“YOU CANNOT INSPIRE OTHERS IF YOU ARE NOT INSPIRED YOURSELF.”

The last few decades have been characterized by many technological advancements introduced with great velocity. Managers have access to more data than ever before with an influx of information that can be overwhelming when delivered without insights. Managers need to sift through more information to make their decisions. This can pull them further and further from the people that they are meant to lead.

The 2019 pandemic left a void and brought organizations to the brink as it forced human resource teams to fill management and leadership positions in a competitive labor market. The result was the promotion of many managers to fill both positions of management and leadership without the necessary formation and guidance. Many managers were promoted to fill voids at higher levels based on their skills in managing processes and hitting their numbers. The reward reinforces a belief that success is mainly due to policies, systems, and processes, moving them further away from recognizing that future achievements will require tapping into the human potential. As such, there is an influx of “managers” in positions of leadership. Rising costs of living, wage stagnation, and hostile work conditions have contributed to the Great Resignation, or Big Quit of 2021. As a result, more people were promoted to fill the voids. We foresee a growing crisis requiring a greater demand for compassionate leaders, which I refer to as heart-centered leaders.

In their “State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report,” Gallup reported that only 24% of employees strongly agree that their organization cares about their overall well-being. They also showed that 77% of U.S. employees are either quietly quitting or actively disengaged at work.

While the ability to manage structures and processes is important, leaders need to recognize their contribution in creating alignment within their organization to inspire and enable individuals in their team toward reaching a greater vision and mission. Leaders play an important role in creating a pull by touching the human heart.

PROGRESSING THROUGH BREAKTHROUGH TRANSFORMATIONS

In their book “The Leadership Pipeline,” Sam Charan and other co-authors provide insights on the numerous transformations that are required to move up the leadership pipeline. The journey begins with managing yourself and then evolves to managing others, then managing managers, and so on.

Each new level of management requires different skill requirements, time applications, and work values. That is to say; new capabilities required to execute the new responsibilities, new time frames that govern how one works, and what people believe is important and so becomes the focus of their efforts (Charan et al., 2011). They explain that the transformation is not linear but a series of full 90-degree bends to move through to the next leadership level. The skills that generate success at one level do not translate into success at the next level.

Peter Laurence’s and Raymond Hull’s also propose that the way companies promote people introduces deficiencies. They call this process the Peter Principle (Peter, 1996). The Peter Principle is defined as promoting people based on a greater focus on past short-term financial results in a prior role over personal soft skills and leadership skills required for the new position.

The Peter Principle describes how people are promoted to their level of incompetence when no coaching or mentoring is provided. Gaps that remain unaddressed will prevent a manager from progressing on to the next level or, at worst, clog up the leadership pipeline and lead to a demotion (Charan et al., 2011).

The leadership pipeline model can also be used to provide insights that show where businesses are failing to develop leadership bench strength and day-to-day effectiveness. It provides the framework to help managers progress and develop the different skills needed to move up to higher levels of leadership.

Why is it that so many companies hire and promote managers/leaders without getting them a professional coach or resources to start on the right foot?

Is it:

• Misplaced ego with a belief that the best talent has been hired and that the best answers can only come from inside the box?

• A lack of belief that the new manager/leader will provide a good return on the investment?

• A lack of desire to seek excellence?

• A corporate bottom line driven approach that omits recognizing that results are produced by people, not systems, policies, spreadsheets, or progress reports?

• An omission due to lack of understanding of the role of a leader as opposed to the role of a manager?

My observations are that:

• Advancing to the next level often requires a breakthrough transformation, adopting new values and leaving the old ones behind and never going back.

• Coaching or mentoring will be required at some point along the leadership pipeline to heighten a leader’s awareness of new dynamics and adopt a new set of values.

• Managers of managers may have reached their level of incompetence if they do not value or are not aware of the importance of coaching their team (they would rather focus on managing tasks than people).

There is a greater need for professional coaches who have business experience and can tie technological and business know-how with human potential.

A RISING INDUSTRY

What would you think if your favorite sports team announced they were planning to reduce costs by getting rid of all coaching positions and managing the team without a coach? You probably couldn’t imagine this team winning a championship. Professional sports teams operate at an elevated level of excellence and have identified and recognized the importance of coaching.

The concept of coaching is not new and has been demonstrated at personal and organizational levels, in business, and in sports. Good coaches provide an opportunity for multiple touch points for timely feedback as a person or organization integrates new concepts and deals with new opportunities.

When looking at the number or searches on Google, we see that the number of searches for the word “coach” is increasing, which is good news when considering the progressive decrease for the word “consulting”. More and more organizations seem to recognize and value the follow-up process that a coach provides to allow for the faster and more effective integration of new concepts as opposed to hiring someone to present a solution and walk away to let the organization fend for itself.

UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL

Fundamentally, if you are feeling stuck, consider that, as feelings often do, the sentiments will change as you process new information and new stimuli towards achieving your own breakthrough transformation to Effort-Less™ effectiveness.

Unleashing your potential involves taking responsibility for your results. It starts by working on what is inside you: your vision, mission, and values. In a few words, finding your own inspiration so that you may inspire others to be the best they can be.

YOU CANNOT INSPIRE OTHERS IF YOU ARE NOT INSPIRED YOURSELF.

References

Charan, R., Drotter, S., Noel, J., (2011) The Leadership Pipeline: How to build the leadership powered company, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Peter, L. (1996). The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong.