A lot has happened since then. I enrolled in a coaching program at Fielding Graduate School to test how well my coaching skills fared against a formal program and I am happy to say while it has helped me i am pretty good at this coaching thing. I say this not to boast but rather to let you know that I have been increasing my client load the past few weeks and and interested to hear from you  and whether you want to be coached.

Its one thing to read the thoughts and comments of a leader and trainer, its wholly another to engage in the process of leadership development. Real leaders develop by rubbing elbows with other leaders, getting in the game and leading something.

So if you want to learn more about how you can take your leadership capacity to the next level get in touch with me.The best way is to email me directly at ronn dot hurst at gmail dot com. Sorry for the phonetics but too much spam has been finding me lately.

Lead well

Ron

I was writing to a group I lead the other day and summarized a leadership / facilitation technique I want to share with you. It’s called “Silence“

As leaders we must be sensitive to how various people engage in discussion. Resist the temptation to dominate the discussion when no one answers immediately. Sit in the silence once in a while and wait. It is completely reasonable to answer the question first every so often but we should avoid the temptation to do this frequently. Introverts will not speak up if you do this, the group will start to expect you to carry the discussion and will participate less often. Clearly this is not the outcome we want. We have to give the group room to work and contribute.

Try it sometime you will be surprised by this powerfully effective technique.

Lead / facilitate well

I cannot tell you much about it yet but I plan to get a hold of it and review it for our audience here at develop a leader dot com. Cyril also maintains a leadership blog you might want to check out over at http://cyrilrayan.typepad.com/
It seems that Cyril is picking up on the conversation over at his blog and has expanded on his original answer to the linked in question. I love it when things spiral upward into meaningful conversation.

So what advice did Cyril offer?

Rather than give it to you verbatim, I would like to pick up on the themes he offers as I found them highly appropriate to our conversation.

Learn…

“Read leadership books”

Cyril offers the advice of reading leadership books. This coupled with practical application is a powerful method of developing yourself as a leader. Do not forget about the application part though. Many people read books talk about them for a while and then that’s it… Somehow some way they magically turn into a great leader, or at least that is what their actions suggest. The benefit of any knowledge is in the application. The part where book smarts become grounded personal experience. Cyril reiterates this point later in his advice when he shares; “Listen to great speeches, Do public speaking.” Great advice actually. A leader must have the ability to clearly communicate, this is a core aspect of their ability to persuade and convince others.

Persevere

Now comes the advice that compelled me to ask Cyril if I could quote him.

“Persevere through whatever challenges you are facing”

Here at develop a leader dot com and the partner blog material leadership we have talked a lot about perseverance and its close cousin resilience. I was very excited to see this theme come to light. This is arguably one of the lesser known attributes of effective leaders. Those of us who live the reality of making “mistakes” and dealing with adversity have learned to embrace this contrarian friend. Leaders who get this advice are wiser and ultimately more successful than those who do not. So lean into adversity not away from it and learn to persevere in its face.

Others

Cyril offered two other pieces of advice that it nicely together into a theme of relating to others. He suggests that we develop strong relationships and through them find mentors to teach you. Mentors as we have discussed can be powerful allies for our growth and ultimately our ability to get through closed doors. The other advice Cyril offers was,

“Solve not only your problems but also others problems”

I love this advice. When we add value to others it will inevitably help us as well. So give of yourself to others, add value, solve problems. When you make yourself a value adding problem solving machine your ability to lead others will grow not only in the sense of your technical ability but also in your selflessness, a true leadership trait.

Thanks Cyril! Great advice and well taken

Don’t forget to check out Cyril’s blog and book at his website.

Lead well

Ron

 I use webinars, audio books, mentoring, observation (seeing what works and more importantly what does not work) and experience. I’m learning more about myself and how I can serve others on a daily basis.

It is important to recognize that you have to know what works for you. This was the whole point of my question. What works for one person may be downright stupid for another to try. You can see for instance that even now three discussions in we have a broad array of leadership development methods.

Yet even in the variety there are patterns emerging. People really are not that different when you get down to it. So here Patrick mentions the use of reflection and self knowledge. We saw that trend emerging in the words of Suresh and will see it again trust me. He also mentions experience, another common theme from our other guests.

Patrick mentions service though. Service is a profound word that has a deep meaning to a leader. This is the heart of a truly great leader as they recognize that their role is not one of entitlement but of responsibility. The leader is given the right to lead and takes on the care of the group as a whole. Having the heart of a servant and the fire of a leader is the mix that creates greatness.

Finally technology; Patrick mentions the use of webinars and audio or e books. In our follow up discussion he mentioned other technology answers as well. The Ipod revolution is one I am captivated by. Five years ago I read over one hundred books per year. Two years ago I got an Ipod. Today read 20-30 books a year and listen to approximately 600 podcasts a year. The hundred books were typically in three categories leadership, fiction and faith. The 600 podcasts cover these plus history, technology, comedy, business, entrepreneurism, marketing and motivation. This little thing rocked my learning world. It did for Patrick as well. Learning is a life blood of an effective leader as you will know if you are on the Developing Leaders mailing list.

My thanks to Patrick for his insight and to you for your comments and visits.

Lead well

Ron

How do you approach your own development as a

leader

I am constantly fascinated with the number of offers on how you can learn leadership. Coaching, mentoring, web courses, commercial training, volunteerism, company training etc.

For the record mine is a combination of on the job experience, mentoring, college program, webinars. How about you?

So you have a couple of ways you can contribute. You can go to Linked In and post directly (you will have to sign up for a free account first if you do not have one. But I will link to you if you invite me!) or you can comment here. So what do you think, how do you develop?

When the question closes (in about a 5 days) I will share some of the highlights of the discussion over at Linked In.

Lead well

Ron

Thank You

Take the survey here @ Ron Hurst Leadership Development Survey

I appreciate your support and input.

Feel free to comment on your thoughts about leadership training here as well in the comments (hint hint ;-) area.

Lead well

Ron

The Review:

The Dip by Seth Godin

This was the first of Mr. Godin’s books I have read and I must say it will not be the last. I enjoyed this book and found its message wise and on point for our age. The premise of the book is that there is a time to quit a role, project, effort and a time to stay. When we have the opportunity to be the very best and are willing to pay the price, it is time to stay. When it is clear that staying will result in mediocrity or worse yet (Mr. Godin’s term for a dead end) a cul-de-sac, it is time to move on to something where we can be our best. The dip is the place in between. The place where we face opposition, adversity and discouragement. It is here that many wrongly chose to give up when greatness is not that far away for the brave souls who persevere. From a leadership perspective this book echoes the importance of commitment, perseverance and decisiveness a worthy trio of leader attributes.

Complexity: Low

Length: Short

Compelling: Very much

Worthwhile: Definitely

Enjoy and good luck

Ron