What's Your PCR Level?

Leadership is about change.  Leadership is about seeing what must be done, oftentimes more uniquely than anyone else around you including your competitors.  It's also about understanding how you can effectively, efficiently and profitably implement change, appreciating how all of the various market and internal forces of your company may support or challenge your change effort.  And finally, after appreciating what the environment and opportunity might be, there is the necessity and the courage required to take action.  Without combining action with insight and vision one may be merely in possession of a beautiful but unrealized dream.

Effective leadership, however, doesn't start by scanning the external environment for threats and opportunities, nor by looking at the skills, abilities and capacities of one's company or staff.  In my estimation, effective leadership comes from the ability to critically evaluate one's own leadership skills and gaps.  Moreover, once that assessment is made there is a requirement to act on the opportunities presented.  In this regard I then ask you what's your PCR Level - what is your Personal Readiness for Change?

By any measure, regardless of sector we are working in, we see and believe ourselves to be in change overload mode.  Nothing stays the same for long.  Science fiction technologies we dreamed of only yesterday are today's reality.  For me one of the best examples is the ongoing drive (no pun intended) to realize driver-less technology - taking the human factor out of the automobile.  If you are like me perhaps your first thought is what impact could this have on the transportation sector.  But if we think bigger what might realization of this science fiction dream mean for the insurance industry (e.g., are they still going to be in the business of insuring individual drivers), education (e.g., will there be anything like driver's education and licensing?), and entertainment (e.g., I guess I don't have to worry about getting my next distracted driving ticket anymore...).  What does this kind of rapid and disruptive change mean for where you are working now and what kind of leader you will need to be?

If we go back to a core definition of what makes a leader - seeing what needs to be done, understanding how it could be done, and having the courage to act - how will you effect continuous evolution (or revolution) in your leadership?  I don't really believe that there is any question of whether you should or should not invest in your continuous evolution as a leader.  Perhaps the only leaders who might consider themselves immune from this requirement are those who are only a few years (or months) away from retirement and those that have become independently wealthy.

So how do you see what needs to be done for your leadership evolution?  Do you periodically and objectively evaluate your leadership acumen through a skillfully applied and interpreted set of assessment instruments (e.g., EQi, SDI, etc.), do you seek out broad-based feedback from key stakeholders (e.g., Board of Directors, peers, subordinates), or do you open yourself for "review" by a peer advisory forum (e.g., TEC Canada) on an annual or more frequent basis.  Ideally, you are not just relying on your own level of self-awareness to achieve insight to target next steps in your leadership evolution and development.  We all have blinders on - for good or bad - and we all require other perspectives to truly come to conclusion and really see ourselves as we are, warts and all.

Second, do then investigate and appreciate the "how" of dealing with the "what" you have seen for yourself?  Too many leaders suggest or kid themselves into believing that they simply don't have time for ongoing self development.  They are far too important to be absent for any length of time from their place of business.  They are irreplaceable.  The fact is that if you believe any part of the reality of being the most important tool you have to ensure the success of your business venture then you are too important to not devote time to your leadership development and evolution.  EVERY tool must be sharpened periodically to continue to be effective.  To be of any use to your business you had better be the sharpest tool in the toolbox.

Finally, both in terms of seeing what must be done for yourself and how it may come to pass, you must have the courage to act.  This means having the humility to see your leadership for the quality it is and is not.  It also means having the courage and humility to recognize that some of your skills may be outmoded and need of upgrading or wholesale replacement.  The key word here is humility. I've worked with too many leaders who failed to appreciate - or actively resisted/dismissed - the feedback they were receiving.  Alternatively, despite having received and accepted the feedback, they felt they could not afford the time or money to invest in their leadership development.  Either way they ended up doing a disservice to themselves, failing to reach their true potential and effectively held back the performance of their staff and their company.

So what's your PCR Level?  Are you willing to see yourself objectively, are you prepared to truly evaluate your options for improvement, and are you prepared to act with humility and courage to take your leadership to the next level required by the changes happening around you.  It's not science fiction.  It's About Leadership.

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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
Director - WMC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.