Transforming organizational culture begins with transformational leadership, which was briefly defined in our last blog post. What we are talking about here is a shift in individual consciousness from a primary concern about the self to a broader concern for the common good. As leaders in an organization shift their consciousness, the culture of the organization shifts with them. We know the effects of individual transformation can be dramatic within a relatively small eco-system like organizational culture. But do individual shifts in consciousness affect the larger community, or even the global community?

The Institute of Noetic Sciences is a pioneer in leading-edge research into the potentials and powers of consciousness - including perceptions, beliefs, attention, intention, and intuition. The Institute explores phenomena that do not necessarily fit conventional scientific models, while maintaining a commitment to scientific rigor. These folks are definitely on the leading edge, and their research findings challenge many of our traditional beliefs. They recently released a short animated video, starring Dr. Dean Radin, a world-renowned researcher of psychic (or "psi") phenomena, as Jedi Master Oh Be One Kenobi, as he takes viewers on an amusing foray into quantum entanglement and planetary fields of collective consciousness. Click here to learn more about research findings into how our collective consciousness shifts with world events.

They are also running a special Trial Month of the Shift in Action program for a $1 donation to the Institute of Noetic Sciences. May the Force be with you in 2009!

Labels: cultural transformation, future, leadership, leadership development, transformational leadership

Leadership has many definitions. At Leadership Beyond Limits, we subscribe to the efficacy of transformational leadership as presented by Bass and Avolio (1994). This leadership definition implies that leaders lead followers to levels of higher morals. In addition, transformational leadership implies that the followers are better off with the four I's of:

1. Idealized influence - does the right thing for the right reason
2. Individualized consideration - treats each person as an individual and with care and compassion
3. Intellectual stimulation - offers employees stretch goals and encourages creativity and innovation
4. Inspirational motivation - lives from his/her values and inspires employees to build on the vision

I recently came across an excellent scholarly article that painstakingly researched the various definitions of leadership. The authors identified 92 discrete dimensions of leadership, along with a 93rd miscellaneous list of 20 more leadership characteristics. The authors believe that researchers, scholars, consultants, and leaders have helped create confusion around the definition of leadership in that we have examined the parts of leadership but not the whole. They draw on the story of the blind men describing the elephant and the different accurate descriptions that each blind man gave, yet each was insufficient to understand the whole.

The article is definitely worthwhile if you haven't yet read it, you can find it here:
http://www.regentuniversity.org/acad/global/publications/ijls/new/vol1iss2/winston_patterson.doc/winston_patterson.pdf

If you find that interesting, you will likely also appreciate their longer working paper, which includes the above analysis, along with a more in-depth discussion of servant leadership:
http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/working/integrativedefinition.pdf

I admire the authors effort at creating an integrative definition of leadership, and appreciate their metaphor that reminds us that leadership is a large, complex animal.

Labels: cultural transformation, employee creativity, employee engagement, employee happiness, leadership, leadership development, transformational leadership, work excellence, workplace culture

Nurturing the innovators within an organization is key to growth. An article in the December 2008, Harvard Business Review, Finding and Grooming Breakthrough Innovators, by Cohen, Katzenbach and Vlak explores corporate America's inability to identify and utilize people in the workplace with these vital skills. The authors sum up the problem, "Most companies do a magnificent job of smothering the creative spark." They have studied 25 organizations over the last five years and have found that,"Companies usually develop leaders who are replicate rather that innovative."

Most large organizations utilize competency based leadership development systems. These systems create cultural understanding of what it means to be a leader within that organization and they provide a structure for appraisal and development systems. They offer consistency to the appraisal process and conformity to the development process. Is this what organizations need?

While there are benefits to competency systems, brilliant innovators rarely fit the mold and are stifled by the system. According to Cohen, Katzenbach and Vlak, only 5-10% of the high potential leaders within an organization have the skills and abilities to become innovators. These people rarely surface within organizations because they have unique skill sets.

Focusing on employee strengths is a solution to the innovation crush. Organizations with a strengths focus support the identification and nurturing of each employee's strengths. Leaders in these organizations work with employees to determine how to invest in and capitalize on their unique strengths. Employees who are natural innovators are given opportunities to put their strength to work.

Investing in employees' strengths is a generative solution; employees flourish and both the employees and the organization reap the rewards.

Labels: FInding and Grooming Breakthrough Innovators, innovation, leadership, leadership development, strengths focus

Enter any organization and you will hear a leader from the Baby Boomer Generation expressing frustration over a co-worker from Generation Y.

When you think about it, this issue is probably less of a values gap then it is a leadership gap. Generation Y was parented by Baby Boomers. It is apparent that a different type of leadership than is currently practiced by many Baby Boomers is required to tap into the brilliance of Generation Y.

Let's look at what Generation Y wants. According to studies conducted by Rainmaker Thinking, Generation Y wants:

*Leaders who are honest, transparent and authentic;
*Leaders who use story-telling as a means of communicating;
*Leaders who inspire them and who recognize that different things inspire different people;
*Leaders who stimulate their thinking and allow them to make a contribution;
*Leaders who appreciate their civic mindedness and provide opportunities for them to give.

These desires are the characteristics of transformational leadership - the leadership of the future. It is the leadership of the future because it is the style of leadership that will truly tap into the brilliance of every generation and lead organizations to success. Take a look at our "What Engaging Leaders Do" blog posting for a list of transformational leadership characteristics.

This style of leadership can be learned through development and coaching programs. For some it will come naturally and for others it will be a longer journey. It requires a deep self-awareness, a sense of purpose, big-picture thinking and a willingness to give up control. These things can't be faked or rushed, therefore the time to support leaders in their own transformation is now.

Leadership Beyond Limits offers a variety of leadership development and coaching programs to build transformational leaders.

Labels: Baby Boomers, coaching, Generation Y, leadership development, transformational leadership