ACK! Late start on this one, friends, stayed at book club late!

When do you think about leadership? How much do you consider yourself a leader? Assuming you lead in some way (and we all do), how do you approach it? How important is it to you? How much do you care about your leadership?

My leadership strengths:
–I am a student of leadership. I study it, evaluate my own performance, seek feedback, and constantly strive for improvement. I attune to those who lead me and evaluate their performance also, and my standards are high and clear. My leadership stance is learner before teacher, collaborator before authority.
–I am decisive, clear, fair, and transparent as much as possible. I am direct, rather than passive or aggressive.
–I monitor my biases and check in with those I lead, as well as fellow leaders.
–I really try hard to own my shit and walk my talk; I apologize and correct readily.

How could I lead better?
–I think I often lean too far into my default tendencies. Call it yellow/green from Insights Discovery, ENFP in Myers-Briggs, or Abstract-Random in Gregorc Mind Styles; it all pretty much looks the same. In my thinking mind I recognize other’s styles, and I’m not sure I adapt well in engagement, for optimal collective decision making and interactions. I certainly don’t think consciously about what others’ styles are and then modify my presence and approach intentionally–I think good leaders do this.
–I could observe other leaders for strengths I don’t have, and emulate them. I could query them for perspectives, thought processes, and decision methods. These are also the people who could probably offer me the most helpful feedback.
–I could seek more opportunities to support those who lead me, by giving them honest, loving, concrete, and actionable feedback. No matter our place in the hierarchy, we can lead and be led by anyone we encounter.

Where do we experience good leadership in society?
Illustration of individuals and their attributes is beyond the scope of this post.
Where do you experience excellent leadership, and how do you identify it?
How can you, today, provide positive reinforcement of positive leadership behaviors in those around you–and not just those with a title, power, and authority?

I think this is good place/time to provide a resource list:
—Leadership On the Line, Heifetz, Linsky
—Organizations as Machines, Organizations as Conversations, Suchman
—Leaders Eat Last, Sinek
—Dare to Lead, Brown
—Think Again, Grant
—Drive, Pink
—Managing Transitions, W and S Bridges
—Improvise!, Dickins

How could leadership at scale be better?

Train relational leaders formally. Leadership is not just about financial strategy, quarterly earnings, and operations. It’s about organizing people in complex networks of relationship. It’s verbal, as well as visual and vibratory. Formal training in self-awareness, self-regulation, emotional intelligence, and effective communication should be required in interative learning episodes at every level of promotion, in any organization.

Reward long term team success ahead of short term financial metrics. Qualitative and quantitative, cumulative, longitudinal assessments of relational success include turnover, 360 evaluations, absenteeism, and others. This goal requires leaders and led alike to tolerate and engage in uncomfortable conversations. The best teams do this early, often, and well.

Improve almost any strength listed these 30 days. Honesty, integrity, accountability, perspective taking, polarity management–what if all leaders received regular training and continuing education on any of these, with opportunities to simulate, role play, exchange stories, and compare challenges? What if we supported designated leaders both in their inner and outer relational work?

Leadership may be where I feel the most optimism for humanity. We know the relevant attributes and skills, the environments and structures that facilitate and sustain excellent leadership. We all have the capacity to learn, practice, and train any of these skills, no matter our place in any hierarchy. Organizations that invest in the emotional intelligence and training of their members thrive. There is still time. We can do so much better.