MATTERS OF THE HEART

                                                                           

Good day everyone. This week we are dealing with the important topic of personal attention in leadership. Leadership is a complex enterprise. It consists of a host of activities including visioning, team-building, culture management amongst others. Many people feel that the attention a leader gives to the personal development of key personel is the most strategic use of his/her time.

 

Leadership is a choice to make a difference and to do  what others are not willing to do, it has to do with unlocking the potential in others.
                                          Carly Fiorina - former CEO of Hewlett Packard

Case Study

In the case of Sir Alex Ferguson, the personal attention to key individuals was interwoven with a wholistic developmental focus on youth ; a strategy at each of his clubs to develop a good team. This strategic focus was central to his managerial leadership philosophy and comprised several issues which was close to his heart.

A) His keen determination that working class boys with footballing potential be given the opportunity to develop that potential.  - here we can think of Ryan Giggs, David Beckam and Wayne Rooney.

B) Building a team of coaches with key junior coaches who understand the ethos, values and culture of Manchester United and took an wholistic interest in all aspects of the boys' lives. Here we can think of Brain Kidd who was part of the 1968 European Cup winning team who in 1988 became a youth coach.

C) The willingness to take risks with young players; and the skill to effectively integrate youthful with more experienced players into winning teams.

D) The patience to wait for players to mature into effective stars.

This strategy was vindicated when the FA Youth Cup winners of 1992 matured into the 1999 Tremble winning squad.
                                                                                                           
Application

Leaders are dealers in hope. They walk, influence and invest in such a way that young people sense their horizons lengthening, their worlds expanding, their futures opening up. This type of leadership focus could be described as providing needed anchorage amidst the possibility of pending wings. It is a reflection of a deep-seated matter of the heart. In the case of Sir Alex, some players have gone on to become international superstars - think of David Beckam and Christiano Ronaldo.

21st century leadership entails winning the war for talent which implies winning the war for hearts. A vital  question which a senior leader may need to ask him/herself may be:

                                        How personal does your leadership need to be?

The ability to understand people's aspirations and add value to their lives is a choice.Leaders consciously choose to develop others, to invest time and effort in growing others around them.

Key leadership lessons

A) Is your inner theatre ( see post - True to your Roots) - healthy enough to receive personal attention on your leadership growth journey?
B) Are you ready for possible opportunities when your life seems to be opening up?

Chat again soon
coachlouw

BE TRUE TO YOUR ROOTS

                                               BE TRUE TO YOUR ROOTS       

What shapes you? What are the deeply held beliefs which undergird your behaviour, what are the core

values which frame your leadership style, what are the defining moments which have chiselled your character ?

Throughout his managerial career, Sir Alex Ferguson took pride in the fact that he did not change while all around him there was constant change. Players became more powerful as their financial packages grew, the influence of agents crept stealthily into the game, commercialization became rampant, British football became increasingly international. Throughout these constant changes, Alex Ferguson remained a pillar of consistency. He remained true to his roots.

1) UNIQUE GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL COCKTAIL

Ferguson was raised in a normal home in the tough, post war era. His father, a strict, hard- working man of his era, was an endearing influence in his life. Working class pride, intensity of shared experiences and loyalty to one's friends and family were the prized values of the day. This foundation provided Ferguson with a life-long sense of groundedness and centredness. These early days also provided him with a most valuable leadership skill - the ability to handle men of various backgrounds and characters. In attempting to find the secret of his longetivity in his managerial role, many have noted his ability to get the best out of everyone around him, especially his players, as one of the hallmarks of his managerial career.

At the time, Scottish football had an intensity and passion which was unmatched elsewhere. Parents and local schoolboy coaches were encouraging, disciplining, and coaching as they promoted a love of football as part of a clean code of living. While he grew, experienced and blossomed as a player and young man in this unique set of circumstances, Ferguson was learning that leadership was more tribal than organizational.

2) REALITY OF AN INNER THEATRE TOWARDS LEADERSHIP      

The dynamics of our early environment stimulates within us an inner theatre towards leadership. An inner theatre is a learned predisposition of how we will react later in life when faced with possible growth opportunities. An environment filled with positive role models, stretching experiences, space for your gifts to blossom and your voice to be heard; will later translate into a teachable attitude towards possible growth opportunities. This could be the ability to recognize an opportunity, willingness to receive from coaches and mentors, and the essential emotional stamina to handle challenging situations well. An early environment with many negative and/or deeply scarring factors will predispose us negatively towards possible growth opportunities. We may have an unhealthy sense of independence, a fragile grip on reality, an underlying well of anger and a low level of teachability. All these factors may seriously impair our openness to possible growth opportunities.

3) LEADERSHIP OF FORCEFUL CONVICTION

Alex Ferguson is a product of his time and era. He brought a unique leadership style to the role of soccer manager. His hard-nosed managerial approach, emotional presence on the sidelines and terse press conferences has been a constant feature in the success of Manchester United over the past 20 years. His has been a leadership of forceful conviction as his strong personality and character was imposed on his environment. His inner theatre propelled him to constantly seek out new challenges, he had a constant need to win, and his energy and enthusiasm was seemingly boundlesss. The values, principles and convictions seeded in his growing up years were cemented over a 27 year period of managerial leadership which, in all probability , will never be repeated.

KEY LEADERSHIP LESSONS

1) BE TRUE TO YOUR ROOTS

"Leadership is the expression of the very best that has been invested and build into you"

2) GROW IN YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR INNER THEATRE.
As your self awareness deepens, so you will be in a position to more effectively handle the leadership challenges which will come your way.

3) YOUR CV MAY ONLY TELL HALF THE STORY.                                      

Your potential for good leadership is more than what appears on your CV.

Good journeying

Coach Louw

        THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

                                          1ST PERSON YOU LEAD IS YOURSELF

                                                                                               Maxwell

There is a certain exotic ring to the term "leadership development". As a concept, it is quite common, but as a process it is difficult to nail down.; it is quite slippery. As a process, there is an element of mystique about it.

The process of leadership development has both formal and informal , intentional and unintentional dimensions to it. Formal or intentional ways of leadership development includes leadership courses, workshops and seminars. Informal ways of leadership development includes our early family environment, the quality of our schooling, or perhaps the influence of an interested teacher or sports coach. Intentional dimensions includes challenging jobs, stretch assignments or key community roles. 

For some people growth comes in unintentional ways; those life experiences which are forced upon us and which we may not choose to experience. These could include the loss of a loved one, divorce of parents or self, loss of financial income, or even participation in a war or time in prison. These unchosen, unwanted experiences could be key defining periods on our growth journeys; these are make or break periods. Growth occurs as the person is able to adapt and master these challenging situations - known as crucibles. A crucible is a defining period   where the need for self-leadership is heightened as a focused and often creative response to the situation is required. It is a deeply self-defining period in one's leadership growth. Some people do not only survive, but thrive through the crucible. Others do not.

" I would argue that more leaders have been made by accident, circumstances, sheer grit, and willpower than have been made by all the leadership courses put together"

                                                                                        Bennis

Crucibles could be of a personal or an organizational nature. Organizational transformations, takeovers or mergers could require a degree of self-leadership beyond the norm. In this way, life may tap you on the shoulder, may ask you to pay your dues on your leadership journey. This period will demand courage, risk-taking and digging deep into your personal reserves.

Another form of unintentional leadership growth could be when your world suddenly opens up. Growth opportunities abound, key values are reinforced, people and/or organizations are generous towards you. This could be a number of factors lining up positively for you. In South Africa the major political, social and economic changes over the last 20 years have resulted in a paradigm shift in which many new leaders have and are arising in all spheres of life.  

NATURE OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Life without growth and development is stagnation.The capacity to embrace personal change is a key capability for leadership development. Leadership development is a far more complex and indeed mysterious process compared to the comparatively simple process of leadership training. Leadership development includes many factors which needs to be integrated in a transformative, developmental wholistic shift. Key dimensions include positive role models, the cementing of key values , cultivating growth habits, and experiencing valuable feedback. Leadership development is a unique and individualized path for each individual. The journey can be one of beauty and creativity as you travel towards a more authentic you, experiencing an increasing sense of alignment in the different areas of your life.

" leadership is a choice, a choice to know ourselves, to know others, to act, moment to moment, as ourselves. In this way, with each choice, we become the kind of person and leader we want to be"  

                                                                                                                        Covey

For the first few blogs of this blogspot, I will post on the theme"

                                         "Leadership lessons from the life of Sir Alex Ferguson"

The world will never see the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson again . The combination of factors which shaped him to be the unique manager that he was for so long cannot be replicated. We can thus learn many lessons from his leadership career and I invite you to travel with me on this journey.