I recently ran in the Death Valley Marathon. As I ran, I noticed that there were all shapes and sizes of people participating in the race. There were some people who looked like they would have trouble running a mile and some of those people finished well ahead of me. There were some people who looked like they are in terrific shape and some of them were unable to finish the race.
As I ran, I considered the many different leaders and leadership styles that I have encountered over the years. I thought about two very critical elements of leadership, namely; competencies and behaviors. Successful leaders possess both in abundance. They understand the important role that the development of each plays in their ability to lead others. As they climb the leadership ladder they are busy developing the required competencies for their jobs. As they move higher in the organization they transition their focus from competency development to the development of key leader behaviors.
Competencies
Competencies
In order to call myself a finisher in the marathon, I had to run, walk or crawl 26.2 miles in less than six hours. Everyone that wanted to be called a finisher was bound by the same requirements. No one could run a shorter distance. No one could take longer than six hours. It was the same for everyone.
To me, the basic requirements of a marathon are a lot like the basic requirements each of us needed to be hired into our current position. The job competencies required to fill any position are the same for everyone who is applying for that position. It is unlikely that I will be hired to be the Vice President of Marketing, if I do not possess the minimum job competencies required for that position. Once I am hired, I will be expected to fulfill those requirements, even if I was hired without possessing them.
My organization will spend very little time training me on these basic requirements. They will be very frustrated with me, if I am unable to do them. They expect that someone at my level should be able to perform these basic requirements. Just like the race organizers expected when I entered the marathon I could complete the course in the alloted time, my organization expects me to possess these competencies when they hire me. There is very little I can do to change the required competencies. If I want the job I must be able to fulfill them. It is the same for everybody.
Behavior
Nicholas Haffenreffer, a Washington DC native, led the way and finished first in the 2009 Death Valley Marathon. His finishing time of 2:50:12 was the fastest of the day. He finished a full three hours and seven minutes ahead of the final finisher. While all of the 209 people who completed the course in the required time could call themselves finishers, only Nicolas could say that he won the race.
The variable in the race is time. It is the only thing that is marked differently for each participant. Every competitor received a different time. While I cannot change the distance or the minimum time to complete, I can improve my marathon time. To do this, I must train differently. I control the time it takes me to finish the race.
I liken the time it takes to finish the race to the behaviors I need to successfully lead others. While the basic competencies are the same for everyone, the behaviors are very different. Some are hired to manage a sales force because they are good at making sales. Just because they know how to make sales, does not mean that they will know how to lead people and manage processes. There are many competencies that we expect leaders to possess. Those are the basics. Successful leaders possess these competencies and are continually developing them further, but their real focus is on improving their leadership behaviors.
They know that at some point their competencies become a non-issue. They know that these basic competencies are expected of a leader and that even the most ordinary leaders possess them in abundance.
They understand that the real issue is their personal behaviors and how effectively they can use those behaviors to influence and inspire those they lead. This is the area of growth where they focus their developmental activities. They understand that to be a successful leader, they must continually develop the critical leader behaviors required by their organization, the role they play in their organization, and the people they lead. Nothing else matters.
What Are You Doing To Develop Yourself As A Leader?
Imagine, if while I was running a marathon one of my fellow participants said to me, "I am wondering why you didn't make me train harder so I could run faster?" Of if they said, "I don't think I am going to be able to finish this race. I kept waiting for you to give me my training plan and to make sure I trained properly, but you never did. It is your fault that I will not win and now I may not even finish?"
I am sure you will agree me that to hear such comments on the marathon trail would sound pretty absurd. Yet these are the types of comments I hear all the time as I work in organizations. Many people think that their organization is responsible for developing their leader behaviors. They are very disappointed when they discover that the higher they advance in the organization, the fewer opportunities there are for individual development. It is not that the organization does not want to do this, it is just that higher level employees require more individually catered plans and most organizations are not staffed with people who can produce such individual growth plans.
It is very risky for an individual to sit around and wait for the organization to do something for them. Each individual must take charge of his or her own personal development plan. I find that many organizations are willing to invest in development and that they respond favorably to plans presented by the individual employee. They just need a push in the right direction in order to be made aware of what their higher level employee wants. They don't want to lose you, but they often don't know how to keep you. It is your responsibility to let them know what you want.
Are you waiting for your organization to offer you a development plan? I hope you answered no to that question. What I really want to know is what are you doing to develop yourself? When was the last time you participated in a development experience that you personally funded? When was the last time you approached your organization with a request for funding for a personal leadership development experience? If it has been a while, I invite you now to spend some time thinking about what you can do to begin developing yourself.
One of the most valued leader behaviors is that of accountability. You are accountable for your own personal development plan. Today is a great day to create or examine your plan. You will only be helping your own cause, so don't wait any longer.
Be Excellent!
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