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Leadership 2.0: Are You An Adaptive Leader?
One of the most popularDilbert comic strips in the cartoons
history begins with Dilberts boss relaying seniorleaderships
explanation for the companys low profits. In response to his boss,
Dilbert asks incredulously, So
theyre saying that profits went up because of great leadership
and down because of a weak economy! "o
which Dilberts boss replies, "hese meetings will go faster if
you stop putting things in context.!
#reat leadership is indeed a difficult thing to pin down and
understand. $ou know a great leader when youre
working for one, but e%en great leaders can ha%e a hard time
explaining the specifics of what they do that makes
their leadership so effecti%e. #reat leadership is dynamic&
it melds uni'ue skills into an integrated whole.
I (ust released a book,Leadership 2.0, which shares results from
an intensi%e study that set out to separate theleadership skills
that get results from those that are inconse'uential or harmful.
"he first thing our study
accomplished was pinpointing the )) leadership skills critical
to performance. *ext, we looked closer at each
skill and disco%ered that they all fall into one of two
categories+ the skills that get people into leadership
positions in the first place and the skills that the greatest
leaders use to rise abo%e the rest. "he first set of skillswe
deemed core leadership because together they form the basis of
solid, producti%e leadership. "he latter set of
skills is called adapti%e leadership because these skills create
dynamic, agile leaders who are incredibly
effecti%e in any en%ironment.
e stumbled upon a new way to understand great leadership and an
inno%ati%e method for any leader to
become great. -ore leadership can tighten your leadership game
and make certain you ha%e the building blocks
in place to become an adapti%e leader. "he adapti%e leadership
skills can enable you to see and understand the
specific actions the worlds greatest leaders take e%ery day.
"hese things are not innate 'ualities of brilliant andinspirational
people that you should aspire to+ they are practical, repeatable
skills that any leader can adopt with
effort.
http://www.forbes.com/leadership/http://www.talentsmart.com/products/leadership-2.0/http://www.talentsmart.com/products/leadership-2.0/http://www.forbes.com/leadership/
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Core Leadership
-ore leadership skills are the skills that get people promoted
into leadership positions. eople who naturallydemonstrate these
skills are often labeled born! leaders. -ore leadership skills are
the foundation of effecti%e
leadership+ they wont make you a great leader on their own, but
you cant do it without them. /xperienced
leaders will recogni0e the core leadership skills as a great
opportunity to sharpen the saw and take a new look at
the skills they use e%ery day. 1spiring leaders can learn the
core leadership skills to mold their own blade.
-ore 2eadership is3
Strategy "alent hits a target that no one else can hit, but
genius hits a target no one else can see. Strategy is
knowing how to look ahead, spot the trends, and anticipate the
course of action you will follow to maximi0e
your success.
Action 1n idea is a curious thing& it will not work unless
you do. 4or most leaders, desire is not the factor thatholds them
back& its knowing how to execute.
Results Its a myth that hard work is enough to achie%e results.
4ar too often obstacles are thrown in a
leaders path that re'uire a special set of skills to reach the
finish line.
Adaptive Leadership
"he adapti%e leadership skills represent the ma(or disco%ery
from our research. "hats not to suggest wedisco%ered! these skills.
5ather, we found that adapti%e leadership skills are what set great
leaders apart+ these
skills represent the otherwise intangible 'ualities that great
leaders ha%e in common. 1dapti%e leadership is a
uni'ue combination of skills, perspecti%e, and guided effort
that enable true excellence. "he adapti%e leadershipskills can take
a leader at any le%el to places others cannot go.
1dapti%e 2eadership is3
Eotional !ntelligence6/motional intelligenceis a set of skills
that capture our awareness of our ownemotions and the emotions of
others and how we use this awareness to manage oursel%es
effecti%ely and form'uality relationships.
"rgani#ational $ustice #reat leaders dont shy away from the
truth. "hey know how to integrate what people
think, what they want to hear, and how they want to hear it with
the facts. "his makes people feel respected and
%alued.
Character 2eaders who embody a true sense of character are
transparent and forthcoming. "hey arent
perfect, but they earn peoples respect by walking their
talk.
%evelopent "he moment leaders think they ha%e nothing more to
learn and ha%e no obligation to helpde%elop those they lead is the
moment they ensure theyll ne%er know their true potential.
In addition to separating great leaders from the rest of the
pack, adapti%e leadership skills are what leaders
o%erestimate their abilities in the most. e had leaders from a
large cross section of industries rate themsel%es
in all )) core and adapti%e leadership skills. e also had the
leaders peers, boss7es8, and direct reports answerthe same
'uestions about them, and we compared the scores. 1s the table that
follows illustrates, the fi%e skills
in which leaders o%erestimate their abilities the most are all
adapti%e leadership skills.
http://www.talentsmart.com/http://www.talentsmart.com/about/emotional-intelligence.phphttp://www.talentsmart.com/http://www.talentsmart.com/about/emotional-intelligence.php
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-ontrary to what Dilbert might ha%e us belie%e, leaders gaps in
self6awareness are rarely due to deceitful,9achia%ellian moti%es or
se%ere character deficits. In most cases, leaders, like e%eryone
else, %iew themsel%es
in a more fa%orable light than other people do. "he fact that
leaders greatest o%erestimations are limited to the
adapti%e leadership skills shows how tough these skills are to
master and how few leaders ha%e honed theirskills ade'uately. 1s
rare as adapti%e leadership skills are, they present a perfect
opportunity for leaders to get
an edge and take their game to the next le%el.
