Leadership Evolution

Today is the official birth date of our first U.S. President, George Washington. He was born at the family home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia in 1732. When you read about his life, you realize that in that day and age, you matured quickly. Washington was a mere 21 years old when he became a pivotal figure in the British Army during the French and Indian War. In fact, many historians speculate on what would have happened to the American Revolution if the British had given Washington a military commission – they almost did. Fortunately for us, they did not, and our country came about and was clearly better for it.

I start with Washington because the evolution of his leadership started almost 25 years prior to the first shot of the American Revolution. You see, just as with Washington, many of us become leaders before we really understand what the role entails. We often are promoted because of our skills in a functional area of our organization and then don’t have a clue what it means to lead others. We start seeking the skills required for effective leadership (motivating others, influence, managing conflict, providing direction, etc.) and realize that there is way more to leading others than just knowing what to do; you must also know how to do it. This is where the evolution of leadership comes into play. You can develop your skills, but knowing why you want to be a leader and evolving how you do it is the key to becoming a great leader.

In my newest book, The Leadership Recipe, Mark (a young, competent professional) goes through leadership development and leadership evolution - both are important for success. The book offers a story that most of us can relate to about a young professional who is promoted to his first supervisory role only to realize that it is so much more complicated than he thought. Fortunately, for the main character, Mark, he has a wise and kind mentor in William. As the book unfolds, the reader is introduced to the key ingredients to effective leadership, which helps the reader both develop and evolve their leadership. The twelve ingredients in the book are each introduced and then discussed in depth between Mark and his mentor, William. The recipe’s 12 ingredients are the leadership development, but it’s Mark’s unique way of learning how to use those ingredients that creates his personal leadership evolution!

Two key parts of the book involve employee relationships. As leaders, managing people and the relationships that go with it are often the trickiest. Learning how and when to show empathy to a colleague or employee who works for you can be difficult. Mark learns some valuable lessons on not only what to do, but when and how to do it. One employee is a bit of a problem who is the type many of us would just relegate to the “give up on” pile, but Mark doesn’t do that and learns not only how to talk to this employee, but also the best way to do so. Does it work? You’ll have to read the book to find out! Learning to have crucial conversations with coworkers is key to evolving as a leader. When you learn to have effective crucial conversations, you become focused on growing others while continuing to grow yourself and that is leadership evolution.

In closing, I hope that the next time you are trying to focus on leadership development, that you also incorporate leadership evolution into the process. Leadership development is important, because it focuses on the skills, attributes, and abilities that leaders must have to succeed, but leadership evolution means that you help your people take those skills, attributes, and abilities and put them together in the way that works best for them. That’s a recipe for leadership success.

Have a great rest of the week!

- Dean

_{You can purchase Dean’s new book, The Leadership Recipe, at most major retail booksellers.}

_{Be sure to leave a review if you read it! We would love to hear your thoughts on it.}