Yesterday was the second day of our Leadership Pipeline experience in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a long day of talks similar to TED talks on various aspects of what it means to develop a leadership pipeline. While the focus was explicitly Christian, the principles presented cross the lines of churches, business and other organizations. As one of the presenters said, “Leadership is leadership.” This has been demonstrated to be true by a secular author named Dave Ulrich in his book, Leadership Code. Ulrich contends that up to 70% of leadership is transferable across disciplines.
That mean’s an upper level manager at Target would find that 70% of his tor her leadership skills would transfer to a non-profit or to another business environment. The key is we must develop the 70% in order to have it transfer if we ever move from one environment to another. After all, as John Maxwell has pointed out for decades, no one is born a leader. While the capacity for leadership differs within each of us, we must each develop the skills of leadership in order to be the most effective leader we can be.
While the Pipeline Conference is intended to help organizations develop convictions, cultures, and constructs conducive to developing leaders from across the organization, the emphasis made on developing one’s own leadership skills is crucial. After all, whether we’re the CEO of the company, or a mid-level manager, our leadership will determine much of the success of those who report to us over time. We can facilitate the flow of the pipeline or clog it. While no one would intentionally be a pipeline “clogger,” it takes intentionality to ensure that we are developing as leaders day-by-day, rather than drifting along, or assuming that we have arrived. Leadership is a life-long journey, and while we will become more and more effective as we develop our skills and gain experience, there is always more to learn.
When was the last time you stopped to consider what role you are playing in the development of your organization’s leadership pipeline? If it’s been a while why not take some time right now to think about it. The key question to ask is, “Am I facilitating the flow of the pipeline, or contributing to clogs in it?” Based on how you respond to that question, you’ll know whether you need to continue on your current course or make some intentional corrections. We all need to be challenged to reflect on where we are in our leadership, because the busyness of our lives, can often lead us to by pass such opportunities.
If it’s been a while since you’ve read a leadership book, or listened to a leadership podcast, or attended a leadership conference, why not schedule it on your calendar, because we know that what gets scheduled is the most likely thing to get done, right? We all need to be held accountable for our growth and development, because we can’t always trust our own motivation, or inclinations to move us forward.
Here’s to leading better by examining our own role in developing the flow of our leadership pipelines–today!