Cultivating a Culture of Leadership: Strategies for Success

 

Leadership is a vital element in any successful organization. To cultivate a culture of strong leadership, employers must focus on developing environment and strategies that not only inspire their current leaders, but also reach out to potential leaders in the workforce.

Leadership development is not a one-time event; it takes a long-term, consistent commitment and permanent improvements to ensure that leadership skills are effectively nurtured and developed. Here are some important strategies for cultivating a culture of leadership:

1. Establish Clear Goals & Expectations: A key factor in cultivating a culture of leadership is to provide clear goals and expectations that the organization is following. Leaders need to know what results are expected and what support is provided to achieve them. Doing so provides a sense of direction and purpose, inspiring potential leaders to strive for excellence.

2. Invest in Training Programs: Investing in training and development programs for potential, new or current leaders is essential for cultivating a culture of leadership. These programs can provide employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively lead teams and manage projects. By investing in such programs, employers also demonstrate their commitment to the growth and development of their leadership skills.

3. Recognize & Reward Leadership: Acknowledge and reward strong leadership. Publicly recognize and reward leaders who exemplify leadership qualities, such as taking initiative, problem-solving, and encouraging collaboration. This sends a strong message that leadership is valued and appreciated within the organization.

4. Foster Communication & Collaboration: Foster communication and collaboration between leaders and employees by encouraging team building activities, such as group lunches, retreats, and outings. This helps to create a positive workplace culture and enhances collaboration among members of the leadership team.

5. Encourage Learning: Lastly, create an environment that encourages learning. This can be done by providing learning opportunities and resources such as seminars and workshops specifically focused on leadership development. Additionally, employers should provide flexible work schedules to allow for personal development activities like taking classes or reading books on leadership.

By applying the strategies outlined above, employers can create a culture of strong leadership within their organization. This will not only help to foster and nurture current leaders, but also reach out to potential leaders in the workforce. Investing in leadership development programs, recognizing and rewarding successful leaders, fostering communication and collaboration among team members, and encouraging learning activities are all essential elements in cultivating a culture of leadership.

By taking the time to implement these strategies and truly commit to cultivating a culture of strong leadership, employers can create an environment that supports and rewards success. Doing so can result in a more productive, collaborative, and successful organization.

The Virtue Leader: Sustainability and Martial Arts in Leadership

In today's world, sustainability is more than just a buzzword. It's an essential part of responsible leadership. And as it turns out, martial arts have a lot to offer when it comes to cultivating sustainable practices.

At its core, sustainability is all about finding ways to create long-term value while preserving natural resources and avoiding negative impacts. In the context of leadership, this means building organizations and teams that can thrive over the long term, while minimizing harm to the environment and society at large.

So how can martial arts help with this? Here are a few key lessons that martial arts can teach us about sustainability:

Respect for Nature

In martial arts, practitioners learn to respect and appreciate the natural world. They learn to move in harmony with their environment, and to use their energy and resources wisely. This mindset can be applied to leadership as well. By recognizing the interconnectedness of our actions and their impact on the environment, leaders can make more sustainable choices, such as reducing waste and carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, and supporting environmentally-friendly practices.

Discipline and Self-Control

Martial arts require a great deal of discipline and self-control. Practitioners must learn to channel their energy and focus their attention in order to achieve their goals. This same discipline can be applied to leadership, helping leaders stay focused on their long-term vision and goals, while avoiding short-term temptations so many times used in management and distractions that may harm the organization or the environment.

Resilience and Adaptability

Martial arts also teach practitioners to be resilient and adaptable in the face of challenges. They learn to stay calm and focused under pressure, and to quickly recover from setbacks. This same resilience can be applied to leadership, helping leaders navigate complex and unpredictable situations with confidence and creativity, while staying true to their values and vision.

Community and Collaboration

Finally, martial arts are deeply rooted in community and collaboration. Practitioners work together to improve their skills, support each other's growth, and celebrate their achievements. This same spirit of community can be applied to leadership, fostering collaboration and teamwork within the organization, and building strong relationships with stakeholders and partners in the wider community.

So how can you incorporate these lessons into your own leadership practice? Here are a few practical tips:

• Make sustainability a core part of your vision and values, and communicate this clearly to your team and stakeholders.
• Take steps to reduce waste, conserve resources, and promote environmentally-friendly practices within your organization.
• Stay focused on your long-term goals, while avoiding short-term temptations that may harm your organization or the environment.
• Build resilience and adaptability into your leadership practice, by staying calm and focused in the face of challenges, and seeking creative solutions to complex problems.
• Foster a spirit of collaboration and community within your organization, by supporting teamwork, growth, and celebration.

By applying these lessons from martial arts to your own leadership practice, you can cultivate a more sustainable and responsible approach to leaving and leadership, while building a stronger and more resilient organization for the future. So why not start today, and see where the journey takes you?

Does the answer lay in sustainable development leadership?

I upgraded the classic Einstein quote ‘We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them’ by adding ‘with the same people!’ To me it seems particularly relevant to sustainability challenges needed in todays’ world.

Prior to argue it let me first describe what sustainable development is?

Sustainable development has been defined in many ways, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report:

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:

• the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.

I rationale that we should aim to achieve this necessary different approach to be able to change the devastating path we are currently on and as a contrast to today mostly used economy and leadership.

In my previous posts I have already described my concerns about neo-liberal economy approach, private ownership, different views (names of) current leadership tactics. Now we are just a few weeks past the COP21 in Paris on global climate changes that draw a commitment to ‘pursue efforts’ (not to take actions) to keep the temperature increase to only 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels – admittedly, a formidable technical and political flowery phrase.

Unfortunately, this is not enough anymore! We are in need for a completely different attempt than we see today – like Einstein said.

Why?

As already Al Gore, in his foreword to the book World changing: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century, pointed out that a shift where individuals join together to create a “turning point in human civilization ... that requires great moral leadership and generational responsibility … to build that future, we need a generation of everyday heroes, people who — whatever their walks of life is — have the courage to think in fresh new ways and to act to meet this planetary crisis head-on.”

For this we need very unique and changed leaders than they are today and beside that much more conscious followers!

From the first conference on climate change in Tokyo back in 1987 a lot has changed but not enough has been done. While the international community and the politicians continue the talks on sustainable development and green economy time passes and pollution, poverty, destruction of our planet, depletion of natural resources have gone almost beyond the point of no return.

What we see today is the current leadership, depletion of resources and pollution not slowing but rising. The gap to sustainability is real and urgent, especially because complex problems we face require innovative /different thinking and networked / civilization(s) actions lead by such (new) leaders. And yes, not just those on the top positions but a whole generation needs to be inspired, motivated and engaged to think and act in a way that matches the scale of the challenge.

Storytelling tool in leadership

What is the perfect tool to connect with, inspire or motivate another? If you are trying to sell something, present it, give a speech or you are just the audience, the difference between interesting and boring is storytelling.

Stories are changing the way we think, act, and feel and can capture our imaginations, illustrate our ideas, arouse our passions, and inspire us. If a story is well told it can create an intense, personal connection between the audience, the idea and the teller. Think just how you have been listening to them as a child.

What exactly is a good storytelling - the art of using communication: verbal, tone and also gesture to tell components and metaphors of a story to an audience? Throughout human history stories were the actual building blocks of knowledge and by teaching them we learned to anticipate the possible consequences. Stories formed the foundation for memorizing events, persons or other data and to learn about them. That is why we could say that stories connect us with past, present, and future...

Could this tool be used in a business environment to form the foundations of a different workplace culture where hard facts failed to? Could this tool communicate and connect employees, customers, partners, suppliers, colleagues, and more?

Charismatic Leadership

In my quest of different types of leadership I came across BusinessDictionary.com’s definition of ‘charismatic leader’:

“The guidance provided to an organization by one or more individuals seen as heroic or inspiring and who have therefore been granted the organizational power to make dramatic changes and extract extraordinary performance levels from its staff. For example, a business manager imbued with charismatic leadership could be enlisted to orchestrate a turnaround or launch a new product line.”

Well, my first dilemma within this definition is how one can mix up two different roles, namely business management and leadership (see: Leader vs. manager). Although both are needed in an organization they are not interchangeable. Next, in post “Leadership and Charisma” I wrote that  it is not about the definition of a bad/good leader, it is about how he or she should behave and what she or he should aim for to be the successful one. Therefore, the question is not about charisma but rather about what kind of personality has a good leader?

Change leadership

Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist, said “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

In the business consultancy everybody talks about managing change and change management. Consultants are offering a set of processes, tools and mechanisms or structures intend to perform and keep whichever change effort under control. But if we look at all of those tools, they’re trying to push through these changes, we get plethora techniques to minimize disruptions, i.e., keep things under control during and after changes have been implemented. Thusly the legitimate question is “Do these tools work as they should?” The answer to that is in my post: Management practices and tools that just “don’t work” and until today I haven’t changed it yet.

But what about “change leadership”?

Change leadership has its own demands. It requires a different mindset than change management and focuses mainly on an extra set of capabilities in order to lead an organization to a new place. It’s more about having a big vision. It’s more about empowering employees and not introducing new management techniques.

The future of leadership

I came across an article discussing “What Leadership Will Look Like In 20 Years” by Rick Smith. He discusses six major shifts he believes will mark how the most effective leaders will behave in twenty years. Reading the list I was kind of disappointed that future of leadership is pretty much the same as today with minor, technical, changes. Not that I’m good in predicting a future (who is?) but I would like to challenge you with my thoughts and brief explanation on what I think about our future leadership issues.

It is not a technology that will be the driver any more. The technological doctrine present today will be upgraded with social subjects /dimensions/ that are today missing especially within a business context. Due to technology evolution in semantic web  in future the focus would be shifted from today's “right questions” to more complicated topics. It will be important to have a proper education to know how to interpret answers, data, information  instantly gotten over the Internet.

Leadership attitude

In last two posts I have written about the difference between two, many times interchanged, organizational functions that are necessary to any organization: management (To manage people) and leadership (To lead people). As there is more to both of them, here I’d like to share with you some more of my views on leadership attitudes, the ones that I consider important.

Many of you will agree that leadership is more about who the leader is than what he/she is actually doing. Therefore, we may assume that the attitude is important when influencing, impacting and leading people.

To lead people

Have you heard of many great managers of the past? Probably much less than about great leaders. That is why “to manage” and “to lead” are two distinguishing roles. They are both needed in society and organizations.

The verb “to lead” has a great history down to the philosophical writings from Plato's Republic to Plutarch's Lives in which he explored the question “What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader?” In one of my previous posts “China’s history and culture impacting Leadership – 1” (and following ) I've written about the Far East’ perception on leadership. And what internet has to say about the verb “to lead”?

The Free dictionary 

• To show the way to by going in advance
• To go first as a guide.

MerriamWebster 

• To direct on a course or in a direction
• To guide someone or something along a way.

Dictionary.com 

• To go before or with to show the way; conduct or escort: to lead a group on a cross-country hike
• To take the initiative; begin.

Leadership and time management

“Please call my secretary for a meeting – she knows when I’m busy” is often heard from an important CEO?

If you yourself do not manage your time, how are you able to manage the time of the people you lead?

To develop a time management skill means to become aware of how one uses his time. William Penn said: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” And yes, there never seems to be enough time, unless you're the one that serve the time. Nothing can replace a time wasted, it can never be regained. Time management is a resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in what and how you perform.

A leader is burdened by numerous things almost always with limited time resources. Just worrying about time limitations and putting off or postponing may lead to indecision and consequently inefficiency. Due time pressure you resort to implement instead of analyze first. In leadership inefficiency occurs when unrealistic time estimates are made. Most of the time is lost due to issues resulting from poor organizational skills. This leads to ineffective meetings and finish with a leader micro-managing. The latter is also supported by failing to delegate tasks and performances. Many bad leaders are also not so strong in planning. They have not a clear idea about prioritizing, standardizing, or implementing organizational policies and procedures. They rather tend to deal with urgent tasks and thusly postpone the important ones till they become urgent (see my blog: Cause and consequence / Urgent and important).

Are Leaders Born or Made?

A timeless debate like the age-old controversy about “a chicken and an egg” is more or less applicable also to the question whether leaders are born or made. In the most texts I've so far read the prevalent answer is: a leader is born.

Personally, I’m more for a kind of the in-between position: early genetics shown in childhood is an imprint that is hard to undo. Later, learning and practice bring new qualities and dimensions to leadership. Statistically, leadership capability will definitively fall along the Gaussian distribution.  Some people are, indeed, born leaders but they still need a lot of work and learning to become true leaders and to get even better as they go along. At the bottom of the curve there are others who, no matter how hard they try, simply aren't ever going to be leaders.  They just don’t have the innate wiring. All in between start out with a very good prerequisites and are hard workers and learners but mostly never become outstanding leaders.

It may be true that some people feel more inclined and are better prepared to take on leadership roles and then consequently learn and develop the necessary skills to become a superior leader. Certain basics of good leadership can be self-taught, but a number of useful skills will be acquired through experience developed over a time. Understanding leadership functions is important to develop skills and capabilities to then achieve a successful leadership style matching one’s own character and talents. Therefore, modern theories about leadership involve a combination of personality traits and also specific skills, capabilities learned over time and gained through experience. It is rather a life learning process and not a semester at an MBA school.

Resistance to change

To change . . . Why bother?

Heraclitus said: “Change is the only constant in life.” Accordingly, people like to change things or other people but are usually not so willing to change themselves.

Why do people resist to the change? Is it because they mistake inertia or no-change for safety and predictability? Logically, the fear of the unknown frightens us. Leaving a comfort zone and facing uncertainty creates a lot of anxiety thusly paralyzing any activity for a change even if the current situation or process is not functioning well. It is much more difficult to accept the change when we lack confidence. Mostly, we all tend to postpone the difficult or uncomfortable things that need to be changed. Postponing them until the very last minute (known as a “student syndrome”), until something generates an impulse of urgency. Why we believe that there is always enough time to think about a change tomorrow I have already described in Cause and consequence / Urgent and important.

Education, tools and leadership

There are numerous programs, schools and methodologies helping to understand and learn how to manage business and people:  different master of business administration (MBA) schools with their own programs and almost abundant methodologies and tools they teach their students.  Unfortunately no one ever learns whatsoever about e.g.: ecology at an MBA or in their programs. Unethical business and environmental practices of some MBA students are uncovered consistently.

Responsibility across the broadest spectrum of society is vitally important to the future of the global economy. Having said that the key question in today's business environment still remains: do all those programs, methodologies and tools really come out the way we need them to?

The biggest issue to introduce all of the different programs every couple of years or so is mostly based on the matter that companies are entirely dismissing experience if you do not have a degree. This is short sighted and even negligent but attractive  to those that want higher salary, better career opportunities or better consolidated business network. The second matter is that different methodologies and tools get sold to C-level as a silver bullet that is going to fix all of their issues, problems and will bring out the solutions.

But to probe even deeper - it is not the methodologies or the tools that bring solutions or break problems. They are good and they work when they are just frameworks to organize efforts. The important and mostly overlooked aspect of application of methodologies and tools is: they need to be based on the business needs, culture of organization and should be properly trimmed to benefit from using them.

Consultant - Coach

There is quite a selection of titles for people offering services to businesses such as: adviser, consultant, mentor, coach. In the last two decades in organizations business coaching has become increasingly popular to assist executives, managers, and employees in their personal and professional growth. How and what makes us decide that in particular case if we need a business consultant or a business coach?

As both, coaching and consulting process, are built on trust and confidentiality to differentiate them one can pose the following questions:

• Do they question and listen?
• Do they spend most of the time talking?
• Do they offer alternatives and let you make the choice?
• Do they tell you what to do?
• Do they think they know all of the answers?
• Do they appear to ask the right questions?
• Do you learn from them?
• Do you end up wiser or not?

The above questions help, but to determine which business service you actually need, more description is needed.

Mission and vision

Is the mission in a company a driving force for actions? Does a mission provide overall goal, a path, and is it a guide for decision-making?

And a vision? Is it an aspiration for a company? Does it focus on the potential essentials in the company's mid-term or long-term future, or what company intends to be?

Most of mission and vision statements are generic, therefore awfully deficient. A result of long-drawn meetings where in the end everyone is so tired and approves any nonsense just to bring it to the conclusion. They are full of phrases like ‘market-leader’, ‘best-in-region’,  ‘most successful’, ‘best customer/owner value’, ‘leading in this and that'. Fluffy words that mean nothing. They just repulse a reader and make skip the text!

Organizational change

Organizational change is, or should be, just one of the processes within the strategy’s frame and company vision. Why then companies have to “struggle” when introducing changes? Why do they need to change? Ever changing environment, markets, products are just pushing the limits of a current stability of the companies and provoke never ending chain of changes.

In his blog Bernard Marr says “a good mission statement articulates the purpose of the company, basically why it exists, what it does and for whom. It should serve as an ongoing guide that spells out what the company is all about. The mission should focus on the here and now.” And where do we see a necessity for a change that a company should follow? In “a vision statement where the goals and aspirations for the future are outlined. It creates a mental picture of a specific medium-term target and should serve as a source of inspiration.”

But are these definitions enough to smoothly drive a change? Company’s organizational culture, as described in the previous blog: “Organizational culture and martial arts,” is the sum of values and rituals defined by rules. It is also a part of a “bigger picture” that surrounds an organization and each of us, as I explained in my TedxTalk. And these substances present difficulties or even block a change. Employees of a company, as others, are perceiving stability as security therefore opposing changes. Consequently, a permanent conflict prevents a peaceful process of change.

Leadership and stability

Old Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi quoted Confucius: ‘Men do not use running water as a mirror; they only use the still water.’ Only things that are still in themselves can still other things.”

Why the power of stability is so important? The ground on which we stand can hold up tall buildings, high trees, and us as well. Gravity pulls us to the center of our planet. The ground pushes back with precisely the same force, effortlessly in the opposite direction of gravity, and is therefore called the ground reaction force. No wonder grounding is considered so important in martial arts. It resists power and accepts energies. A stability lies within what one knows and how one lives his live each day.

Stability is not equal to rigidity. It is fundamental to all fighting techniques. The ability to control your movements, to develop, and to receive power originates in stability. Losing stability means losing control. Without control you cannot win.  A good fighter knows that during the battle, the sun should be in the eyes of your opponent and not facing yours. Secondly, stability is being able to float safely on each wave of change. Lower a fighter’s position is and the lowest his center of gravity is, the better stability he has. But, while increasing stability lowering a center of gravity lessens mobility. There are always trade-offs but you should balance them into win-win situation.

Leadership and Charisma

What makes a leader motivating others? The most common answer I have come across is "charisma." People want to hear what charismatic leaders have to say and do, what they advise. “Charismatic people always combine two messages,” says Fox Cabane. “They give the impression that they have a lot of power and also that they like you, or could like you, a lot. Humans are hard-wired to dislike uncertainty, so when they come across someone who shows none they tend very hard to resist.” Therefore, it is not surprising that in nowadays of crisis many organizations seek to hire those who exhibit charisma.

Today more than ever we are in need of inspiring employees to confront problems, the need of workers that focus on tasks, and voice their opinions. Here leaders and not managers are setting their organizations up for needed transformation. Leaders, which have virtue, vision and “internal” power to do it.

It is not about the definition of a bad or good leader, it is about how he or she should behave and what she or he should aim for to be a successful one.