03 Mar, 2009

By Daryl Ogden                                   and Julie Androshick

This issue of Growth Edge is all about leadership. Now, in the midst of a genuine global economic crisis, leadership is more important than ever. As we work to climb out of the deep hole we find ourselves in, this generation’s leaders will be relied on to demonstrate wisdom, character, and vision as never before. With enormous challenges before us, we hope the three articles included here will serve as a meaningful resource for leaders to draw upon.

In the first article, longtime Kenning colleague, Grady McGonagall, poses – and goes a long way toward answering – what is perhaps the fundamental leadership question: “How do you become an outstanding leader?” Along the way, Grady provides an enormously useful survey of the history of thinking about leadership that underscores the importance of leaders finding and embracing the qualities of leadership that will specifically work for them and their organizations.

Kenning partner Daryl Ogden shares a recent story about how a successful NBA coach’s approach to developing a high potential player exemplifies the evolution of coaching over the past four decades and models how leaders can effectively lead collaboratively, and by creating differentiated development solutions for their people, their teams, and their organizations.

Finally, Kenning’s Paul Atkins has allowed us to reprint one of his recent contributions to the literature of public leadership, within the specific context of his native Australia but with clear applications to political leaders and public servants anywhere. The article focuses on the importance of our elected leaders to demonstrate responsive rather than reactive leadership, an essential distinction articulately explored here. We believe this article may be particularly relevant to the new American administration – and the public which that administration aspires to lead – as it confronts unprecedented challenges that will severely test the character and wisdom of even the most talented and experienced of our public servants.

03 Mar, 2009

By Grady McGonnagall

How do you become an outstanding leader? Anyone looking for an answer to this question from the vast body of writing on leadership will be as frustrated as the cartoon character Dilbert, who asked his pointy-headed boss: “How do you know which management techniques work best? Logically, doesn’t the existence of thousands of management books show no one knows what works best?” The boss replied: “The trick is knowing which one to read.”

03 Mar, 2009

By Daryl Ogden

If, as either an incidental or serious student of the burgeoning field of 21st century leadership development, you ever wondered whether we had truly entered a new age of leadership, consider the following story.

An NBA basketball coach I know well – someone who over the past 40+ years has coached at virtually every level, and with considerable success – was watching on TV the men’s final of the French Open tennis tournament. Amid the red clay splendor of Roland Garros’ Center Court, the coach spotted one of his current players, surrounded by a group of bon vivant friends clearly having one of the times of their life. The player was a flamboyant, talented 22 year old first round draft choice who had just completed an NBA rookie campaign in which his scoring and rebounding averages – and playing time – had climbed steadily every month over the course of the season, due, it was widely reported, to the rigorous one on one work he put in with the coach, who was now watching his player on TV.

03 Mar, 2009

By Paul Atkins

This chapter concerns the development of cognitive and emotional capabilities of leaders in the public sector; in particular, the capacity to respond rather than react automatically to challenging events, described herein as mindfulness. The chapter aims to make the case a) that key differences in the complexity of cognitive and emotional processing are not stylistic but developmental.

Although difficult, it is possible for leaders to learn to think and feel in more complex ways, and b) that the cultivation of mindfulness in particular may well be associated with this development. In essence, the chapter argues that the failure to think complexly is a problem for public sector and political leadership and that the cultivation of mindfulness may form part of the solution.