Ignite! Newsletter—July 2010 Article
Leadership Strengths Are a Double-Edged Sword.
In working with highly successful executives over the years, Master Certified Coach and cofounder of Coaching Services Madeleine Homan Blanchard has had an opportunity to witness some of the positive and negative behaviours that enhance or limit leadership effectiveness. She has also seen that, surprisingly, the same behaviours that advance an executive's early career are the same behaviours that can later limit performance if they are left unchecked.
For example, the optimism that allows a leader to take risks and operate through obstacles can later turn into a willful disregard for reality when taken to an extreme. In the same manner, positive personality traits of energy, charm, charisma, and intelligence can lead to a lack of self-awareness if a leader doesn't know how to modulate his or her behaviour and exhibit self-restraint and self-control. Finally, a leader's self-confidence and belief in his or her own talents can quickly become a liability if ego issues turn skills and abilities into a competition with colleagues and direct reports.
Homan Blanchard explains that the challenge for leaders is to recognize that their strengths are actually double-edged swords that need to be managed.
Optimism versus Reality
When a leader's optimism crosses the line into a willful disregard for reality, the result is a mediocre company that limps along, usually surviving on the strength of a great product, and succeeding in spite of itself.
In business, this type of willful disregard for reality is akin to insisting on making a better buggy whip after the invention of the automobile. There is a tendency among successful people to keep going down the same path that has worked for them in the past even though the market is screaming for them to change course and go down another. When that happens, people lose a lot of energy, they don't trust their senior leadership, and they just kind of muddle along.
Homan Blanchard likes to compare this type of thinking to "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." As she explains, "There is a reason why that saying is funny. It's because we've all done it and we've all watched other people do it."
Self-Awareness
There are so many stories about oblivious bosses that it is almost a cliche. A lack of self-awareness is essentially ignoring how one is being perceived. As a leader, it is critical to routinely evaluate how your behaviour is impacting others.
To help with this reflective activity, Homan Blanchard recommends that leaders consider installing a little "self-observation person" on their left shoulder. Then, whenever a leader recognizes that something they are about to say feels as if it is coming up from a deep need inside of themselves, stop for a moment, take a breath and ask, Am I saying this because of my need to be heard, or am I saying this because it absolutely needs to be said and nobody else will say it?"
The Need to Be Better than Everyone Else
The final behaviour for leaders to keep an eye on is an unchecked degree of competitiveness, or the need to prove oneself smarter than everyone else. For many leaders, being the smartest person in the room is what has gotten them where they are. But when they reach senior leadership levels, they actually have to let other people be smart-or even smarter, according to Homan Blanchard.
For leaders looking to be more upfront and authentic, Olmstead recommends three behaviours to get started.
"For senior leaders, this often requires an enormous shift that includes not being so attached to being the best, brightest, and greatest. Your job now is to cultivate the best and the brightest traits of all the other people in the room. This is a leap that many leaders fail to make.
"This means that when you have a team of competent, proven performers, don't insist on adding "extra value" as a leader. Even if the team is doing something in a way that you might not agree with, you still need to shut up and let them be. Don't insist on having people do it your way. I work hard at helping my clients avoid that-especially the overworked ones who claim that that there is no one to delegate to."
Looking to Improve?
For leaders looking to improve their behaviours, Homan Blanchard often recommends this approach: Begin by naming and claiming your current behaviour and its impact on others. If you are looking to reset a relationship with your direct reports, for example, ask them these three classic questions:
- What should I start doing to be more helpful to you as a leader?
- What should I stop doing?
- Is there anything you think I should know?
Also, surround yourself with more people who aren't afraid to challenge you. Let people know that you want to engage in useful debate. Encourage people to speak up when something you say doesn't make sense or might not be the right way to go.
Finally, consider working with a coach who can provide a reality check and keep you honest. It's important to have someone who will call you on it when you are deceiving yourself.
Don't Go It Alone
Most leaders don't start out with poor habits and behaviours. They would never be as successful as they are if they did. But, when faced with the continuing pressure to perform, it is very common for highly successful people to overuse their positive traits in a way that turns them into weaknesses. In taking the time to step back and evaluate their own personality strengths and weaknesses, leaders often discover that it can be a liberating experience.
By using new behaviours-or rediscovering the positive aspects of old behaviours-leaders can gain the trust, cooperation, and collaboration of others in a way that helps everyone build something bigger than themselves.
Read another article on creating your Own Leadership Point of view.
Building Trust and Transparency in Your Organisation
Then join us for the webinar recording from our July, 2010 Webinar!