Thursday, December 28, 2006

Developmental Assests - a foundation to build on

Over the years I have noticed how rites of passage have been delayed and diluted. This has serious implications for the formation of identity and the development of leadership. Often we wonder why someone seems "immature" or why they aren't at the place/stage we think they should be given their age or experience.

Exactly who gives these developmental gifts to young people to encourage them to be healthy, caring and responsible? What rites of passage need to occur for a youth to reach their potential? The follow list was formatted in the ToTheSource email newsletter I subscribe to.

EXTERNAL ASSETS

The young person’s family (1) provides high levels of love and support where (2) communication is positive, and the young person seeks advice and from parent(s). He or she (3) also has three or more non-parent adults they receive support from, along with (4) caring neighbors.

The young person’s school (5) provides a caring, encouraging environment where (6) the young person’s parent(s) are actively involved in helping them succeed in school.

The young person (7) perceives that adults in the community value youth. He or she (8) is given useful roles in the community, (9) serving one hour or more per week.

The young person (10) feels safe at home, at school, and in the neighborhood.
The young person’s family has (11) clear rules and consequences, and monitors the young person's whereabouts. The young person’s school also (12) provides clear rules and consequences. Neighbors (13) monitor the young people's behavior as well.
Parent(s) and other adults (14) model positive, responsible behavior, as does the young person’s (15) best friends.

Parent(s) and teachers (16) encourage the young person to do well. Besides school, he or she (17) spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts, another (18) three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in community organizations, and (19) one hour or more per week in activities in a religious institution.

The young person also spends lots of time at home with their family. He or she (20) is out with friends “with nothing special to do” two or fewer nights per week.

INTERNAL ASSETS

The young person (21) is motivated to do well in school. He or she (22) is actively engaged in learning, doing (23) at least one hour of homework every school day and in general (24) cares about her or his school.

The young person (25) reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

The young person (26) places high value on helping other people and (27) promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.

The young person (28) acts on convictions and stands up for her or his beliefs, (29) "tells the truth even when it is not easy” and (30) accepts and takes personal responsibility.

The young person (31) believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.

The young person (32) knows how to plan ahead and make choices.
Interpersonally, the young person (33) has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.

They also have (34) knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.

They young person (35) can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations, (36) seeking to resolve conflict nonviolently.

The young person (37) feels he or she has control over "things that happen to me." They (38) report having a high self-esteem and (39) that "my life has a purpose."

Because of the above, the young person (40) is optimistic about her or his personal future.

for more information go to
The Search Institutes page on 40 Developmental Assests
or spiritual development center

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The Leadership Challenge

James Kouzes and Barry Posner developed a survey (The Leadership Practices Inventory) that asked people which, of a list of common characteristics of leaders, were, in their experiences of being led by others, the seven top things they look for, admire and would willingly follow. And over twenty years, they managed ask this of seventy five thousand people.

The results of the study showed that people preferred the following characteristics, in order:

* Honest
* Forward-looking
* Competent
* Inspiring
* Intelligent
* Fair-minded
* Broad-minded
* Supportive
* Straightforward
* Dependable
* Cooperative
* Determined
* Imaginative
* Ambitious
* Courageous
* Caring
* Mature
* Loyal
* Self-controlled
* Independent

The main part of the book discusses the five actions that Kouzes and Posner identify as being key for successful leadership:

Model the way

Modeling means going first, living the behaviors you want others to adopt. This is leading from the front. People will believe not what they hear leaders say but what they see leader consistently do.

Inspire a shared vision

People are motivated most not by fear or reward, but by ideas that capture their imagination.
Note that this is not so much about having a vision, but communicating it so effectively that others take it as their own.

Challenge the process

Leaders thrive on and learn from adversity and difficult situations. They are early adopters of innovation.

Enable others to act

Encouragement and exhortation is not enough. People must feel able to act and then must have the ability to put their ideas into action.

Encourage the heart

People act best of all when they are passionate about what they are doing. Leaders unleash the enthusiasm of their followers this with stories and passions of their own.


Overall, it is difficult to ignore the combined views of 75,000 people. The placing of honesty first is notable and highlights the importance of telling the truth to those they would lead. The overall process identified is clearly transformational in style, which again has a strong focus on followers.

http://changingminds.org/books/book_reviews/kouzes_posner.htm

Transformational Leadership

Assumptions

People will follow a person who inspires them.

A person with vision and passion can achieve great things.

The way to get things done is by injecting enthusiasm and energy.
Style

Working for a Transformational Leader can be a wonderful and uplifting experience. They put passion and energy into everything. They care about you and want you to succeed.

Developing the vision

Transformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers. This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad series of discussions. The important factor is the leader buys into it, hook, line and sinker.

Selling the vision

The next step, which in fact never stops, is to constantly sell the vision. This takes energy and commitment, as few people will immediately buy into a radical vision, and some will join the show much more slowly than others. The Transformational Leader thus takes every opportunity and will use whatever works to convince others to climb on board the bandwagon.

In order to create followers, the Transformational Leader has to be very careful in creating trust, and their personal integrity is a critical part of the package that they are selling. In effect, they are selling themselves as well as the vision.

Finding the way forwards

In parallel with the selling activity is seeking the way forward. Some Transformational Leaders know the way, and simply want others to follow them. Others do not have a ready strategy, but will happily lead the exploration of possible routes to the promised land.

The route forwards may not be obvious and may not be plotted in details, but with a clear vision, the direction will always be known. Thus finding the way forward can be an ongoing process of course correction, and the Transformational Leader will accept that there will be failures and blind canyons along the way. As long as they feel progress is being made, they will be happy.

Leading the charge

The final stage is to remain up-front and central during the action. Transformational Leaders are always visible and will stand up to be counted rather than hide behind their troops. They show by their attitudes and actions how everyone else should behave. They also make continued efforts to motivate and rally their followers, constantly doing the rounds, listening, soothing and enthusing.

It is their unswerving commitment as much as anything else that keeps people going, particularly through the darker times when some may question whether the vision can ever be achieved. If the people do not believe that they can succeed, then their efforts will flag. The Transformational Leader seeks to infect and reinfect their followers with a high level of commitment to the vision.

One of the methods the Transformational Leader uses to sustain motivation is in the use of ceremonies, rituals and other cultural symbolism. Small changes get big hurrahs, pumping up their significance as indicators of real progress.

Overall, they balance their attention between action that creates progress and the mental state of their followers. Perhaps more than other approaches, they are people-oriented and believe that success comes first and last through deep and sustained commitment.

Discussion

Whilst the Transformational Leader seeks overtly to transform the organization, there is also a tacit promise to followers that they also will be transformed in some way, perhaps to be more like this amazing leader. In some respects, then, the followers are the product of the transformation.

Transformational Leaders are often charismatic, but are not as narcissistic as pure Charismatic Leaders, who succeed through a believe in themselves rather than a believe in others.

One of the traps of Transformational Leadership is that passion and confidence can easily be mistaken for truth and reality. Whilst it is true that great things have been achieved through enthusiastic leadership, it is also true that many passionate people have led the charge right over the cliff and into a bottomless chasm. Just because someone believes they are right, it does not mean they are right.

Paradoxically, the energy that gets people going can also cause them to give up. Transformational Leaders often have large amounts of enthusiasm which, if relentlessly applied, can wear out their followers.

Transformational Leaders also tend to see the big picture, but not the details, where the devil often lurks. If they do not have people to take care of this level of information, then they are usually doomed to fail.

Finally, Transformational Leaders, by definition, seek to transform. When the organization does not need transforming and people are happy as they are, then such a leader will be frustrated. Like wartime leaders, however, given the right situation they come into their own and can be personally responsible for saving entire companies.

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectation. New York: Free Press.
Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, (Winter): 19-31.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transformational_leadership.htm

Bass' Transformational Leadership Theory

Bass defines transformational leadership in terms of how the leader affects followers, who are intended to trust, admire and respect the transformational leader.

He identified three ways in which leaders transform followers:
  1. Increasing their awareness of task importance and value.
  2. Getting them to focus first on team or organizational goals, rather than their own interests.
  3. Activating their higher-order needs.
Bass noted that authentic transformational leadership is grounded in moral foundations that are based on four components:
  • Idealized influence
  • Inspirational motivation
  • Intellectual stimulation
  • Individualized consideration
...and three moral aspects:
  • The moral character of the leader.
  • The ethical values embedded in the leader’s vision, articulation, and program (which followers either embrace or reject).
  • The morality of the processes of social ethical choice and action that leaders and followers engage in and collectively pursue.

Below are a number of behaviors common to transformational leadership

TRANSFORMATIONAL
  1. BUILDS ON THE NEED FOR MEANING
  2. PRE-OCCUPIED WITH POWER AND POSITION,
  3. POLITICS AND PERKS
  4. SWAMPED IN DAILY AFFAIRS
  5. ORIENTED TO SHORT-TERM GOALS AND
  6. SEPARATES CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS AND
  7. WORKS AT PREVENTION AND IS CONCERNED WITH TREATMENT
  8. FOCUSES ON TACTICAL ISSUES
  9. MAKES FULL USE OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES
  10. (HUMAN) HUMAN INTERACTIONS
  11. FOLLOWS AND FULFILS ROLE EXPECTATIONS
  12. HUMAN POTENTIAL WITHIN CURRENT SYSTEMS
  13. SUPPORTS STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS THAT REINFORCE OVER-ARCHING VALUES AND GOALS
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectation. New York: Free Press.
Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, (Winter): 19-31.
Bass, B. M. and Steidlmeier, P. (1998). Ethics, Character and Authentic Transformational Leadership, at: http://cls.binghamton.edu/BassSteid.html
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/bass_transformational.htm

Saturday, December 09, 2006

What is Spiritual Leadership?

It differs from plain, ol' leadership. Henry Blackaby's checklist.

by Henry and Richard Blackaby

While spiritual leadership involves many of the same principles as general leadership, spiritual leadership has certain distinctive qualities that must be understood and practiced if spiritual leaders are to be successful.
  1. The spiritual leader's task is to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be. This is influence. Once spiritual leaders understand God's will, they make every effort to move their followers from following their own agendas to pursuing God's purposes. People who fail to move people to God's agenda have not led. They may have exhorted, cajoled, pleaded, or bullied, but they will not have led until their people have adjusted their lives to God's will.
  2. Spiritual leaders depend on the Holy Spirit. Spiritual leaders work within a paradox, for God calls them to do something that, in fact, only God can do. Ultimately, spiritual leaders cannot produce spiritual change in people; only the Holy Spirit can accomplish this. Yet the Spirit often uses people to bring about spiritual growth in others.
  3. Spiritual leaders are accountable to God. Spiritual leadership necessitates an acute sense of accountability. Just as a teacher has not taught until students have learned, leaders don't blame their followers when they don't do what they should do. Leaders don't make excuses. They assume their responsibility is to move people to do God's will.
  4. Spiritual leaders can influence all people, not just God's people. God's agenda applies to the marketplace as well as the meeting place. Although spiritual leaders will generally move God's people to achieve God's purposes, God can use them to exert significant godly influence upon unbelievers.
  5. Spiritual leaders work from God's agenda. The greatest obstacle to effective spiritual leadership is people pursuing their own agendas rather than seeking God's will.
Too often, people assume that along with the role of leader comes the responsibility of determining what should be done. They develop aggressive goals. They dream grandiose dreams. They cast grand visions. Then they pray and ask God to join them in their agenda and bless their efforts. That's not what spiritual leaders do. (They) seek God's will, then marshal their people to pursue God's plan.

—from Spiritual Leadership
by Henry and Richard Blackaby
(Broadman & Holman, 2001)
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/areas/leadership/articles/le-2003-001-22.13.html

Friday, December 08, 2006

Servant Leadership

Robert Greenleaf is the leader that many others have built their work upon. He gives credit to Jesus for originating the practice of servant leadership, but it is Greenleaf that has unpacked the meaning of servant leadership for us today.

After carefully considering Greenleaf's original writings, Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Center has identified a set of 10 characteristics that he views as being critical to the development of servant-leaders. These 10 are by no means exhaustive. However, they serve to communicate the power and promise that this concept offers:

  1. Listening - Traditionally, leaders have been valued for their communication and decision making skills. Servant-leaders must reinforce these important skills by making a deep commitment to listening intently to others. Servant-leaders seek to identify and clarify the will of a group. They seek to listen receptively to what is being and said (and not said). Listening also encompasses getting in touch with one's inner voice, and seeking to understand what one's body, spirit, and mind are communicating.
  2. Empathy - Servant-leaders strive to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirit. One must assume the good intentions of coworkers and not reject them as people, even when forced to reject their behavior or performance.
  3. Healing- Learning to heal is a powerful force for transformation and integration. One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the potential for healing one's self and others. In "The Servant as Leader", Greenleaf writes, "There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if, implicit in the compact between the servant-leader and led is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something that they have."
  4. Awareness - General awareness, and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant-leader. Making a commitment to foster awareness can be scary--one never knows what one may discover! As Greenleaf observed, "Awareness is not a giver of solace - it's just the opposite. It disturbed. They are not seekers of solace. They have their own inner security."
  5. Persuasion - Servant-leaders rely on persuasion, rather than positional authority in making decisions. Servant-leaders seek to convince others, rather than coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant-leadership. The servant-leader is effective at building consensus within groups.
  6. Conceptualization - Servant-leaders seek to nurture their abilities to "dream great dreams." The ability to look at a problem (or an organization) from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. Servant-leaders must seek a delicate balance between conceptualization and day-to-day focus.
  7. Foresight - Foresight is a characteristic that enables servant-leaders to understand lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision in the future. It is deeply rooted in the intuitive mind.
  8. Stewardship - Robert Greenleaf's view of all institutions was one in which CEO's, staff, directors, and trustees all play significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society.
  9. Commitment to the Growth of People - Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers. As such, Servant-leaders are deeply committed to a personal, professional, and spiritual growth of each and every individual within the organization.
  10. Building Community - Servant-leaders are aware that the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives has changed our perceptions and caused a sense of loss. Servant-leaders seek to identify a means for building community among those who work within a given institution.
For a couple of short articles that unpack this further check out the links below.

http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/index.jsp?what=publicationD&publicationId=200
http://leadertoleader.org/leaderbooks/L2L/fall2004/spears.html
http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/EN/sub_section_main_1121.htm

Thursday, December 07, 2006

transformational and transactional leadership

Milk or Cornflakes?

Do you want milk or cornflakes?
well... I want cornflakes - but I want it with milk. (unless your my son - he likes dry cornflakes)

Most of us think about leader development and leadership development in the way we think of milk and cornflakes – together in a bowl – cornflakes kind of assume that milk will be added. They come in separate containers, they have very different properties and each can be used in many different ways (I prefer my cornflakes in a peanut butter square not in a bowl of milk)

What are the properties of Leader development and Leadership development? Which one is the milk, which one is the cornflakes?

Leader Development

Leader development focuses on the development of the leader, such as the personal attributes desired in a leader, desired ways of behaving, ways of thinking or feeling.

Typically, leader development has focused on 3 main areas - providing the opportunities for development, stimulating the ability to develop (including motivation, skills and knowledge for change), and providing a supportive context for change to occur.

When I attend a seminar, teach a course, or participate in a coaching relationship I am engaged in Leader Development. The focus is on the individual. I think of it as the corn flakes.

Leadership development

In contrast Leadership Development focuses on the delivery systems needed for identifying and equipping leaders and should emphasize creating a healthy and motivating context for exercising leadership. This is the milk, the stuff the cornflake float in.

Leadership development focuses on the development of leadership as a process. This will include the social influence process and the team dynamics between the leader and his/her team at the dyad level, the contextual factors surrounding the team such as the perception of the organizational climate and the social network linkages between the team and other groups in the organization.

Locus of responsibility

As leaders we are ALWAYS responsible for our own growth. If I am not developing my leadership capacity the first and last person responsible for this is ME. Of course we hope others will create opportunities for personal growth as a leader. And as leaders we often have the privilege of providing training and growth for others. But ultimately each leader must accept responsibility for their personal development.

Leadership development is about the air we breath – it is the milk for the corn flakes. As leaders and organizations we accept responsibility for creating systems and contexts in which leaders thrive and can experience leader development. It is less clear who is responsible for Leadership Development in most organizations. Certainly the key leaders, owners and the governing board bear this ultimate responsibility. Sometimes elements of leadership development can be delegated to someone. But we must often be reminded that we are responsible for the climate we create for any one who follows us. Even if our organization is weak at leadership or leader development. Those who are counting on us should be able to thrive. If you are having a difficult time figuring out who is responsible for Leadership development in your organization change the question. Ask who is depending on my to create a leadership development culture.


Key questions
If your church or organization is experiencing a leader gap…
  1. Is it because of the leaders and their training and ability?
  2. or is it because the context is not encouraging / empowering leadership?
So – will that be cornflakes or milk?

Mentoring vs. Coaching

People often ask me about the differences between mentoring and coaching. Robert Clinton - a mentoring guru would say that coaching is a form of mentoring. This makes “mentoring” the genre and “coaching” a subset of mentoring. I appreciate Clinton’s theoretical thinking, but practically most of us treat mentoring and coaching as subsets of "personal growth relationships” With that in mind I want to respond to the genuine question, "What's the difference between mentoring and coaching.

Mentoring vs. Coaching
What's the difference?

Mentoring

  1. Focus on formation
  2. Agenda / content often set by the mentor
  3. Mentor is very transparent and shares a lot of themselves
  4. Mentor offers wisdom and resources
  5. Accountability is to the mentor
Coaching

  1. Focus on goals or outcomes
  2. Agenda set by the “player” or the context
  3. Coach constantly redirects the focus onto the “player”
  4. Coach assists “player” in identifying need and locating resources.
  5. Accountability is to the “players” action plan

At a practical level most of our personal growth relationships are a blend of mentoring and coaching. Sometimes this blend is intentional. More often this blend is lazy. The question I want to pose is “What do you really need, a Mentor or a Coach?”