Is Everybody’s Business

48 | T+D | AUGUST 2012

Is Everybody’s Business LEADERSHIP

By Laurel Goulet, Jonathan Jefferson, and Paul Szwed

In the March 2011 issue of T+D, Stephen L. Cohen presented a leader development value chain that intentionally made a distinc- tion among leader (person), leading (situation), and leadership (system). He identifi ed leaders as C-suite executives, fi rst-line supervisors, or those in the pipeline. We propose that these leaders, who conduct leadership as a function of their position, are engaged in capital L leadership. On the other hand, lower- case l leadership includes anyone, regardless of title or position, who interacts with others in the workplace. Leadership, in our view, is a process that involves the interactions and relationships between the leader and others. This view of leadership enables anyone to develop as a leader.

Cohen’s view of leadership focuses on the development of the leader’s characteristics (knowledge, skills, and abilities) and behaviors. In addition to the characteristics and behaviors, our view focuses on the development of the leader’s attitudes and values. Taken together, this ensures alignment between doing and being—which is crucial for individual and organizational performance. Attitudes and values can be formed through reflection and mentoring (as shown in Figure 1).

Reflection and mentoring provide leaders an opportunity to consider the impact and effectiveness of their characteristics and behaviors through a feedback loop. For example, an organization may determine that it is important for leaders to be compas- sionate in dealing with others. A leader can easily take this message of compassion and employ it in his interactions with others. However, without the reflective feedback loop (for example, consideration of personal observations of own behavior used to update knowledge), the leader may fail.

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Leadership development shouldn’t be exclusive to high-level staff. Rather, all employees should possess an understanding about leadership from many perspectives.

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Imagine a leader who is successfully compassionate when dealing with others in most situations. But in some contexts or circumstances, or even with certain per- sonality types, that same compassionate stance may not yield appropriate results. Reflection, whether individually or guided by a mentor, serves as a learning pro- cess to enable a leader to become more effective. Talent management is a strong vehicle to develop these capabilities.

L.E.A.D. as an enabler of talent management At the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, we have been in the business of developing leaders of character for some time. We developed the L.E.A.D. framework as a lens by which to view and improve our leader development program. It can be used to create a strategic design for leader development programs within an orga- nization. Specifically, an organization’s talent managers can use this framework as a strategy to develop its leaders, a criti- cal component of talent management.

The elements of L.E.A.D. are • learn from theory • experience through practice • analyze using reflection • deepen understanding through

mentoring. This framework helps to shape the

leader models, theories, experiences, and relationships that guide all leader development.

Learn from theory Why is learning from theory so impor- tant? We find that individuals almost always have preconceptions about lead- ers and leadership. Sometimes these ideas are right on, and sometimes they are way off.

One preconception about leader- ship we frequently encounter is that a leader needs to take care of her people. On the surface, we can probably all agree that leaders should be concerned about the interests of their people. However, if leaders are concerned about the needs of followers to the exclusion of everything else, problems can occur.

We all know of a boss or leader who was concerned only about our well- being. And it might have been great to work for this person, but did he ever really get anything done? Did that leader move the organization forward?

To take care of your people without also taking care of the work at hand does not make someone a good leader. Rather, the appropriate balance of taking care of followers and the task makes a person a good leader. So while the preconcep- tion that leaders need to take care of

Figure 1 | A Model of Leadership their people is not wrong, per se, it also is not completely right. This is where learning from theory can give a more complete, thorough picture of leaders and leadership.

Learning from theory is primarily learning from the work of others— whether through their study or experi- ence. Many people have systematically studied leaders and leadership, and have great insights to impart.

Experience through practice No matter how much we read about leadership, we cannot possibly become better leaders until we attempt to put that learning into practice. The experience through practice portion of the L.E.A.D. framework gives developing leaders the opportunity to actually practice leader- ship. Experiences that challenge leaders are critical for development.

These experiences provide develop- ing leaders an opportunity to attempt the theories they have learned and practice the behaviors of leadership. Additionally, challenging experiences give developing leaders the opportunity to test their own preconceptions, and even mispercep- tions, around leadership.

Certainly these leadership experi- ences can come in the form of role plays during training sessions. However, such experiences do not need to be manufac- tured. Luckily, the workplace abounds with leadership opportunities, even for those without any formal leadership authority.

Analyze using refl ection The reflection portion of the L.E.A.D. framework gives leaders the methods, processes, and frameworks to think criti- cally about the capabilities and capacities that have been and are developing. Reflection is essential for true leader development.

Reflection is “sense making” of leadership experiences in terms of the theory learned and preconceptions held.

BEHAVIORS

REFLECTION

KNOWLEDGE

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Without this sense making, theories remain merely abstractions, experiences remain merely events, and preconcep- tions get no further examination at all. True reflection allows for the evaluation of the experiences, the theories, and the preconceptions about leadership.

Usually in the heat of a challenging leadership experience, we just act—often that is all we have time for. Reflecting on leadership experiences allows develop- ing leaders to take a step back from the action, and to think about the leadership successes and failures that occurred dur- ing an experience. For example:

• What things went well? • What could the developing leader

have done differently? • What theories were useful in the

experience? • Did leadership preconceptions

enhance or harm successful leadership?

• If I were in a situation like that, how would I act?

While it often is helpful to conduct written reflection, it is important to note that reflection often occurs during the process of mentoring.

Deepen understanding through mentoring Mentoring—especially in terms of psy- chosocial support—aids in personal development, particularly for leadership development. This mentoring relation- ship involves a more experienced person helping a protégé reflect on, make sense of, and evaluate his leadership development. Because the mentor- ing relationship is protégé-centric, it provides a way to individualize leader development.

The mentoring portion of the L.E.A.D. framework helps to reinforce the capacities for sustained growth and development. Particularly after prac- ticing leadership through challenging experiences, developing leaders benefit from the mentoring a more experienced

person can offer. Mentors should use questions to guide protégés to deeper understanding of their leadership experi- ences, how those experiences fit with the theory that they learned, and to assess strengths and areas for improvement.

Using L.E.A.D. for leader development Figure 2 on page 52 provides a high-level overview of some of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s leader development programs and assessment points. It indicates many of the leadership development assess- ment methods. In general, it should be noted that we have found a strong relationship between the relative cost of a program and its benefit in developing leadership.

With this as a consideration, below are two examples of leader development opportunities that can be implemented using the L.E.A.D. framework. The first is a leadership book club and would be on the low cost, low benefit end of the spectrum. The second is a year-long fellowship program that would be on the high cost, high benefit end of the spectrum.

A book club is a concept that easily could be implemented and focused on leader development using the L.E.A.D. framework. We have had such a learning community at our institution for many years. Learn from theory. By selecting appro- priate books on leadership, you can determine which aspects you’d like to emphasize. Our Leadership Development Center selects and purchases books that are shared with participants in the weeks leading up to a discussion meeting or

brown bag event. Typical books have included Drive, Leadership for the Future, and Good to Great. You also could choose to select articles or even videos as well. Experience through practice. During the course of our discussion event, we often have participants pair up with a colleague to make commitments on how each will adopt and implement some of the ideas learned from the reading. These partner pairs form the basis for later reflection and mentoring. Analyze using reflection. After a few weeks, the pairs will come together at a mutually convenient time and discuss how their actions faired and what adjust- ments they intend to make regarding their leadership. Deepen understanding through mentoring. These reflections are shared through peer mentoring (although it could be through any form of mentor- ing). It provides the essential feedback and learning necessary to become better leaders.

A longer-term more formal fellowship program might intentionally include all aspects of L.E.A.D. One example of such a program is the Excellence in Government fellows program that is targeted to senior civil servants who are considered high potential for senior executive positions within the government. Although this program was not specifically created with the L.E.A.D. framework in mind, it does contain all of the elements. Learn from theory. Typically, there is a reading list of articles and books on leadership. Additionally, during the in-residence sessions, there is class- room instruction and discussion about leadership topics. Learning occurs by benchmarking leaders and other organizations. Experience through practice. Practice is performed primarily in three ways: the fellowship requires a team results project, each participant has the opportunity to practice the just-learned ideas in the natural work setting when they return

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We have found a strong relationship between the relative cost of a program and its benefit in developing leadership.

Figure 2 | Cost Versus Benefits of Various Leadership Assessments

SUMMARY OF IMPACT AND INVESTMENT

“This I Believe” paper

Book club

Affective learning

Identity paper

Grad performance

Internships

Cadet regimental positions

360° feedback

Faculty review boards

Mentoring

GOLD individual development plans

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COST

HIGH

HIGH

LOW

LOW

B E

N E

F IT

Concept inventory

Mental models

Capstone course

Philosophy and defense

Fellowship program

from an in-residence session, and each participant is detailed to a special assign- ment (typically two to three months) in another organization or agency. Analyze using reflection. Each par- ticipant receives 360-degree feedback at the beginning of the program and uses it to create a learning action plan. Also, participants are encouraged to develop a personal leadership philosophy and maintain leadership journals.

Deepen understanding with mentor- ing. Finally, each participant is assigned an executive coach, and they meet at least three times during the fellowship to discuss the 360-degree feedback, the learning action plan, emergent chal- lenges, and so on. Additionally, the cohort of participants provides a rich pool of peer mentors from other agencies to discuss leadership, learn, and improve.

Putting L.E.A.D. into action Now that we’ve described the L.E.A.D. framework and have presented a pair of examples, we encourage you to con- sider ways in which you can implement aspects of this approach. There is an unlimited number of ways to put this into action. To get you started, we’ve provided a list of methods for each element of the L.E.A.D. framework (see sidebar).

All four components of the framework are important. When you next design or improve a leader development activity, remember to include all four aspects, or as many as you can. Also, remember that:

• the leader is the object of leader development

• L.E.A.D. and leader development enable talent management

• all people can benefit from leader development.

A good strategy Talent management is about getting the right people in the right jobs doing the right things with the right people at the right time for the right company goals and objectives. L.E.A.D. is a good strategy for how talent managers achieve that goal.

Leader development helps organiza- tions to ensure that employees possess an understanding about leadership from many perspectives. These perspectives should include the theoretical, practi- cal, and reflective. Talent management and leader development enable shifts in leader and employee behaviors that are necessary to adapt to the needs of the ever-changing workplace.

Now that you’ve been introduced to another theoretical framework for leader development, we’d encourage you to

apply it in your own context and reflect on its impact to your organization, talent management, and leader development.

Laurel Goulet teaches human resource man- agement and diversity at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. She specializes in mentoring and developed a center that oversees a mentor- ing program focused on leader development; [email protected]. Jonathan Jeffer- son is director of the Institute for Leadership, the leader in residence, and a professor of man- agement at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy; [email protected]. Paul Szwed teaches management courses and performs research about leader development and lead- ership assessment for the AACSB-accredited undergraduate management degree program at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Paul.S.Szwed@ uscga.edu.

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Methods to Use Elements of the L.E.A.D. Framework Learn from theory • Assigned reading • Reading lists • Book clubs • Study of the month • Short training • Course modules • Expert speakers • Podcasts • Video

Experience through practice • Special or “stretch” assignments • Natural work environment • Rotational assignments • Simulation • Role play • Project team • Service learning • Volunteering • Community service

Analyze using reflection • Guided discussion • Journaling • Blogging • Written responses to prompts • Public presentation or panel • Group discussion • Fictional or real interviews

Deepen understanding with mentoring • (In)formal programs • Intact or created relationships • Individual or group • In person or at distance • Goal-oriented or open • Directed inquiry • Question focused

The workplace abounds with leadership oppor- tunities, even for those without any formal leadership authority.

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