Archive for Level up for 2012
Level Up, Week 7: The Pinnacle
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to Week 7 of our group study of The 5 Levels of Leadership. This week we’re studying Level 5, The Pinnacle.
The difficulty with teaching this level is that Level 5 leaders are just not very common. Until now, you’ve spent your time nudging group members to reach for the level being discussed. But to reach Level 5, a leader needs to be developing leaders – and not just leaders but Level 4 leaders – for many years. Most people leading groups won’t have a Level 5 leader in them.
You can still discuss this level, though, by meeting your people where they are. What you need to focus on is how well they are developing leaders right now, and getting them to commit to the process as a way of life.
READING ASSIGNMENT
Portrait of a Level 5 Leader, pages 271-286 (We will discuss this reading assignment and the overall impact of this study in NEXT WEEK’s post.)
DISCUSSION (Facilitator’s Guide)
1. (Icebreaker) tell about a time when you met a celebrity who was important to you.
2. Have you ever known a Level 5 leader? What was that person like?
3. What’s the difference between helping others with personal development versus helping them with leadership development?
4. What have you found to be the best way to teach another person to lead?
5. Describe a crucible moment in your leadership journey. What lesson did you learn from it?
6. How would you go about teaching that lesson to another person?
7. Of all the people you work with, who has the greatest leadership potential?
8. What experiences, resources, and people can you share with those potential leades to help them become better leaders?
9. Do you think there’s plenty of room at the top for addition leaders, or do you believe that space is always limited? Why? How does that impact the way you develop other leaders?
10. What efforts have you made to create an inner circle to help you grow and keep yourself grounded?
11. The chapter says to plan for your succession. Are you currently training someone to replace you? If so, how? If not, what must you do to make that happen?
ASSIGNMENT
Take responsibility for creating a leadership development environment. Dedicate significant amounts of your time and talent to it. Recognize and reward leadership accomplishments. And make it your responsibility to mentor your top leaders. This is a commitment required not just for a season, but for a lifetime if you want to someday reach Level 5.
Level Up, Week 6: People Development
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to Week 6 of our group study of The 5 Levels of Leadership. This week we’re studying Level 4, People Development.
As I wrote in the chapter, people development enables a leader to lead larger. In other words, when you have leaders working with you, they accomplish much more than non-leaders do. However, developing people to become leaders takes a lot of time, effort and resources. That’s why most people don’t do it. Your challenge this week is to help the people in your group to understand the return on the investment, so that they will commit to putting in the effort and sustaining it during the delay between investment and return. Busyness, short-sightedness and insecurity are often the greatest barriers to people-development. Help the people in your group to recognize and overcome these.
READING ASSIGNMENT
Level 5: Pinnacle, pages 229-270 (We will discuss this reading assignment in NEXT WEEK’s post.)
DISCUSSION (Facilitator’s Guide)
1. (Icebreaker) Describe the first time you tried to teach someone how to do something, where the results were either comical or disastrous.
2. Tell about the person from whom you’ve learned the most in your entire life and how it changed you.
3. What happens in an organization when people are not equipped or developed?
4. Describe the difference between equipping and developing. Which do you think is easier to do? Why?
5. What criteria have you used in the past for selecting someone to develop or equip? Has it usually been motivated by strategy, or urgency?
6. What percentage of your time do you currently spend teaching, training and developing others?
7. Flash forward – What would your team, department or organization look like and be able to accomplish if you made people-development a lifestyle?
8. The chapter lists several reasons why most leaders don’t develop others, including self-centeredness, ego, desire for control, lack of trust, short-sightedness. Which of those do you find to be the greatest barrier for you personally? Why?
9. How much time are you willing to give every week to developing people? When will you begin?
ASSIGNMENT
Pick the top 20% of people with potential in your sphere of influence. Think about what those individuals need to be equipped, developed, and empowered to succeed. Begin spending time with them every week to help them grow and develop.
Level Up, Week 4: Permission
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to Week 4 of our group study of The 5 Levels of Leadership! This week we’ll be diving into Level 2: Permission.
Are you naturally people-oriented or task-oriented? You’ll discover that everyone in your group naturally defaults to one or the other. They’ll assign the highest value to either getting things done or building relationships.
Those who are people-oriented will wonder why you’re even discussing this level, because it will seem as natural to them as breathing. Most of what’s described in the chapter they do intuitively. (Their difficulty will likely come at Level 3.)
The task-oriented people may see permission as “soft.” They may even think that the 5 levels were listed in the wrong order, and production should come ahead of permission. Your goal is to get everyone on the same page, understanding that if you build relationships first, it makes production easier and helps you develop teamwork. If leaders do that, then when pressure comes, fewer things blow up because they already know everyone’s personalities and how they work together.
READING ASSIGNMENT:
Level 3: Production, pages 131-178
(We will discuss this reading assignment in NEXT WEEK’S post.
DISCUSSION (Facilitator’s Guide):
1. (Icebreaker) If you were given a free day totally for yourself, how would you spend it?
2. What’s the difference between leadership that asks permission to lead and leadership that assumes the right to lead?
3. What is most frustrating to you about working with people? What’s most rewarding?
4. Are you naturally task-oriented or people-oriented? How do you think that impacts your attitude toward Level 2 Permission?
5. The book says that permission leadership appears too soft for some people. Where do you stand on this?
6. Why do you think I say that openness is required for permission leadership to be effective? Do you find it difficult or easy to be open with the people you lead?
7. In the past, how have you handled the care and candor issue? Which do you find to be naturally easier? Expressing candor or caring?
8. What things can a leader do to gain permission from followers?
9. What do you need to change to make your leadership more personal and relational with the people you influence?
ASSIGNMENT:
Take time in the next week to get to know each individual that you lead more personally. Or course, you need to respect people’s privacy and be appropriate. But your goal is to get a better sense of who the person is, what is important to him/her, and what motivates him/her.
NOTE:
For the sake of simplicity, we have not threaded the comments this week. Please feel free to start your own comment thread. You can answer as many of the 9 questions as you wish, either in one or separate comments.
Level Up, Week 3: Position
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to Week 3 of our group study of The 5 Levels of Leadership! This week we are studying Level 1: Position. The thing about position is, those who don’t have one, think that’s what they need to lead. But those who do have a position understand how little power it actually gives them in the long run. When you have no leadership experience, position seems like the only way to lead. True, it does often provide opportunity. But if a leader doesn’t grow in the levels of leadership, then position becomes a limitation.
As you facilitate discussion, keep in mind the various points of view that might be present in your group. Some might have never led. Some might have had a position that resulted in a bad leadership experience. Others might be in a new position and see it as an opportunity. Still others might have been leading at Level 1 for a long time, and be unaware of its limitations. Your goal is to help every member of the group see the possibilities of growing in leadership beyond position.
READING ASSIGNMENT:
Level 2: Position, pages 83-129
(We will discuss this reading assignment in NEXT WEEK’S post.)
DISCUSSION (Facilitator’s Guide):
1. (Icebreaker) What was your favorite game as a child (excluding sports and video games)? Examples include: board games, card games, playground games, and party games. Why did you enjoy that game so much? What type of game did you least like to play and why?
2. Think about your first leadership position. At the time did you see it more as opportunity or obligation? How did it turn out?
3. Why do you think the book says that turnover is high for positional leaders?
4. What does it mean for you when the book says, “Leave your position and move toward your people”? Why is that important?
5. Can you think of an example of an excellent leader you’ve worked with who never used position to lead? Talk about that person. What made him or her excellent?
6. Up to now, how much have you relied on position for leadership in your career?
7. What would you need to change to lead without using your position?
ASSIGNMENT:
This week’s assignment has two parts. First, identify a leadership model to learn from. Make a list of leaders who model the kind leadership that you aspire to. Study that person, writing down the characteristics that make them a good leader. If a biography has been written about them, read it and take notes. If not, find out what you can about them through news and online resources. Studying a model is a great way to start growing as a leader.
The second part is to find a leadership coach, which I also suggest on page 80 of The 5 Levels of Leadership. This week, think about leaders you know and admire who are two or more career steps ahead of you in leadership. Try to get one of them to agree to sit down with you once every month or two and answer leadership questions.
REMINDER:
In the comments section, the questions are threaded so you can answer each individually if you’d like. (This makes it easier for others to find them and contribute to the discussion.) But please feel free to answer all questions in one comment if that serves you better.
Level up, Week 2: Where do you go from here?
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to Week 2 of our group study of The 5 Levels of Leadership! Last week, we hit the ground running, with a challenging assignment to read the introduction and complete the leadership assessment in just seven days. In this week’s meeting, your goal as leader is to learn where every member of the group is in their leadership journey.
We are aware that some groups will consist of people who actively pursue leadership and personal growth. This study won’t be alien to them. On the other hand, some groups or group members may be making their first foray into leadership development. As a leader, please take those factors into account.
Also, you may find that some in your group are very self-aware, while others are not. Today’s discussion questions have been written with everyone in mind, so give yourself the freedom to depart from them and go down any productive path that presents itself. At the end of your discussion, you should have a better idea of members’ understanding of the basics of leadership, their openness in the group, and how willing they are to change and grow.
Before you meet, I’d encourage you to personally do the reflection and journaling assignment below. Then you’ll be able to share what it was like and what your group members can expect.
If you’re in MY group (not in any group in real life), answer all of the questions below for yourself. (You can share answers in the comments if desired.)
READING ASSIGNMENT:
Level 1: Position, pages 37-81
(We will discuss this reading assignment in NEXT WEEK’S post.)
DISCUSSION (Facilitator’s Guide):
1. (Icebreaker) When you go on vacation, are you a meticulous planner or a seat-of-your-pants explorer? Tell about a memorable vacation that came about as a result of your travel style.
2. To describe leadership, the book uses 5 levels. In the past, what mental picture have you used to describe or understand leadership?
3. Why do you think the 5 levels are in the order that they’re in? Would you have put them in that order? If not, why?
4. Why do you think it says that you’re not on the same level with every person?
5. What surprises did you find in the results of your leadership assessment? Do you think others’ assessment of you accurately reflects where you are in leadership? (If you haven’t yet completed the four-part assessment, you need to do so before your next meeting.)
6. What level are you on with most people according to the assessment? Where would you like to be?
7. Up until now, has your leadership development been planned, or have you simply tried to learn as you go?
8. How open are you to changing your leadership style to become more effective and influential in your life? What are you willing to do? What are you willing to give up?
ASSIGNMENT:
Take some time this week remove yourself from distractions and interruptions to reflect on where you are as a leader. Set aside at least an hour for this. Be sure to write in a journal about the current state of your personal influence, career, and life legacy. Are you where you would like to be? Reflect on how growing in leadership using the 5 Levels could positively impact those three areas.
You will not be expected to share this with your group. It’s for you alone to gain perspective and spend some time in self-examination.
In this information age, people tend to spend too little time truly alone, quietly reflecting without any distractions. No matter what you write in your journal, this exercise will yield positive results for your leadership development.
NOTE:
In the comments section, the questions are threaded so you can answer each individually if you’d like. (This makes it easier for others to find them and contribute to the discussion.) But please feel free to answer all questions in one comment if that serves you better.
