Developing The 3-Dimensional Leader

The response to such an ad running in any major newspaper would probably be overwhelming. However, at a time when a chronic shortage of leadership talent is identified by senior executives as one of the top factors contributing to the increasing complexity of business, and is often identified as a major impediment to achieving their growth strategies, few, if any, of the applicants would meet the requirements.

A Leadership Development Crisis

I believe that this leadership crisis is in reality a leadership development crisis. While it’s true that leadership development has become a corporate priority, the development systems of most organizations are outdated and tend to create and reward leaders who are one-dimensional. At a time when the challenges facing leaders and their organizations have never been more complex or daunting, it’s clear that we need fully developed leaders.

The following are what I believe to be the two major factors that have led to this crisis:

First, the traditional methods used to train and educate leaders have not kept pace with the monumental changes taking place in the world. Potential leaders receive essentially the same education as did their predecessors -- education that was appropriate to the demands of a different era. The primary focus in too many universities and corporations is still on how business skills will produce leaders who have strong functional, technical and financial capabilities. When leadership development is provided, it is often treated in separate programs as if it were an isolated issue apart from the business challenges leaders face. And issues dealing with personal effectiveness are still frequently seen as too "touchy feely" and not dealt with at all.

Second, on-the-job experiences and development frequently do not produce the leadership our organizations need. Many argue that 70% of learning takes place on the job but what is it that our leaders are learning? Most develop a narrow functional-technical perspective as a result of spending their entire career in one area. Many are risk-averse due to the severe consequences of making mistakes, which severely inhibits learning. Few have any work experience out of their home country (that’s getting to be a big problem given the global economy and competition). Too many neglect family and friends to meet the demands of the job, and a system that frequently encourages and rewards workaholism.

These experiences historically foster management rather than leadership skills. When they are placed in leadership positions, their style is often traditional and authoritarian, which is demonstrated by their need to over-manage, to be seen as the "expert," to solve all problems, make all decisions, and maintain control. Capable of managing but unfit to lead is a fitting description of these executives.

That the training and job development system produces capable managers is undisputed. But we are now in the midst of a world in which even the best are ineffective unless they can also lead.

Three-Dimensional Leadership: The New Imperative

In place of a system that has tended to produce one-dimensional managers, I propose a more holistic, three-dimensional leadership development framework, a comprehensive process that recognizes that leaders need capabilities that are significantly different from the past.

The three-dimensional framework calls for the development of an individual’s business, leadership, and personal effectiveness skills:

• Business Dimension: Mind-sets and capabilities needed to identify and address critical business challenges
• Leadership Dimension: Fully developed leadership capacity needed to lead the organization confidently into the future
• Personal Dimension: Personal effectiveness skills needed to achieve excellence, balance and ongoing renewal

The three-dimensional framework does not diminish the importance of the business dimension -- the focus of traditional executive development. Instead, it strengthens the leadership and personal dimensions to balance and integrate all three areas. Each is an equally essential element of the leadership equation. It is not enough to be a consummate business expert; an executive must also be an excellent leader, while at the same time possessing exceptional personal effectiveness skills.