Ah the age old question. Our stand is that it is a little of both. Recent research done by Bob Anderson at The Leadership Circle has shown a direct link between a particular stage of adult development and the orientation of a true leader. In short, this means you’re your leadership development is directly related to your level of development as a human being. Leadership is not primarily about skill development. It is about developing a powerful creative mindset that when adopted allows for a new set of skills to naturally boot up into that new creative operating system.

The question then becomes can we expedite the human development process? We believe it is possible but it requires an individual to start addressing some deeper questions about who they are, why they are here and what they most want to influence manifesting around them. To determine if you are prepared to take those questions seriously you must first consider the following questions: (more…)

To Get to the Next Level You Must Have Passion for a Destination at a Much Greater Intensity Than Your Desire to Remain Comfortable.

A few entries back, I wrote an entry entitled “The Last Obstacle to Executive Development = The Executive.”  This provocative sentiment was not in any way meant to be disrespectful to those who do not choose to proactively engage in their development as leaders.  A core principle to our work is to respect a person where they are while at the same time encouraging them to reach deeper to enrich their capacity.  For the most part, I think leaders who do not take their own development seriously do so for what appear to be very good reasons.

First, they have been promoted to a leadership position and therefore  they believe that they have everything they need to succeed or they are supposed to know everything already.  Second, they feel they have arrived and except for, possibly, their boss and/or the board – they do not need to be held accountable for how they lead anyone at a peer level or below.  Third, they realize there is some discomfort and disruption that comes from challenging old habits of thinking, feeling and behaving.  They have a concern that adding development to their already crowded schedule – might slow them down or worse hurt their results.  Finally, because the leadership development journey is so personal and experiential – the journey naturally provides more questions than answers – at least in the beginning.  Certainly the development path is not as clear cut as their P&L, sales numbers, and other goals they are expected to accomplish.  In fact, to those whose awareness is far away from the leadership mindset – the whole development process feels “touchy-feely” and has no rigor to it.

These beliefs are rarely conscious.  And most executives and  organizations rarely challenge them.  The problem is when someone in a leadership position refuses to engage in a more proactive development journey – they are cheating themselves as well as their organization because no matter how good anyone is there is always room to expand one’s capacity and impact.  Yet, in order to step onto the development path – a leader must clearly understand where they are going, have some level of passion for the longer term outcome and be able to honestly assess what they most need to lead people there.  When you think about it there is nothing “touchy-feely” there! (more…)

Moving away from a Primary Focus on the Shareholder

For as long as many of us can remember increasing shareholder value has been the primary objective for public corporations.  Earnings per share, economic value, return on capital employed are among the key metrics a public organizations use to assess their ultimate value ¹.  Yet, there are growing questions as to whether such singular focus is healthy for organizations and their various stakeholders.  In part one of this entry – I will examine the history behind the rise of shareholder value and challenge its viability as the primary value creator.  In part II, I will talk about some new and more meaningful ways to assess value and examine what has to happen to make this shift.

(more…)

On the most basic of levels you can argue that the fundamental competency of leadership is the ability to create.  A leader focuses this fundamental competency so that they can generate value in the market place, empowerment for their teams, solutions for their clients and ultimately to continue the process of innovation that allows for the sustainability of their brand.

As I have said before – we can always rely on basic foundations whether we find ourselves in times of uncertainty or times of prosperity.  It is never more true than for the power of creativity.  There are two fundamental ways we can consider how we bring vision into reality.

1. Traditional Strategic Planning
2. The “Creativity Formula“ (more…)