The Leadership Strategy: An Unmined Comstock Lode of Results
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill had a framed inscription on his desk that said, "It's not enough to say we are doing our best. We must succeed in doing what is necessary."
The world demands results. Good intentions and promises are no use to it. And one of the best ways for any leader to get results is to employ a strategy, which is a plan, method or series of actions for obtaining a goal or specific outcome. It doesn't matter what job you have or how many people you are leading, if you don't come to grips with the challenges of developing and executing strategies, you're limiting your abilities to get results.
In a sense, strategies are promissory notes, payment due upon demand. One reason for their becoming less than worthy tender is they are not backed by a Leadership Strategy.
Leadership Strategy -- have you heard of it? I bet you haven't. For one thing, it isn't taught at business schools. And for another, even in the unlikely case that you have heard of it and know what it is, you probably don't know how to make it happen.
In this article, I'll show you what a Leadership Strategy is and ways to institute it. It can be far more important than your standard business strategy.
Whereas a business strategy seeks to marshal an organization's functions around central, organizing concepts, a leadership strategy, on the other hand, seeks to obtain, organize, and direct the heartfelt commitment of the people who must carry out the business strategy.
The business strategy is the sail, the Leadership Strategy the ballast. Without a Leadership Strategy, most business strategies capsize.
To understand what a Leadership Strategy is, let's look at your past leadership activities.
Divide a single sheet of paper into two columns labeled A & B. At the top of column A write "business (or organizational) strategies". On top of column B write, "Leadership Strategies" -- in other words, what strategies were used to obtain people's heartfelt commitments to carry out the business strategies?
Think of the strategies your organization has developed during the past few years. They might be product strategies, service strategies, growth strategies, sales strategies, marketing strategies. You do not have to explain it in detail, just give each strategy a tag and write down the tag.
Did the listings in column A match the listings in column B? Were there any listings at all in column B? That gap between what was in column A and what was in column B is a killer gap. It means that the business strategies haven't been augmented by Leadership Strategies. And when that happens, results suffer.
I don't care if you lead three people, three hundred or three thousand and more. I don't care if you're in sales, you're a plant supervisor, a marketing manager or a COO, CFO or CEO. You're going to need a Leadership Strategy.
And if you don't think you need any kind of strategy, think again. Whatever job you're doing takes strategic thinking. In fact, getting in the habit of looking at whatever you do in strategic terms gives you a great advantage in your career advancement.
The roots of the word "strategy" come from two German words, the first meaning an encamped or spread out army and then second word meaning "to drive." In other words, a strategy gives direction, organization and force to an otherwise scattered organization.
Most business leaders are good a developing business strategies. They're taught how at business schools. But I'll bet that 9,999 out of 10,000 leaders don't know what a Leadership Strategy is, let alone how it fits in with a business strategy.
Leadership Strategies are not taught at business schools because such Strategies find their meaning not in abstract formulations or case studies but in what can't be taught but must be experienced, process and relationship.
And if you haven't thought of a Leadership Strategy before, start thinking about it now, because it can boost your career in many ways. Most leaders develop their strategies in bunkers, without taking into consideration those outside the bunker who have to implement it. Unwittingly, they buy into the "fallacy of automatic reciprocity" - the conviction that their devotion to the cause is automatically reciprocated by the people they lead. It's a fallacy because reciprocity is not automatic. It can't be ordered. It must be cultivated and earned.
Here, then, are five steps to developing a Leadership Strategy.
(1) Understand your business strategy. There are many books and courses on developing business strategies. I don't want to re-invent this wheel. Suffice to say you should clearly develop that strategy.
(2) Identify the dream(s) of your cause leaders.
Why do I say "dreams"? Far from being fluff, dreams are the stuff that hard, measured results are made of.
Look at it this way: Leadership is motivational or it's stumbling in the dark. The best leaders don't order people to do a job, the best leaders motivate people to want to do the job.
The trouble is the vast majority of leaders don't delve into the deep aspects of human motivation and so are unable to motivate people effectively.
Drill down through goals and aims and aspirations and ambitions and you hit the bedrock of motivation, the dream. Many leaders fail to take it into account.
Dreams are not goals and aims. Goals are the results toward which efforts are directed. The realization of a dream might contain goals, which can be stepping stones on the way to the attaining dreams. But the attainment of a goal does not necessarily result in the attainment of a dream.
For instance, Martin Luther King did not say, "I have a goal." Or "I have an aim." The power of that speech was in the "I have a dream".
Dreams are not aspirations and ambitions. Aspirations and ambitions are strong desires to achieve something. King didn't say he had an aspiration or ambition that " ....one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'" He said he had a dream.
If you are a leader speaking to people's aspirations and ambitions, you are speaking to something that motivates them, yes; but you are not necessarily tapping into the heartwood of their motivation.
After all, one might aspire or be ambitious to achieve a dream. But one's aspiration and ambition may also be connected to things of lesser importance than a dream.
A dream embraces our most cherished longings. It embodies our very identity. We often won't feel fulfilled as human beings until we realize our dreams.
If leaders are avoiding people's dreams, if leaders are simply setting goals (as important as goals are), they miss the best of opportunities to help those people take ardent action to achieve great results.
I teach leaders to have their organizations get into the realm of achieving "more results faster, continually." To do so, you must first take the trouble to understand the dreams of the people you lead.
(3) Create a Shared Dream. If your vision of where you want the organization to go and their dream of where they want to go are shared, you call it a Shared Dream. Furthermore, you can't go to the next step unless you have developed a Shared Dream.
Look at it this way: The critical issue of the Leadership Strategy isn't the motivation of the leaders. As a leader, you must be motivated. If you're not motivated, you shouldn't be leading. The critical issue is: Can you transfer your motivation to the people so they are as motivated as you are?
(By the way, the Shared Dream is not "win/win". As you'll see, it's much deeper and richer relationship than the self-limiting "win/win"; for unlike "win/win", the Shared Dream is an on-going relationship process from which flow mutually beneficial expectations and solutions.)
(4) Turn the Shared Dream into a Leadership Strategy. The Leadership Strategy is the Shared Dream manifested by an action plan.
In the action plan, delineate milestones that take you to the Shared Dream. The first milestone may be a comprehensive, rigorous identification of the needs of the cause leaders and how those needs dovetail into the business strategy. (Remember, you can use this process with any number of cause leaders. Just scale it up to the number you require.)
Churchill had it right, " ... we must succeed in doing what is necessary."
And one of the best ways for any leader to get people to succeed in doing what is necessary is to combine a business strategy with a Leadership Strategy.
2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com
The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com
 Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:05:39 GMT State falling way behind No Child Left Behind - San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle - California schools, required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act to lift more students over a higher academic hurdle this year, instead stumbled and slipped back, as nearly 1400 fewer schools met test-score targets. Only 48% of California high schools meet federal standards, even ... Middle schools lead county's API scores Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:41:11 GMT Jobless rate soars to 6.1% - CNNMoney.com
CNNMoney.com - Unemployment surges to 5-year high as employers cut workers for eighth straight month, bringing '08 job losses to 605000. By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney. Unemployment Rate Hits 5-Year High As Economy Continues to Shed Jobs Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.1% Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:05:45 GMT Haiti doubles hurricane death toll; US extends storm watches and ... - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune - AP WILMINGTON, North Carolina: Tropical storm watches and warnings in the United States were extended from Georgia to areas just south of New York City on Friday as states along the Atlantic braced for Tropical Storm Hanna, which killed at least 137 ... Southeast states brace for Tropical Storm Hanna Hanna heads to Carolinas; Ike not far behind Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:14:26 GMT So What If Sarah Palin Used a Speechwriter? - FOXNews
FOXNews - By Betsy Newmark Disdaining Sarah Palin’s speech last night because she had a speechwriter is one of the lamest criticisms of her performance last night. Video: Inside the Tent: Reactions to Sarah Palin's speech Part 4 Panel Reviews Palin, Previews McCain Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:03:46 GMT Thai PM buys time with referendum plan - Reuters
Reuters - By Darren Schuettler BANGKOK (Reuters) - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has bought some time with a referendum aimed at defusing street protests, but it will do nothing to resolve Thailand's fundamental political conflict, analysts say. Video: Locking horns over politics in Thailand -- 05 September 2008 ANALYSIS: Thai demonstration raises democracy issues Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:33:48 GMT McCain honors NH soldier in convention speech - Boston Globe
Boston Globe - ST. PAUL, Minn.—In his speech to the Republican National Convention, presidential candidate John McCain paid tribute to a New Hampshire soldier killed in Iraq. Video: "Change is coming," McCain tells convention - 05 Sept 2008 US media mixed on McCain speech Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:43:54 GMT Partisan Reception Greets Palin as VP Pick - ABC News
ABC News - Sarah Palin is receiving a highly partisan reception on the national political stage, with significant public doubts about her readiness to serve as president, yet majority approval of both her selection by John McCain and her willingness to join the ... Video: Joe Biden On Palin's Speech Obama Camp Turns to Clinton to Counter Palin Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:18:50 GMT Earn Money With Surveys |
.JPG)
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... The date was Saturday, April 11, 1970, the time 13:13... Read More Although world business is undergoing historic changes, the prevailing view... Read More Abraham Lincoln Is Still Alive President Jimmy Carter tells in... Read More In today's fast moving, ever changing, and highly competitive world... Read More "We should not only use all the brains we have,... Read More Webster's Dictionary describes a "partner" as an ally or an... Read More Although a meeting is a vehicle for resolving differences, it... Read More latent (adj.) ? Not visible or apparent, but capable of... Read More Everyone knows that great leaders are made, not born. However... Read More Ponder what it takes to be a true leader with... Read More Purpose: Learn immediately if you are fostering leadership or ignoring... Read More The United Nations Conference on Law of the Sea was... Read More President Ike Eisenhower once demonstrated the difference between leadership and... Read More If you want to be a leader who attracts quality... Read More The Leadership ChallengeLeaders in today's society are faced with an... Read More ____________________________________________"There's only one thing more contagious than a good attitude... Read More If you were to build a house, you would begin... Read More I hated Kyle Sisk*. A notorious bully, Kyle punctuated my... Read More It's been said many times that true leadership is measured... Read More The manager administers, the leader improves; the manager maintains, the... Read More "Before you become a leader success is all about growing... Read More In Part One, I described the importance of establishing deep,... Read More I am fascinated by problems. I like to think of... Read More OK, I know this title sounds self-serving and hard nosed,... Read More The single most important thing a leader can do is... Read More
Adsense
websites
Leading In The Face Of Disaster
Leadership Like Water-Water Canoeing
Abraham Lincoln Is Still Alive
The Leadership Vacuum
Always Be Open To Learning
The Goals of Leadership Coaching and Partnerships
Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 6, Deadlocked Discussions
10 Ways to Develop Your Latent Leader
3 Aspects of Developing Leadership Skills
Top 25 Leadership Quotations
Leadership: Seed or Fruit?
UNCLOS III Process model
Are You a Leader or a Manager?
The Qualities of Skillful Leadership
The Flexible Leadership Workshop
Develop a We Focus And Not a Me Focus
A Blueprint for Leadership - How to Be a Better Leader
Evil, Hostile Grumpy Listeners? Think Again
Leadership - Connect to Engage!
Stand Out as a Leader, Do 5 Things Better! Number One: Improve the Quality of Your Decision Making!
Leadership is About Growing Others - Its Not About You!
The Defining Moment: The Straw That Stirs The Drink Of Motivational Leadership (Part Two)
Reinventing Failure: Designing Success
Get What You Want - Negotiating Skills for the Timid!
Recommended Books on Leadership and Team Building
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Leadership ? Push vs. Pull?
At your next staff meeting consider leading your team through... Read More
The Three Faces of Leadership
This article was published in the Nov. 2003 edition of... Read More
Characteristics of a Good Leader
It's interesting to hear the responses from executives when I... Read More
Leadership - L.P.B It!
"Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of... Read More
Leadership: Wisdom of the Ages
If you gather 100 experienced leaders together to share with... Read More
Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 2, Multiple Conversations
Side conversations ruin meetings by destroying focus and fragmenting participation.Approach... Read More
How To Party Like Leonardo Da Vinci
After studying scores of great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci,... Read More
The Leadership Talk As A Living Hologram
The hologram is a three-dimensional photograph made on a flat... Read More
Unleash It!
On airplanes, in restaurants, in the newspaper and on television,... Read More
Real Charisma, Clinton Style
What exactly is Charisma? Most would agree that it is... Read More
Celebrating Successes: The Power Of Compliments
Years ago, when I was new in management circles, a... Read More
How To Get To Know A Disabled Person
When you first meet someone who is blind, deaf, or... Read More
Five Surprisingly Hip Politicial Ideas From Plato
Don't you love politics?Me, neither. But I do like thinking... Read More
Leadership Skills Training Empowers Problem-solving and Visioning
Leadership skills training programs empower you to influence, persuade or... Read More
10 Ways to Develop Your Latent Leader
latent (adj.) ? Not visible or apparent, but capable of... Read More
Miraculous Leadership
It was a time of turmoil. In November 1979, supporters... Read More
Are You a Leader or a Manager?
President Ike Eisenhower once demonstrated the difference between leadership and... Read More
From Failure To Victory; The Cats Out Of The Bag!
Did you ever think that all of the great heroes... Read More
To Be An Effective Leader, Do A Check-up From The Neck Up
Before we can effectively lead anyone, we must take an... Read More
People Problems -- Understanding the Dueling Paradigms
You've spent the last 12 years riding your technical skills... Read More
Being an Extraordinary Leader Through Tough and Challenging Times
Tough and challenging times will surely come. That is a... Read More
All You Really Want Is Feeling Good
If I asked you what your goal in life is,... Read More
Evil, Hostile Grumpy Listeners? Think Again
I hated Kyle Sisk*. A notorious bully, Kyle punctuated my... Read More
Five Steps Towards Greater Self Confidence
We watch the star athlete calmly make the final shot,... Read More
Two Vital Abilities Any Leader Must Have
As a business owner, you are a leader whether you... Read More
Leadership |