Time to Assess Your Leadership

How would you assess yourself as a leader? Have you completed a 360 degree assessment? How do you compare to a recognised leadership capability framework? We don’t know what we don’t know! So, take some time and step aside from your existing role for a moment, and observe the messages that may have been coming to in your role as a manager/leader. Or, do you ignore this and increase the speed of operation? Busyness is not a sign of effectiveness and capability. There are significant signs that Australian Leadership capability is under par and steps need to be taken to assess leaders and re-build capability. You can be the start of that change process for the next generation of leaders!

“An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.” – Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric

 Leaders NEED to Build Capability

Research shows that there are significant gaps and weaknesses in Australia’s leadership and management.” Organisations need to adapt and adjust to this unfolding reality and YOU have an opportunity to make difference as a Leader! Section 4 of the report sharesfindings of a profile of senior leaders in Australian organisations:

• The leadership of Australian organisations is less diverse than Australian society at large. Women, young leaders, and leaders from non-English speaking backgrounds are under-represented relative to their shares of the broader population
• Australia’s senior leadership tier is ageing. Over half of senior leaders in multi-site organisations are aged 55 years or over, whereas workplace leaders are generally younger: 43% are under 45 years of age
• Around three-quarters of Australian leaders are born in Australia, and most of those born elsewhere are from English-speaking backgrounds. Senior leaders in smaller, private-sector organisations are more likely to be from ethnically-diverse backgrounds
• Senior leadership ranks remain male-dominated. Four out of five senior leaders in multi-site organisations are men. Too few women are taking up, and staying in, leadership roles
• A high proportion of leaders – one in four – has no qualification beyond secondary school. Education levels are highest for leaders in large organisations, foreign-owned organisations, and in the public sector

“The Next-Generation” Leadership competency model

Deloitte’s refer to “Leadership capability modelling.” Traditional leadership competency models are notorious for providing too much information, with dozens of categories, competencies, levels of competencies, and proficiencies described in a single model. In addition to the vast size of traditional competency models, organizations can spend countless hours and dollars developing them. After months—even years—of effort, organizations often end up with competency models that are not only too overwhelming for employees to read on top of their already busy workloads, but also nearly impossible for them to understand, much less execute. No wonder companies worldwide are beginning to question the value of their competency models! To compete in today’s marketplace, when adopting and implementing a capability model, organizations should consider shifting toward a lean, simplified approach. A universal leadership capability model makes it possible to:

• Rapidly ground leaders in the core constructs they need to know—regardless of the context in which they operate—and empower them to lead more effectively, faster
• Apply proven leadership skills for more immediate impact, in a more cost-effective manner
• Place the focus on the end user to foster greater capability-model understanding, impact, and resilience

11 Key Organisational Capabilities

Norm Smallwood and Dave Ulrich outlined in HBR “Capitalizing on Capabilities” that bymaking the most of organizational capabilities—employees’ collective skills and fields of expertise—you can dramatically improve your company’s market value. If you ask them which companies they admire, people quickly point to organizations like General Electric, Starbucks, Nordstrom, or Microsoft. Ask how many layers of management these companies have, though, or how they set strategy, and you’ll discover that few know or care. What people respect about the companies is not how they are structured or their specific approaches to management, but their capabilities—an ability to innovate, for example, or to respond to changing customer needs. Such organizational capabilities, as we call them, are key intangible assets. When an organization falls below the norm in any of the 11 capabilities, dysfunction and competitive disadvantage will likely ensue:

• Talent
• Speed
• Shared Mind-Set and Coherent Brand Identity
• Accountability
• Collaboration
• Learning
• Leadership
• Customer Connectivity
• Strategic Unity
• Innovation
• Efficiency

Give In, Give Up or, Breakthrough to Success!

My blog “Are We Exhausted Leaders” referred to determination and perseverance being two critical leadership skills that every great leader must possess. But sometimes, no matter how much willpower and drive you may have, there are times when even the most dedicated leader will be tempted to just give in and give up. Unless you learn how to cope with the stress that comes along with the constant change and unending demands that all leaders must deal with on a daily basis, leadership fatigue, and eventual failure, is a genuine threat.

If you truly want to succeed and excel at leadership, at some point, you will need to take a moment to stop and take a critical look at your daily life and make some decisions about how it is organised, and who and what you allow into your life and what you devote your time to, in order to have and maintain the power that you will need to achieve your goals and dreams.

Ramp up Leadership Capability starting Now!

LeadershipHQ are excited to be working with Veriskills where our Leadership Essentials Program where you are awarded for Collaboration outcomes. The Leadership Essentials Program is either a self-paced (not Veriskills) or a group and one on one leadership program which takes 6-9 months and gives participants the human capabilities, tools, skills and resources to be the best person and leader they can be. The Human Capability outcomes you will be awarded on completion of our Leadership Essentials program are as follows:

• Initiative and Drive (Level 3)
• Communication (Level 3)
• Collaboration (Level 3)
• Empathy (Level 3)

Click here to learn more about Veriskills?, and the Human Capability Framework.

This program and coaching will take your leadership skills to the next level!

Learn more about our NEW Courage Compass Leadership Assessment HERE!

Leadership isn’t easy and sometimes we need help. I am always here.

And, remember, Leadership starts from within, so grab my latest book FIRST COMES COURAGE!

Get in touch today to learn more about building leadership skills and set yourself up for success!

Stay Kind. Stay Courageous.

Sonia x