How to be an Authentic Leader - Day 13: 100 Days of Leadership

Fake leaders drive me crazy. Do you know the leaders I’m talking about? They say they care, but you can sense they don’t. They say they understand the financial challenges of the organization and you know their annual pay packet could fund World Vision for a year.

I’m on the quest for authenticity and I think western culture today is the same. You have to understand people follow what they see, not necessarily what you teach. If the actions of a leader do not line up with the words, people will dismiss the words. This is about authenticity in leadership and people can smell a hypocrite a mile away! Consider a child that you ask to, ‘Speak nicely to others.’ They will be more willing to proceed with the request, if you as a parent do the same thing. I mean, do you in fact speak nicely to others? They will follow what they see, not necessarily what they hear. 

How do you become an authentic leader? If you care, then really care. If you teach about integrity, live it out when no one is watching. When all the high-profile leaders arrive at work for an onsite visit, don’t become someone you’re not. I’ve done this before, and I’ve seen many other leaders do a similar thing; when the top level executives arrive you have your jokes ready, you have the coffee beans washed, licked and dried and you put on a show. An authentic leader is consistent in behavior and emotions.

 

I’ve heard it said, ‘Know who you are in Christ.’ A leader is surely someone who merely lives out an authentic expression of who they are in God.

 

What does the Bible say?

Philippians 1:9-11 - And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

What will I do now?

Do some soul-searching. Are you an authentic leader? Do people see you as being consistent in character? Do you practice what you preach?

Character and Competence - Which do you have? Day 11: 100 Days of Leadership

Is competence the most important thing about leadership, or is it character? Or maybe, good leaders have both. My belief is that character trumps competence. You may be a great leader, but transformative leadership will crumble without a character that complements your competence (When I say character I think of traits such as honesty, integrity, consistency and humility).

I have heard too many stories of leaders who have fallen from grace because they slept with someone who was not their spouse, or embezzled money or showed nepotism. Competence without character is not sustainable.

President Bill Clinton’s career almost came crashing down after the sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky hit the tabloids. I mean, who would have thought, a competent, strong leader like Bill Clinton could fall into such moral decay? World class golfer Tiger Woods got caught up in the sex scandals too, and it all but ruined his career. See, you can be the best golfer in the world, but if you can’t keep your character in check, the way you drive a one-wood is going to be irrelevant.  

I did hint at the following thought: A great leader has both admirable character and competence. Maybe when it comes to great leadership, is not so much ‘character vs competence’ but rather, having both a depth of character and competence. I still come back to the premise though, that if you had to choose between the two, I would choose character!

What does the Bible say?

Acts 6:3-4 - Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.

What will I do now?

Are there character flaws within you that you need to work on? Are you bold enough to name them, and consider how you might improve? Also, what areas of your field of work, do you need to ‘lift your game’? Are there any particular courses, or training or reading you can do to improve your competency in this field?

What is the Foundation of Leadership? Day 10: 100 Days of Leadership

One cannot proceed through the 100 days of leadership without mentioning military leaders like Colin Powell and General George Washington. Interestingly, in The Art of Command, Washington is spoken of as a leader of integrity. He was a leader who was spoken highly of from military personnel to recruits to political leaders. Thomas Jefferson said of Washington, that his integrity was, ‘most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision….His character was, in its mass, perfect.’  

Have good character, because good character is the foundation of good leadership. Albert Schweitzer (Nobel Peace Prize-winner) says, 'Example is leadership'. That is to say, leaders lead by example, through their character, their actions and their integrity. Who they are, is what makes them a leader or rather who they are will determine whether they are a great leader or a poor leader. In essence, leadership is more about being than it is about doing. Good character is the foundation of leadership.

This reminds me of that phrase that people will follow who you are, not necessarily what you say. It goes without saying, that your words are meaningless if they do not match your actions. That is a difficult one, because numerous times we say something, like, ‘We all need to communicate better with one another’ and then you forget to follow through with an important piece of communication. The challenge is as followers of Jesus, that we have alignment between our words and our actions. This is part of our own journey of maturity, and over time it is about making the right choices to ensure that we have integrity in all that we say and do.

What does the Bible say?

1 Timothy 3:2-3 - Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

What will I do now?

Pray this prayer: Holy Father, empower me for ministry to be authentic in every act, holy in every intention, pure in every relationship, genuine in every word, and devoted in every expression of worship. Amen.

The Missing Ingredient of Effective Leadership

Leadership is not an easy task; balancing finances, communicating vision, developing relationships, pleasing stakeholders, responding to urgent emails, leading team meetings and so it goes on and on.

But, there is something missing.

The business world don't seem to talk about this missing ingredient much and the Christian leadership environment forget to emphasise its importance.

It causes some leaders to fall because of a lack of it, and others to blossom because they embody it.

If I mention Martin Luther King Jr. or Mother Theresa you might begin to nail down what I'm about to say.

I'm speaking about 'Character'.

It caused Henry Cloud to take a step back in 2006 and write a book, entitled: Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality.

Cloud asks, 'How many of you have had a situation in your work experience where someone was very bright, talented, competent, and good at working deals, but there was something about who he or she was as a person that somehow got in the way of all of that ability?'

We understand that in leadership, character matters. In fact, it is the missing ingredient to successful leadership.
Cloud writes that leaders need more than mere competence. Some leaders have great skill sets and abilities yet without character they are missing a key ingredient. Interestingly though, Cloud defines character and integrity as encapsulating more than simply morality.

When we consider character we generally begin thinking about someone who is trustworthy and someone who won't steal our money out of our wallets when we're not looking.

Henry Cloud defines character more broadly than most of us would define the topic. He says that character is the ability to meet the demands of reality. It is not just about trustworthiness, but about how we conduct ourselves in front of others, how we emotionally react to a situation and how we connect with employees. Character and integrity is the state of being whole and undivided. Another definition for character relates to having internal consistency.

We must not miss this ingredient from effective leadership. Character cannot be and should not be swept under the carpet and only be embraced by those who are weak and deluded. Good character is surely a God-given imperative for effective leadership.

Competence in and of itself, is not enough. You must have good character. Don't compromise character for anything. 

The Truth About Leadership - Kouzes & Posner

The Truth About Leadership is written by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner (2010). This blog contains leadership tips and leadership insights taken from this book. I highly recommend you grab a copy of this book, which is a great read and provides a decent broad sweep of the topic of leadership.

• After critically analysing over a million respondents to a questionnaire Kouzes and Posner found that age made no difference on whether a leader was effective or ineffective. It is worth noting, that the context of leadership may change, but the content of leading (and how to lead) changes only slightly (page xvii). The fundamentals of leadership barely change, regardless of context!
• It is much easier to write about leadership than it is to practice leadership (page xxv). I must agree with this. I could rattle off theory on emotional intelligence and how strong leaders are emotionally intelligent people, but to practice that theory is a step up from merely communicating about it.

TRUTH 1 on Leadership: You Make a Difference

• Is leadership accessible to anyone? Yes. 'Leadership is much more broadly distributed in the population, and it's accessible to anyone who has passion and purpose to change the way things are' (page 5).
• The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership (Kouzes & Posner) are
• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart (see page 13)
• Marianne Williamson once wrote: 'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us....Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you....And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.'

TRUTH 2 on Leadership: Credibility is the Foundation of Leadership

• After years of research (Kouzes & Posner) amongst varied demographics, people groups, etc, one characteristic continues to rate the highest on what people seek most from great leaders: Honesty. People will willingly follow, good, honest leaders.
• The top 4 characteristics of admired leaders are being honest, forward-looking, inspiring and competent (page 21).
• Credibility is built when your actions and your words are consistent. See also John C. Maxwell on the Law of the Picture. He picks up on the same thing. 

--> Also have a look at the TOP 100 Leadership Tips here.

TRUTH 3 on Leadership: Values Drive Commitment

• Kouzes and Posner quote Olivia Lai who writes, 'Becoming a leader is a process of internal self-discovery. In order for me to become a leader and become an even better leader, it's important that I first define my values and principles. If I don't know what my own values are and determine expectations for myself, how can I set expectations for others? How will I convey confidence, strong will, and empathy? Without looking within myself, it's not possible for me to look at others and to recognize their potential and help others become leaders' (page 32).
• The authors quote another emerging leader, 'You have to understand what you really believe deeply. People won't follow you, or even pay much attention to you, if you don't have any strong beliefs' (page 33).
• Values are what drive you, they are the essence of who you are. They affect every facet of your life, including things like whether you return the extra money the sales assistant gave you, or where you will invest your time and energy.
• Values will drive your commitment. To drive this point home, Kouzes and Posner quote Arlene Blum, an experienced mountain climber. She said, 'As long as you believe what you're doing is meaningful, you can cut through the fear and exhaustion and take the next step' (page 35).
• Some interesting research from Kouzes and Posner, show that if people have clarity of organizational values, but low clarity on their own values, their commitment to the organization will be lower than if they had clear personal values, but were unclear of the organizational values!
• Integrity is maintainted when your personal values align with organizational values.
• Leaders are good at building and affirming a 'community of shared values' (page 43).

TRUTH 4 on Leadership - Focusing on the Future Sets Leaders Apart

• The Truth About Leadership speaks of people who dream, who believe for a better future. The difference between a dreamer and a leader, is the leader takes 'dreams seriously and act to make them happen' (page 45).
• Remember I mentioned the top 4 characteristics of admired leaders (above), and only second to honesty, is forward-looking.
• Future-minded leaders know how to envision the future (page 50). In fact, they spend more time in the future (page 51). Leadership requires an element of being visionary. Also, see my post on 'What is a Visionary?'

TRUTH 5 on Leadership - You Can't Do It Alone

• We are reminded by Kouzes and Posner, that, 'no leader single-handedly ever gets anything extraordinary done' (page 62). Leadership is always best expressed in a team context. In fact effective leadership is not effective without others!
• Kouzes and Posner begin discussing the importance of emotional intelligence and how good employers seek to employ people who are good at working with others. They quote Egon Zehnder who writes that all the evidence, '....clearly demonstrated that the classic profile organizations look for in hiring a senior executive (relevant experience and outstanding IQ) is much a predictor of failure than success, unless the relevant emotional intelligence competencies are also present. In fact, serious weaknesses in the domain of emotional intelligence predict failure at senior levels with amazing accuracy' (page 64).
• The point is, IQ is quite often overrated! You need emotional intelligence! Leaders must know who to interact with others! Kouzes and Posner write, 'When leaders are in tune with the emotions of others, they create resonance between leader and constituent and among constituents, much like the musicians in an orchestra create resonance when their instruments are in tune' (page 65-66).
• This chapter is saying more than just having people along side you in order to achieve a vision. Good leaders  help others feel more confident and capable.

TRUTH 6 on Leadership - Trust Rules

• Trustworthiness is a component of credibility (page 75).
• The Truth About Leadership highlights four actions to keep in mind in relation to developing trust.
• Behave predictably and consistently
• Communicate clearly
• Treat promises seriously
• Be forthright and candid

TRUTH 7 on Leadership - Challenge is the Crucible for Greatness

• Think about any leader and you can probably think of challenges that came their way; whether it be poverty for Mother Teresa, war for Winston Churchill, injustice for Martin Luther King Jr; challenge is present.
• Brick walls test commitment and can strengthen resilience.
• 'It takes determination and strength to deal with the adversities of life and leadership' (page 99) and this is what Kouzes and Posner label as grit. They quote Angela Duckworth who writes that grit is, 'perseverance and passion for long-term goals'
• The authors assert that learning doesn't take place in the absence of mistakes. I would rather assert that leadership is strengthened when you learn from mistakes. Challenges are the building blocks to great leadership.

TRUTH 8 on Leadership - You Either Lead By Example or You Don't Lead at All

• Kouzes and Posner like the phrase, 'Do what you say you will do'. Other ways of putting it are, practice what you preach, walk the talk, put your money where you mouth is, etc (page 107).
• Tony Simons (a professor) calls this 'behavioral integrity', and he firmly believes that research shows that managers who lead by example and followed through on promises and demonstrated good values, were better leaders than managers who scored low on these aspects.
• Good role models will always trump bad role models and good leaders understand this!

TRUTH 9 on Leadership - The Best Leaders are the Best Learners

• Research completed by Bob Eichinger, Mike Lombardo and Dave Ulrich report that the best predictor of future success in management is 'learning agility'. They define learning agility as, 'the ability to reflect on experience and then engage in new behaviors based on those reflections (page 123). They are then quoted as saying, 'Learning agility requires self-confidence to honestly examine oneself, self-awareness to seek feedback and suggestions, and self-discipline to engage in new behaviors' (page 123).
• The crux of the chapter in The Truth About Leadership is that if you want to be a better leader, then have the discipline to learn! You need to have what psychologist Carol Dwech labels as a 'growth mindset'. This is, 'based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts' (page 124). You can grow, and therefore you can learn, and your can improve in your capacity as a leader. If you fail to believe that simple princple, then you will not bother reading and learning.
• There's no fast track to success. You don't become an expert pianist by looking at piano keys! Deliberate practice is needed. A great reminder, that as Jim Collins labels it, fanatical discipline is required.
• Deliberate practice has five elements:
• It is designed specifically to improve performance
• It has to be repeated a lot
• Feedback on results must be constant
• It is highly demanding mentally
• It is not all that fun (pages 128-130) See also Geoff Colvin, Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else (2008).

TRUTH 10 on Leadership - Leadership is an Affair of the Heart

• Without heart, leadership is void of something essential. No one wants to follow a leader who is not inspired by the path in which the leader wants others to embark on. Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt (author of Freakonomics) write, 'When it comes to choosing a life path, you should do what you love - because if you don't love it, you are unlikely to work hard enough to get very good' (page 146). I would note, if you don't love it, you are unlikely to be fulfilled in life, and you will be very unlikely be able to motivate others to follow your cause.

Let's finish this outline on The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, by quoting them, 'Leadership begins when you believe in yourself and that you can make a positive difference in the world' (page 159).

*****

Find more extensive blogs on leadership here, written by Pete Brookshaw.
Also: What's the difference between a manager and a leader?

*****

Receive Pete's Blog Posts via email (below):

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Law No. 13 - The Law of the Picture - John C. Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

John C. Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - Law No. 13 - The Law of the Picture

'People do what People see'.

This leadership principle is really the old adage, that people will copy what you do, not what you say. Those of us with children know this well. We can tell our kids a thousand times to use their manners, but if we never use our manners, we will struggle to create that habit in them! They follow what you do, or rather, they do what they see.

In leadership we may well call this integrity; having our words line up with our actions. We may well label it as being authentic.

John Maxwell speaks of a leader from the military sector, known as Dick Winter. He would be the first out of the trenches inspiring his paratroopers to arise out of the ditches and push forward in battle. While the mild pacifist tendencies within me struggle a little with this story from the military, I don't want to lose sight of the purpose behind the story. Dick Winter summed up his own leadership in 2006 when he wrote, 'I may not have been the best combat commander, but I always strove to be. My men depended on me to carefully analyze every tactical situation, to maximize the resources that I had at my disposal, to think under pressure, and then to lead them by example.'

That's the leadership principle worth holding on to. 'To lead by example'. For a follower of Jesus, leading by example, means servant leadership. It means if you want to create a culture of people serving God, then leadership is probably best expressed in helping to clean the toilets occassionally! Servant leaders serve.

Whitley David says of leadership, 'A good supervisor is a catalyst, not a drill sergeant. He creates an atmosphere where intelligent people are willing to follow him. He doesn't command; he convinces.'

Norman Vincent Peale remarks on leadership that, 'Nothing is more confusing than people who give good advice but set a bad example.'

Albert Schweitzer (Nobel Peace Prize-winner) said, 'Example is leadership.'

I saw this clearly when I was a Youth Minister, and working with teenagers. You could say to them that having a good attitude was important, but if you didn't act in such a way that your actions were congruent with your words, it would fall on deaf ears. My character was in a sense more important than talking about my character. Leadership is best lived out by example, not rhetoric.

That's John C. Maxwell's Law of the Picture. "People do what people see." (adapted from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership)

*****

Receive Pete's Daily Devotions via email (below):

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Rinse your Cottage Cheese and other Great Leadership Tips

A great leadership tip is like a good toothbrush to a dentist, it helps a leader brush up on their skills and not get bogged down by plaque!

Leaders are not simply born, they are made. I assume Winston Churchill never woke up one morning and said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I am now a leader'.

This is the thing: leadership development is not just gleaned from a one off conference where the facilitators are nice enough to let you get to keep the name-tag! The leadership development process is a day-to-day adventure, of grabbing hold of God-given dreams, inspiring others to help you, and to change the world in the process!

Amongst the plethora of leadership teachings, tips and ideas, leadership Blogs, leadership articles and great leadership books, here's another Blog post. A Blog post that offers ten leadership tips and will take you a step further along the adventurous road of leadership discovery and growth. 

So here is my 'Rinse your Cottage Cheese and other Great Leadership Tips' post:

Leadership Tip No. 1: Rinse your cottage cheese. One small step of discipline can make all the difference. Jim Collins in Good to Great writes:

The analogy comes from a disciplined world-class athlete named Dave Scott, who won the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon six times. In training, Scott would ride his bike 75 miles, swim 20,000 meters, and run 17 miles - on average, every single day. Dave Scott did not have a weight problem! Yet he believed that a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet would give him an extra edge. So, Dave Scott - a man who burned at least 5,000 calories a day in training - would literally rinse his cottage cheese to get the extra fat off. (p. 127)

Leadership Tip No. 2: Integrity  and trust are the foundations of leadership. Without good character, and developing trust, sooner or lately the foundations will crack.


Leadership Tip No. 3: A positive mental attitude is much better than a mind that wanders down a road of negativity.


Leadership Tip No. 4: Without vision the people wander aimlessly (Proverbs 29:18).


Leadership Tip No. 5: Developing leaders who develop other leaders creates multiplication.


Leadership Tip No. 6: The sweet potato credibility test - You cannot take a sweet potato and sniff it, bake it and garnish it, and thus make it into a normal potato. It will always be a sweet potato. Likewise, you cannot dress up someone without good character and sustain credibility for very long. People will see right through it.


Leadership Tip No. 7: Leaders have a different vocabulary. You do not hear words like mediocrity, apathy and half-heartedness often. Tenacity and perseverance is the order of the day.


Leadership Tip No. 8: Godly leaders set their hearts on things above (Col 3:2); not on worldly success, fame, fortune or any other hedonistic ambition.


Leadership Tip No. 9: Proximity changes perception. Allowing people in your circles of influence to be involved in understanding your decision making processes, and to be up close and personal to the leadership challenges you face, will change their perception. Proximity builds understanding. How often have you whined about a Prime Minister, Queen or President? Now, how often have you been inside their office, read their emails, understood the pressure they are under and worked as hard as they work? Proximity changes perception. 


Leadership Tip No. 10: Leaders create, build and sustain momentum. Like the winning team in a game of football, the momentum shifts. It is hard to knuckle down what this element is, but holding on to it is great!


Now that you have brushed up a little on some leadership tips, keep scrubbing and check out more leadership tips and teachings here.

Join Disciples in Training on Facebook for more discussion.

Creating A Healthy Culture in an Organization - A Culture of Integrity

One of most important leadership tip anyone could ever give in relation to creating healthy organizational culture, has to be the need for integrity. Now, this might seem simple enough, and we may well agree with the statement. It is when the rubber hits the road, that I wonder whether people really understand the importance of integrity.

Stories upon stories are heard of corrupt CEO's, abusive authoritarian leaders, a lack or morale because what the leader communicates does not match their actions, and the list goes on.

Most leadership books comment on the importance of depth of character, integrity and a sense of morality/conscience and the effect this has on those you are leading. John C. Maxwell devotes a chapter to integrity in Developing the Leader Within You (1993). He says:

• Integrity builds trust
• Integrity has high influence value
• Integrity facilitates high standards
• Integrity results in a solid reputation, not just image
• Integrity means living it myself before leading others
• Integrity helps a leader be credible, not just clever
• Integrity is a hard-won achievement (p. 35-48).

Why does integrity amongst leaders help create a healthy organizational culture? Firstly, as already noted, trust is built. When the leader says something, you know they will be trustworthy, based on previous experiences. It is demoralizing to not be able to trust a leader, as this becomes an infectious disease within the organization! Secondly, integrity is paramount to this healthy organizational culture, because a leader exemplifies the 'do as I do, not just as I say' kind of rhetoric.

You may not be able to cause someone else to have integrity, but you can cause yourself to have it!

That's the end of this Leadership Training Module Two on Creating Healthy Organizations. Feel free to comment below, and I hope you enjoyed and were challeged by the content.