What does Leadership mean?

Leadership is one of the least understood concepts21

Being a leader is very different to leading a team or activity. Leaders must inspire and help others create the future of their organisations while consolidating present successes16. They must make complex judgements that pave the way for success, while recognizing the fundamental nature of business uncertainty51.

Developing such leaders remains one of the biggest challenges from a practical perspective21. Not having a clear leadership model is one of the main obstacles. This led to the proliferation of Position-based Leaders. People in higher positions were considered leaders, without considering their leadership skills.

The flattening of organizational structures in response to fast-changing conditions has created the demand for leadership skills at every level. This requires Character-based Leaders. They adopt a leader’s attitudes and behaviours, regardless of their hierarchical position in the organization52.

Leadership is about managing energy; first in yourself and then in those around you – James Clawson8

Do Leadership Programs Produce Leaders?

Leadership development is not delivering results2

Conventional extrinsic leadership development covers a complex multitude of mainly analytical skills. This has failed to produce leaders who can sustain organisational success in today’s VUCA world6,13,21 (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous – an acronym coined by the American Military to describe extreme conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq33.)

Leadership development programs have failed to balance analytical thinking with the creative and intuitive insights that are essential in a VUCA business world. For example, US companies spend almost $14 billion annually on leadership development15. But, 75-87% of organisations say their leadership development programs are ineffective6,13,21.

Insights into Leadership

Your leaders have a huge impact on your bottom line6

  • Being a leader is very different to leading a team or activity.
  • Leadership is about winning a game with ever-changing rules.
  • Leaders must always be prepared for unexpected situations.
  • They must be good strategists and excellent communicators.
  • Be able to create the future while consolidating the present.
  • Be assertive and forceful, but also supportive and enabling.
  • Balance managerial control with the freedom to innovate.
  • Possess very high mental, emotional and physical energy.
  • Have emotional intelligence to influence and inspire others.

Leadership training limited to a few senior staff is no longer sufficient since corporate bottom lines are made mostly on the frontlines. And service delivery typically takes place without management supervision.

To respond quickly to opportunities and threats in our VUCA world, organisations need to nurture leadership skills at all levels. Top-down leadership must therefore be balanced with bottom-up empowerment. Helping people unleash their vast inborn intrinsic leadership skills is the gateway to such organisation-wide leadership development.

We use our inborn intrinsic leadership skills to guide our families to success under challenging conditions – Asoka Jinadasa

Our Intrinsic Leadership Model

Intrinsic leadership development unleashes the inborn analytical and creative abilities employees at all levels instinctively use in their everyday lives. It sharpens their vast inborn skills and helps them adopt a leader’s attitudes and behaviours, regardless of their position.

All practical leadership traits are embedded in our award-winning 6-dimensional competency framework symbolised by25:

  • Heart(caring and empathy to connect with others);
  • Mind(rational, creative and emotional intelligence);
  • Passion(assertiveness and high emotional energy);
  • Focus(tenacity to reach goals despite setbacks);
  • Body(houses the energy centres called chakras);
  • Health(natural health without drugs despite stress).

Competencies associated with these six symbolic dimensions nurture the two most important leadership attributes25,33:

  • Wisdom(knowing what to do next under VUCA conditions);
  • Skills(knowing how to do it, or get it done).

See FRAMEWORK

We are leaving the old way of thinking with its over-dependence on the logical mind – Rolf Österberg24

We Nurture Leadership in 5 weeks

Leadership is about managing energy in yourself and in others8,18

We unleash inborn intrinsic leadership abilities during five 1-day workshops conducted over five weeks. These produce leaders who can inspire and help others to create the future of their organisations while consolidating present successes in an uncertain business world16.

Each workshop provides practical leadership tools that are easily understood and applicable in day-to-day work in our VUCA business environment:

  • Leadership Framework

    Develop Heart, Mind, Body, Passion, Focus & Health.

  • Emotional Intelligence

    Recognise & manage emotions arising in you and in others.

  • Coaching & Mentoring

    Boost team performance by unleashing human potential.

  • Creativity & Innovation

    Awaken creativity and channel it for focussed innovation.

  • Speaking & Presenting

    Speak confidently and present your ideas convincingly.

See WORKSHOPS

Leadership is a complex mix of wisdom, skills, charisma, mindfulness, compassion, vision, self-discipline, ambition, humility, courage, determination, coolness, poise in public, etc. – Bruce Fleming12

Highest ROTI is in Leadership Development

When less than 20% of the training budget is spent on leadership development13

Your leaders make a huge impact on your bottom line. They are at the heart of your organizational success6. They influence the hundreds of decisions made every day in every department. And 60% of employees said the way their supervisors treat them influences how well they do their job1.

Your leaders can help their teams respond innovatively to the opportunities and threats posed by VUCA conditions. Developing leaders thus gives you the highest return on training investment (ROTI). And sharpens your competitive edge in today’s fiercely competitive commercial world.

Companies reporting very effective programs spend an average of 32% of their training budget on leadership development – Brandon Hall’s leadership survey13