Identifying your leadership gaps
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U.S. businesses spend more than $170 billion annually on leadership-based curriculum, according to the American Society of Training and Development. Is all that training producing better leaders or just more people who hold positions of leadership?
That’s the question posed by Mike Myatt, a leadership adviser to Fortune 500 CEOs and Boards, in a recent Forbes online article.
Despite having vast leadership resources available, Myatt argues that most organizations don’t know where to begin in creating effective leaders.
“The truth of the matter is businesses struggle with leadership at every level – defining it, identifying it, attracting it, developing it, deploying it, retaining it, and planning for its succession,” he writes. “Far too many people in positions of leadership remain unwilling or unable to make the changes necessary to create a healthy, thriving enterprise capable of enduring. These so-called leaders are lacking the character, the courage, or the ability to do the right thing. They cling to the status quo rather than subject themselves to the challenges of growth, development and change.”
To help businesses identify potential leadership gaps, Myatt compiled a list of contrasting organizational traits that differentiate “old paradigm” leadership from “new paradigm” leadership (taken from his forthcoming book Hacking Leadership).
Here are a few:
Old Paradigm | New Paradigm | |
Have a Leader | Create a Culture of Leadership | |
Follow “Best Practices” | Develop “Next Practices” | |
Compete | Collaborate | |
Driven by Profit Agenda | Driven to Create Value | |
Place People in Boxes | Free People from Boxes | |
Protect the Status Quo | Challenge Everything | |
Have a Plan | Have a Purpose | |
Manage Risk | Manage Opportunity | |
Destination Mentality | Continuum Mentality | |
Goal Driven | Discovery Driven | |
Discourage Independent Thinking | Embrace Dissenting Opinions | |
Quick to say NO | Find a way to get to a YES | |