In a recent workshop I gave on developing leadership skills, I asked the participants, “Who wants to be supervised?” Not surprisingly, few hands were raised. I followed it with the question, “Who wants a good supervisor?” Almost all hands went up.
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We all want a good supervisor, but few of us want to actually be supervised. We have created an impossible paradigm: Don’t supervise us, but if you do it, do it well! Leadership certainly falls under the auspices of a necessary evil for some and a virtuous act of bravery for others.
It seems the never-ending question about leadership is: What is it? I often think that defining leadership is similar to defining talent. We often have difficulty defining talent, but we know it when we see it. Think in terms of trying to put together a world-class orchestra as a novice. We can hear when there is a lack of talent in the orchestra, but the question remains: When is there enough talent, and how do you know it when you see it?
We all have examples of poor leadership and stories of leadership gone awry. But if we were responsible for creating the leadership dream team in our own organization, what skills would we be looking for, who would make the all-star team and how would they work together?
In the workshop I conduct on leadership, I ask people to define leadership. Inevitably, high-brow terms such as “vision,” “communication” and “interpersonal skills” float to the top of each group’s list. Simultaneously, I ask the group to define managers. Perhaps not surprisingly, this list is less than flattering, including terms such as “task completion,” “micro-management” and “demanding.” We think and speak highly of leaders, but our experience with managers is much less flattering. But aren’t managers also leaders? Is there a way to bridge this gap between our experience of the typical leader and our expectation of the great leader?
The program engages leaders in a series of rich experiences that heightens their awareness of compelling demographic challenges, creates a fomm for exploring personal perspectives, prompts candid discussion and equips participants in serving as catalysts for change in inclusion. Developing An Effective Leadership Excellence Action Plan. And to learn some viable solutions when you determine your Action Plan is not effective. • Implemented sepsis program in collaboration with Joint Commission Centers for Transforming Healthcare (CTH), won “Quality and Innovation Award” in 2014 and realized a 24%. Executive GuideIn 1991 CCL’s LeaderLab® program was launched with the goal ofhelping executives take more effective action in their leadership situations. Conducted over a period of six months, the program includes traditional. Our 2019 Leader in Action has advocated on behalf of children and parents in a way that is compelling and effective. Luke has led the charge on education reform by mobilizing volunteers and LPR graduates to fully embrace this cause. Luke’s efforts and leadership are attributes that the Leadership Program of the Rockies applauds.
The Process of Influence
One of the problems with leadership is that we have defined it in terms that few mortals can accomplish. Vroom and Jago (2007) articulated one of the best definitions of leadership: “the process of influence.” While we certainly would like to see that influence be toward creating high-level vision and communication plans, the practical aspect of leadership is driving others toward positive outcomes.
The process of influence is a more realistic vision of leadership that places the proper emphasis on achievable results. It is the rare manager who can inspire others to great action. However, every leader can certainly influence another individual. When we place leadership in achievable terms, we also create a path toward successful leadership strategies. When the goal is inspiring others and creating complex communication strategies, “leadership” often leads to endless taskforce meetings looking to devise mission and vision statements.
Once we accept that our best-case scenario is to influence others, we create a dynamic that allows for incremental and sometimes subtle advances. Leadership is as much about taking steps as it is about transforming a culture. A good leader constantly makes subtle adjustments and keeps the group moving forward. A conductor finds the out-of-tune instrument and brings it back in tune. He or she doesn’t fire the entire orchestra or even the single musician but identifies the problem, seeks resolution and returns to the game plan. In the real world, how many times do we ignore the out-of-tune, make a rash move and eliminate the problem, or simply walk away from it? Leadership is the internal fortitude to take a time-out, analyze the problem and make the adjustment.
Effective Leadership Training
The fundamental errors of leadership development programs often focus on leadership as an unachievable construct. Once we recognize that leadership is a daily intervention and the summation of multiple minor tasks, we can better design leadership development and coaching programs using strategies of mastering small interventions.
Effective leadership development includes:
- Knowing what good performance looks like and being able to define it in practical terms
- Learning to have conversations about things that are working and the difficult conversations about things that are not
- Developing a sense of self-awareness: Every leader has blind spots; knowing what they are catapults successful individual development.
- Creating a team that supplements members’ strengths and weaknesses: A team of similar skills may have great harmony but will fail when weaknesses are exposed.
- Connecting with others: Leaders should engage in more than the task at hand and focus on more than what happened yesterday. They should know what motivates their employees and support them with specific rewards and feedback that is customized to the individuals.
- Avoiding programs that focus on leadership platitudes about creating missions and vision, focusing instead on practical, deliverable and achievable tasks
Leadership training is a must-have program for all organizations and all organizational leaders. Doing it right requires a focus on the fundamental skills that help leaders influence others. We don’t always have to change the world. Feedback on what will make the work environment a little better can be the most useful and transformational feedback anyone receives. Today, change how you influence; tomorrow, make another change. Then, rinse and repeat.
Action Learning for Leadership Development
Introduction
When devising any leadership programme, it is important to ensure that as participants students are not only ‘taught’ or trained, but that they have the opportunity to put learning into action. Experience has shown us that unless we practice new skills and ideas soon after a programme we tend to forget the lessons learnt.
An Action Learning programme involves the following key elements:
- The Set: a group of 6 – 8 people who meet regularly.
- The Projects: each participant works on a project or task over the life of the set
- The Set Advisor: a facilitator who helps the group to work and learn together.
Although Action Learning is flexible, it is structured and focuses on the individual and their learning need and NOT on the programme.
Participants have quoted many benefits which they have gained from action learning:
- learning a more ‘disciplined’ way of working
- learning to network
- learning to relate to, and communicate with, others more effectively
- gaining increased self-confidence
- gaining increased awareness
- gaining increased readiness to take responsibility and initiative.
In summary, the values which underpin action learning are:
Action Action Effective In In Leadership Programs
- membership of a set is voluntary
- commitment must be demonstrated in making the process work
- a positive, constructive approach to life
- reflection as the key to learning
- the presenter is focused (on her/his own issue)
How to run an Action learning Set (ALS)
Action Learning Set Who is in it?
An Action Learning Set is a group of 6-8 people who meet regularly to help each other to learn from their experiences. A Set Advisor is appointed to help manage the process. The set is not a team since its focus is on the actions of the individuals within it rather than on a shared set of work objectives. Experience has shown that sets often work better when participants come with a similar level of experience. The Set Adviser is part of the set in one sense but has a particular responsibility to create a learning environment by encouraging, challenging and focusing on learning. Some Action Learning Sets are self-facilitated.
A ‘Set’ Meeting
The Set will decide on its own way of working but usually a ‘meeting’ involves a series of individual time slots where participants take turns in presenting their project/ challenge/ issue to the set. This will normally involve:
- an update of progress on actions from the last meeting
- a presentation of current issues/problems
- an agreement on actions for the future.
Throughout this, other participants will work with the presenter (by listening and questioning) to help them to decide what actions to take.
Time is always a limited resource in a set meeting and the Set Adviser must ensure that set participants get their full allocation (it is not a free discussion). Some Sets develop a fixed agenda to speed up the start of the meeting but in any case, all participants should come fully prepared for the meeting.
Action Learning Projects
The project is the piece of work around which the participant learns. It does not need to be linked to specific outcomes such as setting up a safety audit carrying out a particular task but could also be about acquiring skills or knowledge. For the purposes of this programme, however, the project must have a learning focus.
Participating in an Action Learning Set
Preparing for a Set meeting:
Before the meeting it will help to get the best out of the session if participants can think through what to focus on with their set. The set may be somewhere that participants can ‘experiment’ with different behaviours such as consciously asking more questions than usual or being more reflective if they are usually very talkative. Presenters should:
- prepare for meetings
- structure their time
- be clear about what they want – or want the set to – focus on
- learn to ask for what they want
- listen
- generate action points for them self.
Structuring your time:
Usually, the presenter will use their time to report on action taken as a result of the previous set meeting. It is useful to think about:
- what I did
- what happened
- what was different from what I expected
- what I did not do – why – what I did instead
- what can I/have I learned from this?
This can form the basis for reporting back to the set who will then ask questions. The presenter can continue with:
- what is the issue now
- what actions could I take now
- what action points can I identify
Alternative Approaches
A presenter may wish to concentrate on a particular aspect of their project that s/he thinks the set can really help with. This gives a depth of focus which may be a more appropriate use of time than an overview.
Alternatively, the presenter may wish to ask the set to talk about a particular problem and s/he will listen and only ask for clarification at the end of an agreed time. This is helpful if the presenter is stuck for ideas to take the work forward.
The reverse of this is where the audience remains silent and the presenter talks through the project. A listening, attentive audience may help the presenter to clarify thinks for her/himself.
Reviewing your time
At the end of each participant’s time slot it is useful for the presenter to review with the
set the process by which the action points have been identified. S/he might ask for feedback on how s/he presented the project or might give the set feedback on what was helpful or unhelpful about the set’s interventions. This can also be done by the whole set near to the end of the meeting. It helps the set to develop a supportive learning climate to work in.
A typical meeting might follow this format:
Introduction – a warm-up activity and confirmation of programme for the meeting
In agreed order each person in the Set:
10 Minute presentation of current ‘state of play’/ position
10 minute of exploratory questions from the Set to help the presenter think through the issue
5 minute presentation to the Set on the action plan.
Closing session – time taken for the whole group to finish the meeting rather than drift off at the end. Would include an element of evaluation – what will we do differently next time.
Effective leadership development programmes will encourage participants to participate in at least one Action Learning Set. The frequency that they meet will depend on the programme and the level of progress being made by participants.
Conclusions on Action Learning Sets
Action Learning Sets can be very effective development methods in the development of leaders. Facilitators of the most effective Action Learning Sets have undertaken appropriate training with an experienced Action Learning Facilitator, the author strongly recommends all facilitators not only take part in an action learning set for their own development but that they undertake appropriate training prior to facilitating sets themselves..
Action Learning is one of the methods good development programmes use to help leaders apply their learning. Other formal approaches will include your Line manager and your mentor.
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Action Learning works best when a ‘Set’ of individuals are put together as a support group for the duration of the learning activity.
The concept of Action learning Sets was developed originally by Reg Revens.
A definition of Action Learning
“Action Learning is an approach to the development of people in organisations which takes the task as the vehicle for learning. It is based on the premise that there is no learning without action and no sober and deliberate action without learning. The method has three main components: people who accept responsibility for taking action on a particular issue; problems, or the task that people set themselves; and a set of six or so colleagues who support and challenge each other to make progress on problems. Action Learning implies both self-development and organisation development.” Mike Pedler (1991)
Importance Of Action In Leadership
So what is Action Learning?
Leadership In Action Examples
Action learning is based upon the concept of learning by reflection (or reviewing) on an experience. It is underpinned by the cycle of experiential learning as shown below, where the stages of reviewing and concluding are worked through with the Set.