Robert Steven Kaplan, Harvard Business School Professor and co-chairman of Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, former vice-chairman of the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. in his recent excellent book “What to ask the person in the mirror?” lays out some incredible pearls for anyone seeking to become a more effective leader and wanting to reach their potential.
Kaplan starts with his definition of a leader as someone who works hard to figure out what he or she believes and then has the courage to act on it. Kaplan denotes that by his definition anyone anywhere can be a leader, not just the CEO of the organization.
Of all the attributes critical to professional success and leadership potential realization, what would Kaplan say are the two most important if he had to pick them? Vision? Decisiveness? Innovativeness? Consistency?
No.
Kaplan would say that self-awareness and self-management are the two fundamental attributes any professional seeking to move up in their career requires. A number of you parents reading this are nodding in agreement. I have no doubt that my own children would get disciplined far less and would be twice as content and successful if they could have a manifold increase in their self-awareness and self-management capacities.
But how does individual leadership translate into organizational success?
The leader must do at least 3 things: vision, role model and recognition. Let me explain.
It is fairly difficult to think of a successful, enduring organization that does not have a clearly articulated vision. You should be able to articulate your vision in 3 to 4 sentences. A leader must repeat this vision over and over until his or her team members can recite it themselves. Next, the leader must break the vision down into three to five priorities that must be achieved in order for the vision to be realized.
A leader must be self-aware enough to recognize the messages she sends with her behavior. Behavior counts far more than words. You may say you value teamwork but do your actions, delegation of responsibility and sharing of credit reflect that? Leaders are always being watched to see if their actions match their rhetoric. What conditions cause stress and lead to regrettable behavior on your part? Identify those conditions and monitor your behavior accordingly.
Recognize your three greatest strengths and your three greatest weaknesses. What circumstances bring out your best as a leader? What circumstances enable you to bring out the best in your team members? Describe your style of leadership during those circumstances? Recognizing when you are highly effective and when you are enabling others to be highly effective is the fuel of great leadership.
