The Practice of Leadership » Assessment

The Leaders Inner Circle

George Ambler — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:32:26 +0000

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“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt

In the January 2009 issue of John Maxwell’s newsletter Leadership Wired there is a great article on “A Leader’s Inner Circle”. The leaders inner circle is the group of people who is closest to the leader, they are the group of people who will have the greatest impact on the leader, influencing his thinking, his decision making and his behaviour. The leader’s inner circle can ensure a leader is successful or bring about his destruction.

In the article John Maxwell suggests the following five questions which leaders should ask when forming their inner circle:

Do they display exemplary character in everything they do? “Deception eats away at a leadership team like cancer. Dishonesty on the part of one member of an inner circle can bring shame and disaster to all. Entire organizations have toppled from the misbehavior of one bad apple.”
Do they bring complementary gifts to the table? “Imbalance within an inner circle can attune a leader’s ear to only one side of an argument. When putting together an inner circle, prioritize diversity of personality and perspective. By doing so, you widen the range of your vision and the breadth of your influence.”
Do they hold a strategic position and have influence within the organization? “Members of the inner circle must have the platform and influence to implement a leader’s decisions. If they cannot be relied upon to execute a chosen strategy, then they shouldn’t be entrusted with a spot on the leadership team. In addition, inviting uninfluential advisors into the inner circle disrupts the political balance of an organization. High performers suffer a motivational blow when they see a less deserving colleague granted special access to top leadership.”
Do they add value to the organization and to the leader? “When considering someone for the inner circle, you should be able to articulate clearly the value they will bring. Ask yourself the following questions: What will they infuse into discussion? Where do they have expertise? What unique skills can they be counted on to bring to the table?”
Do they positively impact other members of the inner circle? “If you’ve ever inhabited a house with a feuding husband and wife, then you can understand the need for leaders in close proximity to get along. Infighting saps energy and focus from a senior leader, forcing him or her to mediate conflicts with time that could be better spent elsewhere. Differences of opinion signal healthy debate, but personal animosities destroy a leadership team. Make sure members of your inner circle have the emotional intelligence to keep arguments from becoming too personal.”

This is a great set of questions that you can use to access your inner circle.

Have you purposefully selected people to be part of your inner circle to support you in your vision?
How to they shape up to these five questions?

Evaluating the Leader’s Inner Circle

How Do You Know If You Need a New Vision?

George Ambler — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:20:58 +0000

@N05/3273024682/" target="_blank">Photo by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Burt Nanus in his book “Visionary Leadership” provides the following warning signs of a lack of vision:

Is there evidence of confusion about purpose?
Do your employees complain about insufficient challenge or say they’re not having fun anymore? Are they pessimistic about the future or cynical about the present?
Is the organization losing market legitimacy, market position, or its reputation for innovation? Are new competitors emerging who are better serving your customers or constituents?
Does your organization seems out-of-tune with trends in the environment?
Are there signs of decline in pride within your organization? Are some of your people working only for their paychecks without a real sense of commitment or belonging?
Is there excessive risk avoidance, with people abiding by their narrow job descriptions, unwilling to accept ownership or responsibility for new projects or resisting change?
Is there an absence of a shared sense of progress or momentum? Is it difficult for some of your managers to articulate how much things are improving? Do they still feel they have an attractive future with the organization?
Is there a hyperactive rumour mill, with people constantly trying to find out through the grapevine what is in store for them or the organization? Do people truly trust and respect top management?

This is a great list of questions that you can use to test the level of commitment, understanding and buy-in to the vision.

How effective is your vision?
Do you need to focus on re-aligning or re-invigorating your organisation or teams vision?

Seven Critical Questions To Assess Your Leadership

George Ambler — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:13:26 +0000

Effective leaders are always striving to become better, always stretching themselves and their teams. The Harvard Business Review of January 2007 had a great article “What to Ask the Person in the Mirror” by Robert S. Kaplan, discusses seven questions that leaders can use to access themselves to stay on top of their game.

“I have learned the key characteristics of highly successful leaders is not that they figure out how to always stay on course, but that they develop techniques to help them recognize a deteriorating situation and get back on track as quickly as possible. In may experience, the best way to do that is to step back regularly, say every three to six months (and certainly whenever things feel as though they aren’t going well), and honestly ask yourself some questions about how you’re doing and what you may need to do differently.”

The seven questions Robert recommends we ask ourselves to keep us on course and on track are are:

Vision and Priorities: “How frequently do I communicate a vision and priorities for my business? Would my employees, if asked, be able to articulate the vision and priorities?” “Have I identified and communicated three to five key priorities to achieve that vision?”
Managing Time: “How am I spending my time? Once you know your priorities, you need to determine whether you’re spending your time – your most precious asset – in a way that will allow you to achieve them…. The key here is, whatever you decide, time allocation needs to be a conscious decision that fits your vision and priorities for the business.”
Feedback: “Do I give people timely, direct and constructive feedback? And second: Do I have five or six junior people who will tell me things I don’t want to hear and need to hear? …As hard as it is to give effective and timely feedback, many leaders find it much more challenging to get feedback from their employees. Once you reach a certain stage of your career, junior people are in a much better position than your boss to tell you how you’re doing. They see you in your day-to-day activities, and they experience your decisions directly….”
Succession Planning: “Have I, at least in my own mind, picked one or more potential successors?” “Am I coaching them and giving them challenging assignments? Am I delegating sufficiently? Have I become a decision-making bottleneck?… This issue is critical because if you aren’t identifying potential successors, you are probably not delegating extensively as you should and you may well be a decision-making bottleneck. Being a bottleneck invariably means that you are not spending enough time on vital leadership priorities and are failing to develop your key subordinates.”
Evaluation and Alignment: “Am I attuned to changes in the business environment that would require a change in the way we organize and run our business?” “If I had to design my business with a clean sheet of paper, how would I design it? How would it differ from the current design? Should I create a task force of subordinates to answer these questions and make recommendations to me? …Even the most successful business is susceptible to new challenges posed by a changing world. Effective executives regularly look at their businesses with a clean sheet of paper – seeking advice and other perspectives from people who are less emotionally invested in the business – in order to determine whether key aspects of the way they run their organizations are still appropriate.”
Leading Under Pressure: “How do I behave under pressure, and what signals am I sending my employees?” “What types of events create pressure for me?… As a leader you are watched closely, During crisis, your people watch you with a microscope, noting every move you make. In such times, your subordinates learn a great deal about you and what you really believe, as opposed to what you say. Do you accept responsibility for your mistakes, or do you look for someone to blame. Do you support your employees or do you turn on them? Are you cool and calm, or do you lose your temper? D you stand up for what you believe, or do you take the expedient route and advocate what you think your seniors want to hear? You need to be self-aware enough to recognize the situations that create severe anxiety for you and manage your behavior to avoid sending unproductive messages to your people.”
Staying True to Yourself: “Does my leadership style reflect who I truly am? … A business career is a marathon, not a sprint, and if you aren’t true to yourself, eventually you’re going to wear down.”

Considering the above seven questions…. are you still on track?