Supporting Leadership
Imagine an organization where everyone is capable of stepping into a leader’s role; a culture where each person with the vision and inspiration for a project or corporate initiative is empowered and supported to take the lead.
Imagine an organization where everyone feels safe to step forward with proposals; where authority and resources are matched to the leader’s level of commitment. Now imagine this is your organization!
Authority alone is sometimes seen as the sign of leadership, which is an unnecessarily limited understanding. In its broadest definition leadership is energy and in healthy organizations that energy moves from person to person and group to group depending on the needs of the moment.
Organizational structure determines who holds authority and clear lines of authority can support effective decisions. When authority alone dominates, then the people, who are the lifeblood of the organization, begin to withhold their ideas, dreams, inspirations and personal leadership.
When the creative leadership energy of individuals is withheld it generally surfaces unconsciously as frustration and disruptive or obstructionist behaviour. Fortunately all organizational challenges and behaviours can be seen as internal feedback mechanisms and then embraced as opportunities for improvement.
When individual creative energy is alive in the organization, breakthroughs in performance begin to happen.
Organizational Breakthrough
Google decided to allow every employee to spend up to twenty percent of their work day on their own projects – the result – that twenty percent produces eighty percent of the Google product line.
The challenges of leadership development can look very different from one organization to another but whatever they look like, building ongoing leadership capacity is essential. Primary areas of focus might be: strategic risk taking, accountability, communication or clarifying of intention. Sometimes the starting point is limiting-beliefs and breakdowns.
I work with senior executives to create a leadership culture throughout the organization. Engagements are co-designed with each client to fit their specific requirements. Beginning with a confidential leadership survey, the work can include one on one coaching as well as team and organization-wide sessions.
I bring 25-years of leadership in project management and team development, large group facilitation experience, a grounded spiritual practice, and a commitment to deliver beyond what is expected.
