LEADERSHIP
COMPETENCIES THAT ENABLE RESULTS
© 2013 Mike Hawkins
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
The SCOPE of Leadership Book Series
A Guide to Coaching Leaders to Lead as Coaches
Leadership Competencies That Enable Results
Brown Books Publishing Group
16250 Knoll Trail Drive, Suite 205
Dallas, Texas 75248
www.BrownBooks.com
(972) 381-0009
A New Era in Publishing™
e-ISBN 978-1-61254-119-8
LCCN 2013930730
Printed in the United States
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For more information or to contact the author, please go to
www.ScopeOfLeadership.com
www.AlpineLink.com
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Welcome to the SCOPE of Leadership book series. The six books in this series are designed to build your knowledge of the thirty-eight competencies of great leaders who lead as coaches. These books provide the insights and principles great leaders as coaches use to practice great leadership—the ability to achieve a desired result through the influence of people who follow and perform by choice.
By reading the SCOPE of Leadership book series, you will learn how to set the example you expect others to follow. You will learn how to coach and develop others, build trust and high-performance teams, and foster collaboration and innovation. You will understand what it takes to motivate and inspire others and discover how to impart ownership and stimulate engagement. You will learn how to develop engaging presentations and speak with confidence. You will understand how to craft win-win partnerships and manage conflict. Most importantly, you will learn how to shape organizational culture, operate with excellence, and deliver exceptional results.
The SCOPE of Leadership is for anyone who aspires to be a great leader. It is for business professionals who want to advance in their career as well as community leaders who want to make a positive impact on society. It is for parents and grandparents who want to be better examples to their children and raise them to be great leaders. It is for athletic coaches who want to help athletes become their best. It is for teachers, principals, church leaders, and others in positions of influence who aspire to influence people positively in order to reach a desired result.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Need to Lead
Chapter 2: Choosing to Lead
Chapter 3: Learning to Lead
Chapter 4: Disruptive Trends Affecting Leadership
Chapter 5: Leadership Competencies
Chapter 6: Building a Leadership Roadmap
Chapter 7: Closing Thoughts
Appendix:
The SCOPE of Leadership Scorecard
Contents of the SCOPE of Leadership Six-Book Series
Figures in the SCOPE of Leadership Six-Book Series
Tables in the SCOPE of Leadership Six-Book Series
About the Author
Books by Mike Hawkins
FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Skills Versus Sphere of Influence
Figure 1.2: Career and Skill Progression
Figure 1.3: Genetics to Results—Four Levels of Change
Figure 1.4: The Extremes of Competence
Figure 1.5: Leadership Approaches
Figure 1.6: Hierarchy of Needs
Figure 1.7: The SCOPE of Leadership Pyramid
Figure 1.8: Delta Roadmap
TABLES
Table 1.1: Measures of Leadership Effectiveness
Table 1.2: Differences between Leader, Manager, and Individual Contributor Roles
Table 1.3: The Four Stages of Career Contribution
Table 1.4: Leadership Approaches
Table 1.5: Dichotomies That Leaders Balance
Table 1.6: Steps to Running an Effective Team Book Club
Table 1.7: Trends Disrupting the Leadership Status Quo
Table 1.8: Five Capabilities That Determine Athletic Performance
Table 1.9: Considerations in Developing Competency Models
Table 1.10: The SCOPE of Leadership Assessment
Table 1.11: The Core 25 Attributes
Table 1.12: Factors That Determine Your True Net Worth
Table 1.13: The SCOPE of Leadership Scorecard
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank my wife, Elizabeth, and my children, Allison, Angela, Emily, Corbin, and Mitchell, for their support and patience while I worked incessantly on developing and refining the content for this book series. For over eight years they were patient and understanding of the many family meals, conversations, and gatherings that I missed. I am grateful to have a loving family who supports and encourages me.
I thank my business partners who were instrumental in initially helping me establish Alpine Link’s coaching and consulting practice: Amie Lawrence, Amy Hardin, Byron Swezy, Chip Toth, Chris Klinvex, Colleen Francis, Colleen Stanley, Jake Appelman, Jennifer Jones, Leslie Martin, Linda Davis, Mark Bodnarczuk, Mark Hooey, Matt Martin, Merit Gest, Mike Armour, Mike Danchak, Paul Hollrah, Rick Davis, Ron Magnus, and Tom Alafat.
I thank my editor, Daniel Millwee, who worked diligently to keep me focused on the main points of my message. His efforts made the SCOPE of Leadership book series succinct and straightforward to read. I also thank the rest of the staff at Brown Books Publishing Group, including Milli Brown, Cathy Williams, Cindy Birne, Danny Whitworth, Janet Harris, Jessica Burnham, Josh Masterson, Lucia Retta, and Omar Mediano for their help in making this series possible.
I thank you, the reader, for being interested in my work on leadership. It is you whom I envisioned as I spent thousands of hours putting this series together. I sincerely hope and pray that you find these books a worthy investment of your time. My goal is that they enable you to develop a coaching approach to leadership and become a great leader.
Most importantly, I thank my clients, in particular those in the early years of my consulting and coaching work. If it weren’t for your engagement of my firm and trust in our Alpine Link team, I would not have had the opportunity to learn so much. You not only hired me and my partners but also allowed us to become your partners. It was through involvement with you and your organizations that I sharpened my understanding of leadership. It was through our work together that we gained deeper insights into the art and science of leadership. I am honored to be called your coach, advisor, trainer, and partner.
To all of you I am deeply indebted: Al Duff, Al Klein, Alan Deane, Alisa Marinelli, Alva Purvis, Alwyn Welch, Amit Balasubramanian, Anand Revashetti, Andy Morra, Andy Welsh, Assaf Litai, Atul Srivastava, Bari Abdul, Barry McPherson, Bill Dismuke, Bill McAlister, Bobby Hernandez, Brad Hargrave, Brent Remai, Brett Golden, Brett Larson, Brett Neilson, Brian Crowe, Brian Foster, Brian Longoria, Brian Myers, Brian Wray, Bruce Parelskin, Carl Spetzler, Charles Graft, Charlie Simpson, Chris Carter, Chris Geib, Chris Kennebeck, Chris Klinvex, Chris Noonan, Chris Stone, Christine Durham, Christopher Bray, Cindy Luoma, Clark Ellis, Clark Hulbert, Clark McDaniel, Cory Bushong, Craig Fellman, Craig Olson, Craig Parrish, Craig Wiseman, Dan McAllin, Danielle Fournier, Darrell Christian, Darrell Rodenbaugh, Darren Albert, Darrin Garlish, Dave Borger, Dave Dickison, Dave Finley, Dave Tripier, David Barker, David DeMartino, David Fishman, David Jackson, David Pearson, David Ries, David Roberts, David Walsh, Dennis Daniell, Dennis Omanoff, Devin Redmond, Dick Williams, Dillan Micus, Don Sather, Doug Hartley, Doug Wride, Ed Plucker, Eric Appel, Eric Launder, Erin Malone, Fernando Quintero, Fiaaz Walji, Francie Coulter, Frank Masi, Gary Davis, Gene Hodges, Gene Postma, Gerry Donnelly, Gordon Stout, Greg Carlson, Greg Hampton, Greg Norwick, Greg Olek, Gregor McCole, Guy Fernandez, Haroon Fakiri, Harry Clarke, Jack Sebbag, Jack Taylor, James McGinley, James Pleasant, Jason Blevins, Jason Grier, Javed Hasan, J. D. Johnson, Jean-Pierre Bardet, Jeff Davidson, Jeff Henke, Jeff Pray, Jeff Ramsey, Jeff Tomlin, Jeff True, Jeffrey Moore, Jerry Allen, Jim Hamilton, Jim Lang, Jim Lewandowski, Jim McGinley, Jim Sargent, Jim Ulrich, Jim Vilbert, Jim Wilkerson, Joe Bob Baggett, Joe Telafici, Joe Yanda, John Bordwine, John Castaldi, John Davern, John Lichty, John McMahon, John Pinelli, John Thode, John Tredennick, Jon Lloyd, Joshua Martin, Kate Fitzpatrick, Kate Patterson, Katrina Warburton, Keith Weatherford, Ken McCray, Ken Webb, Kenton Sieckman, Kevin Campbell, Kevin Klinvex, Kevin Osterling, Larry Gescher, Lee Marshall, Leo Cole, Leslie Bertha, Lianne Caetano, Lorenzo Masi, Marcio Mello, Mark Bridgers, Mark Neely, Mark Scarmozzino, Mark Small, Mark Swanson, Mark Ziells, Matt O’Connell, May Yip, Michael Alterman, Michael Bolton, Michael Sgroe, Michael Waters, Mike Carpenter, Mike McParlan, Mike Sweet, Milo Riverso, Mindy Watrous, Nathan Mosley, Nick Artukovic, Paresh Mohanty, Pat Watson, Paul Hemson, Paul Noyd, Paul Wahlen, Paulette McLean, Pedro Gutierrez, Pete Knipe, Pete Lyons, Peter Braun, Phil SanDiego, Philip Bresnahan, Philip Nathan, Pravat Lall, Press Theriot, Rafael Alvarez, Ramon Peypoch, Ray Mussato, Reema Shown, Rick Charles, Rick Jackson, Robert Dyer, Robyn Cody, Rod Fisher, Ron Clanton, Rose Ranker, Ross Ferrin, Rudy Schmidt, Sajeena Warrier, Salvatore Cangialosi, Samir Eid, Scott Perian, Scott Price, Sean Slaton, Shailaja Shankar, Shari Ahlberg, Stacey Conner, Stephen Baker, Stephen Banbury, Steve Behrens, Steve Elliott, Steve Miller, Steve Petracca, Stu Rothenberger, Susan Brown, Susan Quam, Tenice Wehmeyer, Thevi Sundaralingam, Tim Darnell, Tim Morris, Tim Turner, T. J. Gill, Todd Gebhart, Todd Lowe, Tom Coakley, Tom Gibb, Tom Knight, Tracy Balent-Hamrac, Troy Craft, Troy Robinson, Twilla Case, Uy Huynh, Vito Ippolito, and William Morris.
INTRODUCTION
When I put the finishing touches on the SCOPE of Leadership book series, I couldn’t help but reflect for a moment. My goal in writing the SCOPE of Leadership was to give you the most important and practical insights I’ve learned from my experience as an executive coach, management consultant, and leader. I wanted to provide you with the insight and motivation you need to become a great leader, whether in the workplace, community, or home. As the reader, you will be the judge, but I believe I accomplished my goal.
I’ve included the most popular content from my leadership training programs, the best practices from my professional coaching experience, and many lessons I’ve learned throughout my career. I’ve also included fascinating new insights from emerging behavioral science about how the brain works, how people behave in groups, and how people become motivated. I’ve incorporated human physiology considerations that impact leadership performance, elements of strategic thinking, and tactical principles that deliver operational excellence. I’ve included the essential management and leadership competencies required to be a great leader.
You will find that the SCOPE of Leadership is not a typical leadership resource based on management surveys or interviews of great leadership icons. It is not a documentary of a leader of a meteorically fast-growing company or someone popularized by the media, nor is it based on a historical analysis of past leaders or organizations. It is not a perspective from sitting in the ivory tower or the executive observation deck, nor one based on delusions of correlation between a perceived leadership behavior and unrelated result.
Rather, the perspectives on which the SCOPE of Leadership book series is based came from hands-on experience in a variety of roles not typical of most people’s careers. They came from holding leadership positions in one of the world’s largest companies as well as in one of the fastest-growing companies of all time, running several small businesses of my own, and serving on the board of several nonprofit charities. They came from my experience as a management consultant and executive coach. They also include an undeniable contribution from the analytical abilities I developed early in my career as an engineer.
My experience has given me the overarching perspective that people in positions of influence either enable or disable their organization’s performance. Regardless of market conditions, the industry, or the people on their team, most achievements as well as most problems are rooted in leadership. An organization’s performance is largely a result of the decisions, attitudes, and behaviors of people in positions of influence.
The SCOPE of Leadership focuses on the primary attitudes and behaviors I’ve found to be at the core of both achievement and failure. They are the mindsets and skills I’ve found to be consistently embodied by great leaders and missing in underperforming ones.
These attitudes and behaviors are the basis of the SCOPE of Leadership framework, which gives this book series a logical structure and straightforward approach to leadership. It turns the intangible nature of leadership into a tangible form—a roadmap that methodically guides you in learning and applying the leadership competencies of great leaders, with an emphasis on the competencies needed to lead as a coach. It puts the why, what, and how of leadership into an understandable context. This framework is unique in that it provides the detail needed to go from knowing how to be a great leader to putting your knowledge into practice and developing a coaching approach to leadership.
Part of my motivation to write the SCOPE of Leadership book series was to debunk popularized leader role models and emerging societal norms. It was also my intent to help people confront the natural human tendency to take the path of least resistance, which often steers people in a direction at odds with great leadership.
Our world is in a leadership crisis. Our businesses, communities, and families need people willing to take responsibility instead of avoiding it. We need leaders who are willing to put the best interests of their employees and constituents ahead of their own and who are willing to coach and develop the next generation of leaders.
An organization can be in a position of having great products, being part of a growth industry, having a large base of satisfied customers, and being highly profitable, but if it lacks a pipeline of great leaders, its future is bleak. Sustainable performance requires the continuous development of great leaders. It is the quality of leadership that ultimately enables or constrains an organization’s performance and competitive position. That is the reason I believe the greatest threat to most organizations is not from the outside but from the inside.
Part of the problem is that leadership development is often reserved for senior executives rather than for emerging leaders and highly influential employees. Organizations too often think of leadership in terms of positions rather than in terms of influence and potential. Leadership isn’t about people’s titles but about what they do. For organizations to reach and maintain peak performance, they need leadership competence in positions at all levels—not just in the senior management team.
Another part of the leadership problem is that organizations focus managers on managing rather than leading. Many managers become managers because they were top performers in the domain of their profession. They were promoted from their individual contributor positions and never taught how to lead effectively and work through their people. As a result, they rely on crude management skills and their domain skills. They see their management role as a higher-level domain role. Hence organizations have many managers but few leaders.
The SCOPE of Leadership book series is written to help people in a position of influence and managers at all levels become great leaders. It is organized into six books that guide you in learning, understanding, and applying the principles of great leadership. This first book is an introduction that answers the most frequent questions I encounter about leadership. It provides the what and why of leadership. It also provides a comprehensive assessment that helps you identify where to focus your leadership development.
The remaining five books describe the thirty-eight competencies I’ve consistently found in great leaders. These books provide the how of leadership. They describe the enabling attributes and details of what you need to know and do to develop each competency. These books provide instructions, examples, models, and checklists that will guide you in exactly what you need to do to be a great leader.
As you read the SCOPE of Leadership, my intent is that you will be able to put the material into immediate application. You will be able to use it in your staff meetings, customer presentations, employee appraisals, supplier negotiations, and every other value-adding aspect of your responsibility. I suggest you grab a highlighter and pen. I think you will find yourself scribbling notes in the margins, dog-earing the pages, and making this book look like a well-used repair manual. These books are written to be an engaging first reading as well as a reference that you will come back to again and again. You might think of this book series as your leadership playbook, or if you tend to forget what you read, your leadership amnesia kit.
There is an ancient proverb that says, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” I hope you are ready and will accept my teaching. With so much to do and so little time to do it in, learning and development have fallen off the priority list for many people. But there is also so much to learn! If you are ready to learn, I believe you will find this book series to be a great resource.
I implore you to get off the treadmill of busyness as usual and take time to invest in yourself. When you do, you will receive a return that will more than offset your investment. You will be able to accomplish a great deal more in less time than you do now, perhaps more than you ever thought possible.
I hope and pray that the SCOPE of Leadership is the catalyst you need to become a great leader. Our families, communities, associations, organizations, and businesses need your leadership.
Mike Hawkins