Roffey Park’s new guide on the A-Z of Leadership
Do you demonstrate leadership, regardless of your role? Are you clear about your personal vision and what motivates you? And are you able to remain open-minded without losing the essence of who you are and what you believe in? Can you deal effectively with both business and people issues? Are you able to get people behind you, and yet bring them on as leaders? And finally, can you balance the demands of work and home life?
For the answers to these – and many other searching questions – turn to Roffey Park’s new guide on the A-Z of Leadership. In our latest research (Management Agenda, 2007), we found that 70% of organisations are investing in leadership development, with the aim of developing high performing organisations. With this level of interest in developing better leadership, we decided to produce this guide to enlightened leadership.
It explores the essence of enlightened leadership – the ability to walk the line between leading from the front and developing others so that you are not indispensable, the ability to juggle a busy working life with being a balanced individual with a life outside work. It can be tough to find the energy to be a leader, when you are struggling to meet all the day to day demands of your job. Leadership is embedded in every one of us, but the key is to unlock our personal passion that will enable us to do things that might appear difficult, uncertain or even unpopular.
The guide shows how leadership is about working with people to do things differently in a world that is increasingly complex and fast changing. Organisations need to be both adaptable and aligned with their vision and values – and organisations are made up of individuals. Leadership is not necessarily linked to authority. It is about mobilising people to tackle the toughest problems, to deal with the difficult dilemmas and make progress with issues that have never before occurred. Leadership is about being a role model of the change you want to see happening in your organisation. It might mean having the courage to make decisions, even though the situation is ambiguous. It might mean being prepared to tackle the ‘elephant in the room’ and discuss the one thing that everyone else is avoiding.
So how does a leader develop courage? Courageous leaders have a clear purpose that ignites their passion. They have certainty about what they are trying to achieve, a strong determination to work towards a worthwhile cause. The really inspirational leaders are rarely focused on themselves, and their courage comes from an understanding that great things can be achieved if we have a vision that ‘speaks’ to other people. They are authentic – their purpose is something that drives them forward, in spite of resistance or setbacks. They have an understanding of their impact as leaders and how they can influence others. They are able to get people on board with their ideas and make things happen.
Great leaders trust others and they can be trusted. They are not afraid to develop others, and they understand that they need capable people to work with them. They develop trust by understanding what others need and responding to them. Their promises are reliable, and their performance is consistent. The A-Z of leadership explores how each and every one of us can become an inspiring leader – by focusing on our purpose and passion, whilst not losing sight of the reality of day to day life. By ensuring that we do not promise more than we are capable of delivering. By trusting others to do what they do best, and letting them do it.
It will enable you to review your impact as a leader and to develop yourself, by taking small daily steps. We believe leadership can be learned but it can be difficult to break out of your comfort zone, and develop new habits.
The A-Z guide is intended as a tool for you to use daily. By regularly bringing your leadership into focus, you will find it is easier to pay attention to your words and actions, and to notice how others are reacting to you. Take a few minutes every day to read one of the 26 ‘leadership lessons’ and think about that aspect of your leadership for the next 24 hours. Ask yourself why anyone should follow you. Ask yourself what is it that would drive you to raise your head above the parapet and take a few risks. Ask yourself how others see you – as a leader or a follower? And does it matter? Do you have a passion that is worth the investment of your time and energy? And would others share that passion? If so, you have the makings of a leader. And in 26 days, people will notice that you are a leader