How Leaders Learn to Lead
Articles
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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.
- 22 Ways to Develop Leadership in Staff Managers, by Robert W. Eichinger and Michael M. Lombardo
Terrific explanation of how non-supervisors can gain leadership experience.
- Learning to Ride a Bike--and to Lead, by Ray Blunt
Overview of how leaders learn.
- Growing Leaders for the Public Service, by Ray Blunt
Report for the IBM Endowment for the Business of Government
- One Person at a Time: The Leadership Genius of Mother Teresa, by Don Jacobson
On where we need to focus our leadership development efforts.
- The Alchemy of Great Leadership
Article from GovExec.com that provides superb perspective on what it takes to learn to lead.
- Education for Leadership, by
Eliot A. Cohen
Fascinating essay on where to look for leadership learning.
- The "3Cs" of Developing Leaders, by Ray Blunt
Growing the next generation of leaders is your most important job. How do you make time for it?
- The 3Cs of Leadership Development - Part II: Competency, by Ray Blunt
The most important things leaders need to be able to do.
- Making the Most of
Developmental Assignments,
Interview with Cynthia McCauley, author of Developmental Assignments: Creating Learning Experiences without Changing Jobs
- Growing Leaders of Character
Interview with author Gene Klann
- How New Managers Become Great Managers, by Linda Hill
From the Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge blog.
- Corps Values, by David H. Freedman
Inc. Magazine article about how the US Marine Corps develops leaders at all levels.
- Grooming Top Leaders: Cultural Perspectives from China, India, Singapore and the United States
Terrific white paper by the Center for Creative Leadership.
Books
A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring
A Legacy of 21st Century Leadership
This is a great book. A Legacy of 21st Century Leadership synthesizes some of the most compelling current research on how leaders learn to lead and provides many provocative insights about the importance of leaving a leadership legacy. Jim Trinka and Les Wallace argue that leaders need to make a conscious decision to lead, learn constantly, model effective leadership for the next generation, and focus on developing others. They also advocate developing leaders at all levels across the organization (rather than focusing on a “favored few”) and using varied and challenging assignments as a key leadership development tool. This book provides a terrific roadmap for cultivating a climate of leadership in your agency or organization. Trinka currently serves as Director of Technical Training and Development for the FAA. Read More...
Developmental Assignments: Creating Learning Experiences without
Changing Jobs
Building Character: Strengthening the Heart of Good Leadership
Drawing on decades of research by the Center for Creative Leadership, Gene Klann provides a clear framework for developing leaders or character that includes rich discussions of role models, the importance of challenging work experiences, leadership character training, and organizational culture. Klann also provides several useful tools, such as a personal values self-assessment, a checklist of good leader behaviors, and 17 scenarios of leadership character dilemmas that can be used for discussion purposes. Highly recommended. Read More...
The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop on the Job
This is one of the most useful books on executive development ever published. It clearly outlines the various types of experiences that drive the vast majority of all leadership learning. Provides superb perspective on how to approach development most effectively. (Hint: Classroom training is responsible for only a minor portion of leadership learning.) Besides being full of wisdom, this book is a great read. For a taste of the quality of the material in this book, check out the Center for Creative Leadership's report Twenty-Two Ways to Develop Leadership in Staff Managers, which was co-authored by Michael Lombardo. Read More...
All Learning is Self-Directed: How Organizations Can Support and Encourage Independent Learning
This book is an absolute gold mine of information for managers who want to develop the skills and knowledge of their people. It describes all the different kinds of self-directed learning and provides a comprehensive strategy for implementing them. One of the best sections includes a description of what managers can do to foster a positive learning environment for their employees.Read more...