What if I told you that you should be the smartest person in the room? That you should lead with a heavy dose of direction? That you should take your hands off the steering wheel and let your employees drive for a while? That building strong connections and understanding yourself would best serve your organization? My guess is that you would think that these “leadership styles” seem contradictory, and that one or more of them caused you to flinch a bit.

In reality, leaders must continually adjust their approach to guiding their organization. Every situation you encounter demands that you assess, decide and communicate a decision (and sometimes the decision is no decision). Your greatest asset in making the best decisions is your own awareness of yourself. What are your biases? What is your preferred style of leadership? What is your greatest challenge? What are the values that guide your decisions? What are your options?

Consider these four approaches to leadership and ask yourself, “What attracts or repels me from using this style of leadership?”

The Smartest Person in the Room

We don’t have to look far to find examples of business leaders today who either have been seen, or are currently, the smartest people in the room. Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple, Dr. Irwin Jacobs of Qualcomm or Condoleezza Rice of the former Bush Administration have all been acknowledged at some point as having a visionary idea or being the smartest person on a given topic. That mantel has compelled individuals to follow these leaders, to build organizations around them or compelled world leaders to listen to their perspectives.

Command and Control

Hierarchy-based leadership is essential in the military. There are no questions asked, no curiosity about an order given by a general in time of battle, or by a command given to a new recruit. In the business world, Jack Welch has been seen by some as a command and control leader for the benefit of GE.

Hands Off

Laissez faire was a term coined in French history to indicate a style of leadership that allows loose control and very little direction from the leader.

Relationship-based Leadership

Relationship-based leadership is about creating connections between individuals in the organization – between manager and employee, co-worker to co-worker, group to group – relationships in service of collaborating to create the best possible decisions and solutions for the business and the customer. At the heart of relationship-based leadership is self awareness of the leader. The leader understands how she can best connect with others by having a good understanding of how she connects with herself.

In the complex organizations you are leading today, there are times that each of these approaches to leadership is necessary. At some point, you need to be the smartest person in the room: setting direction, knowing the skills needed to accomplish a goal, having the best financial mind to manage the assets of the company. Sometimes, you need to make a command and control decision: the time of analysis is no longer adding value and the leader needs to make the call to move. Sometimes leaders need to step back, to let others have time for reflection or to step into their next challenging assignment. And sometimes, in fact most of the time, you need a solid relationship with yourself and those around you for the ongoing day-to-day execution of the task at hand.

How do you know when to take what approach? How do you know when your decision is more about your preference than what’s best for the organization? How do you navigate between these four approaches?

From my experience and the experiences of the leaders I work with, there’s only one answer: a deep understanding of you. How do you develop that? Take a deep dive into development. By knowing yourself, your biases, your past successes and failures, your values – you will learn how you react in any given situation. You may find command & control is easier for you, but it may not always best serve the situation. You may find you lean towards a hands-off approach, but that’s because you have a fear of participating in relationship-based leadership.

To be the most effective leader you can be, to move back and forth between these approaches to leadership, take some time to “sit on a rock”, learn about yourself, and evaluate your effectiveness in balancing all four approaches to leading your organization.

Jim Boneau is a Vice President and Master Facilitator at Bluepoint Leadership Development. He can be reached by email.

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For the last ten years I have had the good fortune of working with hundreds, perhaps thousands of senior leaders in many different parts of the world. I am grateful for the insight this experience has given me. It has put a face to large organizations and granted me an honest look inside, into the very real life of its leaders. It is a life filled with the stress of market and business demands, the waves of personal and professional triumphs and defeats, and the inner struggle all of us face in dealing with the inevitable pain that accompanies our human experience.

Over these last ten years, I have found myself recommending the same books for my clients to read. I often recommend reading as a supplement to our work, as it is the fastest way to have my clients get outside of their mental box. I am so impressed by the fact that, for less than the cost of a dinner out, you can obtain one person’s entire life learning, all organized and neatly packaged in several hundred pages. This learning, if applied, can help ensure you don’t make every mistake yourself. Reading is the quickest way to new insights, reminders, fresh perspectives, and concrete tools - tools you can use immediately to obtain different results in both your personal and professional life. Of course, you have only one life, so true advancement in either has a positive effect on both.

This reading list is one that I now wish to share with each of you, in celebration of ten years of work. I promise that if you read the following and apply what resonates for you, you will achieve an uncommon success – a life of fulfillment, achievement, and perhaps most importantly, peace of mind. All leadership development is personal development. There can be no true power to lead without first the mastery of one’s self and the mastery of one’s own mind.

Top 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

Living a Life of Inner Peace – Eckhart Tolle (audio)

Leadership & Self Deception – The Arbinger Institute

Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Annie McKee

Turning the Mind into an Ally – Sakyong Mipham and Pema Chodron

The Leader’s Voice: How your communication can inspire action and get results – Clarke and Crossland

The Leadership Pipeline: How to build the leadership-powered company – Charan, Drotter and Noel

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels – Michael Watkins

Toxic Success: How to Stop Striving and Start Thriving – Dr. Paul Pearsall

NLP At Work: The Essence of Excellence – Sue Knight

Cultural Intelligence: People skills for global business – Thomas and Inkson

Of course, we all have our own preferences when it comes to what we consider to be great leadership development resources. Please consider sharing your own personal recommendations in the “Comments” section below so we can also benefit from your experience.

Susanne Biro is a senior leadership coach and co-author of Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for Exceptional Performance. She can be reached by email.

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As managers, we do not automatically assume the mantle of coach. Hiring, planning, performance management, and other such tasks naturally accompany the role of manager – but coaching does not. The title of Leader Coach is one we must earn. It requires two choices: The first is our decision to invest our time and energy to help another create significant personal change; the second is the choice this person makes to include us in his change efforts.

Think back on your own career. Can you identify a person who saw talents and potential in you that no one else did? Someone who encouraged you to explore new possibilities? Someone who challenged you to a higher level of performance? A person who truly cared about your development and success, and invested those rarest of commodities – time and attention – in you? Who comes to mind? Now, consider the following questions: How did this person earn the right to coach you? Why did you invite this person into your life and listen to this person above others?

When I reflect on this question myself, I realize that the people from whom I have sought and continue to seek coaching have a strong values-orientation. They are clear about their personal values and live them consistently. First and foremost, they are authentic. My own great coaches also have a wonderful blend of humility and self confidence. They have a healthy level of self-esteem – one of the reasons they are able to engage with me authentically is that they do not need to work on their own ego issues at my expense. Finally, my best coaches enter into our relationship with noble intentions; they genuinely care about me and my success and will sacrifice some of their own needs so as to attend to mine.

So, how do you earn the right to coach others? You begin by becoming a coach to the most important person of all – yourself. It is only when you can effectively manage, motivate and coach yourself to higher levels of performance that you will know how to coach others. If leadership is about going first, then as a Leader Coach, you must first strive to live up to your own fullest potential.

You Must Change
I wish I could give you better news but I cannot. Being a great coach is primarily about who you are in your relationships with other people. Think for a moment about your staff, co-workers, boss and customers. Think about your interactions with them, about your influence on them, and about the impact you have on their working lives.

• • Are you important to them?
• • Do they perform better because of their relationship with you?
• • Would others call you a coach?
• • Do people trust that you have their best interests at heart?
• • Would others attribute their success to you?

Can you identify ways in which your impact on others needs to change? Now consider this: If you continue following the same course, you will get the same results – or lack of results – you are getting now. The key factor in your ability to coach others for higher performance is who you are with others. Therefore, the change must start with you.

Like it or not, as a manager, you are always on display. Your behavior is continually scrutinized. The impact of your actions is noted and magnified in the eyes of others. People watch you and form opinions about who you really are. They even make up stories about you when they do not have enough information to paint a complete picture. They’re not being intentionally judgmental; they are just fulfilling the human need to have a frame of reference when dealing with you. They ask themselves if you’re the kind of person they want poking around in some of the most sensitive and important areas of their performance and career. They ask themselves, “Do I respect him enough to believe that he has value to offer me in my role? Do I trust that she truly has my best interests at heart?” How you are evaluated in these assessments determines whether or not you will be invited to coach another.

Your Thoughts Matter
What thoughts do you think most often about those with whom you work? Take a moment to contemplate this question and be completely honest. Think about this: Many of your opinions are already being broadcast to those with whom you interact. We are actually quite transparent. Either overtly or covertly, you communicate these things before you’ve even spoken a word. People generally know what you think of them, and they respond accordingly. When you think of others as unmotivated, incompetent or unintelligent, they know it and will typically resent you for it. And, you will not be invited in as a coach. However, when you think of others as unique, talented and developing, regardless of their current level of performance, they will also know this, and will be much more likely to invite you to coach. More importantly, they will seek to live up to your assessment of them. By seeing people at their very best, you can set the stage for high performance.

You may have a desire to coach, but the decision is not yours alone. Coaching will not happen until you have earned the right in the eyes of another.

Questions To Consider:

• • Select five or six people with whom you interact on a regular basis. How do you think each of these people would rate you as a coach?
• • What would it be like to work with or for someone like you? Would you feel valued, appreciated, talented and heard? Would you feel like an important part of the team?
• • Is being in your presence a positive experience, or do you worry that people feel better when you are not there?
• • Given your answers to the above, what do you know you need to change?

This article is based on an excerpt from Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for High Performance by Gregg Thompson with Susanne Biro.
They welcome your comments and can be reached by email: Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro

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This is a very special kind of person, one who looks right past the superficial parts of your personality, your typical defenses, the insecurities you’ve worked so hard to mask, and the failings you’re ashamed to admit, let alone accept. Imagine that this new person sees all of you and simply accepts you for who you really are – a unique individual who wants to be special, make a contribution, and use their most precious talents to make a real difference in the lives of others. At the same time, this new person also sees how your personality, defenses, and insecurities get in the way of you performing at your best. This person knows when you subtly sell yourself short in your work and career, in pursuing your passions and dreams, and in your expectations for the future. And she won’t let you get away with it any more. She cares about you too much to let this continue.

Because this person sees the real you and cares, she will not accept anything less from you than your very best. With a deep appreciation for who you are, this person confronts you with a level of honesty that does not allow you to deny the truth of your potential. At the same time, she recognizes clearly that this is your challenge – not hers. The only thing that’s certain is that she is going to hold you accountable for becoming the very best version of yourself.

What would it be like to have just such a person so completely on your side? Now, imagine what it would be like to be that person for others.

The Power of Appreciation
The power of a positive, appreciative relationship is not a recently discovered principle of human behavior. Socrates and Plato both believed that all individuals possessed inherent wisdom and talents, and could make significant contributions to humanity by focusing on and developing their gifts.

In modern Western thought, the idea can be traced back to the 1950’s, most notably in the work of psychologist Carl Rogers. Rogers believed strongly that a climate of trust and respect was essential to facilitating a person’s ability to develop in a positive and constructive manner. He created a therapeutic model around this theory which he called client-centered therapy. “If I can provide a certain type of relationship,” Rogers explains, “the other person will discover within him/herself the capacity to use that relationship for growth and change, and personal development will occur.” Rogers’ theory garnered much attention among psychologists in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and it remains influential today to the practice of high performance coaching in the workplace.

In 1987, David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva published a ground-breaking paper entitled “Appreciative Inquiry in Organizational Life.”(1) In it, they outlined what they called the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) method for organizational change and development. Essentially, AI takes Rogers’ ideas about client-centered therapy and applies them to organizations instead of individuals. As its name suggests, AI aims to identify, support, and perpetuate the very best in an organization through structured questioning. The authors recognized the motivation people gain from their own visions of success and suggested that pointing out and celebrating success in an organization, rather than focusing on flaws and failures, resulted in greater improvement in overall performance. According to Cooperrider and Srivastva, “organizations change in the direction in which they inquire.” An organization which looks for problems to fix will find and focus on problems; one which seeks out the positive things within itself will succeed in identifying all that is already working well and therefore can focus on doing more of those things.

Even in the most difficult of times, we can find signs of life and hope if we look for them. The things we choose to pay attention to and the attitude we have toward change and development can make all the difference to the results we get. Whether our focus is on the individual or the organization, performance improves when we focus on our successes, talents, passions and the future potential which exists.

The Expectation/Performance Connection
Consider for a moment the people with whom you work most closely. Who would you classify as your A players? Your B players? What distinguishes these groups from one another? What characteristics are shared by A players? What do the B players have in common? What thoughts do you have most frequently about each group?

Now consider this: They know how you rate them.

Whether you express your assessments verbally or not, the people on your team have a pretty good idea into which category you have placed them. We’re always more transparent than we would like to believe; the truth is we communicate our opinions quite clearly, often unconsciously, through a variety of verbal and non-verbal cues. For example, we will change the tone of our voice depending on whom we are addressing. Or, we will avoid eye contact with some while granting others our full attention. More often than not, the people around us know what we think of them and – here is the crux of coaching – people live up to or down to our expectations of them. When we think of others as unmotivated, incompetent, or unintelligent, they know it and will typically resent us for it. They will dislike working with us and will attempt to avoid us whenever possible. However, when we think of others as unique, talented, and developing, people know this as well and will respond accordingly. They will like how they feel about themselves in our presence. They will desire to work with us, and will grant us their discretionary effort. They will allow us concessions they will not allow of others. We will have gained their loyalty – a rare commodity today.

If we want to coach others for exceptional performance, we begin by thinking well of them. Only then can we heighten their awareness of their value, strength, and performance potential. By bringing an appreciative attitude into our relationships, we help others overcome the limits they have imposed upon themselves, and significantly expand the possibilities available to them. Great coaching leaves a legacy of people who know their greatest strengths and, as a result, have the internal motivation to seek opportunities in which to deploy them.

A Perfect Partnership
The high performance coaching relationship is a Perfect Partnership: It is a relationship that sees others at their very best; challenges them to examine their own gifts, talents and aspirations; and ultimately, holds them accountable to become the very best version of themselves.

Try This:
Think of one person with whom you work. What untapped potential do you see in them that they might not see in themselves? Make a point to tell them today. Find one opportunity to do this each day until it becomes a leadership habit. Notice how people change in their relationship with you.

This article is based on an excerpt from Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for High Performance by Gregg Thompson with Susanne Biro.
They welcome your comments and can be reached by email: Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro

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Now, reflect on the significant conversations you had over the last week. Consider the following: At the end of the conversation did you feel complete? Did you say everything that needed to be said? Did you feel good about the interaction? If so, notice why. If not, consider what was missing. Notice if there was something else you wish you had said or done. Did you feel that you held back in the conversation? Did you find yourself later having the conversation you wish you had had with another co-worker, friend or perhaps your spouse? Maybe you just have the conversation with yourself. If so, you are not alone. These are very typical reactions when we avoid the important conversations.

Leaders at all organizational levels are being asked to be more coach-like with their team members, colleagues, and even their customers. Unfortunately, many who lead organizations find themselves ill-equipped to provide such coaching. It’s not that we lack the requisite interpersonal and leadership competencies, but that coaching requires more. Coaching challenges us to engage in a different kind of conversation; one that confronts real topics of performance discrepancies, aspirations, values, disappointments, and passions – topics that are often uncertain, uncomfortable and emotionally charged.

We call these Dangerous Conversations. Not dangerous because someone will be hurt (quite the contrary), but dangerous because they always explore new, uncharted territory with all the accompanying risks that range from defensiveness to vulnerability, from anger to euphoria.

Coaching requires us to engage in the Dangerous Conversation. It is dangerous because it confronts questions that need to be asked: “Are you doing your very best work right now?”, “How are you getting in your own way?” and “What would happen if you really took your foot off the brake?” It is dangerous because it raises issues that are uncomfortable for even the most experienced managers: “You are better than this”, “This sounds like an old, tired story” and “I think you are afraid to try.”

Walk Away Empty
When we engage in a dangerous conversation, we walk away empty; everything that needed to be said was said directly and honestly to the person who needed to hear it. We know immediately when we have done this because we feel a release. The burden we carried is transformed into a wonderful gift for another. Even if the message is very difficult for the other person to hear, if it is delivered with the other person’s interests at heart, we can take comfort in knowing our work is done. We did not hold back in our communication; we respected the other person enough to tell him the truth. We cared enough about his success to take the risk and to be uncomfortable for his benefit.

We also know immediately when we haven’t given everything to a conversation. We held back, not wanting to hurt, challenge or even affirm the other person, arrogantly believing that our words would be too much for him to handle. We lacked the courage to share our unvarnished perspective. As a result, we leave the interaction feeling unsettled, still filled with our real concerns and all the thoughts we censored, left to ruminate on them indefinitely. Sometimes we even seek out a third party with whom to finally speak our truth; the conversation that we didn’t have the courage to share more directly. Communication experts call this process “triangulation,” but to most of us, it is simply gossip.

Are you a Leader Coach? Are you known to be able to have the Dangerous Conversation? Would others call you a coach?

Try This:
Think of someone you have complained about recently. Also, think about someone whom you believe is very talented but underachieving. Then ask yourself, “What is the dangerous conversation I need to have with these people?” Make a promise to have those conversations today.

After the conversation, notice how you feel. Do you feel empty? Did you say everything you needed to say to the person at that time? If you felt you held back, notice what you held back and why. Develop the habit of having Dangerous Conversations every day.

This article is based on an excerpt from Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for High Performance by Gregg Thompson with Susanne Biro.
They welcome your comments and can be reached by email: Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro

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I must say from the outset that when the words “leadership” and “emotions” are used in the same sentence, I cringe. (Actually, a minute electrical signal is passed from my brain stem to a little almond-shaped thingy in my brain called the amygdala whereupon it is quickly compared to my personal library of weird and wonderful emotional responses created over a lifetime so that it can select one and use it to tell me how I feel about the sentence. Strange as it may seem, I - think of “I” as the rational, conscious, smart part of your brain - have little to do with the decision to cringe). This reaction was likely formed early in my career when, as a young engineering technologist, all of my projects were horrendous failures, not because of their lack of technical merit, but rather because of the irrationality, foolhardiness, idiocy (I could go on but I’m sure you get the idea) of equipment operators. Apparently an insidious, deep-seated mental weakness rendered them incapable of recognizing the sheer brilliance and elegance of my ideas. The Director of Engineering apparently shared this weakness since he arranged a most unwelcome transfer to Personnel Records six months into my job. That foolish move cost him a brilliant young technologist who graduated near the top of his class. It nearly cost me my career.

Leaders today rarely fail because they back the wrong product or make a misstep in an acquisition. They fail because they are insensitive, critical, selfish, arrogant and negative. They fail because they are emotionally weak, like that young technologist. They fail because they are unable or unwilling to harness the power of their own emotions and those of others.

The single most powerful force in the domain of leadership is emotion; the emotions of the leader and his or her constituents.

Some of us are born with natural leadership charisma, but I have never met a natural born, emotionally powerful leader. In fact, just the opposite is true. By nature, we are superficial, self-absorbed creatures. To become emotionally powerful leaders takes a real concerted effort…but it can be done. When one simply decides to study and master one’s emotions, connect with and positively influence others, it’s like turning on a light switch. The change is immediate. Overnight your leadership power will increase tenfold. It is remarkably straightforward and doable.

1. Get up close and real personal with the real you.

Recognize and embrace your emotions. These are not simply outcroppings of your personality. Emotions are you. Think of spending your life swimming in a pool of your emotions. They are everywhere, and you are always under the influence of at least one of them. While you may think you know yourself well, most of us really don’t. Knowing your MBTI personality type is not enough. Get up on your own balcony. What really makes you tick? What makes you happy, sad, glad and mad? Watch yourself interact with others. Become aware of your emotions as they occur. Note the events that trigger significant emotional reactions. (Remember the amygdala thingy? That’s where all your historical emotional patterns are stored. These can be changed but it takes lots of introspection and hard work. This is where the most profound leadership development starts. This is where you create a foundation on which your leadership power sits.)

2. Become the master of your own emotional ship.

Stop being ruled by old patterns of feeling-thinking-acting that no longer serve you well. Get into the habit of pausing and reflecting. Ask yourself, “What’s really happening here? Regardless of how I feel, what’s the next best step for me, as a leader, to take?” (Give your neocortex a chance. This is the “I” part of you that resides in the upper part of your brain. It is the smart, cognitive part where you make rational, informed decisions. Don’t leave the amygdala on its own or you will end up with the same old reactions. Introduce your neocortex to your amygdala. Get them talking. This will allow you to create the habit of fully experiencing your emotions while consciously selecting your reactions. This will be the main source of your leadership power.)

3. It really is not all about you.

Great leaders seek to create selfless, personal connections. This can only happen when people feel good, not about you, but about themselves in your presence. It really is not all about you. Practice seeing the world through the eyes of others. Practice being totally present with others, even for a short time. Great leaders invest considerable time and energy in understanding others and seeking ways to serve them. Others are not simply pawns in their game but real people with unique needs, fears, aspirations, and, yes…their own amygdalae! (that’s plural for amygdala…btw)

(Speaking of amygdalae, these little items make being truly empathetic quite difficult. We naturally see people through our own emotional patterns, which are formed from our experiences, values, beliefs, etc., and it takes a concerted effort to shut the amygdala up for a little while to really see others as they see themselves. Great leaders gain tremendous personal power by making this effort. Weak leaders don’t.)

4. Stop sucking the light out of the room.

Are you a pervasive, positive influence on the people in your organization? When you walk into a room, does it become brighter or do you suck out all of the light? Moods make all the difference. And the leader’s mood is especially infectious. Great leaders have a contagious optimism about their organization’s future and constantly convey a strong sense of confidence in themselves and others. (Yes, you can choose your mood. When your neo-cortex and amygdala are on good speaking terms, you can engage that part of you that smiles, sees the best in others, is joyful and is nice to be around. This is how your leadership power influences others.)

If someone has passed along a copy of this article to you, you might want to sit up and take notice. There may be some learning for you personally in the above points. The good news is this: Someone cares about you and your effectiveness as a leader. They believe in you and see the potential of you becoming a much more powerful leader. You can. And it will make all the difference.

If you’d like to learn more about the enormous power of your emotions and moods, join me on May 12, 2010, for a complimentary webinar called The Emotionally Powerful Leader. The webinar will take you on a journey into your inner world and will help you become a positive, energizing force within your organization. Click here to register for the webinar.

Gregg Thompson is President of Bluepoint Leadership Development and author of Unleashed: Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for Exceptional Performance. He can be reached by email.

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The LEQ Assessment is an integral part of our new workshop, The Leader Within — an intense, one-day training experience designed to provide a solid foundation for those seeking to significantly accelerate their development as leaders. Rather than simply studying the practices and approaches of successful leaders, this workshop takes participants on a deeper journey into their inner world where they will learn to tap the enormous power of their emotions and moods. Through the course of the day, they will discover how Leadership Emotional Intelligence is the primary determinant of a leader’s ability to effectively influence others. They will learn to recognize their own emotions in a wide variety of interpersonal circumstances, respond to these emotions in ways that enhance their leadership, become aware of the emotions of others, and be a positive, energizing force within their organization.

While very useful and practical for managers at all levels, The Leader Within will be of particular interest to those whose leadership responsibilities and scope will increase considerably in the next few years. The personal knowledge gained, as well as the hands-on experimentation with advanced interpersonal approaches, provides the participants with a rock-solid base for all other developmental initiatives. Simply put — participants will know themselves better, manage themselves better, connect with others better and influence others better as a result of this workshop.

We are delighted to announce that starting May 1, 2010, The Leader Within will be available for organizations who wish to deliver the program using their own internal faculty. If you would like to learn more about how to become a certified facilitator, please contact us and we will be happy to provide details of the times and locations of Train the Trainer programs that are available in your area.

For more details, please contact Bryn Meredith at brynmeredith@bluepointleadership.com

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A few weeks ago I began to read Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” (probably years overdue on my part as it has been in print since 94!) and I was intrigued to see that he recognized and adopted the concept of leading from behind at a very early age. While still learning from the elders in his village he notes, “As a leader, I have always followed the principles I first saw demonstrated by the regent at the Great Place. I have always endeavoured to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my own opinion. I always remember the regent’s axiom: A leader, he said, is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they were being directed from behind.”

From someone who lives in Canada and has been gripped these past two weeks by the euphoria of the Olympics and the quest for medals, the concept of “Leading from Behind” is somewhat difficult to grasp.Everyone wants to win, and there would seem to be no way to win if you are letting everyone go ahead of you.

Wondering how many people might still consider this a current leadership model worth following, I thought I would do a quick Google search on the phrase “Leading from Behind.” Remarkably, it turned up 154 million hits!! Clearly not a new concept!

This led me to ask the question, “In today’s complex result driven organizations that many of us do our best to lead in, is “Leading from Behind” really a leadership style that can work?” When we consider the classic dimensions of modern day leadership such as inspiration, enablement, character and execution, we must now do so against a backdrop of shifting technology, globalization and changing demographics. The concept of allowing others to go ahead without guidance or direction is almost totally the opposite of everything we have learned about leadership. What if they mess up, and I’m left holding the can? How can people know what to do if I am not going first and leading by example? I’m the one who is supposed to inspire people and create the vision; they can’t just go where they want! I’m in charge. They are supposed to follow me!

However, if we consider the range of abilities that the modern day leader is required to have, we can quickly come to the conclusion that, yes, there are times where leading from behind can be effective. Leading in today’s organizations is a challenging endeavour, and we need to be open to the fact that, as leaders, we need to adopt a wide range of styles and skills, and know when to use which.

Holding back and letting people go before you does not come easily to most leaders. I would suggest you might wish to consider three scenarios where you might try it out and see what results.

1. Leading Innovation.

A leader facilitates innovation by creating an environment in which team members can challenge the status quo, generate new possibilities and embrace change. Innovation rarely is the work of the leader – of a lone genius. It is the result of teams trying out new things. This means letting people go ahead. Let them try out new things, making mistakes and trying until they get it right. It is the result of giving them some freedom to explore and experiment and then recognizing their success when it occurs. People and results flourish and grow far more when there is a sense of achievement of having done something by themselves instead of simply following someone else’s lead. Nobody sets out to work in the morning saying to themselves, “I hope I fail today.” Everyone wants to succeed. If you as the leader can lead from behind by creating a culture of innovation where people can take off in all directions, you might be surprised by what they come back with.

2. Developing High Potentials.

High Potential leaders, simply by what the name suggests, have high potential. Give them the room to use it. Let them know that you have so much confidence in them that you are not going to micro-manage every project you give them. The other key word here is “developing”. If you wish to develop leaders who can move to senior levels in your organization, then you need to allow people the opportunity to execute on their ideas. Once you see the results, then you can step back in front as a leader and coach, and debrief on the outcomes. People will thank you for having confidence in them and rewarding them with the responsibility to perform.

3. Customer Service.

Although there is no question that, at most times, Customer Service needs direction and leadership from the front, there are also times where leading from behind can be equally effective. Take for example the concept of allowing employees the space to think for themselves when dealing with customers and even empowering them with the authority to make decisions without having to seek confirmation from you. Two companies, at opposite ends of the corporate spectrum, Ritz Carlton - one of the leading luxury hotels in the world, and Zappos - the online shoe retailer, are both highly regarded in terms of the levels of customer service that they provide. Both allow employees a high level of freedom to lead by themselves. The Ritz Carlton allows employees to make customer service decisions without having to seek authority from anyone else up to a limit of $5,000. Zappos gives their employees similar freedom. Take for example a recent story I read about the shoe retailer. A customer called in asking if she could return the shoes that had been delivered for her husband. He had passed away suddenly and hadn’t worn the shoes yet. How would the folks who you lead respond? This customer service rep not only arranged for the shoes to be picked up and issued a full refund, she also arranged for a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to the customer in sympathy for her loss.

Modern day leadership demands that we display a whole array of different skills, competencies and abilities. Leading from behind is just one of those that you might like to consider and not discount too quickly. As Mandela suggests, try listening to what everyone else has to say before venturing your own opinion and you might just be surprised by the results.

Bryn Meredith is Vice President of Client Services at Bluepoint. He can be reached by email.

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Lately I have found myself having a similar conversation with a number of clients. The conversation begins with my client stating they want to increase their visibility within their organization and better position themselves to work at a more senior, strategic level. They want to be noticed and earmarked for succession by supervisors; to be seen as a thought leader by peers; and, ultimately, to position themselves as someone ready to participate in the larger decisions facing the company.

What is surprising to me is that these are the same people who will either completely fail to show for one of our scheduled sessions, send an email stating they need to reschedule at a minute’s notice, or arrive late and unprepared for our time together, and then fail to apologize for their lack of professionalism.

I often find that the way a client manages their time with me is indicative of how they manage themselves with others. Therefore, some of the behavior I experience is serious cause for concern. If my client is unable to successfully arrive at our meeting – on time, prepared, and having followed through on the commitments they made at our last meeting – it is almost guaranteed that they engage in this (poor) behavior with others. How then are they to be seen as the kind of person and professional ready for more responsibility? Perhaps they are unaware of how some of their behavior is negatively impacting their professional advancement.

It seems that professionals today have forgotten what it means to be professional. We have allowed each other to become lazy, as what was once considered to be rude behavior has slowly become acceptable. Consider the following:

• • When you are meeting with another, do you respond to emails and/or answer your phone?
• • How frequently do you arrive late to a meeting and/or allow a meeting to run over the allotted time without re-negotiating this with the many others it will impact?
• • How often do you cancel or reschedule meetings?
• • What tone of voice do you use when you answer your phone? (In my experience, many will use a tone that would indicate I am interrupting or bothering them, when the fact is they chose to answer their phone. Some will even use this tone of voice when they have specifically asked me to call.)

I am frequently appalled by the behavior I witness from otherwise talented, educated, senior professionals. I once left a message for a very senior colleague but never received a return call. When I next ran into the colleague I inquired whether or not he had received my voice message. He had. When I asked why he never responded, he told me, “Oh, I don’t return phone calls.” What?! The irony is that this person had just purchased and was holding a copy of Daniel Goleman’s book “Social Intelligence”. I thought to myself, forget about reading the book, just focus on having the basic human decency of returning another person’s phone call.

From over 25 years of research there is one behavior that is seen to be more important than any other behavior for leaders to exhibit. This behavior is “treats others with dignity and respect.” If we fail to get this right, it almost does not matter what else we do. It is that important. One of the simplest ways to demonstrate respect is to show up on time, come prepared, and keep meetings to their allotted time. When we do this, we show others that we regard their time as valuable as our own. Another way to demonstrate respect is to listen, something that is difficult to do we when allow interruptions from our Blackberry or iPhone. Regardless of culture, one of the easiest ways to demonstrate disrespect (whether we intend to or not) is to interrupt another.

I have worked with experienced, highly successful C-level executives and those new to management entirely. What I can tell you is that the more senior and successful the leader, the better the listener, and the more respectful, professional and gracious the person.

I am embarrassed to have to spend so much time coaching senior professionals on basic issues such as time management, the importance of treating others with dignity and respect, and reminding them that everything – EVERYTHING – they do matters. As a result, I am going to write one article on the topic and hope that by doing so we can move on to more important and necessary leadership conversations.

In his book, How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business, Dov Seidman coins the term “out-behaving the competition” and states that those organizations/leaders who are able to bring professionalism back into our daily interactions will prevail in today’s marketplace. Treating others with the utmost respect is not a nice-to-do, it is business critical and, potentially, your competitive advantage.

Try This: From now on, treat every person you interact with as you would your most important client. Perhaps one day they will be just that …

Susanne Biro is a senior leadership coach with Bluepoint Leadership Development and co-author of Unleashed! Expecting Greatness and Other Secrets of Coaching for Exceptional Performance. She can be reached at susannebiro@bluepointleadership.com

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One of the things I love about my job is that I get a unique window of insight into why leadership development does, or does not, occur in organizations. Like a corporate anthropologist, I seek insights into how some organizations achieve a world class reputation for leadership development whilst others struggle to launch a single workshop. When it comes to leadership development in your organization, how will you ensure you are placing your bets on the right strategy, talent and solutions?

Broadly speaking the phone rings for leadership development because clients are: a) Proactive – they want to proactively develop leaders that will propel their organization to a new level; b) Reactive - things have gotten so bad that leadership development is a last ditch attempt to get things back on track; or c) Tactical - there is a specific business, team, or operational need that leadership development can address.

Most of us are happy to put 2009 behind us with the hope that 2010 will be a much better year. Hope, however, is not a strategy. The best business leaders know that the downturn will end, and while they may be up to their eyeballs managing the present, they know they need to create a compelling picture of a better tomorrow for those they lead. Executive recruitment firm hrQ is seeing a shift in 2010 away from downsizing and re-org’ing. Katie Kaiser, Managing Director of hrQ in San Francisco, says “most conversations we are having with our clients are focused on talent upgrades, training and development, and employee retention. The tone is optimistic proactivity.”

It should be no surprise that the best companies for leadership development are hard wired with optimism and are highly proactive. They focus their leadership development efforts where they are going to get best results – the right people working on the right projects. The Human Capital Institute’s 2007 White Paper ‘Accelerating the Performance of High Potential Leaders’ claims that “the top 10% of high performing leadership talent accounts for nearly two times the profit over the middle 80%.” High performers get things done and deliver a business result. In a down economy it is the force of leadership energy from high performers that is going be a major catalyst to get out of the rut. If I were a betting man, or a Leadership Development Director, this is where I would proactively invest my leadership development dollars: your key talent, working on high leverage projects.

When most companies were dialing back leadership development, trailblazers like GE and Cisco maintained or increased their emphasis on the high potential / high performer population. GE ranked # 1 on Fortune Magazine’s ‘World’s Most Admired Companies’ list six times in the last ten years. CEO Jeff Immelt says “when times are easy, leadership can be taken for granted. When the world is turbulent, you appreciate great people.” Immelt personally leads part of the Executive Development Course (EDC) at GE and tasks teams of participants to travel the world benchmarking and working on high leverage business initiatives. For example, a team went to Africa to aggressively open up new market opportunities (see video case study). Other EDC teams conducted benchmark tours to well-known organizations such as Stanford, Disney and NASA.

Cisco’s Center for Collaborative Leadership, led by Annmarie Neal, VP, is blowing conventional leadership development out of the water. The flagship development vehicle is their Action Learning Forum (ALF). In each ALF, sixty senior leaders participate in a 50% executive development and 50% action learning forum. Over the 16 week course of the forum, teams are vying for internal project funding, with one project receiving funding. Since launching in 2006, each ALF project has generated over $1B in value to Cisco. Neal says that the goal is to deliver $25B in value added over the next five years. Again, if I were a betting man, or a Leadership Development Director, this is where I would place my bet.

Some of the key common threads between GE and Cisco approaches include:
- leadership development is positioned as a competitive enabler
- they develop their leadership brand as a great place to be for leaders
- there is a very clear business outcome / value add expectation
- they invest the time and the money
- the business projects are ‘disruptive’ and aim to fundamentally alter or create markets.

GE and Cisco are great examples of ‘best in class’ leadership development, and we can certainly learn from them. My ‘corporate anthropology’ research visits with both of these organizations in 2009 gave me inspiration and fuel to aim for great things.

The disappointing thing reflecting on last year is that so many organizations stopped leadership development in its tracks due to the economic conditions. The transition from 2009 to 2010 in itself is a catalyst. It allows us to look back at what we might do differently and harness the energy for change. The first five weeks of 2010 show a lot of pent up demand for leadership development. It is not just that initiatives were put on hold for financial reasons in 2009, organizations know that leadership is the key to economic recovery and they are putting energy and action behind it. Boyd Clarke, the former CEO of Bluepoint, used to say “Leaders light fires and make maps.” Now is the time to put Boyd’s words into action and ignite the passion that will accelerate us out of the downturn doldrums. What fires will you light in 2010?

David Parks is Vice President of Business Development at Bluepoint. He can be reached via email at davidparks@bluepointleadership.com or by phone at 415-383-7500.

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