Of course, companies, non-profits and even churches want dream leaders working for them. They want leaders who won't need to be micro managed and who will transform their organizations, achieve stellar results and create a dream team were people work as one.
With that desire in mind, they will spend billions of dollars over the next few months. They will send their people to pricy conferences and seminars with "big named speakers" and high motivational atmospheres. They will invest huge dollars to send leaders to business schools and other higher education academies with the belief that they will bring better leadership based on attained knowledge.
And will it work? Will leaders be created and organizations transformed? How would you even measure the success? Most don't know and don't even try to measure the making of leaders, do they? Many don't even see themselves as
Posting on Facebook leadership development expert Mac Lake (www.MacLakeOnline.com) wrote, "Don't measure the success of leadership development on the quality of delivery but the transformation of the leader."
Personally, I was challenged by Mac's quote and asked him, "So then what would you measure?" Here was Mac's response:
"You're right it's most difficult to measure transformation, but it becomes easier when we list the proficiencies we expect in regard to certain competencies. For example, I want someone to learn the competency "Cast a clear and compelling vision."
What proficiencies indicate they are growing (transforming) in this area of skill?
Are they able to share their vision in a compelling way in 30 seconds or less.
Are they able to tell compelling stories that illustrate their vision.
Do they speak with passion about their vision.
When they cast vision, do they finish by making the "ask" inviting people join in.
He ends: "This is why leadership development must be relational because it's only when the learner has someone walking along side them observing and giving feedback that they most effectively grow."
Frankly, I fully agree with Mac Lake, both in the need to find new ways to measure leadership development effectiveness. And secondly, the transforming power of proactively providing "walking alongside relationships." It's in these one on one enviroments where leaders will gain the feedback that is so glaringly absent from most "just keep it going" places. Those organizations that harness the strategic value of creative coaching will harness passion, vision and skills and will then focus those emotional and leadership resources on the problems to be solved. Of course great presentations, seminars and "delivery" have value and will continue to ... but what if they were then combined with the mentoring? Leadership development coaching? Or the kind of processes that get to the convergence of both the inner leader and the outward envirment, like Endeavor?
Might the results then become overwhelmingly obvious and measurable? Guess you know how I feel about that, huh?
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