their impact as a leader. For example, rotating them into a project or position that is aligned with their strengths yet challenges their abilities to achieve the stated results is a good way to get them into a development mode.

Raise their focus

Achievers are very comfortable at the tactical level.  This is the place they shined as individual contributors yet in leadership they enter a larger frame for influence.  If they don’t expand into this view – they will maintain their micro-managing ways.  The key is to help the achiever in a leadership position to grow into strategic thinkers.  The organization needs to challenge them to build a vision big enough that they will not be able to do it on their own.  With a big vision you again tap into what drives the achiever and you also help them appreciate that they need others to achieve their vision.  If they are going to get others to follow them then they will become more open to approaching interpersonal interactions in more respectful ways.

Help them embrace their more positive attributes.

As Achievers develop it is important for them to understand what they can be.  The key is to empower the Achiever by talking to them about how they can increase their influence and impact.  This tends to quiet the concerns that they have to change dramatically to be more impactful and powerful.  Yet, also provides them with new approaches that align with their underlying nature.

Give them the power yet ensure their success includes team and individual development metrics.

We have all heard the adage that people do what they are compensated for.  This is never more true than for the Achiever!  For example, the more you reinforce individual accomplishment – the more you will get.  Not the best way to develop the Achiever – especially in an environment where you are encouraging teamwork, collaboration and shared risk taking.  Therefore make sure compensation and rewards are connected to feedback they receive on their performance as strategists, building positive relationships and team development.

In conclusion, Achievers at their best can become great leaders.  The key is to get them to let go of having their hands on everything and help them realize they can have much more impact by focusing on bigger and broader visions than tasks they have control over.

My next entry will focus on the “Intellectual“

• 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.

Phoenix Rising

His first lesson is really about how to embrace one’s passion and purpose.  The second lesson is illustrative of what happens when we lose touch with them.  As with many, I have revisited Michael’s work – his music and videos.  I admit I have been a fan of his artistry yet as I watched his performances recently I saw something that I missed before.  As I watched I could clearly see that the Michael on stage seemed at peace, free, and in charge!  He was in his element and his greatness beamed forth.  I encourage to go back and watch him in this light – I guarantee you will see it too.  Listening to his music  – you can also sense there was a purpose in it. Let’s take a look at a few lines in “Man in the Mirror”

I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change

Michael Jackson – Lyrics from “Man in the Mirror”

Michael’s struggle to follow these words was clearly cut short.  Given his life – devoid of childhood, overwhelmed by fame, full of bad choices – he had a lot to overcome.  Yet, Michael, like us, was human and while he had his challenges – we are all the same in that we all have our own demons and struggles.

While I am saddened by what seems like a premature death – there is a second lesson that is equally clear.  When we are not true to ourselves, lack crystal clarity around our purpose, and are unwilling to do anything to uplift ourselves to authentically deliver on this purpose -  Life can feel like we are struggling through a fog – trying to find our way.  Without purpose – it does not matter how much talent we have, how high our IQ is, or how wealthy we are – we are lost.

Michael Jackson had tremendous resources at his disposal.  He had access to life’s greatest teachers and coaches yet he still struggled.  I can not say how Michael took advantage of them – if at all.  Equally, we can not say what would have happened if Michael approached his self-care with as much passion and purpose as his work.  Yet, it seems clear that Michael’s legal struggles drained him.  The video of him showing up sick at trial one day in his pajamas – leaning on his attorney as he walked in – was a sad moment.  You could see that Michael was lost and devastated by the judgment coming his way.  Few would have been able to not have been impacted by such scrutiny and the truth is we all have moments in life when we face the edges of our capacity to cope.  Counter to this – the video of his rehearsal for his upcoming world tour taken the day before his death – showed a man back in his element and passion.

I am the first to admit – I have no clue what was going on inside Michael and what he was doing to reconnect with something deeper inside himself.  Yet, what I do know is on one level this king was facing the human experience in a very intense way.  With all that talent – there was clearly tremendous suffering going on and it seems he lost his rudder in it all.  Maybe his come back tour was a way to reconnect to his soul – yet his demons would not have it.

There are really two ways to deal with suffering.  The first one is to go into a deep experience of resentment, resignation, feeling misunderstood, that life is treating you unfair, etc.  While this is the easier path – it eats us up – mainly because we disempower ourselves and give too much credence to outside forces and our inner self-talk.  The second way to deal with such suffering comes from our willingness to be with the struggle, make friends with it and understand how our relationship with it can strengthen us as well as help others.  This one is a much tougher journey but one that breaths life back into us and unlike the first approach this path strengthens us from the inside out.  The later is driven from passion – the former from a sense that something outside us will save us.

Many with powerful talent and/or tremendous power have taught us this lesson.  I am the first to admit I don’t know what it’s like to be in the spot light – where at times there is no where to hide. It may take even more strength to overcome this challenge yet there are many other cases when digging deep has resulted in great breakthroughs and rebirths.  There are countless stories of people overcoming addiction, dire life circumstances, illness, and the loss of everything to rise to a new level of awareness and impact.  Many express similar principles that helped them to regain their inner strength and have a positive impact on themselves and others.  Here are just a few:

Victor Frankl – who found joy and gratitude during his time in a concentration camp and who became very successful as a psychologist and writer after he left those dire circumstances.

Lance Armstrong, who went from rising cycling star, to victim of testicular cancer, to record 7-time winner of the Tour De France and there may be more given he is back.

Nelson Mandela, who survived 27 years in prison and years of struggle to lead the end of aparteid and became South Africa’s first black president.

Robert Kiyosaki, who became rich, lost the lot, and ended up sleeping in his car before emerging to write Rich Dad, Poor Dad and building an information publishing empire.

Michael Oher who was recently drafted by the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL after rising from homelessness. He is the subject of Michael Lewis’s 2006 book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and a movie entitled The Blind Side, scheduled to be released in November 2009.

Now those listed who are still living may yet face other challenges and it is possible they may fall prey to them as Michael did.  Yet, Michael’s gift beyond his musical legacy is the story of his humanity and what happens when we don’t leverage everything we have available to us to transmute both the darkness and light that is within us to strenghten ourselves and support others to do the same around us.  To leverage this support – we must ask and be open to it.  To be sure many tried to come to Michael’s aid but you must be willing to ask for the support and know what result you are seeking from accepting it.

Ultimately, this is part of the journey to leadership and why it is important not to get mesmerized by the position but rather to embrace it as an opportunity to engage it through a deeper purpose.

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.”

Robert F. Kennedy

Many of us wished Michael would have found a way to tap this power.  It was there with him on stage – the question is was it clear to him off stage?  This is in no way a judgment of him – many people stronger have succumbed as well.  Yet, some questions emerge from Michael’s death that are essential questions for us all to answer:

1. How deeply have you thought about your purpose for being and what your are most passionate about?
2. Once you are clear – what are you going to do about it?
3. As you face your own demons and darkness – especially those things that seem to hold you back from expressing your purpose and passion – can you embrace them while allowing those demons to be transmuted in order to support our passion and purpose?
4. What are you willing to do to forward your purpose each day?
5. Are you willing to ask for help so that we can more fully embrace our greatness and forward what is most important?  If the answer is yes – can you fully accept that help?

We find ourselves in a time that is calling for more passion and purpose.  The more people that tap into it the better.  Because there is nothing more powerful than these to transform ourselves and the world around us.  It takes in Michael’s words the willingness to “Take a look at ourselves and make a change.”  That’s because we don’t change for the sake of change – we change when we are compelled to because something more powerful than our weaknesses calls us forward.

In closing – I want to express my gratitude for Michael.  Thank you for all you gave through your talent as well as for what you taught us through your life – both the triumphs and struggles. You were one of the greatest entertainers ever to live and that is your legacy.  Yet, I also hope all of us can embrace your humanity for what it taught us about our own light and the darkness.