Leadership Development Resources for Senior Executives
As leaders move up in the organization, their impact--and the skills they need to develop--changes in important ways.
Given the number of people we impact, it is critical that senior executives:
- Cultivate self-awareness to reduce the gap between their intentions and their impact;
- Reflect on their set-backs and challenges to enhance resilience;
- Remember that their character will have an out-sized impact on the willingness of others to follow them;
- Cultivate the leadership skills of those coming up in the organization behind them;
- Learn to work with political appointees;
- Create a climate of candor;
- Foster innovation;
- Leave a legacy by making the organization stronger;
- Learn to manage managers, as executives are farther removed from the front lines; and
- Continually improve their leadership skills, as those who stop learning inevitaby derail.
Character
- Leadership in the Crucible: The Paradox of Character and Power, by Ray Blunt
Suggests three leadership development activities leaders can/should engage in to stay grounded and avoid hubris and other character failings.
- Growing Leaders of Character
Interview with Gene Klann, author of Growing Leaders of Character
Growing the Next Generation of Leaders
- The Three Cs in Developing Leaders, by Ray Blunt
Growing the next generation of leaders is your most important job. How do you make time for it? - One Person at a Time, by Don Jacobson
Lessons about learning to lead from Mother Teresa. - Leaders and Stories, by Ray Blunt
How you can use stories to grow leaders coming up behind you in the organization. - Total System Power, by Barry Oshry
We all play different roles in different contexts. How we approach each role has a big impact on the dynamics in our organizations.
Dynamics with Political Appointees
- The Leadership Dilemma in a Democratic Society
Series of systems maps that explain some of the unique challenges facing career leaders in government.
Creating a Climate of Candor
- The Leadership Challenge, by Michael Roberto
Chapter 1 of the book Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes for an Answer
Your Leadership Legacy
- The Successes of Leaders, by Ray Blunt
Ray Blunt challenges us to think differently about the meaning of success.
- The Toughest Choices a Leader Must Make, by Ray Blunt
There are a few specific decisions you must make that will have a major impact on your effectiveness as a leader.
In this
thoughtful book, the authors of The Leadership
Challenge look at a wide range of leadership issues through the prism of how
leaders can go about creating a lasting legacy. Each chapter works well as
a short essay on a key leadership topic, but also ties into the overall theme of
how to create a legacy. Covers such issues as demonstrating courage,
earning and maintaining trust, creating a shared
vision, seeking feedback, telling stories, dealing with dissenting views,
empowering employees, and the importance of wanting to be liked.
Read Chapter 1.
Read More...
Fostering Innovation
- Notes from a Reflective Practitioner of Innovation, by Ellen Schall
Real world insights about about creating a climate conducive to innovation.
- Creating an Innovative Organization, by Bob Behn
Ten hints for supporting innovation among front-line workers.
Supervising Managers
- Leaders Who Lead
Leaders, by Kenneth A. Tucker
How to build the capacity of your leadership team.
Continual Learning