Training Industry Magazine - Leadership 2015 Special Edition - 37

A provocative, yet much needed,
perspective is that these are not leadership
competencies at all, they are just
"competence-competencies," or lists of
things we'd like to be able to do, measure
and mitigate, but do not answer the
perplexing uncertainties of organization
and human interactions. The one big thing
missing from them is leadership.
One of the biggest misses, ironically, is
that competency models have largely
ignored the not so readily observable and
sometimes unconscious processes that
lie beneath the surface of leaders, which
inform the very actions that make up
their leadership. Personal life experiences,
beliefs, values and overall mindsets are
often grossly overlooked and/or neglected
and replaced with highly structured,
generalized competencies that not only
assume that all leaders and roles require
them, but also that that they will be
relevant and valid in all contexts.
This is far from ideal given real-life
leadership more often than not requires
leaders to navigate through uncharted
waters in an increasingly volatile,
uncertain, complex and ambiguous
business environment. Without taking into
account the individual differences and
underlying social structures, competency
models provide a limited ability to cope
with ever-changing social, organizational
and economic conditions.

A NEW APPROACH
Upon closer inspection of the limitations
of competency models, it becomes evident
that while they have brought us to where
we are now, they are incomplete and

EFFECTIVE
LEADERSHIP IS
NOT A PAINT-BYNUMBERS ART
FORM.

inadequate as a resource to develop our
current and future leaders for tomorrow.
Effective leadership is not a paint-bynumbers art form. We need to broaden
our view of what leaders need to develop
to create successful and sustainable
organizations.
There is an alternative definition of
leadership that has informed our approach
in designing and delivering award-winning
leadership development programs across
the world. It is that leadership isn't an
individual, it isn't a position; it's a special
form of action.
We know when someone has been a
leader when they have done something
that inspires our trust, confidence and
followership. It is the combination of
everyday leadership actions that together
create the effect of a powerful leadership
culture in our organizations. Leadership
must come from everywhere and
anywhere in our organizations. Too often
we see a shortage of leadership alongside
an oversupply of those who are designated
as leaders. It is leadership action that we
are woefully short of. Leadership action at
its heart is the wisdom to see what must
be done, the courage to do it and the
compassion, humor and spirit to do it with
care for the benefit of all.
The leadership development profession
needs to see improving the quality of
effective leadership action as a primary
goal, not the development of leadership
traits. Let's pursue definitions of
competence that help people function
in complex, demanding and constantly
changing workplaces, let's work out
what might help people deal with the

ambiguities and uncertainties of a frankly
scary world, but let's not pretend that they
are the only route to leadership.
We need to shift our frame of reference
toward leadership action. Only then can we
begin to design learning and development
programs that genuinely grow the
leadership capacity that our organizations
desperately need and our wider society
demands. Our development programs
need to integrate a range of learning
methodologies into a cohesive whole
bound together within an experiential
architecture. This creates practical
development where effective leadership
action is learned through direct encounter
with the barriers that stand in the way and
practice in overcoming them.
Richard Little has 28 years of experience with
Impact International, developing and delivering
high-level management and organization
development programs. Grahame Broadbelt
leads Impact International's communications
and R&D functions. Kerry Garner Venter is
a personal and professional development
consultant. Email the authors.

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Training Industry Magazine - Leadership 2015 Special Edition

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