Friday, April 13, 2018

For Positive Leaders, Three Levels of Leadership Skill--How Do You Rate?

Hi, Everyone,

Welcome to the mid-month short powerful What You Say Is What You Get®: Positive Leadership Power Newsletter from Dr. Linne Bourget, April 2018  Three Levels of Leadership Skill-What Level Are You? How Do You Rate?


Leaders come in all skill levels...how high is your skill level?

Why does this matter for your business results?

What results so leaders at different skill levels produce with their teams?

Using the dance of lead and follow as a metaphor for your business, here are three categories of leaders:

1. Champions: I dance with leaders who are national champions and have invested heavily with professionals for their leadership skills.

2. Competitors: I also dance with competitors who invest in working with professionals to build their leadership skills and are working their way up, not at the champion level. 

3. Social Dancers: I dance  with men who come to an occasional workshop or watch videos but do not invest in working with professionals to build their leadership skills, they are there socially rather than for dance (business) leadership excellence.

What impact do these leaders have on my dancing, i.e. your business results? I have extensive training from professionals, no longer compete, but do showcase performance dances and work with a national champion to keep building my skills, am an advanced dancer (business contributor).

Bottom line results of leadership skill level:

1. The champions
I dance with know more moves, lead much better, have much better technique, are much better partners, try new moves they are working on with me, and collaborate superbly in improvisation.  They dance the music (respond to the external business environment) faster and more fully, are more fun to dance with, see my dance strengths and dance me at my ability.  They are all  younger and do not “dance down” due to the age difference. They see what I can do and give me challenging moves. (Strengths-based leaders get the most from their teams.)

They always make it clear where they want me, (give clear direction) and give me space to add my own moves (create room for different styles on the team). I love the fun, presence, challenges and as a result I dance (perform in business) better, follow more precisely, more creatively, more energetically, and match their style better while adding my own moves (focus more on what you as the leader want, add creative innovation in your teams). They never hurt me (they know protecting team members is crucial). I trust them with unusual moves even while my back is still recovering from the car accident. (I.e. Your teams trust you when you take business risks.) We "accomplish" much more per song (per meeting) than lower level leaders do.
“Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.” Warren G. Bennis

2. With competitors,
we collaborate well, they do fun moves, and some are very talented at co-creating a dance to the music (again, responding to the business environment).  They are usually clear in direction, protective, creative, present, and leave me space to add my own moves....but not always. Some dance me at my own level, and some under-dance me due to age, assuming I can’t do some types of moves, which I can do. (Agism in business is frequent.) Sometimes they do some weird move that hurts my neck, because they don’t have the training on how to lead neck moves yet. Result:  I dance well with them but don’t give them 100% until they prove they will not hurt me, I follow carefully but again unless I can trust them consistently, I will not add as much of my own creativity if they pull me out of my move, not paying attention. In business, this means you are not getting the full ability, commitment and innovation from your teams unless you consistently show great leadership skills.  Hit or miss always misses. We often accomplish much per song (meeting), but not consistently.

3. Social Dancers: I dance less with them, as they do not invest in their leadership skills and may hurt me, under-dance me hugely, make me look awkward, not hear or dance the music, provide no challenge, lead roughly, and do not collaborate, but just expect me to follow all their moves and add nothing of my own.  Frustrating, boring and no fun! You can see how this affects your teams, they are not likely to produce great results for your business! We "accomplish" much less per song (meeting).

Which type of leader are you?
How do you rate?
How committed are you to invest in your leadership skills, to be the best leader and get the best results from your teams for your business?

Positive Paradigms Promote Profits! My clients are committed to their success and invest accordingly.

“Leaders know the importance of having someone in their lives who will unfailingly and fearlessly tell them the truth.” Dr. Warren Bennis, consultant to 4 U.S. Presidents, author, 30 leadership books.


I appreciate all your positive leadership!
Peace and prosperity,
Dr. Linne
"The greatest challenge is taking responsibility for your own greatness." Dr. Linne's Power Quote
 "Build on Your Best" Systems for Leaders, Consultants and Coaches
Dr. Linne Bourget M.A. M.B.A. Ph.D.
www.oldpowernewpower.com www.whatyousayiswhatyouget.com
480-767-1717
http://www.linkedin.com/in/oldpowernewpower
Blog: http://drlinnebourget.blogspot.com/
Economist, Change/Leadership Expert
Fortune 10, 50, 100 Consultant to Executives
Pioneer, strengths-based leadership,
Founder/CEO Institute for Transformation Leaders & Consultants
Consultant, Speaker, Author: From Old Power to New Power - Which Leaders Will Survive?
Co-author with Mark Victor Hansen, Deepak Chopra, Amazon #1Bestseller, Wake Up Live the Life You Love-Finding Personal Freedom
Author, What You Say Is What You Get® Positive Leadership Series:
The Secret Language of Great Business Results
Positive Quotient® PQ & Appreciative Quotient® AQ Questionnaires
"Build on Your Best"

Copyright 2004-2018. All Rights Reserved. Dr. Linne Bourget, M.A., M.B.A., Ph.D.