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Are You Guilty of Being a Good Leader? ( Info courtesy John Ryan and Linkedin)

A blog by John Ryan ( had to read). That is why I took the liberty to share the same: 
As I meet with clients throughout the year, I’m often reminded of an important truth: there are many superb leaders around the world who are building enduring organizations.
But you will never hear about most of these outstanding individuals because they are focused on doing their jobs well instead of making a name for themselves.
Their examples keep coming to mind as I read grim news accounts of political crises, companies in peril and opinion polls that show the public has overwhelmingly lost faith in its leaders. Personally, I think there is far more leadership talent out there than people usually acknowledge. But who can blame them for feeling let down?
There’s no question that too many organizations are saddled with “empty-chair leaders,” as Vince Molinaro calls them in his excellent book The Leadership Contract – high-powered executives who have convinced themselves that they are worth following but who have failed to persuade the women and men they think they are leading.
We want to avoid becoming an empty chair ourselves. And a good way to do that is to take thorough stock of our leadership performance today, right now.
Or to put it another way: If you were brought to trial for being a good leader, would the jury have enough evidence to convict you?
I’ve been privileged to serve in leadership positions for 45 years in the military, higher education and nonprofit sectors. I’ve met many fabulous leaders, read hundreds of leadership books and tried hard to reflect on my own experiences and mistakes.
In the end, there are three key things we must do if we truly want to be found guilty of being a good leader:
1. Be accountable: Too often as leaders, we try to obscure our culpability when things go wrong. We might say, “I take responsibility.” But many times we don’t really mean it and start pointing fingers pretty quickly. Or we might acknowledge that “mistakes were made” without accepting our role in them.
During my career in the U.S. Navy, I knew an officer who faced a mistake that was potentially career-ending. During the “mid-watch” from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. one night, this officer was sleeping on the ship he commanded. The highly trained junior officer he’d left in charge was not paying attention to the ship’s planned track, and the ship ran aground. Even though he hadn’t even been awake, the senior officer took full responsibility. It was, after all, his ship and his team that had mishandled it. After a thorough review, the officer was given a second chance – in no small part because his superiors were impressed by his focus on great training for all of his crew and his integrity in taking the blame. He was later promoted to senior roles in the Navy and became a brilliant leader.
2. Make the tough calls: As leaders, the toughest calls we have to make many times involve cutting people loose from the organization. At the same time, talent is the most important asset that organizations have. If you continue to employ under-performers or those who don’t fit the culture, then you will lose the confidence of your high performers.
As a higher education administrator, I oversaw a colleague who just wasn’t getting the job done. I liked him personally and made a serious investment of time and effort to coach him into stronger performance. It didn’t work, and yet I hesitated to remove him, even as his team lost faith in him. Without realizing it, I was trying to be a hero, to save someone who couldn’t be saved. Finally, the university’s faculty senate leaders reminded me of the negative impact this individual was having on all his direct reports. This situation, they said, didn’t require heroic leadership; it required the tough call of firing him. Finally, after understanding the impact this poor leader was having on his large team, I did fire him. In similar situations since then, I’ve still tried to provide leaders with appropriate resources and time to improve. But I now also keep in mind the impact on those they lead and make that hard call much earlier.
3. Put talent first: If you’re someone who says, “Why should I invest in developing people?”, then you are not a leader. You haven’t developed the growth mindset that Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck explores in her outstanding book Mindset. Yes, getting the strategy right is crucially important. But a great strategy doesn’t mean much without people who can execute it – and that’s why committing to the growth of their leadership and functional skills matters so much.
At the Center for Creative Leadership, we’re privileged to partner with Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group on their leadership development needs. As a recent Fortune magazine article explained, identifying, training and utilizing talent is a top priority for the company. Not surprisingly, it has become a magnet for gifted and innovative leaders who are helping accelerate Mahindra’s growth. This virtuous cycle can only begin with the recognition that well-developed and empowered talent is the ultimate competitive edge.
If you are adept at all three of these three key skills, congratulations! You are, beyond any doubt, guilty as charged of effective leadership. If you’re not there yet, keep working. Eventually, the evidence will be there to convict you, too.

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