I believe in Leadership Development and I have dedicated my career to learning about leadership and helping others become great leaders. I developed a leadership competency model many moons ago and have found and kept a library of competencies accordingly. In March 2018, I decided to start sharing my library online. The same narrative is shared on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Each month, a blog post just like this one will be created housing all the random social media posts from that month. I hope you find it insightful and valuable as you work towards effective and successful leadership.
June 1: Organizing
Leaders who excel at organizing know what they need to get stuff done – they are a commander of their resources. They can orchestrate multiple activities without dropping the ball, arrange information and data in an understandable way, etc.
Leaders who “overdo it” a bit are often seen as intolerant of chaos or randomness. They can be hesitant to change and/or new ideas and input and may get a bit too rattled if things don’t go as planned.
Leaders who struggle with organizing sometimes look like a hot mess. They may be easily overwhelmed when multiple things need to occur, they may not know how to delegate and/or prioritize effectively, they may be unable to forecast or plan because they lack basic concepts of time and effort needed.
I am decent at organizing and probably lean a bit more on the compulsive side…I could benefit from being a bit less. What about you?
June 5: Confrontation
Great leaders deal with confrontation pro-actively instead of waiting and allowing it to fester. They don’t shy away from troublemakers or instigators and moreover, they don’t avoid making the difficult, unpopular decisions if it’s best for the people and organizations involved.
Leaders who overdo this critical competency may be quick to act or “solve” problems without putting effort into helping others solve them. They may expect perfection or quick turnarounds without appreciating the interpersonal issues that often make these situations difficult on others.
Leaders who lack this competency tend to procrastinate and avoid being uncomfortable even when all evidence suggests action needs to be taken. They may give in too soon or worse, enable others poor behavior or performance.
I am not a fan of confrontation – as a matter of fact, I am somewhat weary of people who claim they love it. But nonetheless, as a leader, I have to engage in it because in the end, the success of my organization and my team depends on it.
June 7: Standing Alone
Gosh, I love this one!
Strong leaders don’t shrink, can be counted on when times are tough, and are willing to champion even the most unpopular ideas if they believe it’s the right thing to do.
Taking this competency too far begins to look a bit like lone wolf mindsets and behaving as if the leader doesn’t need to get help or give help to others. Subsequently, these individuals rarely give credit when credit is due to others.
Leaders lacking in the standing alone competency tend to be “wallflower-esque.” They often avoid or shrink from disputes or conflict, and rarely stand up for their beliefs. Consequences, of course, are their teams rarely feel protected or may not have faith in their leader’s ability to charge forward.
I’ve struggled with confidence, and likewise, I’ve struggled with standing alone. But as I gain expertise, gain validation and certainly gain some maturity, I get better and better at this particular competency. What about you?
June 14: Intelligence
The leader who displays this competency well comes across as being capable, agile, sharp and competent. He/she deals with complexity with ease and can easily break down difficult situations or issues.
There are leaders with plenty of horsepower but, unfortunately, don’t quite seem to know when to power it down. They are often impatient, can’t relate to others, and sometimes show tolerance or acceptance of only their own ideas and solutions.
And then there are leaders who may have intelligence but aren’t powering it up. They demonstrate some laziness in thinking and have a tendency to want or insist on simplifying everything. They aren’t often capable of adapting, broadening or invigorating their mind, which subsequently comes across being slow or even dim-witted.
The great thing about this competency is that our brains are able to learn…so none of us are incapable of improving our intelligence. The trick, of course, is to discipline ourselves to learn and then use what we’ve learned wisely.
How are you doing?
June 25: Planning
A strong leader anticipates what is to come, capitalizes on it or adjusts when needed. He/she can scope out length of and complexity of projects, set reasonable goals and break down the work accordingly. His/her planning skills allow for efficient delegation of tasks.
Individuals using too much planning have a tendency to be overly dependent on a plan and unwilling or unable to adapt. They often leave out the human elements of activities and frequently struggle with change.
Individuals who haven’t quite developed the planning competency are perceived as “last minute managers” and have a tendency to fly by the seat of their pants. They are unable to effectively identify meaningful or reasonable goals, forecast the work or plan for alternatives.
This competency is clearly needed in today’s ever-changing, fast paced environment, and leaders who are committed to building strong, trusting, and confident teams would do well if they developed it accordingly.
Why not plan for it? HA!
