Finn Havaleschka
Focused Leadership Inside the Inner Game of Leadership
Focused Leadership
© Finn Havaleschka. The models and methods contained in this publication are copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced without the prior written permission of the author.
Illustrations: Garuda Research Institute Drawings: Morten Ingemann Printer: Børge Møllers Grafiske Hus Front page photo: UpperCut Images 1st edition, 1st impression, December 2007 ISBN 978-87-983165-8-9 (EAN 9788798316589) Published by: Garuda Forlag Voldbjergvej 16A 8240 Risskov Denmark +45 8746 8600 E-mail: finn@garudahr.com www.garudahr.com www.mental-scorecard.com
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Preface This book is an abbreviated version of the book titled The Leader’s Mental Scorecard, which was published in 2005. The purpose of this version is to present the ideas and methods from the original version in such a fashion that the book may be used as an independent, quick and accessible tool to achieve better leadership skills. The original version holds a number of exercises that can help the reader develop his or her leadership abilities and learn about his or her stronger and weaker sides as leader. I have not made room for the exercises in this book however I am convinced that the test, models, illustrations and stories are sufficient to give the interested reader a push in the right direction.
Enjoy!
Finn Havaleschka Risskov, December 2007
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Table of Contents Preface Introduction………………………………………………………………………..….…5 A Short Story about 4 Different Approaches to Leadership, Illustrations……….…6 - A look into the Baser person’s world, 7 - A look into the Results person’s world, 11 - A look into the Integrator person’s world, 15 - A look into the Developer person’s world, 19 The Focus Mode………………………………………………….……………………..23 - The Baser Leader, 26 - The Results Leader, 31 - The Integrator Leader, 36 - The Developer Leader, 41 The Mental Method……………..………………………………………..…………….46 Focused Leadership…………………………………………………………………….48 Organizational changes ………………………………………………………………..51 Take the test…………………………………………………………………………….54 List of Literature…….…………………………………………………………………58
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Introduction One of man’s favorite occupations is trying to change other people. If only he or she would act in a certain way, or didn’t do this or that, then we would all be so much happier! When others live up to our expectations we feel safe and happy. When they don’t we do what ever we can to get them to live up to our expectations. We tempt or threaten with rewards or punishment, with pedagogical cleverness or raw force. But how often do we succeed and if so, with a happy outcome for both parties? No one is born into this world to live up to your expectations – not even your children! If others live up to your expectations it is not because you want them to, it is because they have chosen to do so. The choice is theirs, not yours. The Danish Philosopher Kierkegaard once said “If I am to succeed in leading a person towards a certain goal, then I must first find my way to the place where this person is, and start right there.” And also “You have to dare to lose your foothold to move forward.” This holds true in all our relationships, whether is with our spouses, our children or for that matter anyone else we come in contact with, and particularly in leadership. A leader needs to meet his subordinates where they are! But how well do you know your subordinates and their needs? What makes them happy, content, involved, productive and creative? And how good are you at meeting them there where they are? That is what leadership is about! If you want to promote development and fully utilize the potential in your organization, then reflection and change should begin with you and end with having the courage to lose your foothold and move to where your subordinates are. Practicing good leadership demands a good knowledge of human nature and, perhaps just as important, good knowledge of who you are. When are you at ease with yourself? When are you not at ease with yourself? What are you good at and what gives you stress and even sometimes make you act less than your best – shouting, yelling, giving orders or crying, or perhaps giving up, withdrawing, becoming sarcastic or silent? This you should know before you can begin learning to practice good leadership. In other words, know your self, then find out where your subordinates are and start there. In the following pages, I will introduce a few illustrations of different types of leaders, what makes them happy and productive and what stresses them, and how they tend to try and solve the situations in which things do not go as planned, hoped or expected. But before you start reading go to page 49 and take the little leadership test and draw your own Leadership Profile. You just might learn some useful things about yourself. Then, please welcome Burt, Robert, Ian and Dean.
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A Story about Four Different Approaches to Leadership Starring
Ian
Dean
The social, considerate and always comforting integrator Leader.
The inventive, creative and always optimistic Developer Leader.
Burt
Robert
The quiet, self controlled and always prepared Baser Leader.
The speedy, goal oriented and always competing Result Leader.
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A look into Burt’s world
Leadership is about having everything under control, avoiding risk and guarding against the unexpected.
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A word of advice! Always put things in their place and don’t take any chances!
If only everybody did like me, then we would always be on the safe side.
When a Baser leader feels he is in control of life, he is in harmony with himself. This state of feeling happy brings with it the sense that things are in order; the future has been planned and is predictable; you know what you have and give everyone their due. You draw up budgets for the forward-moving process of life, and are reluctant to make decisions whose consequences you cannot predict. You safeguard yourself against unhappiness by guarding against the unexpected.
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Who tampered with my stuff??
Oh man, I had just made sure everything was in order. You always have to do things yourself! We need some more rules!
When things don’t go the way you intended and life’s unpredictability upsets your plans, you become stressed and feverish. Feelings of happiness disappear, and questions arise: “Who is to blame? Did I calculate wrong? Is there a detail, a rule I overlooked or something I forgot to check?”
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This is how we guard ourselves against mistakes in the future!
They won’t deceive me again!
Losing happiness, predictability and security in life is one of the worst things that can happen. So you have to protect yourself against it. The way you do that is by establishing stronger boundaries, more security, more checking of things, more rules, and more thorough and detailed planning.
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A look into Robert’s world
Leadership is about creating results, avoiding losing and having the courage to take a chance.
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It is all about making a goal oriented effort and never giving up!
Excellent! This is the life!
For Results leaders, happiness is being with those that are ahead of the pack. You feel best when there’s something at stake. In that state, you are in a restless repose. You are only yourself when you are in motion. You set goals: high goals, specific goals. You motivate, radiate enthusiasm and love competition – the game. It’s about the right to make fun of the loser. You push, find smart methods, are happy to take chances and cut corners. You guard yourself against unhappiness by putting more into it than others do.
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Come on people ...or else we won't make it!
If only I could fire the whole bunch of them!
When things don’t go the way you promised and planned, when your ambitions have to be curbed, and other people won’t play along with you any more or won’t put their heart in it, you are disappointed, angry and perhaps a bit aggressive. Your feeling of happiness disappears. “We were so close! We made one little mistake, maybe, but if you’d just given it an extra push, we would have done it – we would have reached our goal!”
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Ok, take it easy. I‘ll lead and show the way. Softies!
The prospect of losing the right to make fun of the loser, to see the chance of victory and great results slipping through your fingers, is a disappointing and sometimes painful experience. The drive to reclaim your happiness and overcome obstacles stems from thinking about the game, the praise, the attention, the excitement and the adrenalin kick. The way to get there is to go that extra mile, be committed and take a chance. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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A look into Ian’s world
Leadership is about communication, understanding and avoiding disagreement and conflicts
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...and in this way I really believe we can achieve some results! What do you guys think about that?
If we just stick together and listen to each other‌
For Integrator leaders, happiness is helping create a fellowship of like-minded people who stick together, have a nice time, and try to predict and live up to other people’s expectations as best they can. They listen to each other, show consideration towards one another, play down conflicts and conflicts of interest, and try to get everyone to pull in the same direction. These leaders are comfortable in the role of coach, mentor and person everyone else rallies around. They safeguard themselves against unhappiness by avoiding conflict and make unpleasant decisions together.
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I'm sorry; I was just looking out for everybody! They don’t like me! It’s probably my own fault.
When things don’t go as you had hoped, when results fail to materialize, and the group’s feeling of fellowship and solidarity disappear, you end up feeling lonely. Others begin to go their own way, find reasons and scapegoats to blame the failure on. “It’s hopeless; we lack leadership,” they think, but they don’t say it aloud.
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We need to find a way to learn to understand each other better!
If I could just get them to see my good intentions.
When the sense of fellowship disappears, and dialog is replaced by criticism and barriers, the feeling of acceptance disappears as well. When that happens, you feel pain, and you aren’t yourself any more. You suggest compromises, yield, try to live up to the expectations of others, delegate responsibility and set aside your right and duty to lead. “We simply have to learn to understand each other better; then everything will be good again.�
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A look into Dean’s world
Leadership is about looking forward, creating opportunities and eliminating outdated structures and rules.
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Now let me explain. The conceptual connection is truly revolutionary. Listen up....
Amazing – it is really coming together now!
For Development leaders, happiness is creating, seeing new opportunities, making changes, envisioning the road ahead and showing others the way. The worst things are limitations, a lack of vision, reactionaries, pessimism and conservative inertia. What drives them is the butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling of happiness they get when they get an idea and tell everyone about the fantastic opportunities – opportunities that no one else spotted. Things are just waiting to be realized. You create the future. Anything is possible. Being forward-looking is the best way to safeguard yourself against unhappiness.
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Why the heck doesn’t it work? You know… sometimes technology is like that!
When ideas go up in smoke, and pragmatic critics and the ruthless reality of what can and cannot be done in practice reduce visions to castles in the air, then you have to reluctantly admit that the time was not right for others to recognize your genius. They didn’t understand you because you didn’t communicate well enough – you didn’t go into enough detail – and because many people prefer to hold onto what they know and stick with the safe choice. You feel pressured, and the approval and appreciation disappears along with the butterflies. But all is not lost: there must be a way, something you missed.
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Sorry, I realize that I overlooked some minor details! That’s how we’ll do it!
Whew... now that is taken care of!
The way back to happiness is creativity and taking the broad outlook, combined with the willingness to change and reject outdated concepts, rules and limitations. You should and must get other people to see the world in its own light. It is all about promoting and communicating your new insight. We are no longer looking for a “missing link” for there is no link. If you want to be a leader, you must be ready to make that quantum leap without being fussy about unimportant details.
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The Focus Model The illustrations showed under which circumstances the different leader types are at ease with themselves and their surroundings, then the situations that push the leader out of balance and into crisis and finally how the different types of leaders typically try to solve the crisis and regain balance. In this manner the illustrations show an important point. When a person for some reason is put in a situation where he or she feels under pressure because things are not going as planned or predicted, they will often try to solve the crisis with the same type of behavior as that which created the crisis in the first place. For example if our personality is the kind that prefers planning, order and control then under pressure we will tend to try to reduce the pressure with even more order, planning and control. Or if our personality is the type that goes for quick results and is willing to make risky decisions we will try to solve our crisis by speeding up, going faster and taking even more chances. In this way we are actually confirming Einstein’s definition of insanity; True insanity is…… using the same behavior and expecting different results. Basically, we can say that our behavior, what we are focusing on and what we find important, is a consequence of our personality. At the same time it is generally true that we seek to optimize our feeling of happiness, satisfaction and pleasure and at the same time seek to minimize any feeling of discomfort. We can use the words pleasure and pain. We seek to optimize our sense of pleasure and to minimize our sense of pain. How much we emphasize one or the other and how we seek to gain some sort of balance between the two, is dependant on our personality. INSEAD Professor Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, a psychoanalyst and executive coach, says, "People cannot change their personality, but they can change their behavior."1 My own experience has been the same as that of Professor Kets de Vries. Personality seems to be a very constant element with respect to the actual behavior it engenders, the needs people try to satisfy, and the values people strive to realize in their actual behavior. To change a person from being basically security-oriented to basically risk-taking, from driving in the slow lane to driving in the fast lane, or from being a controlling leader to being a leader who delegates, is according to Vries an almost impossible task. However, I do believe that we can learn to be better at adapting our behavior to the situation so that we become, for example, less controlling and more delegating in certain situations, or the other way around, for shorter periods of time. Your consciousness is like a spotlight shining onto a landscape: a sharply delineated cone of light resting for moments at a time on different situations, events, words and thought sequences. Often you don’t actually become fully aware of a situation in any kind of detail before the spotlight moves on, throwing its light onto a different part of the landscape. The spotlight is constantly moving, erratically and at changing speeds, as if it has a life of its own. Your consciousness does not always have time to focus, to note the details. In these 1
Danish periodical Ledelse I Dag ("Leadership Today") 57, 2004), 26-30.
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situations, we act in a state of lack of awareness. It's our personality that controls it; we leave it to habit, routine or instinct to determine what we do and how we react. It's a bit like driving in a car. We just drive. We don't think about how it works, and only if something unusual happens do we notice it at all. Our reactions and routines are already coded in. In most cases, we are not the ones controlling where the spotlight goes. I contend that when we act as leaders, we often do so in a mental state of absence of awareness, a state that is the biggest obstacle to your ability to develop your leadership competencies. Being conscious of what you are focusing on is thus also where the foundation for developing yourself as a leader lies. In the following, I will introduce to you a model that can help you become familiar with and recognize what it is the spotlight is shining on so that you can consciously decide to either stop the spotlight to take a closer look at something or to move the spotlight so that it shines onto other areas where you can seek other solutions. I believe that if the spotlight (your awareness) shines on something that you have never seen before or have only met in passing, then your chances of recognizing it are quite small, which means, on the basis of such fleeting recognition, that you won't be able to make conscious choices, either. In other cases, you can definitely recognize the situation, such as if the person before you feels hurt. Intuitively, there are little flashes of awareness that tell you why, and you get a sense of how it feels as well, but you feel and register this only a fleeting moment because the spotlight, your awareness, has already moved on to something else, a place that is about something completely different. Maybe this is because a little voice inside you says, "Forget it. Move the spotlight. I can't do anything about it anyway." In other words, because there is an absence of awareness on your part, you suppress your observation and your feelings, and (perhaps) also cut yourself off from courses of action that are more appropriate than your usual ones. What will make you stop and consciously find and analyze the alternatives to your usual behavioral choices, the ones that your personality determines, is the Focus Model. I divide leadership, leadership behavior and leadership situations up into four areas: One area for Baser leadership2, one for Results leadership, one for Integrator leadership, and one for Development leadership (see Figure 1). These 4 different types of leadership qualities or roles and tasks are to some extent contradictory. In other words, the further out on the axis your score is in one of the personality traits, the more you have said no to the traits on the opposite end. If your temper is towards Development leadership (see keywords) then it will be against your nature to seek towards the keywords in the Grey area and practice Baser leadership. In other words, if it gives you sense of comfort and pleasure to be able to experiment and test boundaries then you will be likely to shy away from situations that demand you stay within certain frames and follow known conventional models. This will make you feel restricted and cause you to feel discomfort. And vice versa if your temper is towards Baser leadership you will seek towards control and predictability and away from the experimental and boundary-crossing.
2
. Baser is a self-made term. The idea is to make you think of something basic, the basement, the foundation, all of which have to be in place in order to operate and develop an organisation.
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Figure 1. Model for Focused Leadership.
This basic rule of human nature will often have an effect on your success as leader. Often we will try to make others do what we ourselves would have done and fail to understand their resistance to follow. Herein lies an important point. In order to lead others you must meet them where they are – where they are in balance between pain and pleasure, in the area where they feel happy and content – and not where you do. Let me shed some light on this predicament by taking a closer look at these 4 individual leaders who I have introduced you to in the illustrations. The idea here is to familiarize yourself with each type and especially the one you can most identify with. With this recognition, you can become more aware of the alternatives to your normal behavior, alternatives that may be difficult to spot, and especially difficult to practice, in your daily leadership. Let us begin with Burt.
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The Baser Leader
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Figure 2. The Baser field and the Baser Leader’s focus In this quadrant, the focus is on order, systematism, limits, structures, security, details, and creating predictability by making and following plans, organizing, calculating and controlling. Baser leadership is about all of the basics that have to be agreed on and in place when you want people to work together towards a shared goal. At the same time, it's obvious that there are some people, both leaders and subordinates, who have a far greater focus on this type of task and a far greater talent for doing this kind of work than others, and they have this by virtue of their personality, temperament, preferences, or motivation – their balance between gaining pleasure and avoiding pain. Burt is a typical Baser leader. Look at his profile in Figure 3. In reality he has a different name; however we have been given permission to use his profile here for educational purposes. We will call him Burt. As a leader he focuses on, and is good at, solving tasks that require structure and planning. Figure 3. Burt’s Leader Profile The further the profile points into a corner, the more this leader focuses on this type of tasks and leadership that is described by the keywords in that focus area. The keywords express the factors, values and attitudes that the leader is focusing on.
Besides focusing on Baser leadership, Burt also has some of his focus on Results leadership meaning that he is also goal oriented, energetic and direct in his approach to leadership. Combined, these create a type of leadership that connects direction, order and control with a goal oriented, energetic and result seeking behavior. Therefore we can safely say that the
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main ingredients in this type of leadership are discipline and results. This can also be seen from what he does not focus on. See figure 4. Figure 4. What Burt does not focus on. These keywords express the factors, values and attitudes that the leader is not focusing on.
The profile and keywords in figure 4 show that Burt does not have his focus on Integration and Development in his daily leadership. In his “absence of consciousness” he does not focus on qualities such as fellowship and understanding or on activities that require changes and taking chances. Burt finds most pleasure and satisfaction in situations where he is in control of things and can quickly see the results of his efforts. The softer qualities of leadership such as creating understanding, being supportive, making changes and testing the unknown, where he cannot analyze or predict the outcome, are all connected to pain, insecurity or discomfort. If you have similar tendencies then take a good look at the keywords in the blue and green area in figure 1 on page 24. Try to imagine the benefits you could achieve by mentally going up to the blue field and becoming more aware of people around you and letting them know that you actually are interested in understanding them, in creating more fellowship – even if it is only once a day you try this. Or that you are willing to delegate responsibility? If this is the case, then make your beam of light shine on the keywords in the model so that you mentally recognize the behavior when you need it. Just as Burt is about to learn, it is important to learn to point and shine the spotlight up in the blue and green areas because – as mentioned before – the more you focus on one thing the less energy, room and focus you will have on other things. In this manner you can say that our strength is also our weakness, a strength that turns into a weakness especially when we feel ourselves under pressure.
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The Baser under pressure From thorough and systematic to limited and controlling When under pressure, this systematic, analyzing and organized person will reach a point where his strength turns into his weakness, because his usual approach to tasks and people blocks his ability to find alternative solutions.
When the need for security becomes too great
If we know a person’s pain-pleasure balance, we can make a likely presumption of how he will react under pressure. In the software program that maps the leader’s profile, I have included a model that graphically illustrates what the leader most likely will focus on, and therefore his reaction pattern, when things do not turn out as hoped or expected. The basic rule is that when under pressure we will seek to the corner where we usually feel secure and away from the corner where we feel insecure. Experience has shown that the behavior predicted by the model is very accurate to real life. See Burt’s reaction when under pressure
in figure 5. Figure 5. Burt’s reaction under pressure. (The bold profile)
The profile outlined in bold shows that Burt’s reaction pattern when he feels pressured is that he attempts to gain even more control and create more pressure for achieving results.
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Why does this happen? Why does he not consider solving his crisis and/or finding the reason for this in the two other fields – the Integrator and Development field? Having this great overview, he could ask himself if the reason for the pressure – the cause of the crisis – could stem from his subordinates not being motivated, that they do not feel included, involved or well enough informed. Had he had this great overview he could have gone up into the Integrator field and asked some relevant questions about what brought about the pressure, and thereby found solutions other than those he would usually choose. Or he could have gone up into the green area and asked himself if the crisis – the lack of motivation – could be because his subordinates felt too restricted by rules and orders, and did not feel they had enough freedom to come up with their own ideas or make independent decisions? When he does not see these two alternatives, it is of course because, under usual circumstances, he does not have his focus on these areas, as they represent more discomfort than comfort to him. As a consequence, he will then try to solve the crisis with the same means and insufficiencies that created the crisis in the first place, but now in even stronger doses. The idea of this illustration is of course to help you avoid making the same mistake. We need to get to know our reaction patterns and learn to shine the beam of light on the alternatives. Let me add to the depiction of Burt the fact that he is a very pleasant and positive person to work with. He has a good sense of humor and does not hold back when it is fun and games. In addition, his things are always in order and he always delivers what he has promised on time. He just can not live with, or see the possibilities in, taking a calculated risk and he certainly does not understand why people do not just follow the rules and do what they are supposed to. Why all the talk and discussion? It is very important to stress that no one single leader profile in itself is the ideal one. Naturally there are more or less ideal connections between a leader’s natural focus and the role he has to other people. But to begin with, it is not the profile that makes a good leader; it is the leader’s ability to shift his focus on to what is important in any given situation, as well as for the subordinate. Using the model and the mental method, which we shall return to, Burt is learning. And now on to the Results leader Robert.
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The Results Leader
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Figure 6. The Results field and the Results Leader’s focus For the Results leader it is all about achieving actual results. People with their spotlight shining on this area put pressure on others, push, take chances, exploit the situation of the moment, are impatient, get straight to the point and sometimes go over the line. They work in the short term, with the attitude that things have to be done right now.
To illustrate a true Results leader let me show you Robert’s profile, figure 7. Robert mostly focuses instinctively on tasks that require action here and now and where the results can be seen immediately. He will typically focus on tasks in which ideas, concepts need to be sold or completed right here and now. To him self-realization lies in achieving the greatest possible output, in competing and achieving better results and recognition. Figure 7. Robert’s Leader Profile
Looking at the profile you will notice that Robert has no focus on Integrator leadership. On the other hand, he has a certain degree of focus on Development leadership, meaning on making changes, taking initiative and being creative. A look at figure 8 will show what Robert chooses not to focus on.
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Figure 8. The focus areas Robert rejects
It can be clearly seen that he does not attach much importance to the social aspects of leadership. Encouragement, understanding, mediation, helping and being considerate towards others are not a part of his mental consciousness. Not that he does not do it. He does, in fact. This is mostly, however, when thing are going well and he is at ease with himself. So, I’m not saying that Robert isn’t social, he just does not feel that being social is part of what creates results. He does not understand that others’ social needs can require attention, even when you’re in the middle of competition. When thing get off track he fails to focus on what most efficiently will get things back on track – motivation, involvement, communication, listening and encouragement. In real life it is true that sometimes Robert only focuses on getting results and not so much on how it's done. With this lack of a focus on following certain ground rules – and especially a lack of focus on gaining his coworkers’ acceptance and understanding of goals, means and methods – he makes things more difficult for himself (and his coworkers) than they have to be. So in his case, mental training would consist of teaching him to employ Gray and/or Blue leadership, depending on the situation. If you can identify with this description, then take a look at the keywords in the gray and blue areas in figure 1 on page 24. If you picture mentally letting your spotlight shine on these keywords and then try to practice this type of leadership, you may – to your own surprise – find that it is the easiest way to achieve what you want – results! In order to learn this Robert has cut out the keywords in the blue corner of the model and put them in a small plastic folder that he carries in his pocket to remind him to focus on Integrator leadership. We will look at what else he will be working on in the Mental Method section. Making this shift of focus is of course easiest when things are going well and as they should. In these situations it is much easier to be social and take part in appreciating everyFocused Leadership.
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one’s success. However when success fails to appear we feel under pressure and the pleasure disappears because everything becomes more difficult. In the following section, we will have a look at what usually happens when this type of leader comes under pressure. The Result leader solving problems under pressure From Persistent and Inspiring to Stubborn and Controlling The Results leader is the persistent, strongwilled, direct and impatient type who often achieves his results based on these very same traits. When he doesn’t, it is usually due to the same traits blocking him from alternatives and creating resistance from his surroundings. It is in this manner that his strength becomes his weakness.
When the willingness to take risks becomes too great
If you take a look at Robert’s profile under pressure, in figure 9, you will see a behavior pattern that surely excludes empathetic reactions, such as listening, being patient and attentive towards how others may perceive his reactions and arguments. Notice how the profile under pressure almost disappears from the blue corner and exceeds the boundaries in the red corner.
Figure 9. The reaction pattern of Robert when under pressure (The bold profile)
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You probably recognize this pattern: if not from yourself, then from other people. When they are under pressure, people with this kind of profile reach a point where they stop trying to listen, understand or find alternative points of view. They repeat, in a kind of variation on a theme, the same reasoning again and again, in a louder and louder voice. They shout a little more loudly and run a little faster in an attempt to get somewhere, but this behavior doesn’t solve their problem; instead they dig themselves deeper into it. If you recognize this pattern in yourself, then the next time it happens, try to move up into the Blue corner. It is difficult at first, but you can learn to do it. Where the Baser leader under pressure will tend to push people inwards and limit there possibilities, the Results leader such as Robert, will tend to push people outwards beyond their limits. Pushing people beyond their limits rarely works as intended, in fact in most case it will have the opposite effect and the reaction will be negative, passive and destructive.
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The Integrator Leader
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Figure 10. The Integrator field and the Integrator Leader’s focus The focus here is on interaction between people; avoiding conflicts, creating consensus, getting others to go along and to understand. The Integrator leader focuses on other people’s needs and expectations. The need for harmony, understanding, acceptance, love and trust combined with different interests, different values, different goals, different personalities and different temperaments make Integrator leadership and Integrator activities a permanent and essential part of everyday life. Ian, the leader behind the next profile tries to create unity; he works deliberately to avoid discord and conflicts, and he tries to get his coworkers to help each other and stand together. Because he has this personality, it is natural for him to be aware of other people's moods, motivation, feelings and needs. He is the kind of caring and motivating leader that tries to get people to work together. See profile in figure 11. From the key words in the blue area in Figure 11, we can see that Ian attaches importance to unity, togetherness, values, encouragement, fellowship, understanding and patience, among other things. At the same time, the profile reveals a certain emphasis on Development leadership: change, challenges, delegation, creative solutions, etc. In general this is an accurate picture of Ian. He is a very pleasant person to be around, creative, open Figure 11. Ian’s Leader Profile
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and social. It is not only what he focuses on that makes Ian the person he is, but just as much what he does not focus on. From the next figure (12) it appears that he has less focus on Baser and Results leadership. It does not come naturally to him to focus on details, maintain a certain discipline or give out orders. Also it appears from the Results area that this is not the type of leader who takes chances or sets up high goals for himself or his subordinates. Figure 12. The focus areas Ian rejects.
This profile and the choices behind it indicate that Ian is a person who needs to train himself, mentally and in practice, to see more nuances in the various situations that he naturally finds himself in, as a result of his leadership duties. Leadership without demands for accountability and results, along with a certain degree of centralization, is hardly ever the most appropriate choice. If you can identify with Ian, even just a little bit, then take a look at the keywords in the gray and red areas on page 24. Perhaps it would make it a lot easier, if you focused more on setting up specific goals and giving precise orders about what you expect and demand. Does this sound strange? Perhaps it does, but there are many people who prefer this kind of leadership. And you need to learn to meet your subordinates where they are and not stand there in your own corner and expect them to be happy and productive where you are! It is also clear that when things are not going well, there is even greater need to change focus and behavior.
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The Integrator leader solving problems under pressure From Attentive and Involved to Conflict-Shy and Passive Ian is the kind of person who seeks harmony and understanding. But even with this focus we may reach a point where the motivating force becomes a weakness, when we do not make any demands, refrain from saying what we really mean or make too many compromises.
When goodness and obligingness becomes too much
In all areas of life there are situations where we need to back off. As a leader you sometimes have to be willing to go against the flow, not just to be contrary, but to set a different direction. If you aren't, you risk things falling apart.
You can see Ian’s profile under pressure in figure 13. A person with the strong Integrator focus stands without doubt strongest when things are going his way. When the wind is at your back, it is easy to satisfy other people and be friends with everyone, but what happens when the wind changes direction and you have to make less pleasant decisions? The profile illustrates Ian’s “normal" reaction pattern pretty clearly. Figure 13. Ian’s reaction pattern when under pressure (The bold profile)
The profile clearly shows that he tends to let go of the reins, attaching even less importance to discipline and having people remain within the given framework and rules; he moves away from Gray and Red leadership in order to strengthen his mediating, accommodating and understanding behavior. He does not insist or take command, and this reduces the
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chances of solving the problem. Fortunately for Ian, he is now well on his way towards changing this behavior. Just becoming conscious of his alternatives, was enough for him to begin practicing more Baser and Results leadership. Before, he didn’t see the need, but now that he shines the spotlight on the two other fields he can see that there sometimes is a need for it. The keywords in the red and gray areas hold the solution to his problem. If this is something you recognize too, then remember these keywords so that you have these in your consciousness and are ready to use them when (not if) the need occurs.
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The Development Leader
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Figure 14. The Development field and the Development Leader’s focus The Development leader is busy thinking up and formulating concepts, values, visions, as well as new products and smarter ways to do things. As is the case with the other three areas, this field can be seen from a task-oriented or a personalityoriented point of view. Working with the development of concepts, ideas, and visions, and working on tasks that require creativity, insight and overview, is the foundation of the development in every organizational location and hierarchical level If you have a Development focus then you probably recognize that you are good at spending time on the strategic and visionary tasks that move the organization forward. That might be inventing and implementing new administrative routines, new products, concepts or new ways to produce and sell. And this is exactly what the leader behind the next profile does, see figure 15. This guy is Dean, of course in reality his name is something else. Figure 15. Dean’s Leader Profile
From the key words in the Development field, we can see that Dean attaches importance to being ahead of the pack when it comes to creating change. He focuses on challenges, opportunities, finding creative solutions and vision. At the same time, he has a certain degree of focus on Red leadership; things must be carried out, demands made and good performance rewarded.
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Dean is quite an interesting person to be around. He is inspiring, clear and direct which has a consequence for his focus on Integrator leadership and especially Baser leadership, as we can see from Figure 16. Figure 16. What Dean chooses not to focus on
As you can see Dean has practically no focus on Baser and Integrator leadership. When we see a leader who only focuses on green and partly red leadership we are usually looking at a leader who is way ahead of his subordinates and the organization. This is also the case with Dean. While inspiring and creative, he is almost impossible to cooperate with, because he never keeps his appointments, he exceeds budgets and he breaks established procedures. In any case, this is the perception many of his colleagues and subordinates have of him. If you have any spark of this kind of leader in you it would be a good idea to let your spotlight shine its light on the keywords in the gray and blue areas of the model. Perhaps some of your projects have become less successful due to the simple reason that you failed to create an understanding of your visions and that you may have missed some details while skipping across rules that are sacred to others, but of less importance to you. And perhaps this even happened in situations where you felt most under pressure. This is usually what happens when Dean feels under pressure.
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The Development leader solving problems under pressure From Creativity and Vision to Fantasies and Chaos For the creative person like Dean, who thrives on complexity and chaos it also applies that these qualities may also, sooner or later, turn into a weakness due to a lack of structure, order, practical substance and pragmatism. Thus the strong side of Development leaders is also their weak side.
When visions and ideas become pipe dreams
As can be seen in Figure 17, Dean becomes more Green and more Red when he is under pressure because things aren't going the way they should. He experiments more, tries out more creative ideas and wants more freedom. That it might be a lack of discipline or attention to detail and a more or less disorganized, unsystematic way of working that is the root cause of the crisis is not something that occurs to the Green leader at all. As a result, neither does it occur to him that the opposite of this kind of approach to the problem might just be the solution. Figure 17. Dean’s reaction pattern when under pressure (the bold profile)
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If you recognize yourself – even just a little bit – in this description, then you have good reason to take a long look at the keywords in the gray and blue areas of the model. For example think about the keyword Involve. How can you better involve your subordinates? Should you have more meetings? Do you need to speak more with people? Walk about and let them know you are present? Encourage people to come up with ideas and suggestions? Explain yourself in more detail? These were some of the questions that Dean wrote down and has since tried to integrate into his mental world. He is already well on his way to the next step which is to realize and put into practice that behavior. He doesn’t have to do it all the time or even everyday, but when the situation requires it. With these questions we have reached “The Mental Method” a simple method of making you focus on what is important in any particular situation and meet your subordinates where they are. This method is not meant to change your personality, but to help assist you – as it has helped Dean and his colleagues change focus and behavior, when it is most important.
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The Mental Method The mental method has its starting point in the fact that what you haven’t already imagined in your own inner universe, you will have difficulty putting it into practice. Mental training is about programming an action before it is expressed. The way to program an action is to see it in your mind on your inner television screen; hearing, feeling, sensing, saying or expressing what you want the outcome to be before it happens. For example, in the Integrator field you will find, among others, the keyword Fellowship. If blue leadership is not where your natural focus lies, then you can use this word. When you think of your subordinates and yourself, what does the ideal fellowship look like? What pictures create the word fellowship on your inner television screen? How does it sound? Can you put it into words? How do you speak to each other? How does it feel? What is the ideal outcome? There are 13 other keywords in the blue area. If you need to focus more on blue leadership, then you should pick some of them and go through the visualizing process. The more you sense and picture a certain behavior, the more positive words, feelings and sounds you can associate with the chosen keyword, the easier it will be for you to carry out this kind of behavior in reality – as well as to recognize when there is a need to do so. The same applies to the keywords in the other areas. If you have a need to focus more on gray leadership, then you should find a relevant keyword in the Baser field. For example the keyword Order. Try to visualize the ideal degree of order. What needs to be more in order? What does the way to better Order look like? Can you express this in your own inner sounds, words and sentences? Can you attach this visualization to a positive feeling? Can you feel the effects of what you are picturing, seeing or hearing – are you becoming more at ease? Again, the more you sense and picture the desired behavior and the more positive words, feelings and sounds you can associate with the term and the more you can visualize what you want to achieve and how you want to do it – on your inner television screen – the easier it will be for you to carry out that behavior in real life. There is a basic mental rule which athletes’ use that also applies to you. If you can not picture yourself as the winner beforehand, if you haven’t created any mental images of the process that leads you to victory, sensed the feeling of winning – physically and by associating victory with words, such as those that express tribute and joy, then the likelihood of you winning is pretty small. In other words, find the keywords in the field that you focus on the least and try to practice this method of mental programming, so that you can consciously shine your spotlight on the area that will best help you capitalize on your own, as well as your subordinates’, resources in the given situation.
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Think, see, hear, and feel the process within yourself and your own inner universe. Use the appropriate keywords from the appropriate corner to help get you started. What do you want to accomplish? How do you want to accomplish it? What does the process look like? What do you think, see, hear and feel?
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Focused Leadership As you can see from the model and the profiles we have gone through, the 4 different focus areas overlap each other. While we can set up things somewhat categorically, they are rarely so categorical in real life. The same holds true when it comes to the personality types. Depending on our personality, we shift our focus from one area to another during the day. However it applies to us all that: Where we feel safest and most secure is where we want to stay. This also means that we may have difficulty meeting others where they are, in the corner where they feel most secure and experience the highest degree of self-realization. However to stay in your own corner is rarely productive or wise. The result oriented leader will always feel most secure in the red area and will therefore have some difficulty mentally picturing himself practicing leadership from one of the other areas. Of course the same applies to the other types as well. For most of us our leadership style is so deeply rooted in our personality that we do not see or give thought to other alternatives in our daily lives. We are not unaware of other possibilities; the thoughts just never seem to surface in consciousness. We are displaying “absence of awareness”. Without even thinking about it we have becomes enslaved by our personalities. The first step on the path to freeing yourself of this self-inflicted slavery is to get to know yourself, in other words familiarize yourself with your normal style and the alternatives that you avoid, because you have some kind of aversion to them or because you simply do not think of them. This may seem tough, because of what usually happens when we feel under pressure. Do we then have the resources and the mental energy to think of other alternative strategies? Most often the answer to this is NO! For the most part we “just” enhance our regular behavior. In other words, more control, more pressure or more caring or more creativity. When things are going well and we are achieving our goals, we feel good and have a sense of inner harmony. In these situations we are often working on tasks, and under conditions and circumstances, which suit our personalities, our priorities and our ways of approaching and solving problems. However when our approach to tasks and problems is no longer sufficient, we face potential crisis. If and how we solve this crisis will depend on our ability to change strategy. Most often, if not always, we will not be able to solve a crisis situation with the same means that created it in the first place. In conclusion we need to learn to recognize the weakness in our strength, and the strength in our weakness, before we can learn to use the potential of our personality. One could say that we need to learn to put ourselves in the middle of the model and from there assess what type of leadership would be best in the given situation. In principle one could say that we
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need to learn to neutralize our habits, move to the middle and from there move on to the best type of leadership for the situation. The philosophy is illustrated in figure 18. Figure 18. Place yourself in the middle and see the needs of the situation – and not your own
The Head-Heart-Leg Model ™: The Head illustrates how a person solves problems. The Heart characterizes the social relations a person establishes to other people. The Legs illustrate how a person implements these solutions. Or described another way, with our head we get the ideas, with our hearts we sell our ideas and with our legs we carry out these ideas. This model is the basis for all of the tests and models I have developed since I founded Garuda in 1982.
Having said this, it must be added that we can not always satisfy the needs of our subordinates. You should meet them where they are but not necessarily satisfy their needs – if the situation precludes it. Things change and organizations develop, so there will always be people in the organization who do not get their needs meet for shorter or longer periods of time. In such situations it is important for you to know what you are not choosing, what needs of which subordinates are you consciously choosing not to meet. There may be situations where we have to make exceptions from the rules, where we are not able to give credit where it is due, where we need to limit a subordinate’s independence or have to use nontraditional methods, but if we have our spotlights and our consciousness in the right areas we know what the right choices would have been if circumstances had allowed it. Afterwards we may have to go back and explain why.
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What color your profile is and what it looks like has no bearing on your success as a leader. What counts is your ability to place yourself in the middle and find out where your subordinates are. The better you are at that, the better you will become at helping them fully achieve their potential and develop their competencies – and the more solution models and strategies you will possess, to the delight of the whole organization. However if you can not think your way into or see, hear, feel yourself in the role of grey, red, blue or green leader, then you will never be able to step in that role in reality either. This is why it is necessary to train yourself for the role – both mentally and in practice. Only a very few are successful without mental and practical training. Top performance rarely comes automatically; however the will often paves the way for the ability!
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Organizational changes In the following I will summarize the problems connected with making changes to an organization and the question of why it is so difficult to carry out organizational changes. The sole purpose is to give you some food for thought. Every organization has its culture and draws people to it who find that culture attractive. In this manner an organization enhances its culture by hiring people who have personalities and a focus that match the culture. Therefore, when implementing changes you face quite a task, because you are actually affecting people. An organization’s culture and the changes an organization undergoes can be described by the Focus Model. An organization that has a Baser culture is characterized by the way it functions based on rules, established systems, methods and certain agreed upon ways. This is a culture where order, punctuality and security are appreciated and there will therefore be a tendency to attract and hire people who have a Baser focus. An organization having a Results culture is typically an organization that has its focus on activities that create results in the quickest and most efficient way. This is a culture where there is emphasis on being goal oriented and being able to see opportunities, and one where individual efforts are rewarded. Therefore this organization will attract people with Results focus. An organization that has an Integrator culture will naturally focus on its internal and external relations. Here it is about personal competencies, relations and networks. This is also a culture where there is an emphasis on cooperation, involvement and motivation and therefore obviously people who also have an Integrator focus will be attracted. Finally there is the organization that is mostly characterized by its Development culture. Here it is about being ahead of the rest, which is why there is an emphasis on using and developing new technologies, concepts and competencies. Naturally such an organization will attract people who have a Developer focus. When lifting the model to the level of the organization, we can describe the changes in an organization as going from one place to another. An organization may have the need to develop its culture in one or more of the four directions. The Developer organization may need to develop a Baser culture. A Baser organization may need to develop a more result oriented culture and the Result organization, a more Integrator culture and so on. The logical outcome of this is that when an organization’s focus needs to change from one area to another, then you need the employees’ primary focus to change in the same direction. This is a huge leadership task. We need to move people from one area, where they normally feel safe and secure to a different corner which for them mentally is associated with insecurity and discomfort, or for others, to a corner where they do not see the same opportunities for development and self realization. Of course it is not impossible. The Focus Model can help you bring matters down to earth. When you stand before a process of change, ask yourself: What was our primary focus 10 years ago? Then ask, what is it our organization and our employees are most focused on
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today? And finally, in order to continue our development, what do we need to focus on in the future? By using a questionnaire, I had the management team of a service organization answer these 3 questions. The results are seen in figure 19. Figure 19. The changes in an organization over 15 years Focus during the first 10 years
Present main focus area
Future main focus area
The blue profile illustrates the focus that the organization developed during its beginning and up until it had established itself in the market. During the first 10 year period, the management was primarily focused on developing the newly established company’s service concepts and on the working terms for individual employees and the team, and especially on establishing a network of external relationships through which they could market their services. Therefore in the beginning the focus was primarily on the green and blue areas. The gray profile describes the current situation. About 5 years ago, the management acknowledged that it was necessary to get their affairs in order. Their concepts and service packages had been developed and there was good foothold in the market, however the quality was not stabilized. Orders were lost and expenses were too great. The solution to this was a process where certain standards for procedures for quality control, pricing and so on were set. In other words, management put focus on the Baser area. The red profile illustrates the future strategy for development. When we used the model to map the history of the organization it was quite clear to the management that the next phase
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needed more of a focus on the Results field. The perception was that they were result oriented, however the analysis showed that in reality they were not. Sales through network and personal relations were not high enough to raise the organization to a higher level and make a profit. Directly speaking, this meant that everyone (beginning with management) now had to focus on questions such as: How do we get more customers? How do we become more efficient? Do we have a goal formulated? Is everyone familiar with these goals? Does each and every employee know what is expected of him or her? Do we need more performance management tools? How do we reward efforts? What resources can we move from the three other areas to the Results area? With these questions the management shifted their energy away from the other areas and to the Red area. Of course this does not mean that they gave up on or downplay gray activities, but that they continue to use, maintain and develop the established procedures. Now, since that is mostly in place, management can shift some of their energy and attention to Results leadership. This is Focused Leadership – used as a tool to implement change processes. The goal for future changes has now been set, however there are still many employees that have their primary focus elsewhere. The green employees’ enthusiasm for the initiatives being carried out in order to get more order and control over activities (during the gray period) was, and still is, not very great. At the time, their independence was restricted and, on top of that, now their initiatives and results will be measured. That is not very nice at all! They can see their room for creativity being limited. The blue employees experienced the new strategy as being destructive towards the fellowship and team spirit. They could see future cooperation being reduced to a group of individualists chasing after bonuses and commission. The gray employees did not see any problems, all they had to do was maintain and optimize their systems – so they believed! Do you recognize this picture? In conclusion, no matter how you see yourself or your organization, the same rules and mechanisms apply. If you want to change an organization’s way of working, then you need to become aware of which areas the collective awareness’ spotlight is shining on and which areas you need to shine it on in order to meet the needs of the current situation as well as those of the future. You need to meet the organization and the employees where they are. You can not just stand in your corner yelling at them, telling them to come to you – and especially not when it comes to an entire organization. This is where your leadership will stand trial.
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Your Leader Profile Instructions
Not important
Less important
Neutral
Fairly important
In my daily decisions and in my role as leader, I put emphasis on:
Very important
On the next page there are a number of statements, all of which say something about your attitude towards leadership and what you focus on as a leader. You are able to vary your answers from Very Important over Neutral to Not Important. See the following example:
Helping and supporting others who are having difficulty and may have a hard time managing Organizing matters so employees can solve their tasks thoroughly and systematically Acting and being perceived as an active, energetic and goal oriented leader Leading the way when changes and modifications are to be carried out A mark in the neutral field indicates: “I can not relate to this”
Do not rank each of the following statements
Indicate the importance of each statement with respect to your focus as a leader. Think about what you focus on most and what you consider less important.
You will be able to choose an answer to most statements immediately and spontaneously
If in doubt remember that the questions relate only to your leadership focus
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Not important
Less important
Neutral
Fairly important
Very important
In my daily decisions and in my role as leader, I put emphasis on:
Helping and supporting employees who are having difficulty and may have a hard time managing Organizing matters so employees can solve their tasks thoroughly and systematically Acting and being perceived as an active, energetic and goal oriented leader Leading the way when changes and modifications are to be carried out
1 2 3 4
13
Formulating clear guidelines for responsibility and assignments Creating an environment that provides room and time for social togetherness and small-talk Inspiring employees to come up with creative solutions Assuring myself that everyone always uses their time and resources efficiently and with a goal orientation Encouraging, commending, supporting and motivating all employees Having systems that allow me to check and see where employees are in regards to plans and given instructions Always leading the way and rendering an efficient and result oriented effort Ensuring that everyone has space, facilities and opportunities to independently solve tasks Making my decisions based on clear and sure facts
14
Knowing my employees' background, values and positions
15
Playing a central role in the development of concepts and strategies Ensuring that people do not waste time, but rather concentrate on creating visible results and getting things done
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
16

When you have responded to the 16 statements above, go to the next page to tally your points

Start by comparing the two pages and circle the number that is in the same column as your answer
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Not important
0
-2
-4
=
Baser Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Results Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Developer Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Baser Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Integrator Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Developer Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Results Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Integrator Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Baser Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Results Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Developer Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Baser Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Integrator Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Developer Focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Results focus
4
2
0
-2
-4
=
Developer
Less important
2
Result
Neutral
4
Baser
Fairly important
Integrator
Very important
Integrator Focus
If you indicated “Very important” in the first statement, then you circle the number in the “Very important” field, etc. Afterwards, add up your points in each of the four focus areas furthest to the right.
Integrator Points Baser Points Result Points Developer Points
Now you are ready to draw your Leader Profile
Please note that 16 points is clear out in the corners, and minus 16 points is right in the middle
Put a dot on the diagonal axis and draw lines connecting the dots to those on the other axes
You now have your profile
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Your Leader Profile
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Bibliography Challoner, J. The Brain. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2000. Harung H., Heaton D., and Alexander C., "A Unified Theory of Leadership: experiences of higher states of consciousness in world-class leaders"; Leadership and Organization Development Journal Vol. 16, No. 7, 1996, MCB University Press, Bradford, UK. p. 36-47. Havaleschka, Finn. The Successful Manager – How Do We Know. Risskov, Denmark: Garuda Research Institute, 2002. Havaleschka Finn. Lederens vej fra viden til visdom. Risskov, Denmark: Garuda Forlag, 1990. Havaleschka, Finn. On… Development, Life and Leadership. Risskov, Denmark: Garuda Forlag, 1997. Havaleschka, Finn. Where Did the Development Go. Risskov, Denmark: Garuda Research Institute, 2002. Havaleschka, Finn. Golferens Mentale Scorekort. Risskov, Denmark: Garuda Forlag, 2003. Kegan, R. In Our Mental Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994. Leonard, G. "Abraham Maslow and the New Self." Esquire, December 1983: p. 329-346. Loevinger, J. Ego Development: Conceptions and Theories. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1976. Maslow, Abraham. Toward a Psychology of Being. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1968. Murray, J. E. Motivationspsykologi, Copenhagen, Denmark: Hans Reitzel, 1971. Kerstin U. Moberg, The Oxytocin Factor (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003. Nyborg, H. Køn, Hormoner og Samfund. Copenhagen, Denmark: Dansk Psykologisk Forlag, 1997. Pervin, L. A. and John, O.P. Personality, Theory and Research. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997. Ridley, Matthew. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1999. Rimpoche, Akong. Quoted from “I didn’t want to be rich (just enough to re-upholster the couch)”, Smallbone M. and Shilkin A., Thin Rich Press 1993, p. 52. Sitchin, Z. The Twelfth Planet. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Bear & Company, 1976.
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Cover text Find your Leadership Sweet Spot Your choice of primary focus in the field of leadership will be the difference between success and failure. In order to be an excellent leader it is necessary to focus on all four of the following: Structuring, Planning and Organizing Operations Setting Goals and Achieving Results Motivating, Creating Understanding and Working as a Team Formulating and Implementing New Concepts and Strategies It is unlikely that we will all be naturally accomplished in all four areas, but all are essential to the achievement of excellence. Your leadership style, what you focus on and what you are good at, is a consequence of your personality. You cannot change your personality but you can learn to modify your behavior, to change your focus for short periods of time, and that’s all you need to do to become outstandingly successful. This is what The Leader’s Mental Scorecard is all about. With the knowledge of your personality, and therefore your leadership style, and with the Mental Scorecard in your hand, you will learn to focus on the most important elements of the situation, and by doing so, you will raise your leadership to a higher level. You will develop your own competences and resources to their fullest, along with those of your team and your organization – to the benefit and satisfaction of you all. In this book we call it discovering your Leadership Sweet Spot. Read about the 4 essential leadership focus areas and learn how to shift your focus and adjust your behavior to suit the needs of any situation. That way you will achieve faster and better results, increase your own, as well as your team’s, job satisfaction and further your managerial career – of course!
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About the author Finn Havaleschka is the founder and Director of the Garuda Research Institute with HQ in Denmark and partners in most parts of the world. Since 1981 human resources, organizational and management development have been the core of his business. During this time he has written several books and articles on the subject and developed several management tools and personality tests for use in these areas. At the same time he has also continuously worked to become a better golfer and to find more effective ways to develop the mental side of the game. He himself explains that it is an attempt to demystify mental training and “change it from something highly diffuse and abstract into something quite simple and down to earth�. One of the results of this attempt was the mental training method for golfers explained in his book The Golfer's Mental Scorecard, which led to the development of the Leader's Mental Scorecard presented in this book. Leaving behind the concept of personal development and the last 25 years of personal development ambitions, he presents here a somewhat ambitious project: teaching managers to modify their behavior, as determined by their personality. This latest book reveals how leaders can acquire the flexibility required to adapt to any situation and respond effectively to the requirements of their role and their team. The goal is to achieve a modification of behavior that will last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, but nevertheless a modification that creates the difference between outstanding and mediocre leadership.
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