Lessons to Learn from The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner

The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner is an amazing framework for learning the foundations of leadership. Based on thirty years of research, The Leadership Challenge shares people's "Personal-Best Leadership Experiences" in all areas of work ranging from healthcare to IT, finance, education, athletics, you name it. This extensive research identified five practices that all Personal-Best Leadership experiences share: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. These practices are easy-to-remember ways to grow your leadership skills.

Model the Way: The first practice given by Kouzes and Posner is to model the way. They emphasize that to lead others, you must first lead yourself by understanding your values and communicating shared values through action. To do this, you need to know what you stand for, what motivates you, and what makes you tick, a process they describe as finding your voice. Kouzes and Posner encourage you to take time to write out your leadership philosophy in your own words, ensuring it truly reflects who you are. As they state, "People don't follow your position or your technique. They follow you." For people to follow you, you need to know who you are. Once you understand your values, you must set an example by demonstrating them through your actions. To get others to follow shared values, you must show those values through both word and deed. For instance, you can't expect others to arrive on time if you aren't modeling this behavior yourself. To ensure you are effectively modeling the way, seek feedback. Researchers find that people who seek out disconfirming feedback perform better than those who only listen to positive feedback. Then take appropriate action based on the feedback you receive. To model the way is to follow the Kouzes-Posner Second Law of Leadership which is DWYSYWD: Do What You Say You Will Do.

Inspire a Shared Vision: The second practice seen in all personal-best leadership experiences is to inspire a shared vision. To do this, you must be able to envision the future and enlist others by appealing to shared aspirations. Envisioning the future may seem daunting to some but the authors give tips on how to do that. First, you must look at your past and see trends and patterns that have made you care for certain ideals. Next, be aware of the present by knowing your environment, listening to those around you, and understanding what is happening. Finally, lift your head, look to the horizon, and envision a future. Be aware of emerging technologies or areas your team can improve in. Ensure that the future you envision is one that both you and your team can be passionate about. Now share this vision of the future with your team. A good leader does not only explain the "what" of work but the "why" behind it. This "why" helps give purpose to work. A common purpose is shared among a team and it increases motivation. To make a common purpose, enlisting others to help create it is crucial. Get to know their individual "why" and put them together to create a shared vision. The authors identified for a vision to be compelling it must be logically understood, emotionally compelling, and actionable. In other words, it must appeal to people's head, heart, and hands. By doing so, you can inspire a shared vision that drives collective effort and commitment.

Challenge the Process: The third practice, challenge the process, can be achieved by searching for ways to innovate and improve and by experimenting and taking risks. To search for ways to improve, you must take initiative and make something happen. As the authors say, to be high-performing, you must work beyond your job description and see opportunities where others do not. If you want to innovate and improve, you cannot allow yourself to be confined by your job description. You need to seek experiences and opportunities for growth. Sitting idly by will not lead to innovation. If you want to see improvement and innovation in your team, you need to lead by example and take the initiative to improve. Research shows that the most successful senior executives do not wait for information to come to them; they proactively make themselves knowledgeable to determine the next steps. Sometimes this requires being brave and going against the tide of what others are doing. This is how you innovate. You must seek firsthand experiences outside of your comfort zone and do things that may make you feel uncomfortable. Continue to seek advice and listen to diverse perspectives. This may be difficult for many, but the authors provide a way to make this easier. They introduce the idea of generating small wins. Incremental progress is better than no progress at all. Identify your goal for improvement and find the small wins it takes to get there. When a goal is too broad or daunting, it may be difficult and intimidating to tackle. Being a leader means facing fears. This is why the authors encourage leaders to build psychological hardiness by committing to the issue, taking control of their lives, and viewing challenges as opportunities to learn. Leaders must have a growth mindset and not be afraid of failure. To challenge the process, you must be ready to embrace challenges, seek to innovate, and take initiative.

Enable Others to Act: The fourth practice is to enable others to act, which is done by fostering collaboration and strengthening others. To enable others to act, you must prioritize trust and teamwork, as trust is the central issue in human relationships, and without it, you cannot lead. To develop trust, you need to show your trust in others before asking them to trust you—this is an example of modeling the way. Building trust involves demonstrating genuine care for others, which can be achieved by actively listening, showing empathy, and getting to know them personally. Establish a norm of reciprocity; do not be the leader who is always taking, but one who gives as well. Trust is about cooperation and working together, so seek opportunities and projects that will build trust. Strengthening others involves enhancing their self-determination and developing their competence and confidence. Being a leader does not mean making all the decisions; in fact, removing choices significantly reduces a person's job satisfaction. Equip your team for success by providing them with the tools they need to make the best choices. Offer tools, not just answers, and ask thought-provoking questions to strengthen your team's confidence. This confidence is crucial for high-performing team members. Help build their confidence by assigning meaningful projects that will allow them to develop their skills. A strong leader acts as a coach. While it's important to have confidence in your team, you cannot simply tell people to do something if they lack the necessary skills. Leaders need to provide coaching and guidance. A leader's job is to set up their team for success by enabling them to act.

Encourage the Heart: The final practice is to encourage the heart, which focuses on recognizing contributions by showing appreciation and celebrating victories by creating a spirit of community. To recognize contributions effectively, recognition should be personalized. A leader needs to know their team well to make recognition meaningful. Spend time with your team and get to know them to personally acknowledge their contributions. These personal recognitions help build strong relationships between a leader and their team. The authors point out that rewards are most effective when they are highly specific and awarded soon after the appropriate behavior. An example given in the book is the "big fish" award, a giant plastic fish placed over the cubicle of the person with the most sales for the past month. Additionally, saying "thank you" goes a long way in recognizing contributions. Be sure to be the leader who has "thank you" in their natural vocabulary. Next, to encourage the heart, a leader must create a spirit of community. This can be done by celebrating accomplishments publicly. Regularly scheduled award ceremonies for meaningful milestones can have a significant impact on a team. Another way to create a spirit of community is by having fun at work. The authors point out that every personal-best leadership experience includes a combination of hard work and fun. Fun should not be a luxury. Be personally involved in the fun and make it a part of your working environment. By recognizing individual contributions and fostering a supportive and enjoyable workplace, leaders can inspire their teams to achieve great things and maintain a positive, motivated spirit.

Personal Takeaways:

• Leadership is not a position; it is a continuous action. You do not need to be in a formal leadership role to be a leader. You can be in any position and still put these practices into action. Do not wait until you are in a leadership position to start acting like a leader.
• Leadership, much like a muscle, requires regular exercise to enhance and grow. Leadership is not a skill you gain overnight; it requires learning and practice, just like a sport. Do not expect your leadership skills to grow if you are not actively "exercising" them.
• Leadership requires integrity and credibility. To lead, you must practice what you preach. You must not be just words, but also deeds.

Source: Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Becoming an Exemplary Leader. The Leadership Challenge.