In a number of previous postings, I have discussed several tools that might be useful to leaders in their personal leadership development. Many leaders have found that reading biographies and autobiographies of leaders have helped then=m see leadership in action in a number of different career tracks. I will be reviewing a number of biographies of leaders in my 2013 book club over the next several months. In this posting, I want to discuss another personal leadership development tool that is very useful but can also be expensive. This tool falls in the family of coaching and mentoring techniques.
Shadowing involves following a leader for a period of time to explore how he or she practices leadership. The shadow needs to see leadership in action. The leader must agree to be followed since the shadow may be seen to interfere with the actions going on or stifle the way the leader and his or her direct reports will respond to key activities and processes. It is important to shadow not only a leader in your field but leaders in other fields as well. The shadow will also need to have time to discuss the happenings with the leader to better understand what has happened in the course of a day or week. During the post-shadowing conference, the leader becomes a coach to better help the shadow understand why certain decisions were made and what are the leadership lessons to be learned.
The leader must be careful to not let the shadow affect the way events happen or change their leadership techniques as a result of being followed. The leader needs to also allow the shadow to talk to direct reports to gain a wider perspective on how leadership works in the shadow organization. A 360 degree perspective as is used in a number of leadership inventories is also useful in shadowing. An example of a few questions that a shadow might use in the post-shadowing conferences might include the following:
- What are the five events today that you think provide the best leadership lessons?
- Would you also tell me about the following actions today and why they occurred and the leadership lessons to be learned?
- What is your primary leadership style and when does it work best and when the least?
- What do you do to improve your own leadership skills?
- (For direct reports)-How do you perceive how your boss responded to particular events today?
Information for the shadow-You can clearly add to the questions you ask. You can also discuss particular decisions that you have made and get the leader’s perspective. You can also arrange for the leader to shadow you.
Rowitz On Leadership 