Why you should consider becoming a Total Leader?

As today’s business world changes and evolves through increased global competition, constant innovation, lightning-fast communication, and continual advances in technologies, the need for effective and highly skilled leaders has only intensified. In addition, primarily because of globalization and easy access to information, the ever-blurring lines of societal and cultural differences across the globe contribute heavily to this need for improved personal leadership.

The Total Leader? Concept is a thorough, comprehensive, complete leadership development process that guides individuals through these four critical levels.

For any organization to become a truly empowered, productive, and innovative enterprise, it must develop skilled leaders throughout all levels of the organization. In fact, the organization of the future is an organization where everyone is a leader; it is only when people are able to lead themselves that they are actually empowered to be creative and innovative, as well as to achieve the highest level of personal performance. To this end, leadership abilities must be developed in every team member! This is the very foundation of The Total Leader? concept. Two fundamental principles are at the core of this unique and innovative process:

The first principle is that for businesses to succeed in the 21st century, they must develop leaders through their entire organization. Leadership is no longer a position or title, but rather a process that every person at every level must practice.

The second principle is that for leadership development to be effective, it must employ a complete, integrated, total leadership development process. Leadership development is not an event, a project, or a program. Truly effective leadership development is a continuous, ongoing, lifelong process.

Too many organizations attempt to develop leaders with a fragmented, hit-and-miss approach. They often follow the latest fad or best-selling book. They focus on a number of personality traits, a checklist of competencies, or one facet of leadership believing that is all they need. Leadership is much more complex than that. Attempting to develop leaders this way is like trying to become a professional golfer by only practicing your putting. The best golfers are total golfers — they excel at driving, approach shots, sand shots, pitching, chipping, and putting.

The same is true for leaders. The best leaders — total leaders — excel in all facets of leadership. Leadership development is a process of growth or maturation. Just like becoming an adult involves maturing through different stages — infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood — effective leaders develop through stages. Extensive research has shown that the best leaders have mastered four key stages of leadership development. The Total Leader? concept identifies these four broad areas or levels that a person must master to become a Total Leader?.

1. Personal Productivity

Personal productivity is the foundation of all effective leadership. Personal productivity is the ability to manage yourself, manage your time, and manage your priorities to operate at maximum performance. It is only when you can optimize your own performance that you are truly able to impact and increase the performance of others.

2. Personal Leadership

Personal leadership is the ability to lead yourself — to be a self-motivated leader of your own life. Most people just let life happen to them and then suffer the consequences. Personal leaders take personal responsibility for determining the life they want, and then through planning and action make it happen. Personal leadership also means becoming a Total Person? — a person who is growing and developing in all six areas of life, including Family and Home, Financial and Career, Mental and Educational, Physical and Health, Social and Cultural, and Spiritual and Ethical. Personal leadership helps form the core of an individual’s character and provides the basis for developing trusting relationships that are vital to lead others.

3. Motivational Leadership

Motivational leadership is the capability to lead and motivate others. A motivational leader understands that people are the source of all progress and innovation, and thus the key to business success in the 21st century. Inspiring motivation in others is crucial to developing a productive and engaged team. A motivational leader is able to help people continuously develop and use more of their full potential.

4. Strategic Leadership

Strategic leadership is the process of leading an organization, no matter how small or how large. A strategic leader works through teamwork and collaboration to define and develop the purpose of the organization, the key strategies, the optimum structure, the right people in the right roles, and the most effective processes for an organization to succeed. Strategic leadership is not only setting the course but also following through and executing the plan to completion.

The Total Leader? concept is a comprehensive leadership development process that guides individuals through these four critical levels. Effective leadership development is an inside-out process. Successful leaders first master personal leadership and then develop interpersonal leadership. Personal mastery always precedes team and organizational mastery.

Developing yourself within each level is also paramount to taking on more responsibility and advancement in the organization. It is only when you become more and more of a Total Leader? that you are able to be effective in a larger role or position in the organization. This process literally develops people into total leaders! It is difficult to conceive that a key leader in an organization could really be effective if he or she were still in infancy or childhood in leadership mastery.

Many leaders today are frustrated because they haven’t had the opportunity to develop through all four levels. They feel as though they are standing on the first tee of an important golf tournament and they’ve never practiced a single swing with their driver. The only thing they have ever learned is how to putt. That is exactly the problem with most leadership development today. You cannot become a truly effective leader by only focusing on and developing one or two areas of leadership capability. When this happens, a leader becomes overly dependent on certain abilities. When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.

I look forward to partnering with you to help you realize your full potential.