The Leadership Challenge4th Edition

� Model the Way� Inspire a Shared Vision� Challenge the Process� Enable Others to Act� Encourage the Heart

� Titles are granted, but it’s your behavior that

wins you respect� “Leading means you have to be a good

example, and live what you say.” Tom Brack� Leaders Model the Way

• Exemplary leaders know that if they want to gaincommitment and achieve the highest standards, theymust be models of the behavior they expect of others.

� Leaders must:

• Clarify Values� “You have to open up your heart and let people know what

you really think and believe.” Lindsay Leven• Find Their Own Voice

� Leaders will need to stand up for their beliefs� Leaders will need to speak and act on behalf of a larger

organization� Leaders must forge agreement around common principles

and common ideals.

� Leaders must (cont.):

• Set the example� Leader’s actions are far more important then their words

when one wants to determine how serious leaders really areabout what they say.

� Words and actions must be consistent� Exemplary leaders go first by setting the example through

daily actions that demonstrate they are deeply committed totheir beliefs.

� Modeling the way is about earning the right

and respect to lead through direct involvementand action.

� People follow first the person, then the plan!

� The dream or vision is the force that invents

the future• Imagine an exciting, highly attractive future for the

organization• Visions and dreams of what could be

� Leaders envision exciting and ennoblingpossibilities

� Leaders have a desire to make something

happen, to change the way things are, to createsomething that no one else has ever createdbefore.• Yet, visions seen only be leaders are insufficient to

create an organized movement or a significant changein the company.

� Leaders cannot command commitment, onlyinspire it

� Leaders must:

• Enlist others in a common vision� Leadership is a dialogue, not a monologue� “If you don’t believe enough to share it, talk about it, and

get others excited about it then it’s not much of a vision!”Evelia Davis

• Leaders breathe life into the hopes and dreams ofothers and enable them to see the exciting possibilitiesthat the future holds.

� During research not one person claimed to have

achieved a personal best by keeping things thesame.• All leaders challenge the Process

� Leaders venture out• “Luck” or “being in the right place at the right time” may

play a role in the specific opportunities leaders embrace,but those who lead others to greatness seek and acceptchallenge.

• None of the individuals (leaders) researched sat around andwaited for fate to smile upon them.

� Leaders are Pioneers� They search for opportunities to innovate,

grow, and improve• They are willing to step out into the unknown

� Leaders know that innovation and changeinvolve experimenting and taking risk.• Despite the inevitability of mistakes and failures

leaders proceed anyway.

� The leader’s mantra:

• Try, fail, learn. Try, fail, learn. Try, fail, learn.

� Leaders are learners• They learn from their failures as well as their

successes, and they make it possible for others to dothe same.

� To get extraordinary things done in

organizations, leaders have to enable others toact.• Grand dreams don’t become significant realities

through the actions of a single person• It requires a team effort• It requires solid trust and strong relationships• It requires deep competence and cool confidence• It requires group collaboration and individual

accountability

� “We” is the magic word

• In research they found that people used we nearly threetimes more often than I in explaining their personal-bestleadership experience.

� Leaders foster collaboration and build trust• The sense of teamwork goes far beyond a few direct reports

or close confidants• They engage all those who must make the project work;

including, peers, managers, customers, and clients,suppliers, citizens – all those who have a stake in the vision

� Leaders make it possible for others to do good

work� Exemplary leaders strengthen everyone’s

capacity to deliver on the promises they make.� Leaders enable others to act not by hoarding

the power they have but by giving it away.

� In the cases analyzed, leaders proudly discussed

teamwork, trust, and empowerment as essentialelements of their efforts.

� A leader’s ability to enable others to act isessential.

� When leaders make people feel strong and capable– as if they can do more than they ever thoughtpossible- they’ll give it their all and exceed theirown expectations.

� Authentic leadership is founded on trust, and

the more people trust their leader, and eachother, the more they take risks, make changes,and keep organizations and movements alive.

� Through that relationship, leaders turn their

constituents into leaders themselves.

� The climb to the top is grueling and long� People become exhausted, frustrated, and

disenchanted.� They’re often tempted to give up� Leaders encourage the heart of their

constituents to carry on.� Genuine acts of caring uplift the spirits and

draw people forward.

� Recognizing contributions can be one-to-one or

with many people.� It can come from dramatic gestures or simple

actions• Examples from Abraham Kuruvilla:

� A monthly newsletter sent out to all employees that was full ofsuccess stories

� In addition, a public-recognition program through which awardsand simple appreciation notices were given out to individuals andteams for doing great work.

� “The recognition made people feel cared about and genuinelyappreciated by their leaders.”

� It’s part of the leader’s job to show

appreciation for people’s contributions and tocreate a culture of celebrating values andvictories

� Recognition and celebration aren’t about funand games (although this tends to happen whenencouraging the heart)

� Encouragement is serious business• It’s how leaders visibly and behaviorally link rewards

with performance.

� When striving to raise quality, recover from

disaster, start up a new service, or make dramaticchange of any kind, leaders make sure people seethe benefit of behavior that’s aligned withcherished values.

� Leaders also know that celebrations and rituals,

when done with genuineness and from the heart,build a strong sense of collective identity andcommunity spirit that can carry a group throughextraordinarily tough times.