Next Level Leadership

Let me ask you a question. This is for any of you who currently are in any type of leadership role: What training or mentoring did you receive when you were promoted?

My guess is that it was very similar to my own – not much. No manager’s manual, no leadership development, and very little mentoring. And you see, that’s the problem – we are still making the same mistakes that we did in the 1970s! What bothers me and what drives me to travel and teach others about leadership is also what drove me to write both of my books, Essential Leadership Lessons from the Thin Blue Line and The Leadership Recipe. The first book is from my experiences as a police chief and the current book is about applying the leadership lessons I’ve learned universally across all industries and occupations. What we really need is a "Next Level of Leadership".

Next level leadership is about taking the top hard-skill talented individuals (regardless of age or stage of career) and providing them with the soft-skill development plus mentoring that will make them the most impactful of leaders. Next level leadership is about understanding what your workforce needs right now and helping the leaders within your organization develop the skills that will give you a highly productive and engaged workforce. In my own career and now as a leadership development trainer, coach, and mentor, I believe that there are some simple principles that will help make this happen when applied at the right time and in the right way. While you can read about them in my newly-released book, The Leadership Recipe, I want to spend a few minutes on what I see as the simple principles of a "Next Level Leader". A "Next Level Leader" focuses on these key things to get the most out of their team:

• They provide direction and take the time to explain the ‘why’ of a directive before it’s asked so the team sees what the purpose is behind it.
• They are intentional in their actions and take the time to really get to know and understand what is motivating each team member they lead.
• They focus on building trust among team members. They see each person they lead for who they can become rather than who they currently are.
• They get ahead of their day by taking the time they need to show up as their very best and by helping their team do the same.
• They hold their team members to a high standard of performance.

Next level leadership is what the newest generations in the workforce need and expect. Gone are the days of “do it because I told you so” management. That may work a few times, but to truly recruit, grow, and retain the best people, it simply isn’t good enough anymore. As leaders in all industries, we must be willing to help mentor these young people by sharing the knowledge many of us possess and have attained over decades of scars received from mistakes made.

Next level leadership is at the heart of why I wrote The Leadership Recipe. It takes the reader on a journey of leadership growth and development with the young professional, Mark, who shares a great many similarities with myself (and I’m sure many of you) as an enthusiastic but naïve young leader. His mistakes are those made by me and many others. His learning is accelerated and shortened by the benefit of having a mentor in William; someone I think all of us wish we had when we became a leader of others. In fact, that’s exactly what I want each of you to consider as you read this post – am I as a current, future, or soon-to-be past leader leaving a Next Level Leadership legacy? Am I helping the younger leaders become their best? Am I mentoring others to help them improve?

As our workforce evolves over the next decade, these are real questions that need real answers. You are leaving a leadership legacy every day whether you realize it or not. Make sure it’s the one of which you will be most proud.

- Dean