Why Another Leadership Framework?
Many organizations have published lists and discussions about essential leadership elements. Recently, I made my own research project to study them. To pick them apart. They cooked down to 8 essential leadership elements. I cross-referenced everything others cataloged – even if they needed 15 or even 20 items to get there.
As I said, lots of others have done this before, including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, the Society for Human Resources Management, and the American Management Association. There are commonalities among them, but some healthy variation too.
How These Elements Differ from Other Lists
If you compare my paradigm to what others have published, you might see that I lean more toward the ‘soft skills’ or ‘human skills’ and also a more holistic approach. That is intentional as a reflection of my style.
It is also a reflection that I tend to work with technical experts becoming managers and leaders. Technical experts often come naturally with critical thinking and analytical skills. Typically, I work with them to do less analysis and to take action a little earlier than they’re comfortable. Why? Because the information and analysis will never be complete or perfect, and there is usually a cost to waiting.
A Manageable Set of Leadership Characteristics
If you research around, you’ll probably find that my list is among the shorter ones. That’s intentional. As I did the research, I found in reading the longer lists that by the time I got to item 10 or 12 or (oh, dear Lord) 15 or more, I had stopped paying attention. When I poked at them, I found repetition and lack of clarity. Also, it felt like they were piling on, like they were creating a demigod. Well, leaders are real people, so let’s be reasonable.
I identified 8 essential leadership elements for the professional role, plus one more for the individual. Everything included in others’ lists fits within these eight; I’ve mapped them. Keep in mind that I focus on engineering leadership and technical experts becoming leaders, so you may want to map a bit differently if your focus is different.
Leadership Element Grouping Helps Understanding
The 8 essential leadership elements also fall naturally into 3 groups: Leadership Identity, Empowerment, and Strategic Leadership. I think this makes it easier to assess an individual’s situation and needs. Even if you’re assessing yourself, which is valuable but should not be your only path. The grouping also makes it easier to decide where to focus effort and when to focus on which areas.
I’m going to roll the details out over the next few weeks. It is too much to take in at once. I hope you’ll find something to explore at each step along the way. Today, I’m going to start with the personal item. If you don’t take care of yourself, you’re not likely to be as helpful for others. As the flight attendants say, put on your oxygen mask before attempting to help others.
Leadership Begins with Individual Resilience
“Resilience” is the term I use to encompass a leader’s personal needs. A leader must be resilient. I define resilience as the ability to maintain your physical health, mental health, and emotional balance, despite unexpected events, uncertainty, and shifts in conditions. Being resilient means being agile, flexible, adaptable, and anti-fragile.
Without resilience, a leader can become inconsistent, can be moved off course, and can lose coherence. Resilience should be developed for organizations, too; however, that’s a leadership task rather than a leadership element.
Assess Your Resilience
So, as a leader or aspiring leader, what are you doing to maintain and improve your physical health, your mental health, and your emotional balance? Do you exercise well? Do you eat for health? Do you get fresh air? Do you sleep enough? Do you have strong social connections? Do you have quiet time? Do you work toward long term goals?
I know, it is a lot. If you think you have it all covered, congratulations! If not, that’s what coaches, mentors, friends, and (sometimes) colleagues are for. Reach out to us!