Building your individualized leadership development endeavor

Building your individualized leadership development endeavor

I first learned about the field of leadership development about two decades ago. To be honest, I was a bit confused by the whole topic and fawned at how others seemed to understand leadership development deeply, speak eloquently on the topic, and provide helpful support to those seeking to develop their leadership. 

So, perhaps like you, I began reading everything I could put my hands on to try and understand what leadership development actually meant. My natural curiosity and the influence of those around me brought many authors to my front door. Authors like Ed Schein, Otto Scharmer, Tricia Hersey, Patrick Lencioni, Daniel Goleman, Bessel Van der Klok, Emily Webber, Brian Emerson & Kelly Lewis, Robert Kegan & Lisa Lahey, and Richard Rohr, the list could go on and eventually mirror the bookshelf behind my desk. 

These authors and many others helped me to understand the concepts behind leadership development and I encourage you to read them and anyone else you find helpful to aid your understanding of the field. As I became more and more familiar with these concepts & practices and utilized them in my Process Consulting with Clients, I realized that we can unknowingly put leadership development on a pedestal, unnecessarily keeping it out of reach of those who need it most…which is everyone. If this happens we become unhelpful to others and even lack wisdom ourselves. 

At the end of the day, what we are striving for in the space called leadership development is to help people develop themselves. Whether they are a “leader” or not, the underlying purpose of this endeavor is to develop ourselves, those around us, and the organizations we guide. That is what leadership development is really all about.

Within this purpose, there is room for all of us. Every single one.

With this month’s blog, A Cause Greater is launching a new series of writings that strive to help you build your individualized leadership development ENDEAVOR. I chose the word endeavor because I believe we put too much emphasis on the word plan, program, or system as it relates to leadership development. Don’t get me wrong, developing a leadership development plan is essential and very helpful. However, the plan is not the focus of our attention, it is only the framework being used. What happens inside each of us IS what we are truly after in leadership development, hence my use of the word endeavor. 

So, let’s get started. First, an author and a book I encourage you to pick up and read.

Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Ph.D. has written extensively on the use of the Enneagram in developing leaders. Beyond her comprehensive grasp of this centuries-old self-assessment tool, what I appreciate most is Ginger’s practical and no-nonsense approach to leadership development. Written in 2007, What Type of Leader Are You? provides many practical approaches to developing your leadership.

You may remember the image below from last month’s blog called Amid Oaks. 

It is my personal leadership development endeavor…now captured in a framework of three circles. You heard me right, Lon L. Swartzentruber’s personal leadership development framework. Let’s use it as an example to help understand Ginger’s leadership development imagery.

At the center is my journey towards self-mastery…what I call being a multi-rested leader. That is my phrase for consistently doing my work on myself. (Please read more about how to become a multi-rested leader here.) The inner circle considers three human skills to develop as a leader:

1. People skills: such as excellent communication, active listening, leading teams, etc. 
2. Enterprise skills: such as thinking strategically, how to achieve results, understanding your business enterprise, influencing the larger business sector, etc. 
3. Leadership skills: such as understanding change and its impact on others and your organization, making optimal decisions, embracing complexity, etc.

The outer ring I invented. This outer ring helps the leader name and integrate their personal values into these three skill areas and their self-mastery. This outer ring holds what I call “my oak trees.”

In this month’s blog, we start by focusing on the center circle. So, let’s get rid of my words so that you can begin using your words. Here is a clean image for you to use.

In order to develop your leadership development endeavor, we need to begin thinking about self-mastery. Self-mastery, what some people call being the CEO of self, is important to define.

In What Type of Leader Are You, Ginger has one of the most useful definitions, I’ve ever come across regarding self-mastery and the work we do on ourselves.

Ginger writes, “Self-mastery is not about controlling yourself; if is about becoming an expert on yourself through a commitment to honest self-reflection and the ongoing process of learning and growing from your experiences.”

Leadership development is no longer on a pedestal, the emperor has no clothes. In her book, Ginger shares six helpful components for all of us to utilize as we strive for self-mastery. I will outline them here:

1. Demonstrating a deep level of self-awareness
2. Responding to feedback in meaningful ways
3. Being self-responsible and self-motivating
4. Demonstrating self-management and emotional maturity
5. Possessing integrity that is aligned with your personal vision
6. Being committed to personality integration through lifelong learning

As you read and re-read these six components, I’d like you to consider three questions: 

1. On a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being low and 10 being high), how do you rate yourself in each of these six components?
2. How would a colleague at the office (or your significant other at home) rate you in each of these components?
3. What step are you willing to take to move towards a higher level in each of these areas?

Take a moment to answer the first question. Write down the number that comes immediately to your mind. Don’t take too long to think about it, jot a number down quickly. Now, take a moment to answer the third question. This one will take a little longer…don’t worry, it is supposed to.

In doing this work, let me be the first to say, congratulations. You have started your leadership development endeavor. Way to go! This is what is meant by doing our own work on ourselves, that is the journey of self-mastery, and it takes a lifetime.

Over the next several months we will endeavor to uncover each of the three circles you see in the above framework: self-mastery, skills to develop, and values to live. I’m looking forward to walking with you.

Mind how you go,

Lon

Lon L. Swartzentruber

Design Group International
CEO & Managing Partner

PS: If you would like to talk with me about your leadership journey, please give me a call me at 616.516.9870, or schedule a 30-minute discovery call , or simply email me at lons@designgroupintl.com.