Many people who have gone through my leadership workshops have told me that they go back to their work organizations which have not changed in their absence. They become frustrated by the fact that these workshops assume their leadership and teach them new tools and strategies. Then, they realize that they don’t know what to do or how to use these new tools and strategies. This brings us to a brief discussion of reality. In his now classic book Leadership Is An Art, Max DePree(Dell, 1989) pointed out that our beliefs and values come before policy and practice. He also said that a leader’s responsibility is first and foremost to define reality. With a reality check, our leadership takes place in a vacuum or a silo with a paradigm(a value system) defined by the walls of the silo and not by the system in which the organization is embedded. Leaders need a big picture view if their leadership is to flourish.
The following Baker’s Dozen is a start in helping the leader to define reality:
- No matter how good a job you do, you can still lose your job.
- Not all team members do the work.
- It is your good managers that make you like your job.
- Lists and steps don’t solve problems but they can guide actions that are process-based
- Talent and competencies drive action; talent can’t be taught.
- Not all leaders are the same.
- Most leaders don’t change. The weaknesses remain. Play to the person’s strengths.
- Training does not give you all the answers.
- All plans lead to unexpected results.
- Don’t expect politicians to value what you do. Their priorities are not your priorities.
- Resilience is the secret weapon of leadership.
- People don’t want change and they use budget considerations to justify their resistance.
- Systems thinkers see beyond paradigms to the big reality picture.
If the leader defines reality, then the tools and strategies that are used will reflect this defined reality.
Rowitz On Leadership 