The Practice of Leadership » Self-Awareness

Good Leaders Balance Advocacy and Inquiry to Resolve Conflict

George Ambler — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:28:19 +0000

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Striving towards a vision and bringing about successful change is one of the hallmarks of leadership. However, vision equals change and change is often accompanied by conflict and tensions within and between teams. The leaders ability to effectively resolve this conflict and get people to move forward, acting to bring the vision into today is the result of great leadership. Unless we learn to productively deal with conflict, our change efforts will result in failure. One of the best tools to help with resolving conflict is the art of balancing advocacy and inquiry. What do we mean by advocacy and inquiry?

Advocacy: is about how ideas are presented and explained. It’s primarily, one-way communication. When communication is one-way it becomes difficult for the the listener to understand the reasoning which supports the ideas being presented. This makes it unlikely, that people will commit themselves to any meaningful course of action. Before people will commit to a course of action they need to understand the reasoning behind the ideas. Advocacy is about making your point, taking a stand in an attempt to influence others, supporting your viewpoint with a relational argument, whilst remaining open to alternative views.
Inquiry: is about how questions are raised and answered. Inquiry allows people to inquire into one another’s reasoning and understand the conclusion they have reached. Inquiry help us to understand what others are thinking and the reasoning behind their viewpoints.

Advocacy alone is insufficient. Likewise, inquiry alone is insufficient. Without a balance, people do not commit to action, they remain neutral. Learning to balance advocacy and inquiry increases likelihood that others will commit to take action. To gain a better understanding of the differences between advocacy and inquiry the following matrix, illustrated below, which I have adapted from “The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook” provides a great overview of the various ways of dealing with conflict.

The above matrix shows that their are dysfunctional forms of advocacy (politicking and dictating) and inquiry (withdrawing and interrogating) which we need to be careful to avoid.

How to balance advocacy and inquiry

It’s important to understand when to use advocacy and when to use inquiry. Mark Gerzon in his book “Leading Through Conflict” provides the following guidelines to help leaders in combining these two very different styles:

“The general rule is this: inquiry precedes advocacy. If you (1) are uncertain about having reliable, complete information; (2) have not yet engaged all the relevant stakeholders; and (3) doubt that you have sufficient votes, power or other support to put your plan into action, then it is time for inquiry not advocacy. However, if you (1) have access to all the necessary information, (2) have obtained input from all the necessary people, and (3) have mapped a clear road to implementing a viable plan, then go ahead. Advocate your ‘solution’ to the issue or conflict, and begin to rally everyone behind you.”

Balancing advocacy and inquiry enables constructive two-way communication and learning. “I state my views, I inquire into your views, and I invite you to state your views and I inquire into your views.”

When balancing advocacy and inquiry we expose our reasoning and encourage others to challenge and probe our argument. Having a viewpoint is important as much as being open to learning about the viewpoints of others. Some useful tips for improving advocacy and inquiry from “The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook” includes:

State your views providing the assumptions and data you used that led to your view. – “Here’s what I think and how I got there“
Always seek to make your reasoning explicit. – “I came to this conclusion because….”
Keep your viewpoint in context, what’s your purpose, who will be affected, how and why.
Provide concrete examples. – “To get a clearer picture as to what I am talking about imagine you’re…“
Encourage others to explore your thinking, assumptions and data without becoming defensive. – “What do you think about what I have just said?… What can you add?“
Ask other to explain their thought process without interrogating or making people defensive. – “How did you arrive at this view?“
Ask questions that help to gain insight into why people have the views that they do. – “Can you help me understand your thinking here?“
Explain how your questions help to clarify you concerns and assumptions.
Test what others are saying by asking or examples.
When advocating, keep listening, remaining open to different viewpoints.

Leaders often make the mistake of relying too much on advocacy to get their message across. Time pressures also make it more likely that leaders default to as means of getting commitment to their vision and to drive action. Usually leaders want to be the first to provide answers and they push their views too strongly, not leaving enough room for discussion and debate. How about you? This month why not try to balance advocacy and inquiry in your conversions, you’ll be amazed at the results.

Leader: Who do you intend to be?

George Ambler — Mon, 05 May 2008 02:59:41 +0000

“Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the first question for a leader always is: ‘Who do we intend to be?’ Not ‘What are we going to do?’ but ‘Who do we intend to be?’” —Max De Pree, Herman Miller

As leaders we spend a lot of time focusing on action, on getting results. To do this, most of us track our actions with a “to do” list of some sort. However, great leadership is more than just getting results, it requires us to act from a deep sense of who we are. To have a foundation integrity and character that inspires and motivates others to trust us and in turn take action. As leaders it’s important that we manage our action, with a “to do” list, as well as our being, with a “to be” list. ThirdAge blogger Doug wrote a great post on creating a “to be” list. He describes these two domains as follows:

Being and doing – these are the two domains of human existence. A person’s ‘being’ is their boundless, timeless natural self. Their ‘doing’ is the expression of that nature within form (activities) and time. Being is our ‘identity’. Doing is our ‘career’. When we are most healthy and vital, we connect identity with career – who we are with what we do. Conversely, those with careers completely disconnected from their natural self eventually experience ill-health and exhaustion. Clearly, being and doing are equally important for creating and maintaining a fulfilling and meaningful existence.

Dong recommends a great way of improving our being by using a weekly “to be” list, which describes how we intend to be this week. At the end of the week we can review our list to assess how well we did. Here’s my to be list for this week:

To peach what I practice (yes this is the right way round)!
To take accountability and to hold others accountable.
To be optimistic and inspire hope in others. South Africa is facing high levels of uncertainty at the moment and people need hope and encouragement.
To praise and encourage others.

Here’s the challenge:

Spend some time thinking about who you want to be this week.
Take this moment to create your own personal to be list for the week ahead?
At the end of the week conduct a personal review the progress you’re making daily towards your “to be” characteristics. Then review your list and your progress with a trusted peer.
Make the necessary changes based on the feedback you receive.
Post a comment on this post on how well you did or how useful the exercise has been.

Technorati Tags: Doing, Being, Identity, Action, Results, Character, GTD, Getting Things Done, Lifehack, Lifehacks, Leadership Development, Leadership, Management, Personal Development

The three aspects of good leadership

George Ambler — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Dr. Jay Conger Professor of Leadership Studies, Claremont McKenna College, discusses the following three aspects of great leadership, authenticity, branding and followership.

“We’re swimming in advice about how to be good leaders. Bookstores hold remarkable portraits of Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Jack Welsh and others. They all have advice for us. But how many people can “play” Donald Trump? It’s hard to imitate these characters. And if you try, it is usually a disaster. The last person who tried to imitate Jack Welsh was Jacques Nasser at Ford, which is one reason why Ford ended up on the brink of disaster. It’s better to be yourself; beware of who you wish to become.”

Authenticity

“Why is authenticity important? We live in a world of political and business cynicism and we’ve lost trust with our establishments and leaders. Authenticity is crucial to gaining the mantle of leadership because it is used to retain talent. Authenticity requires:
Maintaining consistency between words and deeds
Communicating a consistent underlying theme
Being comfortable with yourself
Revealing an allowable weakness
“… It takes a long time to develop your own authenticity. The challenge is to develop your own sense of conviction, and life experiences can either reinforce or demolish those convictions. ”
“There has to be consistency between words and deeds. A leader’s actions must move the organization toward a consistent underlying theme. You have to know who you are and what the organization stands for.”

Being authentic is central to trust, and without trust you cannot lead. How effectively and consciously have you focused on developing your authenticity?

Branding

“Who you are as a leader is your brand. Because you can’t be everywhere, the brand will carry your message. Branding requires:
Having identity differences that are meaningful for your followers
Projecting these differences
Highlighting your differences in stories, decisions, dress and actions
What is Bill Gates’ brand? He is totally aligned with his business model, which means that if you’re a geek, you want to work for him. Richard Branson’s brand is risk taking, outrageous ideas and adventure. Your brand has to personify your business so followers can easily identify it.”

Although I don’t quite think that branding is the right word, the idea Jay talks about is important. Are you clear about why you make a difference?

Followership

“Why should anyone be led by you? As president and CEO, what are the one or two qualities that make people want to follow you? What your followers want:
Significance
Community
Excitement
Authenticity
“Do your actions mirror authenticity, a clear brand and build followership? “

Are you doing what matters? This is an important question. With so many causes for people to join and give of their time and energy, why does you cause matter?

Your product may be good, but will it spark a conversation?

Leaders are originals, not copies…!

George Ambler — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:39:27 +0000

“The more you are like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.” — Walt Disney

Warren Bennis one of my favourite leadership authors and in his book “On Becoming a Leader“, he discusses how leaders are originals and not copies. To be an original, a leader must know and understand what and who he is. In the book Warren spends time talking about how important it is to understand who we are, some of his insights….

“Leaders have nothing but themselves to work with…. we are our own raw material. Only when we know what we’re made of and what we want to make of it can we begin our lives – and we must do it despite an unwitting conspiracy of people and events against us….. To become a leader, then, you must become yourself, become the maker of your own life….. Know thyself, then, means separating who you are and who you want to be from what the world thinks you are and wants you to be….. Until you make your life your own, you’re walking around in borrowed clothes.”

These are great insights. We too often either go with the flow or adapt ourselves to the environment, and if we do this too often, eventually we lose ourselves.

How are you doing in his area?
Do you spend time reflecting on who you are and who you want to be?
Are you striving to become more of who you are?
Are you an original? Are you unique?

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Where’s Your Focus?

George Ambler — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:57:14 +0000

Effective leaders not only recognise the unique strengths and weaknesses of others. They have sufficient self-awareness to recognise their own, personal strengths and weaknesses.

“Leaders know themselves; they know their strengths and mature them. They also have a faculty I think of as the Wallenda Factor. The flying Wallendas are perhaps the world’s greatest family of aerialists and tightrope walkers. I was fascinated when, in the early 1970s seventy-one-year-old Karl Wallenda said that for him living was walking the tightrope, and everything else was waiting. I was struck by his capacity for concentration on intention, the task, the decision. I was even more intrigued when, several months later, Wallenda fell to his death while walking a tightrope without a safety net between two high-rise buildings in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Wallenda fell still clutching the balancing pole, he had warned his family never to drop lest it hurt somebody below. Later Wallenda’s wife said that before her husband had fallen, for the first time since she had known him he had been concentrating on falling, instead of on walking the tightrope. He had personally supervised the attachment of the guide wires, which he had never done before” – Warren Bennis, Why Leaders Can’t Lead

When we focus on our strengths it’s amazing how our weaknesses take care of themselves. Where is your focus? Is it on your areas of strength? Is it on what you want to create?