THE SUCCESSFUL
LEADER PROJECT
2015 Student Leadership Retreat
September 25, 2015
Presented by Kathryn Gage, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Student Affairs
Oklahoma State University
201 Whitehurst
kathryn.gage@okstate.edu
1) What does it mean to be
a successful person?
2) What does a successful
leader look like?
3) What are the actions that
set successful leaders
apart?
4) Responding to obstacles
DEFINING YOUR
OWN SUCCESS
EXERCISE TO IDENTIFY
YOUR TOP 10 CORE VALUES
Americans are
barraged with
the message of
how material
wealth equates
to success.
But what does
the research
say?
Leadership:
What makes a leader successful?
Think of a leader that you admire.
Who is it, and what three things
about her/him make her/him a
successful leader?
What the research says:
2015 report found that 89% of leadership
effectiveness was the result of four kinds
of leadership behavior:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Being supportive
Operating with strong results orientation
Seeking different perspectives
Solving problems effectively
Solving problems effectively. The process
that precedes decision making is problem
solving, when information is gathered,
analyzed, and considered. This is deceptively
difficult to get right, yet it is a key input into
decision making for major issues as well as
daily ones (like how to handle a team
dispute).
Operating with a strong results orientation.
Leadership is about not only developing and
communicating a vision and setting
objectives but also following through to
achieve results. Leaders with a strong results
orientation tend to emphasize the
importance of efficiency and productivity
and to prioritize the highest-value work.
Seeking different perspectives. This trait is
conspicuous in leaders who monitor trends
affecting organizations, grasp changes in the
environment, encourage team members to
contribute ideas that could improve
performance, accurately differentiate
between important and unimportant issues,
and give the appropriate weight to
stakeholder concerns. Leaders who do well
on this dimension typically base their
decisions on sound analysis and avoid the
many biases to which decisions are prone.
Supporting others. Leaders who are
supportive understand and sense how other
people feel. By showing authenticity and a
sincere interest in those around them, they
build trust and inspire and help colleauges to
overcome challenges. They intervene in
group work to promote organizational
efficiency, allaying unwarranted fears about
external threats and preventing the energy of
employees from dissipating into internal
conflict.
•
•
•
•
Solving problems effectively
Operating with a strong results orientation
Seeking different perspectives
Supporting others
Look at these four behaviors. Think of a
time you did one of these well (in a small
or large way – it all counts).
Time to share.
RESILIENCE
Resilience is the ability to
bounce back in the face of
life’s challenges.
Why does it matter?
“More than education, more
than experience, more than
training, a person’s level of
resilience will determine who
succeeds and who fails.”
- Dean Baker, CEO of Adaptive Learning Systems
Strategies of the Resilient:
• Sense of humor
• Ability to form attachments to others
• Possession of inner psychological space that protects them
from the intrusions of abusive others
• Seek help
• Have a staunch acceptance of reality
• A deep belief, often buttressed by strongly held values, that life
is meaningful
• Have an uncanny ability to improvise
• Believe they have control over a situation, and that things can
get better
• Learn how to feel the unpleasant feelings, then move on
• Feel gratitude in their lives
TO SUMMARIZE
• Live your values
• Define your own success
• Practice the skills that
successful leaders employ
• Observe resilience
Questions?
THE SUCCESSFUL
LEADER PROJECT
2015 Student Leadership Retreat
September 25, 2015
Presented by Kathryn Gage, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Student Affairs
Oklahoma State University
201 Whitehurst
kathryn.gage@okstate.edu
Resources
• http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/leading_in
_the_21st_century/decoding_leadership_wha
t_really_matters
• http://www.searchinstitute.org/research/developmental-assets
• https://hbr.org/2002/05/how-resilienceworks/ar/1