While large aspects of Leadership are about Values, Ideals and Humanism – I believe Leaders must establish and develop a core set of competencies. As we have discussed earlier, a Leader is all about Change – Positive Change. The process of making change and leading through that process requires a Leader to have a certain set of competencies and expertise that enables and enhances the change process.
From what I have seen and experienced, Great Leaders usually have either one of two characteristics:
Firstly they either have all of the competencies necessary and have the expertise necessary to establish the change process from start to finish.
Alternately, they surround themselves with People who have these competencies which demand a great degree of self-awareness, humility and openness. Not too many Leaders have these attributes or the willingness to acknowledge that there may be others who have greater competencies than themselves.
I once asked my boss in one of my earliest Leadership roles a question. This person was known to surround himself with extremely talented people. And not just that, but also had the ability to grow and groom these people and then share them across the Organization. I asked him why he surrounded himself with such people – and what enabled him to pick such people.
He answered very simply – “I surround myself with people who make up for my deficiencies”. He very clearly recognized that he had gaps in his own abilities and traits and therefore ensured that he picked people who had those competencies and skills. Further, what enabled him to do this was a clear recognition of what he did not have that also enabled him to look for and find it in others.
For anyone, the challenge is not just to find and surround oneself with such people, but to also allow them to do what you picked them for in the first place. Many Leaders I know fulfill the first part extremely well – that of picking the right people – but there are very few who are able to follow-through on allowing the people they pick to do what they are best at.
The primary competencies any Leader needs to be aware of are:
These sets of competencies when put together create a spiral that is infinite. I call this the “Value Spiral”. These competencies when taken as individual elements come through as very basic skills that any aspiring professional needs to develop. While this is true – a Leader is able to pull these together and have them feed off each other in a continuous spiral that creates magic. The analogy that comes to mind is a music conductor of a symphony orchestra. Each instrument and piece of music taken in and of itself is good – but put together and conducted well makes magic and a Symphony. A Leaders role in working with a diverse set of competencies is in making it work as a continuum.
Most aspiring Leaders I have worked with usually have possessed one or two of these competencies. On many occasions, I have noticed either of two tendencies with such people:
In order to compensate for the lack of other competencies, people have a tendency to focus on developing them and their own strengths become rusty with disuse and neglect.
With others, I have observed overindulgence in what they are good at. This then leads to a comfort level that then holds them back from their own growth.
I was in the habit of meeting the Global CIO of a major corporation at least once a year to hear directly from the horse’s mouth as to how he felt I was doing and also to get some career advice. This was a person I respected a great deal and this year I was eager to learn where I needed to get better and grow to the next level.
We got started talking about skills development and what we all needed to work on. At that point, I asked him as to what he felt I needed to get better at. He said that he had not seen me be very creative and constantly full of ideas. He also gave me an example of one of my peers who he felt was an “Ideas person”. Now, of course I bristled – but held my own counsel. One thing I have noticed is that developmental feedback makes us bristle or feel hurt – only because we already know that to be the truth – but the feeling comes because we are hearing it from somebody else.
What I realized was happening was that I was getting to be pigeon-holed as a terrific Execution and Follow-through person. What rankled was that I had always felt that I had Ideation and Creativity and that I was unfairly being compared to another person.
On cooler thought, I realized that I had been unconsciously doing some things. As I had been rewarded for my Execution in the past, it merely reinforced my behavior – instead of encouraging me to explore other aspects of the Value Spiral.
I would like to believe that it was at this point that I started to become aware of the Value Spiral. The key to a Value Spiral is the acknowledgement that it is all these aspects working in concert that actually create the Value, not one or the other.
The second aspect of the Value Spiral is the acknowledgement that all the aspects/dimensions may not reside in any one individual but actually could reside in various individuals.
The second aspect of the Value Spiral is the acknowledgement that all the aspects/dimensions may not reside in any one individual but actually could reside in various individuals.
Further, much like a conductor in a symphony orchestra – not only does the Leader ensure that all the musical sections (Winds, Brass, Strings etc.) are in concert – but also brings in their own knowledge, experience and most important of all their own “Feel” to the music.
It is this “Feel” that distinguishes being good and being great – being motivational and being inspirational. The ability to infuse into a group the concept of a collective Value Spiral and the difference that it can bring in peoples lives is a significant part of being a Leader.
The individual components and competencies of a Value Spiral make organizations good – but what makes them different and great is the recognition and belief that all of them in concert make them meaningful - meaningfulness, makes the difference that make Organizations and Leaders Great. Exploring each of these competencies is critical in understanding how they work together and the positive differences they can make to the whole rather than a part.
Ideation – The ability to imagine and create a Vision or a Concept that is unifying and Positive Change oriented for the greater good.
Strategizing – Moving from the abstract image to a more concrete “How” to realize the image or Vision through detailed analysis of the forces that could impact the realization of the Image positively or negatively.
Planning – Breaking down the strategy that is broad and far-seeing into discrete and tactical What’s and How’s and Who’s, Where’s, Why’s and When’s yielding a defined outcome.
Analysis – Understanding of the risks, resources, pros and cons of each discrete step to realizing the Plan.
Execution – Actioning of the Plan and leveraging the circumstance to drive the Plan to accomplishment of discrete goals.
Follow-through – Ensuring the Execution actually happens – and more critically – actually “sticks” and finally ensures that the Positive Change happens and that is has an impact that is favorable to and in-line with the Idea/Image/Vision.
Most Leaders I have worked with have always exhibited a tendency to be focused more on the Strategizing and Planning aspects. That being said – an underlying competency that all of them have exhibited is Execution.
Traditional and modern organizations have always had a tendency to focus on Execution as a core competence and therefore develop Leaders using roles that are Execution heavy. Most of the Leaders in Organizations today have cut their teeth on Execution. I am not aware of any Organization that focuses on the growth of Leaders through the continuum of the Value Spiral. If they do so, I posit that it is more by chance/circumstance than a result of effort or clear focus.
Great Leaders have usually stumbled upon their own native abilities rather than a result of their respective environments engendering these qualities. Leaders must practice each of these competencies, much like they work on perfecting their traditional skills. Where Leaders must pay attention to is on the establishment and focus on the recognition of the fact that it is all of these competencies that create the Value Spiral and not just one or the other.
More Details:Top IT Companies In India,Outsourcing Global Delivery,Software development companies.
From what I have seen and experienced, Great Leaders usually have either one of two characteristics:
Firstly they either have all of the competencies necessary and have the expertise necessary to establish the change process from start to finish.
Alternately, they surround themselves with People who have these competencies which demand a great degree of self-awareness, humility and openness. Not too many Leaders have these attributes or the willingness to acknowledge that there may be others who have greater competencies than themselves.
I once asked my boss in one of my earliest Leadership roles a question. This person was known to surround himself with extremely talented people. And not just that, but also had the ability to grow and groom these people and then share them across the Organization. I asked him why he surrounded himself with such people – and what enabled him to pick such people.
He answered very simply – “I surround myself with people who make up for my deficiencies”. He very clearly recognized that he had gaps in his own abilities and traits and therefore ensured that he picked people who had those competencies and skills. Further, what enabled him to do this was a clear recognition of what he did not have that also enabled him to look for and find it in others.
For anyone, the challenge is not just to find and surround oneself with such people, but to also allow them to do what you picked them for in the first place. Many Leaders I know fulfill the first part extremely well – that of picking the right people – but there are very few who are able to follow-through on allowing the people they pick to do what they are best at.
The primary competencies any Leader needs to be aware of are:
These sets of competencies when put together create a spiral that is infinite. I call this the “Value Spiral”. These competencies when taken as individual elements come through as very basic skills that any aspiring professional needs to develop. While this is true – a Leader is able to pull these together and have them feed off each other in a continuous spiral that creates magic. The analogy that comes to mind is a music conductor of a symphony orchestra. Each instrument and piece of music taken in and of itself is good – but put together and conducted well makes magic and a Symphony. A Leaders role in working with a diverse set of competencies is in making it work as a continuum.
Most aspiring Leaders I have worked with usually have possessed one or two of these competencies. On many occasions, I have noticed either of two tendencies with such people:
In order to compensate for the lack of other competencies, people have a tendency to focus on developing them and their own strengths become rusty with disuse and neglect.
With others, I have observed overindulgence in what they are good at. This then leads to a comfort level that then holds them back from their own growth.
I was in the habit of meeting the Global CIO of a major corporation at least once a year to hear directly from the horse’s mouth as to how he felt I was doing and also to get some career advice. This was a person I respected a great deal and this year I was eager to learn where I needed to get better and grow to the next level.
We got started talking about skills development and what we all needed to work on. At that point, I asked him as to what he felt I needed to get better at. He said that he had not seen me be very creative and constantly full of ideas. He also gave me an example of one of my peers who he felt was an “Ideas person”. Now, of course I bristled – but held my own counsel. One thing I have noticed is that developmental feedback makes us bristle or feel hurt – only because we already know that to be the truth – but the feeling comes because we are hearing it from somebody else.
What I realized was happening was that I was getting to be pigeon-holed as a terrific Execution and Follow-through person. What rankled was that I had always felt that I had Ideation and Creativity and that I was unfairly being compared to another person.
On cooler thought, I realized that I had been unconsciously doing some things. As I had been rewarded for my Execution in the past, it merely reinforced my behavior – instead of encouraging me to explore other aspects of the Value Spiral.
I would like to believe that it was at this point that I started to become aware of the Value Spiral. The key to a Value Spiral is the acknowledgement that it is all these aspects working in concert that actually create the Value, not one or the other.
The second aspect of the Value Spiral is the acknowledgement that all the aspects/dimensions may not reside in any one individual but actually could reside in various individuals.
The second aspect of the Value Spiral is the acknowledgement that all the aspects/dimensions may not reside in any one individual but actually could reside in various individuals.
Further, much like a conductor in a symphony orchestra – not only does the Leader ensure that all the musical sections (Winds, Brass, Strings etc.) are in concert – but also brings in their own knowledge, experience and most important of all their own “Feel” to the music.
It is this “Feel” that distinguishes being good and being great – being motivational and being inspirational. The ability to infuse into a group the concept of a collective Value Spiral and the difference that it can bring in peoples lives is a significant part of being a Leader.
The individual components and competencies of a Value Spiral make organizations good – but what makes them different and great is the recognition and belief that all of them in concert make them meaningful - meaningfulness, makes the difference that make Organizations and Leaders Great. Exploring each of these competencies is critical in understanding how they work together and the positive differences they can make to the whole rather than a part.
Ideation – The ability to imagine and create a Vision or a Concept that is unifying and Positive Change oriented for the greater good.
Strategizing – Moving from the abstract image to a more concrete “How” to realize the image or Vision through detailed analysis of the forces that could impact the realization of the Image positively or negatively.
Planning – Breaking down the strategy that is broad and far-seeing into discrete and tactical What’s and How’s and Who’s, Where’s, Why’s and When’s yielding a defined outcome.
Analysis – Understanding of the risks, resources, pros and cons of each discrete step to realizing the Plan.
Execution – Actioning of the Plan and leveraging the circumstance to drive the Plan to accomplishment of discrete goals.
Follow-through – Ensuring the Execution actually happens – and more critically – actually “sticks” and finally ensures that the Positive Change happens and that is has an impact that is favorable to and in-line with the Idea/Image/Vision.
Most Leaders I have worked with have always exhibited a tendency to be focused more on the Strategizing and Planning aspects. That being said – an underlying competency that all of them have exhibited is Execution.
Traditional and modern organizations have always had a tendency to focus on Execution as a core competence and therefore develop Leaders using roles that are Execution heavy. Most of the Leaders in Organizations today have cut their teeth on Execution. I am not aware of any Organization that focuses on the growth of Leaders through the continuum of the Value Spiral. If they do so, I posit that it is more by chance/circumstance than a result of effort or clear focus.
Great Leaders have usually stumbled upon their own native abilities rather than a result of their respective environments engendering these qualities. Leaders must practice each of these competencies, much like they work on perfecting their traditional skills. Where Leaders must pay attention to is on the establishment and focus on the recognition of the fact that it is all of these competencies that create the Value Spiral and not just one or the other.
More Details:Top IT Companies In India,Outsourcing Global Delivery,Software development companies.
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