BMA eBook - Manual / Resource - Page 265
What to Ask the Person in the Mirror
Part of the process of maturing as a leader is
learning to step back and think about what
creates pressure for you, being self-aware in
these situations, and disciplining your behavior to ensure that you act in a manner consistent with your core values.
Staying True to Yourself
Most business leaders ask themselves whether
their leadership style fits the needs of their
business. Fewer managers ask whether their
style also fits their own beliefs and personality.
The question here is: Does my leadership style
reflect who I truly am?
A business career is a marathon, not a
sprint, and if you aren’t true to yourself, eventually you’re going to wear down. As you are
developing in your career, it is advisable to
observe various leadership styles, and pick
and choose elements that feel comfortable
to you. Bear in mind, though, that observing
and adopting aspects of other styles does not
mean you should try to be someone else.
During my career, I was fortunate to have
had several superb bosses and colleagues
with distinctive and unique leadership skills.
While I tried to adopt some of their techniques, I also learned that I needed to develop an overall style that fit my unique
skills and personality. Your style needs to fit
you; even an unorthodox style can be enormously effective if it reflects your skills, values, and personality.
As you become more senior, you’ll need to
ask yourself an additional set of questions relating to style: Do I assert myself sufficiently, or
have I become tentative? Am I too politically correct? Does worry about my next promotion or my
year-end bonus cause me to pull punches or hesitate to clearly express my views? In many companies, ambitious executives may try to avoid
confronting sensitive issues or making waves.
Worse than that, they may spend an inordinate amount of energy trying to ascertain
what their boss thinks and then act like they
think the same thing. If they’re very skilled at
this, they may even get a chance to make
their comments before the boss has a chance
harvard business review • january 2007
to express his opinion—and feel the warm
glow of approval from the boss.
The problem is that confrontation and disagreement are crucial to effective decision
making. Some of the worst decisions I’ve been
involved in were made after a group of intelligent people had unanimously agreed to the
course of action—though, later, several participants admitted that they had misgivings
but were hesitant to diverge from the apparent group consensus. Conversely, it’s hard for
me to recall a poor decision I was involved in
that was made after a thorough debate in
which opposing views were vigorously expressed (even if I disagreed with the ultimate
decision). Companies need their leaders to express strongly held views rather than mimic
what they believe to be the party line. As a
leader, therefore, you must ask yourself whether
you are expressing your views or holding back
and being too politic. At the same time, leaders must encourage their own subordinates
to express their unvarnished opinions, make
waves as appropriate, and stop tiptoeing
around significant issues.
•••
Successful leaders periodically struggle during
stretches of their careers. To get back on track,
they must devise techniques for stepping back,
getting perspective, and developing a new
game plan. In this process, having the answers
is often far less important than taking time to
ask yourself the right questions and gain key
insights. The questions posed in this article are
intended to spark your thinking. Only a subset
of these may resonate with you, and you may
find it more useful to come up with your own
list. In either event, a self-questioning process
conducted on a periodic basis will help you
work through leadership challenges and issues
that you invariably must tackle over the
course of your career.
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