What separates good leaders from the inconsequential

What is adaptive leadership?

Adaptive leadership is a unique combination of skills, perspective and guided effort that enables true excellence.

The 5 gaps in leaders' awareness

As seen by direct reports	As seen by peers	As seen by bosses
1. Self awareness 2. Information sharing 3. Social awareness 4. Outcome concern 5. Developing others	1. Self awareness 2. Information sharing 3. Outcome concern 4. Developing others 5. Social awareness	1. Self awareness 2. Information sharing 3. Social awareness 4. Values differences 5. Outcome concern

Pursuit of a higher goal

A good leader has to get people to act without self interest in the pursuit of a higher goal.

People can spot it a mile away when you put your personal goals ahead of organizational goals.

Adversity sharpens a leader

Adversity is the trial by fire that refines leaders and sharpens their game. The best leaders are cool in a crisis.

How to bring out performance

People will not perform until everyone feels that the company is a common unit where everyone has a stake in its success.

Understand your decision process

You need to understand the process by which you make your best decisions and replicate it.

From data to knowledge

Information is data refined through analysis, knowledge is information that has been proven through testing and validation.

Leaders who get people to love their jobs do so by being good stewards of information.

The importance of communication

You cannot be a good leader if you are not a great communicator.

Most leaders overuse jargon and alienate everyone, no one understands them.

The qualities that will get you results

Pride and arrogance are replaced by authenticity and transparency, two qualities that get results every time.

Think for the long term

The worst decisions that leaders make are those that favour the short term vs. the long term.

Push for focus

Everyone wants results, but the leaders who push for focus in their teams get the most results.

Give the right message

When your message fixates on obstacles, challenges and barriers, you give these things power over your people.

Walk the talk

Leaders who don't walk their talk build two negative emotions in people - cynicism and resentment.

Your own emotional state matters

Your emotional state as a leader has a contagious effect on the organization.

Positive emotions need managing too, you should not get carried away in blind success.

Be socially aware

Social awareness is your ability to pick up emotions in other people and what's going on with them.

How to tackle conflict

Conflicts at work tend to fester when leaders avoid them. Good leaders let the conflict play out without taking sides.

Organizational justice leads to motivation

A lack of organizational justice is the monkey on everyone's back in the organization.

When there is organizational justice at work, people feel motivated because they know rewards will be fair.

Fair decisions lead to commitment

Twenty-five years of research shows that decision fairness improves employee job satisfaction and commitment to the company.

Explain the decisions

Withholding the rationale behind a decision is always seen as a negative even if the decision is fair. So, explain the decision and the rationale.

How you deal with power

Abraham Lincoln said "All leaders can face adversity, if you really want to check the character of a man/woman, give him power"

Be a learner

The adaptive leader is a lifelong learner who is constantly looking for ways to improve his or her skills as well as develop new ones.

Knowledge and inspiration drive personal innovation.

Get your team to learn too

Having people set developmental goals and monitoring them is something a good leader will do.