Leaders get the Organisations they deserve

When I use the statement “Leaders get the Organisations they deserve”, in my work as a facilitator of leadership programmes, it often fills me with a deep sense of responsibility. That is, to be very aware of how my leadership style/behaviour is impacting on the values and culture of the human systems (family, teams, projects, company, community, etc.) I am leading. The critical questions asked here is: “Am I facing the problems I am facing because of my unaware leadership practices? How are my personality traits, behaviours, decisions, emotional state, moral judgment, example, and/or perceptions creating the reality that I am experiencing within my company or society?”

For me, the number one leadership development work that leaders need to focus on, is the work on personal mastery. I am personally aware of the fact that being on a journey of developing personal mastery is much easier taught than done. Personal mastery can only be achieved through honest self-observation and insight about how you show up in life and how that is affecting the way that people react to you.

Richard Barrett in his 7 Levels of Consciousness, gives a great framework to explain my point made above:

 

For leaders, personal mastery requires dedicated hard work (trust me it is hard work) of “letting go” of ego-driven values and behaviours and “letting come” of higher-order levels of thinking and behaving that can lead to transformative ways of leading – especially when leading becomes tough.  For me, the critical requirements here are:

  1. To be open minded and to challenge old, outdated paradigms (ways of thinking) and inviting new paradigms. “Your paradigm shapes what we observe, how we perceive things, which problems we decide to tackle and how we deal with them.”  – Giovanna D’Allesio
  2. To enter deep, meaningful, and courageous conversations with ourselves and others, which are uncomfortable but filled with potential to create deeper reflection and inner shifts.
  3. To be curious and open for learning.  Learning is not downloading of information, knowledge and “10 easy steps ” – it happens when people go through a process which produces new mental models, behaviours, and ways of being.
  4. To engage on “The road less travelled” towards leading with integrity – “Integrity largely has to do with purifying our intentions and a growing honesty about our actual motives.” – Richard Rohr

For further reflection you can process the following coaching questions:

  • When evaluating and reflecting on your behaviours (how you talk, behave, and express your feelings), when you lead, how is it affecting the reactions of the people you are leading?
  • Are you aware of how your behaviours limits the influence you have on getting the outcomes you want from others?
  • How much time are you spending on honest personal reflection and how often do you find yourself justifying your ways of handling situations?
  • Are you brave enough to explore possible blind spots and to get honest feedback from others?

This kind of process is something a leader can try and go at alone, however, Camino Consulting has dedicated years to developing processes and methodologies to help leaders and their teams through this process of entering the journey towards self-mastery. Our programmes are geared toward developing the mindsets and critical behavioural competencies to enhance your ability to lead with effectiveness.

Please contact Camino Consulting for more information.