Building Leadership:
A Lifelong Pursuit
Goal: To encourage you to build
your full leadership potential
• To recognize and learn from leaders
• To know leadership characteristics and
build these ‘habits’
• To identify your strengths and sustain their
development
Leaders vs. Managers
• Leaders visionaries, strategic thinkers,
influential, decisive, goal directed, a sense
of mission
• Managers focus on the task at hand,
establishing clear, transparent finances,
obtain the best possible outcomes with
limited resources
• You manage things; you lead people.
• Some do both well; both are essential but
skills sets differ
Leadership development
• Social and psychological scienceobservational studies, surveys
• Essential for corporate, organizational,
and government success
• 91,000 books on leadership
• Still many unknowns
• Zenger, Rath, Covey, WHO my primary
sources
Leadership Roles
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Patient care/public health
Research
Administration
Education
Family/home
Business
Government/politics
Community
Civil society/boards
Do leadership skills in the workplace work the same way at
home?
Great Leaders
• Are magnets for highly committed individuals
( >70% of employees positive about
leader/boss, workplace)
• Discover and grow the strengths of others
• Are trust worthy
• Stay and build-have a long term focus
• Demonstrate gratitude and appreciation
• Not risk averse
• Are loyal
• But not perfect
Seven Characteristics (Covey)
• Continually learning, training, asking questions,
developing new skills
• Daily putting on the ‘harness of service’
• Radiate positive energy, upbeat, enthusiastic
• Believe in others
• Lead balanced lives
• See life as an adventure
• Change catalyst usually with synergistic solutions
The Focus on Strengths &
Weaknesses
• Peter Drucker: Most individuals think they know
what they are good at. They are usually wrong!
• Since 1990 leadership gurus have agreedindividuals don’t identify strengths well
• Need others (bosses, friends, clients) to inform
us, possibly ‘strength finder assessment’
• Organizations need to assist individuals to
identify and grow strengths
• Stop addressing weaknesses (still common part
of many performance reviews)
Why focus on strengths?
• Most leadership strengths can be
improved-from 50-70% to 90-95%
• Weaknesses (usually at <30% efficacy)
usually are improved minimally and
then return to baseline
• Employee survey-42% provide no
feedback; 56% on weaknesses; 2% on
strengths
34 Strengths (Competencies)
www.strengthsfinder.com
• Achiever
• Activator
• Adaptability
• Analytical
• Arranger
• Belief
• Command
• Communications
• Competition
• Connectedness
• Consistency
• Context
• Deliberative
• Developer
• Discipline
• Empathy
• Focus
• Futuristic
Continuing Themes/Ideas
• Harmony
• Ideation
• Includer
• Individualization
• Input
• Intellection
• Learner
• Maximizer
• Positivity
• Realtor
• Responsibility
• Restorative
• Self-assurance
• Significance
• Strategic
• Woo
My Five ‘Strengths’
• Learner- energized by the process. A catalyst for
change. Need to be on the cutting edge.
• Analytical- theories must be sound. Prove it or I
won’t accept your observation.
• Input-inquisitive, gathering ideas, fact repository
• Arranger-’conductor’, enjoy complex challenges
• Intellection-enjoy thinking, problem solving,
musing, reflecting
Fatal Flaws
• As many as 20% of leaders have a ‘fatal flaw’
that can hinder or destroy leadership
• Needs to be identified and addressed and may
require professional help
• Eg. uncontrollable anger; addictions; failing to
complete tasks
Conclusion
Develop your potential to become
an exceptional leader and use your
strengths for a career that fulfills
your dreams to make a difference
The 360 Degree Assessment
• Our self perceptions are often/usually
wrong
• Need accurate feedback processes from
peers, boss, subordinates, customers,
clients
• Responses should take only 10-20 minutes
and be annual
• Positive process –identifying strengths,
growing them, not harping on weaknesses
Can you become the leader you
want to be ?
• Talents are inborn but need opportunity to be
enhanced; leadership can be learned/acquireda lifelong goal
• Potential varies- usually not well developed
• Leadership is the right use of powers and
principles
• Power leadership- coercion. utility, or principles
• Principled leadership-shared values, integrity,
trust, ethical behavior, honour, respect, humility
What about Weaknesses?
• Disregard them unless a ‘fatal flaw’ is
present
• Possibly weaknesses need to be
addressed in childhood to ensure
adequate development across the
knowledge spectrum
• Organizations require a variety of leadersdifferent strengths are essential
Sustaining Strengths
• Sustainability = motivation x clarity x support
from others (workplace) x opportunities for
practice x measurement of progress
• Motivation lies within the individual- drive,
autonomy
• Clarity-about the ‘strength’ and its application
• Support-from the 360
• Practice-with input on performance
• Metrics-identify targets, time frame
Seven Deadly Leadership SinsGhandi
• Wealth without work
• Pleasure without conscience
• Knowledge without character
• Commerce without morality
• Science without humanity
• Religion without sacrifice
• Politics without principles
The Emergence of Servant
Leadership
• Arrogance/prominence was a valued
component of leadership in Roman, Greek,
even Jewish culture
• Christian culture began emphasizing
humility as a desired trait for success and
effective leadership
• Benjamin Israeli/Abe Lincoln- revered
politicians both sought to lead with
humility
Quotes to quote (Forbes)
• The function of a leader is to create more
leaders, not more followers
• You don’t need a title to be a leader.
• People buy into the leader before they will
buy the vision
• Leadership is the art of getting someone
else to do something you want done,
because he wants to do it
• Earn your leadership every day