Leadership development? Human beings first

Human performance, learning and development are fundamental to business success. People are an organization’s greatest assets and make the difference between a sustainable thriving organization and a less effective one.

To be organizational leaders need to be well rounded, possessing both business AND emotional competencies. The ability to establish balanced and healthy relationships and to regulate one self are crucial for productive interactions in the workplace.

Whether you are productive as a leader depends on what you do. What you do however depends on who you are. Research even indicates that 85% of a leaders’s performance depends on personal character.

Becoming more effective as an executive leader requires a balanced and integrated focus on both what you do AND who you are.  Therefore leadership development goes much further than just the development of skills and competencies; it includes the willingness to be self reflective and change oneself. Or, as Warren Bennis expresses it “there is no difference between becoming an effective leader and becoming a fully integrated human being”.

If 85% of a leader’s performance depends on character, my question to you as an organizational leader or HR professional is: Which percentage of your leadership development program addresses the human being versus the human doing?

Ank Stuyfzand

Coach & Consultant
ank@insideoutenterprise.com
www. insideoutenterprise.com

Mirror, mirror on the wall …

As a parent, executive, professional or partner we sometimes think we have to deal with problems caused by others, or with things ‘done to us’. As a first reaction to an issue that comes up, we often immediately jump into the ‘problem solving’ mode. However, despite the good intentions, this does not always make our problems go away. Often this just means a temporarily relief, taking away the symptom of the problem but leaving the root cause in tact.

Instead of reacting to the problems we encounter it’s often helpful to first look at ourselves in relationship to the problem. In what way do we contribute to the issue at hand? What is it we do, or do not that might cause, ignite or add to the problem?

For example if there is a lack of collaboration within your business unit; did you set clear expectations so people know what to do? And did you equip people sufficiently for the task at hand? If people seem to lack motivation and are not committed to the organization. Do you show genuine interest in what’s going on with your team? Do you know their strengths and their passions? And what did you do that made your child throw a tantrum or yell at you? Are you really present with your child? How’s your work stress playing out at home?

Some of the issues we encounter at work or at home, are rooted in our own behavior. By looking at ourselves first to see in what way we contribute to the issue, we avoid facing the same problem over and over again.  If we instead of reacting to our problems start seeing how we contribute to our problems, we really solve  -or should I say dissolve- our problems. We then will become pro- active by changing the dynamics that contribute to the problem.

Problem solving from the InsideOut

Ank Stuyfzand

Coach & Consultant
ank@insideoutenterprise.com
www. insideoutenterprise.com

The leadership symbiosis

When asked what a great leader is all about, many people will say that a leader needs to have a vision, a leader inspires and motivates people and knows how to get people to follow him or her; A good leader is a visionary who leads the way for others.

A leader however only exists by the grace of his followers. Without followers, there’s no leader. Thus, leadership is not something that one person- the leader- does to another person – the follower. Leadership occurs in the relationship between the leader and the others. And, that relationship is a symbiotic relationship from which both leader and the other benefit.

In an organizational setting the benefit of this symbiotic relationship for the leader is the accomplishment of organizational goals and objectives. For the other people in the organization the benefit should manifest itself in the opportunity to grow and develop their potential, while working to achieve the organizational goals.

I belong to the school of thought that believes that the ultimate purpose of leadership is the growth and development of individuals in order to create change and to lift both people and organizations to a higher level of performance and fulfillment.

By helping people to realize their potential people will feel empowered and become more autonomous and self-directed. And when people feel empowered they will take responsibility and ownership for their actions, on every level of an organization. In turn this will enable an organization to sustainably grow to a next level of excellence, because only as long as leaders enable others to develop their own initiative, they are creating something that can survive their own departure.

Although this view of leadership is rooted in a human centered worldview, it is not as ‘touchy feely’ as many might think. The intent of helping others to grow and develop their potential is not to please everyone, but it’s to serve the vision and direction of the organization.

Ank Stuyfzand

Coach & Consultant
ank@insideoutenterprise.com
www. insideoutenterprise.com

From the Inside Out

Inside – central, innermost, internal, within, center, gut, heart, soul, deep, enclosed, intrinsic, inner, innermost, conscience, emotions, feelings, spirit, core, essence, deepest, focus, nucleus, pivot, root.

Out – outward, exterior, external, extramural, extrinsic, outer, outermost, outlying, outward.

Here we’ll share our thoughts, our knowledge, our experiences and our ideas about growth, both personal growth and the growth of organizations.

We hope to engage you in a dialogue and to evoke conversations that matter and that offer you a different perspective. A perspective from the inside out.

Enjoy!

Ank Stuyfzand

Coach & Consultant
ank@insideoutenterprise.com
www. insideoutenterprise.com