Better Practice Guide

for Emerging Leaders

in the ACT Disability Sector

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Contents

The Emerging Leader in the ACT Disability Services Sector 4

A definition........................................................................................................................................4

Impact................................................................................................................................................4

In every organisation’s interest.........................................................................................................4

Opportunities for emerging leaders..................................................................................................4

The Emerging Leader Better Practice Guide......................................................................................5

Structure of the Better Practice Guide..............................................................................................5

Information for the guide..................................................................................................................6

Part One: Leadership Foundations 7

Foundational frameworks 8

Context of emerging leadership........................................................................................................8

A model for emerging leaders...........................................................................................................9

Emerging Leader Needs...................................................................................................................11

Perspectives on developing emerging leaders.................................................................................11

Human capital perspective..............................................................................................................11

Social capital perspective................................................................................................................11

Context of leadership development................................................................................................12

Elements of leadership development..............................................................................................12

Better Practice Resources................................................................................................................13

Part Two: Guide for the Organisation 14

Guide for the Organisation 15

Building organisational strength......................................................................................................16

Elements of workforce readiness....................................................................................................16

Capacity to anticipate and respond.................................................................................................16

Agility...............................................................................................................................................17

Capability.........................................................................................................................................17

Bench strength................................................................................................................................18

Attraction, recruitment and selection of emerging leaders.............................................................18

The emerging leader talent development pool...............................................................................18

Assessment of emerging leaders.....................................................................................................19

Developing emerging leaders..........................................................................................................21

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Development for emerging leaders with disabilities.......................................................................21

Better practice principles for the design of leadership development..............................................22

Emerging leader development cycle:..............................................................................................24

Methods of leadership development for emerging leaders............................................................29

Organisational Capability Maturity..................................................................................................34

Organisational leadership development CMM assessment.............................................................35

How to use the leadership development CMM...............................................................................37

Better Practice Resources................................................................................................................39

Part Three: Guidance for the Emerging Leader 40

Guidance for the Emerging Leader 41

Learning about leadership...............................................................................................................42

Professional memberships..............................................................................................................43

A cycle in developing emerging leadership......................................................................................43

Emerging leader development cycle................................................................................................44

Overview of each stage of the cycle................................................................................................45

Further resources organised by capability areas.............................................................................56

Bringing it all together.....................................................................................................................58

Framing Learning Objectives for your leadership development......................................................63

Kinds of Objectives..........................................................................................................................63

Tips for framing objectives..............................................................................................................63

On the Job Learning Options...........................................................................................................65

Appendix 1: Professional Learning Plan templates..........................................................................68

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The Emerging Leader in the ACT Disability Services SectorA definitionAn emerging leader is someone who in the course of their day to day work and in their professional interactions and relationships visibly demonstrates their commitment and potential to take on leadership roles in organisations working within the ACT Disability Services Sector.

ImpactEmerging leaders have an important role to play in the ACT Disability Services Sector. They represent the next generation of leaders and potentially provide their organisations with sources of renewed energy, different perspectives, new knowledge, innovation, commitment and passion.

In every organisation’s interestEmerging leaders represent underlying capacity. Where organisations nurture and support their emerging leaders, they are better able to activate this capacity and to proactively plan for the sustainability of their workforce. This serves to prepare a strong team of capable, committed and talented people that can strategically progress the work of the organisation into the future.

Emerging leaders also represent an important form of “social capital” for the ACT Disability Services Sector. This form of “capital” when properly nurtured and deployed can provide the sector with strong networked relationships among individuals and organisations which enhance collaboration, fruitful exchange and the sharing of resources and knowledge. This can potentially create innovations and new value for the sector and its many stakeholders and to assist it with the challenges and opportunities of the future.

The development of emerging leaders is therefore in the interest of every organisation within the sector and of the sector itself if we are to remain relevant and responsive to clients, stakeholders and the Canberra community.

Opportunities for emerging leadersLeading is not just about stepping into a formal leadership role and people who occupy leadership roles are not necessarily leaders automatically. Leading begins with a way of thinking and being and people lead in many different forms; in thought and ideas and in practical deeds; through informal as well as formal roles. Stepping into formal or informal

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leadership roles provides committed individuals with many opportunities to make a difference to the sector, the organisation and the lives of people with disability. Leading can also makes a difference to your own professional life.

In leading, you can:

learn about yourself and other people work with different people on a common cause or shared interest use your strengths for the benefit of others influence views, attitudes and change empower people you work with help others to grow and develop help solve complex problems help make organisations in the sector more effective make a difference to the lives of those you lead leave a positive and enduring legacy

The Emerging Leader Better Practice GuideThis better practice guide is for emerging leaders and their organisations.

For emerging leaders, it provides guidance in developing greater self-awareness, knowledge and effective performance as they step into more senior leadership roles.

For organisations, it provides guidance in supporting emerging leaders as they develop and grow their abilities and work to realise their potential.

Structure of the Better Practice GuideThe guide comes in three parts:

Part 1: provides introductory frameworks and models relevant to emerging leaders and their organisations

Part 2: provides approaches for organisations to support their emerging leaders Part 3: provides better practices for emerging leaders to consider and apply

Each part of the guide also includes additional resources which provide further information, ideas and research.

The guide is not definitive. Rather, it helps emerging leaders and their organisations to consider the process of investing in and supporting the development and growth of people who demonstrate commitment to the task of leading within the sector and the potential to do so effectively. The guide is a work in progress and will be refreshed periodically.

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Information for the guideMuch of the guide is informed by consultations with emerging leaders in the sector and by consultations with training and leadership and development providers in industry. This included information and feedback in relation to:

Context and its impact on organisations in the sector The nature of leadership in the sector Capabilities of emerging leaders How emerging leaders prefer to learn about and engage with their development Issues in the disability sector which impact leaders with disability.

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Part One: Foundational Frameworks

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Foundational frameworksThis part of the better practice guide provides some foundational frameworks which emerging leaders and their organisations can use to develop a more considered understanding of leadership development and to shape a practical and intentional approach to developing emerging leadership.

It begins with a description of the broad disability services context in the ACT, provides a holistic model of emerging leadership, describes the key capabilities for leaders in the sector, suggests two key perspectives with which the development of leaders can be shaped and ends with key elements of leadership development.

Context of emerging leadershipThe ACT Disability Services Sector is complex and dynamic, bringing with it many opportunities and challenges.

The sector is shaped by:

changing models of care and service; evolving demographics in the ACT and nationally; impending implementation of a National Disability Insurance Scheme; complex legislative frameworks; significant duty of care accountabilities; a diverse range of organisations providing a wide range of care and services, many of

which are specialised and unique; a very competitive and increasingly constrained funding environment; a variety of perceptions which influence employment choices within the sector

within a competitive employment market; and increasingly complex and changing needs of people with disabilities as they move

through different stages of their lives.

Such a context shapes opportunities for leadership and how leadership is practiced within the sector and the attitudes, knowledge and performance required of effective leaders in the sector.

Attributes which may be unique and critically important to leaders in the sector include a deep personal concern and passion for the rights of people with disability and a strong desire to work and lead with people with disability to effect change.

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A model for emerging leadersIn the ACT Disability Services Sector, capabilities required of emerging leaders and their subsequent development cover three main areas:

The attitude-knowledge-performance model represents a holistic approach to thinking about and developing leadership in the sector. These three components are interrelated—the knowledge people possess can shape attitude, which can influence performance. Beliefs or attitudes towards ways of leading in the sector can influence performance, which can in turn shape the knowledge that is acquired. Therefore, each component impacts on the others and attention to all areas is important to becoming an effective leader in the sector.

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Capabilities for the emerging leader in the ACT Disability Services Sector

Attitudes Knowledge Performance

Passion for the sector and its issues and people

Inclusiveness Self-awareness Self-efficacy and self-

directedness Conviction Courage Openness to new ideas

and possibilities Agility and adaptability Empathy Resilience Stewardship Collegiality Service (not for profit

ethos)

The Business

Funding arrangements and accountabilities

Management reporting

Financial management

Human resource management

The Sector

Legislative framework

Advocacy Representational “Seeing beyond

the individual” Stakeholder

management Working with

government Working with

other organisations

Adds value to the sector and to people with disability

Contributes to strategic direction of the organisation

Achieves meaningful results appropriately

Communicates with influence

Cultivates productive working relationships

Role models commitment and integrity

Professional

Specific disability issues

Planning, organising and implementation

Problem solving

IT, writing and reading competence

Analysis and synthesis

Presentational Not for profit/

community service craft

Continual learning and development

Critical reflection

People

Influencing Listening and

feedback Communication Energising

people Negotiation Conflict

management Working through

others Leading change Managing up Inspiring others Developing

others Duty of care

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Emerging Leader NeedsEmerging leaders have a unique set of needs given their individual circumstance. This includes the need for:

An appropriate level of awareness of their concept of self. That is, of strengths, areas of weakness, styles, preferences, bias and one’s own view of what leadership means and where this meaning has come from. In this regard, the successful selection of an emerging leader for a leadership role is critical.

Adequate preparation in acquiring knowledge, relevant performance experience and adopting an appropriate attitude is undertaken before leadership roles and tasks are assumed.

Proper induction to expectations of the organisation and of people being led. A peer support network. A senior guide who can mentor the emerging leader. Opportunities to actually lead on the job. Opportunities to learn from positive and negative on the job experiences. Adequate and fair remuneration. Continual learning and professional development.

Perspectives on developing emerging leadersThere are many ways in which the development of emerging leaders can be viewed. Each perspective shapes the way emerging leaders are selected and developed. In the context of the ACT Disability Services Sector, two key perspectives can underpin the way individuals and their organisations approach the development of emerging leaders. These two perspectives are not mutually exclusive. In reality leadership development works best when both perspectives are combined.

Human capital perspectiveThis perspective views the development of leadership generally as building individual skills, capabilities, knowledge and techniques. Development which is framed by this perspective is generally focused on providing opportunities for individuals to develop their own skill sets and to grow as individual leaders to perform successfully in leadership roles. It is focused on the quality of individual leaders. Such development may be generic, based on common leadership skill sets or focused on skill sets for specific operating contexts. Examples include tertiary study, executive education and training courses, public seminars, conferences, books and other resources.

Social capital perspectiveThis perspective views development of leadership as one which is concerned with building a range of networks and relationships among individuals and organisations that enhance collaboration and the individual and collective capacity to respond to leadership challenges and opportunities. It is focused on the quality created between leaders. This perspective is

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particularly relevant to the ACT Disability Services Sector as the sector represents part of the community’s social capital, that is, the community’s collective capacity to respond to the needs of people with disability.

Development underpinned with a social capacity perspective is focused on cross organisational or sector wide forms of development where the building of contacts, trusting relationships and the creation of shared value is engendered. In the ACT context, this could include inter-organisational projects, task forces, sector forums, and networking activities.

The combination of both perspectives is useful in the context of the ACT Disability Services Sector which is characterised by its significant organisational diversity relative to the small size of its client base. In such a context, the building of individual leadership skills must be complemented by the building of skills which enable organisations in the sector to better collaborate and to join together for better and more sustainable client and stakeholder outcomes.

Context of leadership developmentAs part of the ACT community and the global professional field of disability services, the sector’s unique leadership development environment offers individuals and their organisations:

Interesting and challenging work across policy, program, service delivery and corporate functions providing potential for a variety of leadership roles and a breadth as well as depth of capabilities, knowledge, skills and experiences.

A mix of leadership opportunities in professional and technical areas and in more general leadership and management areas.

Opportunities to learn from recognised subject matter experts, effective leaders and experienced mentors within organisations and across the sector.

A sector that supports and encourages on the job, relationship based as well as more formal forms of continual learning and development.

Elements of leadership developmentFor the purposes of this guide:

Learning refers to the cognitive, emotional and social processes that individuals and groups engage in which results in new knowledge, skills, experiences, perspectives and attitudes that are related to their roles and work in their organisation and in the sector as a leader.

Development refers to processes that individuals and groups engage in which results in individual and professional growth that equips and positions them for more complex or senior roles or tasks. Development is generally carried out in response to potential. It is focused on the future.

Training refers to the acquisition of skills, generally technical in nature, which are necessary for a leadership job, function, role or task.

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Better Practice ResourcesThe Centre for Creative Leadership (2003) Handbook of Leadership Development. Jossey Bass. San Francisco.

Nohria, Nitin, and Rakesh Khurana. Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice. Harvard Business School, 20

Rost, Jospeh C. Leadership for the 21st Century. New York: Praeg

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Part Two: Guide for the Organisation

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Guide for the Organisation

This part of the guide suggest better practices for organisations to consider putting in place to build a culture that supports the development of emerging leaders for better business and workforce outcomes. Without this culture the opportunities for professional growth are limited.

It begins with the idea of building organisational strength through agile, ready and capable workforces and leadership as ways for organisations to meet the challenges, opportunities and uncertainties in the sector.

Better practices are suggested for the identification and assessment of emerging leaders and for their actual development in tandem with a leadership development cycle. Better practice design principles for leadership development are provided, as well as key better practice methods for leadership development.

An organisational maturity assessment is provided to assist organisations gauge where they might need to focus on to build a supportive culture and this part concludes with additional resources for organisations to refer to.

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Building organisational strengthThe future operating environment of the ACT Disability Services Sector in a dynamic, fluid and increasingly interdependent national and global market and public policy context is difficult to predict. In this context, organisations working in the sector play a critical role in providing direction, enabling coherence of effort and underpinning the capability of the professional workforce in the sector with capable leadership. The ability of leaders and workforces of organisations in the Sector to be responsive to the complex and unpredictable strategic and operating environments is central to the sector’s growth. Organisations should position themselves to respond to the opportunities in a dynamic, evolving environment.

Defining workforce readiness

Workforce readiness can be defined as the capacity and the capability of the organisation’s leaders and its workforce to anticipate and effectively respond to changes, fluidity and emerging priorities in its task environment in the context of its strategic aims.

Elements of workforce readiness

Capacity to an-ticipate and respondCapacity is the extent of focus, time, space and resources that the organisation’s leadership and workforce have available or can create, to anticipate, absorb and respond to emerging strategic tasks and issues in a timely manner. This includes:

Being watchful for emerging issues, trends and developments that have potential to impact the authorising and task environments of organisations and the sector.

Being connected to political realities, external institutional networks of organisational and public sector stakeholders, think tanks, clearinghouses, universities, social media and websites and other entities to be able to better anticipate needs, understand perspectives and identify pressures which might impact on their task environments.

Translating these factors and variables into what they might mean for the business of the organisation, its specific tasks and is key strategic stakeholders.

At the workforce planning level, this capacity is built and strengthened through:

Organisational scenario planning processes and tools to consider and test reactions to possible and probable scenarios.

Internally produced future focused watching briefs and research, forums and seminars, conducted by internal subject matter experts and organisational assets to build awareness and to disseminate information.

Strategic relationships with other public sector agencies which have an interest in fields related to the ACT Disability Services Sector to develop broader and shared

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whole of sector perspectives, and to develop the propensity for more coordinated, multi-organisational responses.

The formation of cross functional study teams and discussion groups within and across organisations around specific issues, challenges or themes to develop a deeper understanding appreciation of, sensitivity to and the socialising of emerging issues with the broader organisation.

Organisational linkages to credible professional associations, think tanks, industry and academia as sources of lead thinking, information and data.

AgilityWorkforce readiness also entails a degree of workforce agility. Agility refers to the extent that the workforce or parts of it can be rapidly shaped, re-configured, structured and deployed to deal with strategic emerging or urgent requirements. At the workforce planning level, this includes having:

Broad understanding of workforce capability, sources of experience, emerging leadership talent and subject matter expertise to enable rapid and appropriate selection and deployment of staff for projects, taskforces or response teams.

Organisational processes to enable the rapid establishment of flexible and responsive task or project based work teams

Familiarity with matrix management structures and processes to enable the deployment and utilisation of subject matter experts and specialised capability, whilst ensuring effective and consistent people management

Workforce cultures that are accommodating and supportive of rapid and responsive but properly managed staff movement

Organisational processes to convert temporary project based work into business as usual functions where required or vice versa

Workforce culture that supports lessons learned, knowledge capture and dissemination processes for the purposes of a more ready organisation

CapabilityWorkforce readiness also requires the building and strengthening of readiness related leadership capability in the workforce. This includes:

o Futures thinkingo Whole of sector thinkingo Decision making capability o Cultivating and strengthening strategic institutional partnershipso Behavioural adaptability and mental agilityo Individual resilienceo Navigating the complexity of 21st century disability services

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Bench strengthWorkforce readiness also entails the development of adequate bench strength for key leadership and other roles in the organisation. Bench strength relates to developing an adequate number of people with the right capabilities to step into roles that the organisation considers to be critical to its ability to achieve its outcomes. Bench strength is a form of contingency and succession planning, by preparing and enabling individuals to be positioned for roles at the next higher level. This includes exposing emerging leaders to:

New or ad hoc projects, tasks and assignments Membership on taskforces, sector forums and internal committees Higher duties Secondments and attachments Rotations Formal and on the job learning and development activities Being mentored for the future potential roles Being coached for present responsibilities.

Identifying emerging leaders

Attraction, recruitment and selection of emerging leadersAn understanding of organisational leadership requirements will help to shape the nature, timing and scale of its attraction, recruitment and selection processes. These can be positioned as part of larger business as usual recruitment processes or conducted and managed as a separate “talent” recruitment program. An understanding of leadership/talent requirements will help to sharpen and better target attraction effort and provide clear and additional criteria for selection processes to better ensure talent-role-organisational fit.

Where separate talent attraction, recruitment and selection processes are adopted, induction processes for incoming leaders must be designed and managed in a thoughtful and professional manner so that incoming talent are integrated effectively into the organisation. This is important in protecting the investment that the organisation has made in attraction and recruitment activity. Effective induction and orientation will also help keep leaders engaged in anticipation of formal leadership development or leadership roles to commence.

The emerging leader talent development poolOrganisations with need, may consider establishing an emerging leader talent development pool. Such a group is not the ultimate grouping of talent in the organisation. They do not represent an exclusive, special or favoured group. Rather, the emerging talent development group is merely a group that has been selected for leadership development to meet organisational needs.

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The group can be an annual determination of emerging level staff selected from the organisation to participate in emerging leader development activities. The size and composition of the group is determined annually in response to and anticipation of organisational need and circumstance. The number should be kept to a manageable quantity for the organisation to support successfully in the context of budget priorities and many other leadership and workforce development initiatives and people related priorities. The size and mix of the group can be adjusted annually to keep pace with organisational need. Entry into the group can be based on a mixed formula consisting of selections and open nominations against predetermined criteria.

Assessment of emerging leaders

While performance is a visible and important factor, the identification of emerging leaders within organisations is primarily concerned with the identification of potential.

The 9 box matrix (below) is a better practice approach to assessing the potential of emerging leaders against performance and potential criteria. Achieving a high potential rating would suggest that the emerging leader concerned is ready, committed to and able to participate in appropriate leadership development activities.

Indicative 9 box matrix

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Questions for Reflection

How does my organisation currently identify and nurture leadership potential? How can my organisation adapt and apply this approach to the way we identify and select

emerging leaders?

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Developing emerging leaders

The effective development of emerging leaders and their maturing over time is responsibility for every successful, serious and committed organisation in the sector. Leadership development is a complex task requiring investment in time, attention, focus, effort and money.

Leadership development does not have to be costly. Organisations which are open to thinking and acting in a considered and creative way in developing their leaders will succeed in designing and implementing leadership and workforce cultures that are agile, ready and sustainable.

Development for emerging leaders with disabilities

It is reasonable to expect that there will be emerging leaders in the sector who will have a disability themselves. Organisations will need to be aware of the nature these disabilities and design development opportunities that take these needs into consideration including:

The timing and nature of development opportunities. Many people with disabilities face difficulties with transport in the early mornings and late evenings for example, which means participating in development or work related activities at such times will be impeded.

Access to appropriate work and learning technologies to ensure that leaders have the right equipment and can use these effectively for their learning and work.

An emphasis on and providing access to individual support such as coaching and mentoring.

Group work or group based development activities which allow emerging leaders with disability to participate as fully as their peers.

Access to appropriate assistance for emerging leaders with visual and hearing impairments during development activities.

The use of materials which can be accessed by people with visual impairments.

Appropriate physical access for people with physical disability to venues and places of learning and work.

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Better practice principles for the design of leadership development

In thinking about developing your leaders, consider the capabilities that your organisation needs now and will need in the medium to longer term. Refer to the capability table provided in Part 1 of the guide for this.

Consider how these capabilities could be developed and acquired by the emerging leaders in your organisation.

Consider how your organisation would go about designing the development required. In doing so, here are some better practice principles to consider:

Development needs are based on relevant capabilities that are required by the organisation as well as by the individual.

The development curriculum incorporates work on attitudes, knowledge and desired leader performance.

Development experiences are an integrated blend of on the job, relationship based and formal learning opportunities.

Development is supported and valued in a visible way by the organisational executive.

Senior organisational leadership are involved in the actual imparting of knowledge and attitudes.

Senior leaders are used as role models of desired performance. Preferred learning styles of emerging leaders are appreciated and catered to, to the

extent practical, within the design. Application of learning is designed to be part of the learning, not an activity left for

after. Evaluations are taken seriously and measure and asses workplace impact.

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Questions for Reflection

Reflect on and identify some examples of how these principles are applied in your organisation.

What other opportunities can you identify in the future of how these principles could be applied in your organisation?

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What organisations can do for leaders at each stage of the leadership development cycle.

The model below capturing the stages of leadership development is a way for individual leaders to think about where they might be in their leadership journey and what practices to develop further leadership maturity at each stage.

Emerging leader development cycle: The key features of the development cycle include:

1. Leadership Preparation2. Leadership Transition3. Applied Leadership Competence4. Applied Leadership Expertise

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Organisations have a role to play a role in assisting their leaders develop at each stage of the development cycle:

1. Better practices to assist individuals with learning and development for the leadership preparation stage include:

Making visible internal and external learning and development opportunities on organisational intranets and team meeting ensuring staff have capacity and time to attend.

Providing tool kits or resources on holding learning and development related conversations for both individuals and supervisors.

Providing advice for staff in establishing mentoring relationships. Providing access to self-awareness and diagnostic processes including 360 degree

feedback processes. Providing access to professional coaching services through external coaching

providers. Implementing a modest organisational graduate program for incoming graduates.

What else can your organisation do?

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2. Better practices to assist individuals with development for the leadership transition stage include:

Ensuring organisational induction processes for new incoming leaders are provided. Providing regular and timely informal and formal feedback on progress. Providing mentoring and coaching support service for individual leaders who are

new to role.

What else can your organisation do?

3. Better practices to assist individuals with learning and development for applied leadership competence include:

Providing performance related feedback and guidance for individuals from their supervisors and managers through informal conversations as well as through formal Individual Work Plan and Individual Learning Plan processes.

Providing access to approved internal and external learning and development activities.

Providing access to workplace learning and development activities, relationships and networks.

Providing access to opportunities for Higher Duties, secondments, taskforces and projects.

Providing access to job relevant and appropriate professional, technical and disability services related development opportunities.

Encouraging memberships on inter-organisational and internal committees, taskforces and project groups.

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What else can your organisation do?

4. Better practices to assist individuals with applied leadership expertise include:

Encouraging and supporting participation in relevant and appropriate national and international professional conferences.

Providing opportunities to mentor, coach or teach junior or less experienced staff. Encouraging membership on or leadership of senior inter-organisational and

internal/external committees, sector taskforces and sector project groups. Encourage access to internal senior management and leadership forums. Provide access to opportunities for Higher Duties and encourage external

secondments. Explore access to mobility (within and outside the sector) opportunities.

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What else can your organisation do?

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Methods of leadership development for emerging leadersThere are many methods that organisations can employ to assist their emerging leaders to develop and grow. Here are some examples of key methods. The deployment of methods is contingent on the objectives of the development, the nature of capabilities that are being developed and individual and organisational circumstance.

Form Key features Key deployment considerations

Self-awareness exercises

These may consist of electronic based 360 degree feedback processes which provide information on how an emerging leader is performing from different perspectives. Web based self-awareness instruments and reports which help emerging leaders to better understand their styles, preference, personalities and the impact on their practice of leadership. All forms of self-awareness information should be debriefed with the emerging leader by suitably qualified professionals to be fully effective.

360 degree feedback is developmental in nature and is not used for performance purposes.

Raters involved should have the ability and maturity to rate the leader fairly and constructively.

The team members of leaders being rated, should feel that they have sufficient anonymity in the 360 feedback process.

Digital learning

The internet has a wide range of learning resources many of which can be accessed for free. This includes podcasts, webinars, apps, digital books, videos, interviews, research databases, electronic articles and newsletters, blogs and internet radio programs Examples include: ITunes U and Ted Talks www.Ted.com

The huge range of resources available requires that some selection and targeting is required to assist emerging leaders to focus on the appropriate resources efficiently. Useful for preparation, transition, competence and mastery stages.

On the job Opportunities to take on higher duties on a temporary basis or opportunities to lead at level on an ongoing basis. On the job learning needs to be approached and managed in a deliberate manner if learning is to be effective to emerging

Such experiences need to be prepared for and debriefed constructively after if they are to be fully effective

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leaders. development experiences. Useful for transition, competence and mastery stages.

Communities of practice

Communities of practice are forums of people sharing similar professional roles or interest and meet regularly to share information and practices discuss common issues and provide shared resources.

This is especially useful for the deepening of professional or technical knowledge. Useful for transition and competence stages.

Mentoring A senior guide within or external to the organisation/sector who can provide wisdom, advice, contacts and perspective. Mentoring relationships need to be self-selected and self-managed to be effective. Mentoring can also be effective in helping emerging leaders clarify their career and leadership intentions in the sector.

Organisations can help individuals to identify suitable mentors given their relationships and networks. This is especially useful at the transition and competence stages.

Coaching A professional who can assist the emerging leader to discover ways of effective leading on a real time basis. Providing access to a professional coach over a period of 6 months can be very effective in assisting leaders gain traction in their new roles for example.

This is especially useful when individuals are new to a role or when they are reflecting on their careers and aspirations and require assistance. Useful for the preparation and mastery stages.

Networking Opportunities to broaden and deepen professional contacts. Networking can expose emerging leaders to other leaders and different perspectives. Professional relationship formed from networking can provide additional support and source of sector relevant information.

This can help individuals to establish contacts quickly and is especially important at the preparation and transition stages.

Peer support Colleagues at similar levels who can provide encouragement and act as sounding boards. Peers can also reassure emerging leaders that they are not alone in their challenges and difficulties.

Useful during the transition stage, an informal buddy system can be put in place by organisations quickly and simply.

Secondment, attachments and placements

Temporary opportunities to experience different organisational contexts within the sector including government agencies and other sector based organisations to obtain different perspectives, new knowledge, and professional relationships and to work on issues from different points of interests.

Organisations are better placed to organise and coordinate this within the sector. This is best used at competence and mastery stages.

Job Swaps Exchanging roles with other leaders at similar Organisations are best

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levels to enable a broadening of skills across the organisation. Job swaps also encourage a deeper appreciation of and sensitivity to different roles and pressures in an organisation.

placed to coordinate this internally and are best used at competence and mastery stages.

Stretch assignments

Tough or complex assignments which will stretch the emerging leader intellectually, in their skills and in their resilience are a powerful way to develop leaders. Adequate support must be provided to the emerging leader throughout the assignment to ensure its effectiveness and that the emerging leader is set up for success.

Organisations best placed to coordinate this internally and are best used at competence and mastery stages.

Sector wide project teams

Opportunities to influence and learn from important sector wide issues and to work with diversity, alternative views and dynamic relationships. Sector projects provide opportunities to build collaborative, negotiation, conflict management and relationship building skills.

Organisations are best placed to organise and coordinate this within the sector. This is best used at competence and mastery stages.

Sector conferences, forums and meetings

Opportunities to broaden and deepen sector related knowledge and to anticipate change. Attending leadership specific conferences can also help emerging leaders to learn from other sectors, fields and other leaders. Emerging leaders will also benefit and grow if they present at conferences and seminars

Organisations are better placed to organise and coordinate this within the sector. This is best used at competence and mastery stages.

On the job feedback

Precise feedback, advice and encouragement provided in timely response to actual leadership action (or lack of). Timely, constructive workplace feedback is critical to the building of good leadership habits amongst emerging leaders.

An ongoing activity within all successful organisations.

Study leave Time off to pursue relevant professional qualifications

This is a major investment for most organisations and is typically made if the qualifications benefit the organisation directly.

Scholarships Sponsored formal professional development opportunities

An incentive or reward based process which can be used for emerging leaders with high potential.

Formal programs

Generic, public based programs or programs designed specifically for organisations, these opportunities assist in building specific leadership skills, techniques and approaches.

The most common and efficient form of development, but not necessarily the most

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ACT based organisations which provide leadership and development services relevant to the ACT disabilities services sector:

Australian Institute of Management www. aim .com.au

Australian Catholic University: www.acu.edu.au

Australian institute of Company Directors:www.companydirectors.com.au

Canberra Institute of Technology: www. cit .edu.au

McMillian Training www. mcmillan .net.au University of Canberra :

www. canberra .edu.au/ Wizard Corporate Training

www.wct.com.au/ Yellow Edge Performance Architects

www.yellowedge.com.au

cost effective.

Formal based programs should be used as part of a larger workplace focused development process or as a temporary measure.

Formal programs can also be useful in formalising development experiences in the workplace. They can help give emerging leaders a formal leadership vocabulary as well as more common techniques and approaches to use. They can provide emerging leaders with a sense of confidence.

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Questions for reflection

What methods is your organisation mainly using? What opportunities are there to use other methods?

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Organisational Capability MaturityCapability maturity is a better practice concept that identifies and considers the levels of maturity of various organisational capabilities. Organisational capabilities could include: Human Resource Management; Strategy; Financial Management; Innovation; leadership and others.

Every organisation evolves in different ways and each will naturally have different levels of maturity in relation to their various capabilities including leadership.

Developed by Carnegie Mellon University, the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is designed to assist organisations to assess levels of maturity of various organisational capabilities including leadership development. The maturity model enables organisations to appraise their respective leadership practices on a maturity scale of 1 to 5. This provides the organisation with a baseline understanding of its ability to support leadership development. Having a baseline then enables the organisation to identify appropriate and incremental maturity targets which can be achieved over time with concrete plans and focused organisational action.

When used in this way, the maturity model engenders better practices in leadership development and helps organisations to put in place actions to develop greater levels of maturity in this capability if this is required.

A leadership development maturity model developed specifically for organisations in the ACT disability services sector is provided below for organisations to use.

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Organisational leadership development CMM assessmentMaturity Levels Maturity Level 1 Maturity Level 2 Maturity Level 3 Maturity Level 4 Maturity Level 5

Maturity Definitions Practices are applied poorly or inconsistentlyunskilfully and have a poor level of acceptance

Practices are performed and managed with some skill with a focus on compliance

Practices are defined, familiar, shared and skilfully performed

Practices are embedded and seen as part of daily work and as adding real value to work

Practices are continuously improved and leveraged for organisational outcomes

Leadership Development Practices in the organisation

1. Leadership development is based on an organisational plan

2. Identification and selection of emerging leaders are based on organisational need and individual aspirations

3. Development needs are based on relevant capabilities required by the organisation as well as by the individual.

4. The development curriculum incorporates work on attitudes, knowledge and desired leader performance

5. Development experiences are an integrated blend of

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on the job, relationship based and formal learning opportunities.

6. Development is supported in a visible way by the organisational executive.

7. Development is inclusive of and accessible to emerging leaders with disabilities

8. Application of learning part of the learning, not an activity left for after

9. Evaluations measure and asses workplace impact and contribution to organsiational outcomes

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How to use the leadership development CMM1. Refer to the leadership practices column (in gold)2. Make an assessment of the maturity of each of the 9 practices against the maturity

scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the most immature and 5 being the most mature. Evidence for your assessments can be obtained from observations, speaking with staff, documentary analysis, analysis of your overall organisational performance etc.

3. Mark the level of assessed maturity in the appropriate box. This is your baseline.4. Mark the level of maturity you would like the organisation to achieve over the next

12 months. This is your maturity target.

Remember that it’s not necessary to be fully mature in all practices and that becoming more mature will require organisational commitment, resources and time.

Questions for Reflection

What maturity targets for leadership development can your organisation reasonably set for the next 12 months?

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What practical things will your organisation need do more of or less of to achieve its maturity targets?

Better Practice ResourcesCurtis, B. Hefley, W. E. Miller, S.A (2001)The People Capability Maturity Model®: Guidelines for Improving the Workforce. Addison-Wesly. Boston.

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Collins, J. (2005)Good to great and the social sectors. Harper Collins. New York.

Charan, R, Drotter, S. Noel, J. (2001) The leadership pipeline. Jossey Bass. San Francisco.

Rothwell, W.J. (2010) Effective succession planning. AMACOM. New York.

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Part Three: Guidance for the Emerging Leader

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Guidance for the Emerging LeaderThis section provides some practical ideas and better practices for emerging leaders to consider in their development.

It begins by recognising that the field of leadership is an established field of knowledge, study and practice and suggests some key sources of leadership thought for emerging leaders to refer to as they go about maturing as leaders.

The main section provides a framework which emerging leaders can use to think about their growth and maturity as leaders over time and the better practices that can be implemented at each stage. Throughout this section you will find questions for reflection that will prompt you to reflection of each section within your current role and context.

The part ends with selected resources for leaders to make use of. These are categorised by the broad leadership capabilities referred to in Part 1 of this guide. Collectively, these resources provide leaders in the sector with a foundational set of references.

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Learning about leadership

There is a rich, diverse and substantial body of knowledge on leadership. It is a recognised field of research, study, qualification and practice. Leadership is a fundamental human endeavour. There are many ways in which emerging leaders can learn about leadership. Various methods have been tabled in Part 1 of this guide and firsthand experience is always invaluable.

In addition to these methodologies which will provide concrete experiences and working forms of knowledge about leadership, it is also important that emerging leaders make a commitment to developing a deeper and broader understanding of the history, theory and practice of leadership and to build your own body of knowledge to develop your own professional philosophy that will guide your practice.

The selected seminal books below provide important perspectives, research and theories about a variety of forms of leadership:

Badaracco, J.L (2002) Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing . Harvard Business School Press.

De Pree, M (1989) Leadership is an art. Dell Publishing. Hofstede, G. Hofstede, G.J., Minkov, M (2010) Cultures and Organisations. McGraw

Hill. Koestenbaum, P. and Block, P (2001) Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying

Philosophic Insight to the Real World. Jossey Bass Pfeiffer. Grint, K. (2005) Leadership: Limits and Possibilities. Palgrave MacMillan Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. & McKee, A. (2002) The New Leader: Transforming the Art

of Leadership to the Science of Success . Little Brown. Goffee, R, and G Jones. Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?: What it Takes to be an

Authentic Leader. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press, 2006. McGregor Burns, J (1978) Leadership. Perennial. Wheatly, M. (2006) Leadership and the new science. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. New

York. Wheatley, M. (2005) Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time , Berrett-

Koehler.

We can also learn much about leadership by observing and reflecting on leaders in action and observing the impact that they have on their people and the results they achieve.

Speaking to leaders about their experiences, their learnings and obtaining their views on leadership challenges and opportunities is also an effective way to learn about leadership.

Discussing aspects of leadership with your loved ones, peers, colleagues, seniors, staff, clients and stakeholders will also provide you with valuable insight and knowledge.

Being open to examples of leadership portrayed and expressed in other spheres of life will also provide ideas and examples that you can adapt for use in your own context and situation in the disability sector. Look for examples of leadership in the arts, film, music, sport,

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business, entertainment, architecture, engineering, medicine, science, academic, public service and other fields.

Professional memberships

Memberships of leadership related professional associations can also be a useful way of keeping in touch with better practice, the latest research and with new ideas.

The international leadership association: www.ila-net.org/ The society for performance improvement: www.ispi.org/ The Australian Human Resources Institute: www.ahri.com.au The Australian Institute of Company Directors : www.companydirectors.com.au

Learning about leadership is a continual endeavour. Becoming a fully effective leader is a continual work in progress and continual learning is vital to such progress.

A cycle in developing emerging leadership The learning and development lifecycle (depict on the following page) is a way of thinking about the broad learning and development periods that individual leaders go through in their careers. These periods are marked by leadership development related activities which when carried out successfully, enable individuals to develop themselves in a thoughtful and systematic manner. The lifecycle is a model to guide how emerging leaders in the sector might think of their development and to manage their development experiences for greater individual satisfaction, success and organisational benefit.

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Emerging leader development cycle: The Key features of the development cycle include:

1. Leadership Preparation2. Leadership Transition3. Applied leadership Competence4. Applied leadership Expertise

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Reflecting generally on your leadership development

Being an effective leader requires a commitment to continual learning. Referring to the development cycle on the previous page, identify where you might be on it. This is to help you to consider:

The purpose of leadership development for yourself in relation to where you are in your role/job and the organisational context.

How leadership development would relate to your work/role or tasks as a leader i.e. what would help you be better prepared or make a successful transition or develop competency or lead to mastery.

Overview of each stage of the cycle

1. Leadership PreparationThe preparation period is characterised by:

Honest and open self-reflection and appreciation of strengths, relative weaknesses, ambitions, likes, dislikes, constraints, opportunities and values. This kind of preparation empowers individuals to make informed leadership development related choices.

In the sector, individuals are encouraged to also have constructive development related conversations with their supervisors as part of their development planning process, as well as with mentors, external coaches and others where appropriate, to ensure balanced, targeted and realistic development preparations and that adequate support is available.

Better practices for leadership preparation: Take steps to better understand your motivations, ambitions, values, likes and dislikes

in regards to the work that you do or wish to do. Think about what motivates or inspires you in the work that you do. Are these things

to do with setting new directions, motivating people and teams and taking responsibility? These are essential leadership aspects.

Observe other more senior leaders, speak to them and find out what their leadership roles are like. What motivates them and what inspires them. This may provide clues for you to discover these things about yourself.

Proactively look out for suitable leadership development related experiences as these will give you some insight into leadership as well.

Prepare to negotiate or compete for desired development opportunities. Don’t wait to be asked. It’s important that you share your leadership aspirations with the people you work with so that they can help in appropriate ways.

Be prepared to work for development opportunities. Submit credible expressions of interests, and applications and participate in selection processes where required.

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The key activity at this stage is to find greater clarity about your career and life values and where these overlap in the context of your emerging leadership. Our values reflect what is most important to us in our lives as well as our careers. We can enhance our career satisfaction by taking steps to better align our values with our work.

Values tend to be at the centre of most career decisions

Values are how you feel about work – this can be referred to as “emotional salary of work”

Different people define values differently

Dissatisfaction with work is often embedded in finding little value in it

Values can be assessed along four dimensions

o Material: How much will I gain from the job? o Social: Do I like and respect the people I work with and will I like and be respected

by them? o Emotional: Will I enjoy the work itself and the experience of doing it? Will I look

forward to being involved with the problems of the job? o Worth: Will this work contribute to a greater good - is it worthwhile?

Provided below are descriptive lists of indicative core and career values. Think about the definitions (or include your own) and, using the scale provided indicate the degree of importance that you would assign to each

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Core and career value reflection exercise Ratings: 1 - Little importance 2 - Neutral 3 - Very Important Limit your rating of 3s (very important) to a maximum of 10 items

Core Values Description Score Adventure New and challenging experiences Affection Having companionship, love and caring Co-operation Working well with others Duty Loyalty to what I dedicate myself to Ethics Being consistent with my moral standards Excellence Being the best I can be Family Close and satisfying family relationships Health Being physically healthy Independence Freedom of thought and action Integrity Honesty, standing up for my beliefs Leadership Having influence over issues, direction & othersParenthood Raising, nurturing and supporting family Personal Growth Optimizing my personal potential Personal meaning Living a meaningful life Pleasure Having fun and enjoying life Influence Having influence over issues, ideas and with peoplePrestige Being famous and well-known Recognition Respect from others as an authority Self Respect A sense of personal identity/pride Spirituality Being consistent with my spiritual beliefs Wealth Having a great deal of money

Career Values Description Score Advancement Being able to get ahead rapidly, gaining

opportunities for growth and seniority from work well done.

Adventure Having work duties that involve frequent risk-taking and change.

Aesthetics Being surrounded by beauty; creating beauty. Balance Work in an environment that allows time for

personal and family interests in an organsiation that encourages quality of life.

Challenge Work that involves problem solving and troubleshooting.

Competence Being known as an expert in the field. Competition Work that pits my abilities against those of others. Control Work that involves control of the activities,

processes and peopleCreativity Work that encourages originality and ideas. Friendship Being part of a group or team, having

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friendships/relationships in the workplace. Fast Pace Work with prevalent time pressure and in situations

with little tolerance for error. Fun Work that is fun. Growth Work that allows me to grow. Health Work that is in circumstances conducive to good

physical, mental and emotional health. Independence Being able to determine the nature of my work

without significant direction from others. Influence Being in a position to change attitudes or opinions of

others. Job Satisfaction Having relevant work; making a difference. Leadership Work that involves directing and influencing others. Location Work that allows me to live in a place conducive to

my lifestyle.

Career Value Description ScoreMake Decisions Having power to decide course of action, policies,

etc. Mobility Opportunity to travel or to be out of the office;

outside work. Moral Fulfilment Feeling my work is contributing significantly to a set

of moral standards I feel are important. Physical Challenge Having work that is physically challenging. Public Contact Having a lot of day-to-day contact with people. Recognition and Approval

Having self and work known.

Respect andAchievement

Work that gives a feeling of accomplishment and is recognized by self and others.

Security Being assured of keeping my job and a reasonable financial reward.

Service/Help Society

Work which helps others in a direct way and contributes to the betterment of the world we live in.

Status Having worked in a prestigious name company. Time Freedom Work responsibilities I can do according to my own

time schedule. Variety Having a variety of activities in my day. Wealth Work that allows me to accumulate large amounts

of money or other material gain. Work Alone Work that allows me to do projects by myself

without significant contact with others. Work with Others Working as a team toward common goals.

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Reflect on your selected life and career values and reduce each list from 10 to 6 items. Write your top 6 life and career values in the table below. Are there any that compete against each other? Can you identify ways these values have influenced your life, career to date, your work and your desire to be a leader?

Top Six Core Values Top Six Career Values 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5. 6. 6.

Questions for Reflection

What will this mean for you in the context of being an emerging leader? Is leadership a core and career value to you?

In the context of your core and career values what kind of leader do you wish to be or become?

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2. Leadership TransitionThe leadership transition period generally takes place within a new job, project, role or experience and entails establishing oneself in the new leadership experience effectively.

Better practices for leadership transitionStepping up into a leadership role can be daunting and exhilarating at the same time. New leadership roles often entail a move of some description. This can be a move to a new job, new team or a new organisation. Creating a successful transition for yourself is an important factor in ensuring that you establish yourself in your new leadership role quickly and effectively.

Consider: Notes

Have you accessed the full range of induction activities if these are offered by your organisation? If these activities are not provided or are insufficient, who can you obtain information about your new role quickly?Is the job the same as it’s described in the position description? If not, what is different? How will you manage this with your manager and your team?What are your manager’s priorities? Are there any red flags?What is urgent about your role and what is actually important?Who do you need to keep in the loop and who will you need to be kept in the loop?Who are the best people in the team to help you get across the role quickly?Is there someone in the organisation or external to it that you can use as a mentor? Are there any immediate information needs that you need to address to get a better understanding of your role? Where can you get this from?How does the team operate; what are the responsibilities of your immediate team members? Are there routine meetings that you need to attend; what preparation is required for these; how formal are they? Are they key reporting requirements and accountabilities associated with your new

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role? If so, what are these and what are their timelinesDo you know how the team fits into the organisation? What’s the one-sentence description of your team’s responsibilities? Do you know the team/organisation ‘story’; key successes, key stakeholders etc.? What support can you obtain from your manager to help you to get traction in your role quickly?What work routines can you put in place to provide you and your team with a sense of order and control over your work?How will you convey your expectations of your team to the team?

Transitioning successfully requires emerging leaders to understand what your supervisor and your organisation expects of you from attitude, knowledge and performance perspectives. This requires you to arrange and conduct a constructive discussion with your supervisor to establish:

A shared understanding of the context and bigger picture a shared understanding of mutual expectations Goals, targets and accountabilities Awareness of each other’s work styles and preferences Agreed protocols and procedures to keep each other the loop and how to escalate

issues Regular catch ups

Gaining traction in your new role entails:

An ability to listen, to watch and to understand the context before deciding to take action

Making decisions in a collaborative manner whenever possible, but alone when necessary

Managing risk appropriately Delivering on outputs and outcomes in an appropriate manner Bringing the team along with you by providing clarity of purpose, meaning and

context Acknowledging the effort and results of your team in a timely manner Achieving results through your people, not just through your own talents and abilities Being aware of your own strengths and limitations and that of your team and working

to your strengths whilst managing your limitations Being open to learning the ropes.

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Questions for Reflection

What do you need from your organisation and/or manager to successfully transition to a leadership role?

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3. Applied leadership CompetenceThe competence period is generally the longest period within a job or role and entails performing primary tasks and responsibilities and relating to people and stakeholders in a manner that builds credibility and trust, capability and capacity within the organisation, with its stakeholders and clients and within the sector.

Becoming competent requires a continuous cycle of planning, doing, reflecting and doing better. Becoming competent is not just a consequence of time or experience. Rather it is dependent on your ability to reflect on and learn from your experiences, so that you build on your experiences and become more competent. Competence is also dependent on context and competency in one context may not always be readily transferred to other contexts.

Purposeful reflection is central to becoming competent as purposeful reflection on practical experiences results in deeper understanding, new insight and new practical knowledge.

Better practices to develop applied leadership competence includes: Build in routine reflection periods in your week, to consider and reflect on what you

could have done better, what you have learned and how you might apply your learning.

Identify a mentor with whom you can discuss your experiences. This more verbal form of reflection can be helpful to people who prefer to talk things through.

Keep a journal to record your insights, learnings and observations. This is not a diary, but a way of capturing your reflections. Include in your journal, sketches, pictures, quotations and other forms of prompts to make your journal interesting to you. It can become a handy personal reference.

Learn from other disciplines and fields. Each professional field and discipline has its own body of knowledge and perspectives, which can shed new light on your own field. Learn about leadership from the fields of business, the arts, sport, architecture, environmental sciences and so on.

Be exposed to different ways of thinking which may challenge your own assumptions and prevent you from becoming dogmatic or stale in your thinking about leadership. While you may not agree with alternative views, being open to them and seeking them out will provide you with intellectual challenge and learning.

Seek feedback on your leadership performance from the people you work with, from informal chats, performance management discussions, through to more formal 360 degree feedback processes. Soliciting and considering feedback of this nature can help you to see your “blind spots” and help you to better understand the expectation of you by people working with and for you.

Put your hand up for higher duties, challenging projects or difficult tasks. These provide ample opportunity to stretch your leadership abilities.

Learn continually, through formal courses and programs, as well as by reading widely, tapping into web based material and travelling as an observant traveller.

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Questions for Reflection

What else could you do? How do you currently reflect on your practice? It may be helpful to develop some

questions that help you to critically engage with your work.

Eg. What questions do I have about my work? What challenges my values and practice? What theories, frameworks and research assist me and shape my work? Who is advantaged when I work this way/ Who is disadvantaged?

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4. Applied leadership expertiseThe leadership expertise period is associated with building depth of capability and experience and is characterised by strong professional reputation, adaptability of acquired expertise to changing context and circumstance, individual performance that is consistently high and where organisational capacity for that particular area of mastery is sustainable. Research has shown that it generally takes around 10,000 hours of practice to become masterly at something.

Better practices for applied leadership expertise: View leadership as a practice, and practice, practice, practice. Mentor, coach or teach more junior or less experienced leaders in your organisation or in

other organisations in the sector. Put your hand up to chair or lead major projects, inter-organisational committees and

sector forums. Contribute to the sector. Write, talk about and share your leadership experiences with

professional groups, networks and in guest speaker roles. The process of preparing for these activities provides the opportunity for reflection, consolidation and sense making of your experiences and will uncover new learning and insights about yourself and your practice of leadership. The practice of sharing these with others helps to build social capital within the sector.

Questions for Reflection

What else could you do? What opportunities to do have to engage in these activities in your current role? What opportunities are in you organisation or in the community that you can you

create or access that would develop your leadership expertise?

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Further resources organised by capability areas

Attitudes Knowledge Performance

Bennis, Warren. On Becoming a Leader. Reading. Massachusetts: Perseus Books, 1989

Greenleaf, R. (2002) Servant leadership. Paulist Press. New Jersey.

Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence. Bloomsbury. London.

Joiner, W, B. Joseph, S.A. (2006) Leadership agility. Jossey Bass. San Francisco.

International Leadership Associationwww.ila-net.org

London, M. (2009) Leadership Development: Paths To Self-insight and Professional Growth. Psychology Press. New Jersey.

Sykes, H. Frydenberg, E. (2006) The Australian leadership reader. Australian Academic Press. Melbourne.

Schön, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner, New York: Basic Books

Self-Awareness Tools:

Myers-Briggs Personality Type Instrument

The Business

Drucker, P (2006) Managing the non-profit organisation. Harper Collins Business. New York.

Linden, R.M (2010) Leading across boundaries: creating collaborative agencies in a networked world. Jossey Bass. San Francisco.

The Sector

Collins, J. (2005) Good to great and the social sector. Harper Collins. New York.

Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission.www.notforprofit.gov.au

Disability Advocacy Network Australia.www.dana.org.au

Poister, T.H. (2003) Managing performance in public and non-profit organisations. Jossey Bass. San Francisco.

International Society of Performance Improvement.www.ispi.org

Meadows, D.H. (2008) Thinking in systems. Chelsea Green. Vermont.

Professional

Disability Services Australiawww.dsa.org.au

National Disability Serviceswww.nds.org.au

Australian Institute of Health and Welfarewww.aihw.gov.au

National Disability Insurance Scheme.www.ndis.gov.au

People

Kotter, J.P. (1996) Leading change. HBS Press. Boston

Kotter, J.P. Cohen, D.S (2002) The heart of change. HBS Press. Boston.

Kotter, J.P. Rathgeber, H. (2006) Our ice berg is melting. St Martin’s Press. New York.

Porter, C (2005) The gentle art of persuasion. Random House. Sydney.

Pocket mentor series (2006) Leading people.

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www.myersbriggs.org

Whole Brain Thinkingwww.herrmannsolutions.asia

Harvard Business School Press. Boston.

Tharp, T. (2009) The collaborative habit. Simon Schuster. New York.

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Bringing it all together

Now you have worked through and considered the preceding sections of this guide, spend a bit of time working through the following questions. They will help you to have a more robust and realistic view of yourself as leader.

In the section following this, you will find templates which you can use to plan for some targeted learning and development action. Remember that learning and development can be formal and informal in nature.

Questions for Reflection Consider previous reflections in each stage. What is my core leadership purpose? Or why do I really want to be a leader in the

sector?

What kind of leader do I want to be?

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What strengths, experiences, values and potential do I bring to roles of leadership in my organisation?

What are my;

Strengths

Values:

Experience and accomplishments:

Potential:

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What are the qualities, skills and knowledge I have that would make me a good leader?

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Leadership development diagnostic

What is the leadership learning need that I am trying to address? Is the need to do with knowledge, skills or attitudes?

How can this need be addressed through learning and development?

If not, can this need be addressed by other means?

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If yes, are there experts or experienced people in my organisation or elsewhere who can provide on the job learning assistance and guidance in relation to my knowledge, skills and attitude needs?

Who might these people be and how could they help?

Name /expertise How he/she can help

What would I need to do to set up an on the job learning process for myself?

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Framing Learning Objectives for your leadership development

Kinds of Objectives Knowledge objectives relate to: facts, concepts, principles, theory, background

information etc. Skill objectives relate to: how to…, procedures, tasks, techniques, specific behaviours

to be displayed etc. Attitude objectives relate to: role expectations, self-image, traits, motivations,

values, perceptions, assumptions and opinions.

Tips for framing objectives Keep objectives simply phrased Frame less rather than more objectives Objectives can be measurable and non measurable. As you work through the templates, ask yourself “is this doable”?

What are the knowledge objectives that I will need to achieve?

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What are the skill objectives that I will need to achieve?

What are the attitude objectives, that I will need to achieve?

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On the Job Learning OptionsThere are many methods of on the job learning. Some methods are more suited to particular kinds of learning objectives than others, and some methods are suitable for knowledge, skill and attitude objectives. The table provides a range of methods for consideration.

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Form Key features

ShadowingFor skill objectives

The learner shadows an expert for period of time or during a critical period to watch and observe how the expert deals with an issue or situation. Shadowing can take place over a period of time or during selected events. A debrief discussion between the learner and the expert needs to take place to assist the learner to make sense of what was observed.

Interview an expertFor knowledge and attitude objectives

The learner prepares a set of questions based on their needs and asks an expert (or several) for their views and experiences. Interviews are typically informal discussions.

Expert tutoring For knowledge and skill objectives

The learner is tutored or coached by an expert on how to do certain things. The learner is provided the opportunity to practice and is given on the spot feedback by the expert.

Self-awareness exercisesFor attitude and skill objectives

Web based self-awareness instruments and reports which help emerging leaders to better understand their styles, preference, personalities and the impact on their practice of leadership. All forms of self-awareness information should be debriefed with individuals by suitably qualified professionals to be fully effective.

Digital learningFor knowledge objectives

The internet has a wide range of learning resources many of which can be accessed for free. This includes podcasts, webinars, apps, digital books, videos, interviews, research databases, electronic articles and newsletters, blogs and internet radio programs Examples include: ITunes U and www.Ted.com

In role learningFor attitude, knowledge and skill objectives

Opportunities to take on higher duties on a temporary basis orOpportunities to lead at level on an ongoing basis. In role learning needs to be approached and managed in a deliberate manner if learning is to be effective for individuals.

Communities of practice For knowledge and skill objectives

Communities of practice are forums of people sharing similar professional roles or interest and meet regularly to share information and practices discuss common issues and provide shared resources.

MentoringFor attitude, knowledge skill and attitude objectives

A senior guide within or external to the organisation/sector who can provide wisdom, advice, contacts and perspective. Mentoring relationships need to be self-selected and self-managed to be effective. Mentoring can also be effective in helping individuals clarify their career and leadership intentions.

CoachingFor attitude and skill objectives

A professional who can assist the individual to discover ways of effective leading on a real time basis. Providing access to a professional coach over a period of 6 months can be very effective in assisting individuals gain traction in their new roles for example.

NetworkingFor knowledge objectives

Opportunities to broaden and deepen professional contacts. Networking can expose individuals to other experts with different perspectives. Professional relationships formed from networking can provide additional support and source of relevant information.

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Peer supportFor attitude objectives

Colleagues at similar levels who can provide encouragement and act as sounding boards. Peers can also reassure individuals that they are not alone in their challenges and difficulties.

Secondment, attachments and placementsFor knowledge, attitude and skill objectives

Temporary opportunities to experience different organisational contexts including other not for profits, government agencies or even the private sector to obtain different perspectives, new knowledge, professional relationships and to work on issues from different points of interests.

Job SwapsFor knowledge, attitude and skill objectives

Exchanging roles with other individuals at similar levels to enable a broadening of skills across the organisation. Job swaps also encourage a deeper appreciation of and sensitivity to different roles and pressures in an organisation.

Stretch assignmentsFor knowledge, skill and attitude objectives

Tough or complex assignments which will stretch individuals intellectually, in their skills and in their resilience are a powerful way to develop people. Adequate support must be provided to the individual throughout the assignment to ensure its effectiveness and that the individual is set up for success.

Sector wide project teamsFor knowledge skill and attitude objectives

Opportunities to influence and learn from important sector wide issues and to work with diversity, alternative views and dynamic relationships. Sector projects provide opportunities to build collaborative, negotiation, conflict management and relationship building skills.

Sector conferences, forums and meetingsFor knowledge, attitude and skill objectives

Opportunities to broaden and deepen Sector related knowledge and to anticipate change. Attending leadership specific conferences can also help individuals to learn from other agencies, fields and other experts. Individuals will also benefit and grow if they present at conferences and seminars

On the job feedbackFor knowledge, skill and attitude objectives

Precise feedback, advice and encouragement provided in timely response to actual performance (or lack of). Timely, constructive workplace feedback is critical to the building of good professional habits amongst individuals.

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Appendix 1: Professional Learning Plan templates1. Professional Development Plan

Name:

Date: Review date:

Discussed with mentor or colleague? Discussed with manager?

Goals

Timeframe My personal goals are My professional goals are

Next 12 months

Next 2 years

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Strengths and areas for development Strengths

Consider: Your views Recent appraisals Feedback from others

Areas for development:Consider:

Gaps in skills and knowledge Changes to current systems What will help you progress in your role?

Priorities for Professional DevelopmentIdentified Gap By when? Potential professional

learning events

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available

1

2

3

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Learning opportunities Name of activity Details Objectives Date Cost1

2

3

4

Record of Professional Development ExperiencesName of activity Date Key learning outcomes &

knowledge shared with team

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ACTION PLANSession Title

Date

Area of work Strategy for improvement

Details Implementation date

Evaluation

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2. Individual Leadership Learning Plan *adapted from Knowles, M (1986) Using learning contracts

Based on your thinking and input from the preceding sections, complete this learning plan for yourself. If appropriate, share this with your manager and get his/her support.

What are you going to learn?(Objectives)

How are you going to learn this?(Methods)

Target date for completion

How are you going to know that you learned it(Evidence)

How are you going to prove that you learned it?(Verification)

1

2

3

Prepared by: (learner) Supported by: (manager, if relevant)

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Examples

Kinds of objectives Evidence of learning Verification means

Knowledge objectives

Reports; oral presentations; Executive summaries Positive feedback on reports, presentations and summaries

Skill Objectives Display of behaviours or performance of skill; 360 degree feedback

Error ratesProductivity measuresClient/stakeholder satisfaction ratesStaff surveys

Attitude Objectives Attitudinal rating scales; 360 degree feedback Positive feedback from peers, team members and supervisorsStaff surveys

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