Dec

10

Developing 3-Dimensional Leaders

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It’s important to take a holistic view of leadership. This is exactly what Jim Bolt has done in his article on the importance of "Developing The 3-Dimensional Leader". He makes the opening point that "Too many leaders today are one-dimensional, narrowly focused on business results…." and we have all seen the devastating results of narrowly focused leadership! Having posted frequently over the past few weeks on leadership development and leadership succession, it was interesting to read Jim’s view on the two factors that have resulted in our existing leadership development crisis, which he consider are:

  1. Outdated Leadership Development Approaches: "The traditional methods used to train and educate leaders have not kept pace with the monumental changes taking place in the world….  The primary focus in too many universities and corporations is still on how business skills will produce leaders who have strong functional, technical and financial capabilities. When leadership development is provided, it is often treated in separate programs as if it were an isolated issue apart from the business challenges leaders face."
  2. Inadequate On-the-job Experiences: "On-the-job experiences and development frequently do not produce the leadership our organizations need. Many argue that 70% of learning takes place on the job but what is it that our leaders are learning? Most develop a narrow functional-technical perspective as a result of spending their entire career in one area. Many are risk-averse due to the severe consequences of making mistakes, which severely inhibits learning. Few have any work experience out of their home country (that’s getting to be a big problem given the global economy and competition). Too many neglect family and friends to meet the demands of the job, and a system that frequently encourages and rewards workaholism."

The result…..?

These experiences historically foster management rather than leadership skills. When they are placed in leadership positions, their style is often traditional and authoritarian, which is demonstrated by their need to over-manage, to be seen as the "expert," to solve all problems, make all decisions, and maintain control. Capable of managing but unfit to lead is a fitting description of these executives.

Over-managed and under-lead is what immediately springs to mind!

 

Three-Dimensional Leadership

To address this narrow focus on management, Jim proposes that we take a broader view of leadership, looking more holistically at what leadership is all about. In this light he proposes a three dimensional leadership model, which calls for the development of an individual’s skills in the following three areas:

  • Business Dimension: Mind-sets and capabilities needed to identify and address critical business challenges. The business dimension is developed by providing executives with the capabilities needed to identify and address critical business challenges. Therefore, development efforts might be focused on such things as creating new organizations, building market-focused and customer-focused organizations, leading change, winning in the global marketplace, creating a learning organization, fostering innovation, and leveraging technology.
  • Leadership Dimension: Fully developed leadership capacity needed to lead the organization confidently into the future. The leadership dimension might concentrate on a study of a broad range of classical and contemporary theories and skills so that leaders can develop their own personal expression of leadership. Based on integrity and authenticity, leadership is a combination of both competence and character.
  • Personal Dimension: Personal effectiveness skills needed to achieve excellence, balance and ongoing renewal. Attention to the personal dimension has suffered most because of the mistaken view that business and personal matters can and should be separated, and because corporate cultures often reward individuals who are consumed with business. Based on the belief that individuals cannot be effective leaders if they are ineffectual in their personal lives, executives need to learn skills such as clarifying individual purpose, vision, values and talents on the one hand, and effectively integrating work, personal goals and priorities on the other.

I thought that this provides a great foundation for anyone looking to develop those leaders around you. Have you taken a holistic approach to the development of your organisation’s or team’s leaders? Do you have a holistic approach to your personal development?

 

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