This is an approach that can be used when considering people for leadership roles. It is to focus on the following themes when looking at a person’s strengths and potential.
Spirit
Does the person embody the spirit that we want people in the organisation to demonstrate?
Strategic
Does the person have the ability to be strategic – such as being able to see the big picture – and make good strategic decisions?
Success
Does the person have the ability to lead teams that do superb work and deliver success?
It is vital to be clear eyed and objective when focusing on these themes. Wherever possible, it can be useful to give examples of when the person has demonstrated these qualities.
Imagine that you are considering a person for a leadership role. Let’s explore how you may do this by focusing on these themes.
Spirit
Great organisations are built on similarity of spirit and diversity of strengths. The spirit – the principles that people follow – provides a platform for them applying their strengths to achieve the picture of success.
Such organisations start by defining the spirit they want people to demonstrate. This is because diversity of spirit is a recipe for disaster. Attitude is non-negotiable but they want characters not clones.
They also recognise that people will express the spirit in different ways. But it is vital that people always demonstrate high professional standards in their work.
How to define the spirit you want people in your organisation to demonstrate? One approach is:
To describe the principles that you want people in the organisation to follow;
To describe how you want people to translate these principles into action and, if possible, to give specific examples;
To describe the reasons why you want people to demonstrate this kind of spirit.
Different organisations may want people to demonstrate different kinds of spirit. The spirit they demonstrate will also shape the culture. For example, they may say that they want their people either:
To be caring, customer focused and committed to continuous improvement;
To be positive, professional and make their best contributions to achieving the picture of success;
To use their strengths to help the company, customers and colleagues to achieve success.
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
Let’s return to the potential leadership candidate you may be considering. If you wish, try tackling the following exercise.
Describe the specific kind of spirit you want people in the organisation to demonstrate.
Describe the rating that you and, for example, your colleagues would give regarding them demonstrating this spirit. Do this on a scale 0-10.
Describe the specific reasons for giving this rating.
Here is the exercise. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
Strategic
Good leaders are often good at strategic thinking. They are able to see the big picture. They then focus on a specific issue, recognise patterns and clarify the real results to achieve. They are then able:
To clarify the possible ways forward together with the pluses and minuses of each option;
To clarify the strategy that gives them the greatest chance of achieving success;
To settle on their chosen strategy, translate this into a clear action plan and then enable people to achieve the picture of success.
Good leaders sometimes combine elements of being both caring and cerebral. Whilst caring for people, they are also capable of being cerebral and making considered decisions.
Such leaders are good at managing their key stakeholders. They make clear contracts with their backers – such as the board – about the results to achieve. They then do their best to deliver these results.
They are also good at managing both their external and internal customers. They then aim to do superb work, find solutions to challenges and help all their stakeholders to achieve success.
Let’s return to the person you may be considering for a potential leadership role. If you wish, try tackling the following exercise.
Describe the specific kinds of strategic thinking you want a leader in your organisation to demonstrate.
Describe the rating that you and your colleagues would give regarding them demonstrating such strategic thinking. Do this on a scale 0-10.
Describe the specific reasons for giving this rating.
Success
Good leaders have the ability to lead teams that deliver success. Some create a positive environment in which motivated people can do superb work. They then aim:
To communicate the purpose, principles and picture of success;
To make clear contracts with people about their best contributions to achieving the picture of success;
To enable people to do superb work on the way towards achieving the picture of success.
Such leaders manage by outcomes rather than by tasks. They encourage people to keep focusing on the results to achieve, find solutions to challenges and do their best to achieve the picture of success.
They often build good leadership teams. They do this by building on their own strengths and add people who have complementary strengths. A leader who is a visionary, for example, will often have a coordinator who orchestrates people’s efforts to achieve the goals
Such leadership teams act as positive models for people in the organisation. They encourage people to follow the principles, translate these into action and work towards the picture of success.
Different leaders may have different ways of leading teams to success. It can therefore be useful to explore a person’s history of building teams in various situations. This highlights a key point.
Recognising People’s Patterns
Many people have both successful and unsuccessful patterns. The way they have behaved in the past can help to predict to how they may behave in the future.
Imagine that you are looking at a potential leader. Bearing in mind the importance of recognising patterns, it can be useful to explore their successful leadership style. (It can also be useful to recognise any patterns they have that may cause difficulties.)
How to discover their successful leadership style? One approach is to explore the following themes.
The Person’s Successful Leadership Style
Looking back, when has the person led teams that did good work and achieved success?
What did they do right then – what were the principles they followed and how did they translate these into action – to lead the team to success?
Bearing in mind the leadership principles they followed then – and are likely to follow in the future – to what extent would taking this approach fit with the principles you want people to follow in the organisation?
Let’s assume that you have explored a person’s track record of leading teams to success. It can then be useful to do the following exercise.
Describe the specific skills you want a leader in your organisation to demonstrate when leading teams to success.
Describe the rating that you and your colleagues would give regarding the person demonstrating these skills. Do this on a scale 0-10.
Describe the specific reasons for giving this rating.
Imagine that you have rated the extent to which a person demonstrates the desired spirit, strategic thinking and ability to lead successful teams. It can then be useful to summarise your findings.
How to take this step? One approach is: a) to give the overall ratings; b) to give your recommendations and suggestions about the next steps regarding the person’s suitability to perform the leadership role.
If you wish, try tackling the final exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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