A Contrarian’s Thoughts on Leadership Development

My view of leadership has been honed over a 30-plus years career performing and observing leaders at all levels of management. I began codifying my leadership development vision as a professor at Judson University, in their leading Organizational Leadership program. This experience, along with additional research and personal interviews, formed the foundation for the Elite Leadership Process™ detailed in my first leadership book, Prescribing Leadership in Healthcare in 2017. Since then, I have refined my vision with additional research and interviews for second leadership book, The Path to Elite Level Leadership in 2021. Something that I’ve come to realize and accept is that many of the positions I’ve chosen on leadership are contrary to those of many of my colleagues, namely:

Leadership Impact Assessment Results – Directors

We have already released analysis from our Leadership Impact Assessment (LIA) for the C-Level Executives and Vice Presidents (see all of the results and the LIA background at MeasuringLeadership.com). To reiterate, it’s important to measure the outcomes from leadership training, but most organizations don’t incorporate it for one reason or another. Without any way of measurement, the individual and/or organization can’t empirically know what needs to be improved.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” 
– Peter Drucker

Measuring Leadership: A Case Study

In an ongoing leadership development training program, we conducted 3 cohorts of the Elite Leadership Training (ELT) program at a hospital in Chicago. The second cohort included leaders who reported directly or indirectly to the organization’s C-Level and other top executives to the leaders, who participated in the first cohort. The second cohort was the largest and the one which yielded the most data to analyze, which is the subject of this case study.

The Elite Leadership Matrix

A critical component of our leadership definition is that leaders must “…direct and inspire a team or organization to reach a goal or follow a vision…”. They must be able to provide direction AND inspiration. They have to direct them by defining the goal or articulating the vision as well as inspire them to do whatever is necessary to reach the goal.

Reflecting on 2021 and Preparing for 2022

Each January, I like to reflect on what I accomplished and learned in the last year and how those actions have prepared me for the upcoming year.

Reflecting on 2021

Last year was a very big year for me and my leadership training. I had more than enough work to keep me busy. I also wrote new courses on visualizations and storytelling for a couple of universities. I spoke virtually for several conferences and webinars during the year. The highlight was “Ten [Healthcare] Leadership Lessons from the Hamilton Musical” I presented for AMN Healthcare. It was a topic I had been contemplating for a few months and happy to have a chance to develop and present it. It was well received by their participants and has been presented to other healthcare and non-healthcare organizations throughout the year with great reviews.

Featured Elite Level Leader – Gina London

“Communications is not a soft skill. It’s a critical skill and it’s one you need [as a leader].”
– Gina London, CEO of Language of Leadership
From the Foreword to the book, “The Path to Elite Level Leadership.“

For more insights from Gina and other leaders, order your signed copy here  or unsigned copies on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3wCdXZR.

Learn the program. Be accountable. Improve your leadership!

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Featured Elite Level Leader – Mike Sievert

“As a leader, I have always focused on staying true to myself.”
– Mike Sievert, President & CEO of T-Mobile

From the book, “The Path to Elite Level Leadership.“

For more insights from Mike and other leaders, order your signed copy or unsigned copies on Amazon.

Learn the program. Be accountable. Improve your leadership!