Are Leaders Born or Made?

Ever notice how some leaders are just naturals?  They possess great interpersonal skills, when they talk people listen, and they get work done easily through others.   This is just through my lens, see how others see it.  Check out this Center for Creative Leadership article on the topic:

http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/AreLeadersBornOrMade.pdf

Leadership vs. Management

What differentiates leadership from management is a common question in leadership development.

One of my favorite articles that details the differences is by John P. Kotter entitled "What Leaders Really Do." 

http://web.sau.edu/richardsrandyl/what%20leaders%20really%20do_kotter.pdf

Kotter notes that they are two distinctive yet complementary systems of action, and both are necessary for success. 

Leadership -- Coping with change

• Setting a direction
• Developing a vision and stragies to achieve it
• Communicating vision - motivating and inspiring
• Aligning people

Management -- Coping with complexity to bring order and consistency

• Use planning and budgeting
• Setting targets and allocating resources
• Organizing and staffing
• Monitoring implementation

Each system involves deciding what needs to be done and creating networks of people  and relationships that are capable and ensure that they accomplish the task.

I would say that great leaders need integrity and strong interpersonal and communication skills for the very reason that they need followers.

Having led for 15 years of my career without a business degree and then finally getting one, I advocate for leaders to learn management skills-  it makes you significantly more effective.  My big "ahas" in b-school revolved around management, not leadership:

Strategy - Frameworks for understanding organizational strengths and weaknesses and managing change
Project management -  Framework for keeping on target to execute all the great plans!
Six Sigma -  Framework for process improvement and repeatable, transparent processes
Supply Chain Management - Optimizing performance
Systems Thinking -  Why knowing a little about Accounting/Finance, HR, Logistics, Information Technology, Training, Operations, etc. and the related dependencies makes for a more corporate manager and leader.

So is it better to have weak leadership and strong management or strong management and weak leadership?

Personal Compass- Learning our Values

As an icebreaker in a senior leadership development class I took, we each had to fill out an chart entitled  "Personal compass"  In the Northern portion we had to draw (no words) something that depicted "What is my life purpose" and "What gives me meaning?"  In the South, we illustrated "Where do I receive nurturing and support?"  The Eastern segment showed "What do I hope to accomplish personally and professionally in the next five years?" and the West side responded to "What are the two qualities I received from my family of origin?"

We then went around the class and everyone got up and explained their drawings.  In learning everyone's values, we found common ground and were able to open up with one another from the start of the course.  Its a great exercise to do with any group of people who are working together!

Doing What Matters Most

Are you in a time trap?  Not enough hours, too much to do?

My favorite matrix for looking at how I might be spending my time is Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix:

 

For most of your day, get out of quadrants III and IV and into quadrants I and II!


I also found this mind map that is interesting when you're thinking about where to focus your time:

You're No Good to Me Dead!-Promoting Wellness at Work

I thought this would be a good topic given that everyone seems to have some stage of a cold or flu at work this week.  It's also January, when many are trying to improve their health for the new year.

As bosses, we've got to optimize performance, and it's important to have people who are well to accomplish this.   Some bosses feel if they express too much concern for people's well-being then they'll come across being soft and people will take advantage.    I once heard about a boss who wanted to support wellness without appearing "nice" so he would say "You're no good to me dead!" 

Gallup researchers have spent years studying well-being and according to thm, the average sick day costs a business about $348 in lost productivity in the U.S.  The annual cost of those with the lowest well-being costs $28,000 a year compared with those with the highest who have lost productivity costs of only5 $840 a year.

Promoting well-being in your workplace is not only the right thing to do by the people, it's the best for business!

According to Gallup's book Wellbeing--The Five Essential Elements, physical wellbeing is only one of 5 distinct factors for overall wellbeing:

Career Wellbeing-- liking what you do every day
Social Wellbeing-- liking who you are with every day
Financial Wellbeing-- liking how you are living every day
Physical Wellbeing-- having good health and energy to get things done every day
CommunityWellbeing-- being engaged where you live

Creating conditions to optimize performance - diversity

Why do we measure our progress in diversity by how well we achieve retention and recruitment goals rather than by how we create conditions that allow each employee to draw on their personal strengths and perspectives to optimize performance at work, individually and in groups?

Let's look at diversity as the varied perspectives and approaches to work that different people bring and welcome those.

This said, differences often create conflict, so it's important for a company to ensure that its people are as comfortable as possible having difficult conversations and expressing dissent with the greatest respect and understanding.

 

More Inspiration - Zander, Possibility and Classical Music

Do you have an appreciation for classical music? Whether you do or don't yet, you will be inspired by Benjamin Zander's talk on being inspired by music and other possibilities.

http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html

I have a child who's learning to play a classical instrument and he's not quite at "one-buttock playing" but getting close!

Have you read Benjamin and Rosamund Zander's Book The Art of Possibility?




Other inspiring classical videos:

Italian flash mob

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GBaHPND2QJg&feature=youtu.be

Dueling cellos playing "Smooth Criminal"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjOQac1vOEc