Archive for the ‘Business Review West Michigan’ Category

There is an ongoing debate about whether great leaders are born or made. Warren Bennis, a highly respected scholar on leadership, says that it is dangerous to believe that leaders are born. It may be that the desire to lead is inborn, but leaders are developed over time. The best leaders are deliberate and intentional about practicing to get better at what they do.

I recently finished reading Geoff Colvin`s book, “Talent is Overrated,” and was discussing the value of his concept of “deliberate practice” with a client. This particular leader is an artist and the executive director of a successful nonprofit art organization. She and I worked together for about a year on developing her capacity for leadership so she could more effectively engage and inspire her staff and her board.

From the beginning, she was more prepared to be a leader than many of my clients. She just needed some discipline and practice in the finer points of working with others, along with some accountability to assure that her practice continued and was working. Her preparation as an artist had prepared her to be a natural leader.

Colvin`s book contains numerous examples of how deliberate practice ?€“ the intentional, regular practice of a specific skill ?€“ can lead to success. The problem is that most of us don`t have the discipline or the accountability to practice. And we`ve probably never realized that the same principles of practice that apply to musicians or visual artists also apply to leadership.

I believe my client was able to make the changes she made because she “got” what it means to practice deliberately. Artists understand that to get better at what they do, they need to continually work at the specific medium they have chosen. So she knew, intuitively, that to improve her leadership, she would need to practice certain skills.

Great leadership requires that we create new habits. New habits come from practice. As you practice and work intentionally at a skill, it eventually becomes second nature. It`s just like learning to read or drive a car. Remember how difficult those were in the beginning and how much you thought about them as you were learning the skill?

This artist-leader taught me a thing or two. Determination, desire and regular practice were things she did already, although in a different realm. The leadership habit ultimately became so ingrained that her significant other claimed she was leading in her sleep! He told her that he heard her using phrases such as, “We`re all in this together,” and “Whatever we do, it will be awesome,” as she dreamed.

To be really good at this leadership thing, you must develop habits. And once you become a leader in your sleep, you`ll know that you have those habits down!

Abraham Lincoln is known for leading the transformation of our nation. I`ve heard that he was once asked how long it took him to write the Gettysburg Address. He replied, “All my life.”

Lincoln was an introspective man. It is easy for me to believe he would have been unable to write the Gettysburg Address without looking inside himself first. And I don`t doubt that introspection is a precursor to great leadership; great leaders seem to make a habit of it.

Lincoln was uncommon in his willingness to look inside himself in order to be the best leader he could be for our nation. As we look around today, it is uncommon to find truly great leaders ?€“ those who are willing to make the effort to be introspective and to understand who they are and how to use that to make the greatest impact.

Knowing ourselves and what we want out of our life, understanding our leadership skills and the effect we want to have on the lives of others ?€“ these require us to look inside. We must turn over the rocks in our soul to find what is hiding underneath. We must look for what is good and what isn`t within ourselves to act with integrity in the way we lead. And we must know what we need to change to lead effectively.

Yet we pull away from looking inside. Either we feel it`s too difficult to look, we are too busy getting the stuff done that (we think) takes priority or we would rather look elsewhere. The world pulls us to look outside ourselves for answers. Without tasks to do and problems to solve, we feel useless. We spin and spin, looking for answers. Yet, if we slow down and listen to ourselves, we may find that the answers are within us.

The world is waiting for us to bring out the best of what is inside us. The world desperately needs great leadership. It needs us to understand what is important ?€“ to make the changes needed that will provide the strength and energy for us to do great things.

It`s not possible to know ourselves if we don`t stop and take the time to look at the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly. The only way I know to make that happen is to have dedicated “sacred time” to reflect and look inside. If indeed this is important, it will become a priority and a regular part of your day.

So slow down. Take a few deep breaths. And listen to yourself. Take the time needed to reflect, to gain new perspective. Find a friend, colleague or coach to reflect with. And watch yourself become the best leader you can be.

My August “Leadership” column for West Michigan Business Review can be found here.

I’m finding myself surrounded by wonderful leaders who are also great writers. I hope its okay that I take a break from writing and offer yet another from a blog post on West Michigan Business Review from one of my favorite people and a great leader, Ron Kitchens, CEO of Southwest Michigan First. Ron walks the talk.

Be sure to pick up on all of his posts at West Michigan Business Review

View From the Corner Office – Make No Excuses by Ron Kitchens

One of the great privileges of my position is the access you have to work with and observe the behaviors of great leaders in business, faith, government and community.

In this weekly segment, I will point out a different trait of these exceptional leaders.

Make no excuses.

Great leaders make no excuses about failures; instead. they learn, overcome and succeed. Face it, no one cares about your excuses. They only want to know what you have learned from the situation and how the lesson, expansive as it was, is going to show a future return on investment.

One of the hottest Web sites these days is www.alibinetwork.com, which provides its subscribers with the ability, as their Web site states, “To invent, create and provide personalized alibis for people wishing to anticipate and justify absences.”

These people will lie for you when you cannot do it yourself. Don’t do it.

To quote Jack Johnson, “Where have all the good people gone?” Of all of the great leaders I have known, none would have subscribed to the Alibi Network, period.