Week 30 (11.11.07)

Learn

In Praise of the Incomplete Leader - Harvard Business Review

• No leader is perfect - they concentrate on honing their strengths and find others who can make up for their limitations
• Leaders need to further develop the capabilities they are weakest in.
• Other times, it's more important for leaders to find and work with others to compensate for their weaknesses.
• 4 capabilities of leadership:

1. sensemaking - understanding the context in which a company and its people operate & it is a continuous process. The key for leaders is to determine what would be a useful map given their particular goals and then draw one that adequately represents the situation the oraganization is facing at that moment. Know how to quickly capture the complexities of their environment and explain them to others in simple terms. This help ensure that everyone is working from the same map, which makes it far easier to discuss and plan for the journey ahead.
2. relating - building relationships within and across organizations. 3 key ways are inquiring (listening with the intention of genuinely understanding the thoughts and feelings of the speaker), advocating (explaning one's own point of view) and connecting (cultivating a network of confidants who can help a leader accomplish a wide range of goals).
3. visioning - creating a compelling picture of the future. Visioning gives people a sense of meaning in their work. Leaders who are skilled in this capability are able to get people excited about their view of the future while inventing others to help crystallize that image.
4. inventing - similar to "execution". Transform a vision of the future into a present-day reality. Inventing is about moves a business from world of ideas to the concrete world of implementation.

Balancing the Four Capabilities

Typically, leaders are strong in one or two capabilities. Once leaders diagnose their own capabilities, identifying their unique set of strengths and weaknesses, they must search for others who can provide the things they're missing.

It's the leader's responsibility to create an environment that lets people complement one another's strengths and offset one another's weaknesses.

Unlearn

From many books that i have read, not many actually complements on the message that there is no complete leader. Mostly focus on how a leader can become greater and better in creating high performing team or as a leader. As of today, this article, enlighten me on how to balance on the four capabilities and i understand now that even a competent leader may not be a complete leader; it typically has one or two strong capabilities only. We work with others to offset our weakness and to achieve our goals.

Relearn

My capabilities on self awareness is always strong as a new leader. However, from the 4 capabilities, i can further work on to improve on "relating" meaning building relationships (colleagues & spouse) by listening and encourage others to voice their opinions. Before i express my ideas, try to anticipate how others will react to them and how i might best explaing them.

In my new role at work and at home, i will practise creating a vision on "What do i want to create?" This vision will inspire and motivate me, family and my team. Listen to what they find exciting and important.