Mon • Jan 4th, 2010 • by Tom Nees • Comments 5
two essential behavior patterns for leadership success
In 2007, I met Marshall Goldsmith during a leadership development conference shortly after he published, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. He is a popular practitioner and advocate for 360 feedback reports and leadership coaching. He told us that he talks to his coach every morning!
The book summarizes what he has learned about leaders during his years of coaching. It’s worth the price just for the list of “the twenty habits that hold you back from the top.” These twenty bad habits keep us from being good persons as well as good leaders.
I too have learned some things after years of observing leaders, facilitating leadership development conferences and reading the literature. Two behaviors emerge as the most important for leaders to serve well: self-leadership and accountability.
While some leaders have it all together without feedback and coaching, most are not in that category. Even Jesus wanted feedback from the disciples when He asked them, “Who do people say that I am,” and even more direct, “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:13-15) Leaders fail when they forget that before they can lead others they must know themselves and lead themselves.
For most people self-leadership is difficult without feedback and self-awareness facilitated by an objective observer. Thankfully there are many self-assessments and programs to help leaders learn about themselves as well as a growing number of people with the training and skills needed for effective leadership coaching.
And successful leadership requires accountability. As with intentions to lose weight or to exercise, leaders, like most people, need to be accountable if they are to succeed.
Leadership coaching is not telling leaders how to make good decisions with respect to their assignments; it is helping leaders become self-aware in order to develop good behavior patterns and help them follow-through with their commitments, whatever they may be.
A suggested leadership New Year’s resolution: listen to feedback and find a coach.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Thanks for this article Tom … I especially appreciated the last two paragraphs – excellent advice! Sometimes we coaches try to tell them “what to do” rather than making the leader aware themselves of what they are doing and to make decisions how to do it even better! I’m going to buy the book!!
January 6th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Tom,
I agree with accountability and feedback. It seems like everyone would agree with you on that point including me. As with weight loss coaching, nothing of substance is free. When we pay for a success coach people seem to stick with it( if they can afford it or can justify the cost in their budget). When it is a voluntary friendship or buddy system of people, it seem to not work for very long if at all.
I’ve been wrestling with this for two years. What recommendations do you make for coaching besides reading a book on it? What is a fair price for pastoral leadership coaching among the average paid clergy?
Success in 2010
Peter
January 6th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Peter – Unfortunately there are too few trained coaches available to clergy leaders with limited budgets. You are probably on your own to find someone who you connect with who is willing and able to hold you accountable for your leadership development.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Tom,
One of the ways that I found accountability and feedback during the twenty years of working in health care in DC was through a small group that met every month to share our journey as related to our work. We listened to, challenged each other and were accountable to each other for the work we did. It was more of a support group but did provide some of the elements that you discuss in the article. Our small group of nurse leaders met every month for over 12 years.
Lois
January 6th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Lois – Thanks for this – peer-to-peer accountability is a good alternative to a personal coach for those for whom a coach is either unavailable or undesirable.