TOP TIPS: Developing "new model" leaders

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

TOP TIPS: Developing "new model" leaders

Business executives are traditionally well-schooled in using tools to meet financial objectives, but they need additional strategies and more information to seek outcomes that more fully take social and environmental impacts into account. What does this mean for leadership development professionals? How can you develop these "new model" leaders?

1. Change the curriculum. New topics could include: understanding diverse stakeholder perspectives, considering what “sustainable development” means for today’s managers, surveying global trends and assessing their impact on management decisions, considering the appropriate role and responsibilities of corporations in an evolving global economy and exploring ways to build partnerships across sectors.

2. It's a journey of discovery. A theme that cuts across all the above topics – and dozens of others that might be added to the list – is that they are not so much about mastery as they are about discovery. Leadership that contributes to a sustainable society is much more about asking questions than it is about finding answers. It’s about honoring the importance of inquiry.

3. Are you asking the right questions? Help executives value inquiry by designing educational experiences that include questions such as:
- What is the purpose of our enterprise?
- Is it possible to articulate this purpose in a way that engages the passions of employees?
- How do we measure success?
- What is it that we do as a business when we are at our best that allows us to say that our life has meaning?

4. Getting away from it all. Giving leaders an opportunity for retreat and reflection should be a more prominent component of leadership development initiatives. Retreat is seen as a critical counterpoint to the information overload and speed imperative that govern daily corporate life. It is a source of energy and strength. The common thread of retreat and reflection initiatives should be to move away from the usual daily routines in order to get a different view.

5. Make learning an experience. Experiential learning opportunities for executives – including role-playing, peer exchanges, listening tours and so on – are sources of remarkable breakthroughs in terms of individuals uncovering their own values and understanding others’ points of view. This can mean spending time in their community, with customers or with representatives from different disciplines or functions within a firm. It can also mean discussions across generations or hierarchical layers in a
corporation.

Source: "Developing leaders for a sustainable society" by Nancy McGaw, Strategic HR Review Vol. 4, Issue 6, Sept/Oct 2005

Blogged on 8:40 AM by Upay

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