Un-Development
Not long ago, I had a fascinating conversation with a former client. He's a senior leader in a massive, multi-jurisdictional organization, and they're about to have a huge turnover of senior staff - including his position - over the next few years. He confided in me that one of his biggest concerns is that the organization doesn't have the leadership talent to fill these roles, and there's no solid plan in place to prepare people for them.
Now, don't get me wrong - they definitely have people with the technical skills to step up. But here's the catch: the people his current team sees as a good fit for leadership roles aren't interested in them. And those who are interested just aren't suitable. It's a real problem: the people with strong leadership skills don't want the senior leadership roles, and those with poor leadership skills are clamoring for them. Our conversation took a deep dive into leadership development, and I'd like to share some perspectives on where it's at today - and where it needs to go.
Title and approach
The biggest roadblock to developing leaders? It's how we define "leader" and "leadership" in the first place. Ask anyone, and they'll likely say a leader is someone with authority over others, and that leadership is just a bunch of senior managers. This warped view is at the core of why leadership development is failing. We've made "leadership" synonymous with "management," and that's a problem.
The first step to fixing this is to separate leadership actions and behaviors from job titles and functions. The “Un-Development approach” views a leader as someone who consistently helps others succeed, and leadership is the combined skills of a group to make things better. This mindset shift, away from titles and power, is key to making leadership development work for everyone.
Human skills
In today's rapidly changing landscape, leadership development is under fire for failing to equip individuals with the skills to navigate the complexities of modern organizations. Digital transformation, AI advancements, hybrid work models, and shifting demographics are all demanding a new breed of leader. Yet, current leadership development strategies seem to miss the mark. They often focus on management-centric skills like leading hybrid teams or navigating diverse environments, assuming individuals already possess foundational human skills. This approach overlooks a critical gap in leadership development.
To bridge this gap, the “Un-Development approach” adopts a new strategy. Just as martial arts training emphasizes mastering core movements before advancing to complex techniques and unique applications, leadership development should prioritize essential human skills. These skills, centered on human connection and interaction, form the bedrock upon which effective leadership is built.
Key areas for development include:
Relating to Others: The ability to build rapport, establish relationships, and maintain connections.
Conflict Resolution: The ability to confront issues, find common ground, and create meaning through collaboration.
Feedback: The ability to give, receive, and apply feedback for personal and collective growth.
By continuously developing and mastering these core competencies, individuals can cultivate strong leadership capabilities that benefit both themselves and their teams.
Cooperative and Collective
The skills mentioned above share a common thread: they all require the active participation of others to truly develop. This starkly contrasts with the prevailing leadership development models I've researched, which often relegate the role of others to a mere supporting role, rather than an essential one. The “Un-development approach” flips this script, recognizing that others aren't simply helpful in our growth - they're absolutely vital.
Today's workplace and societal pressures are pushing us towards individualism. Organizational hierarchies funnel decision-making to a select few, technology can decrease human connection, hybrid work can lead to isolation, and rigid policies can stifle creativity. Disagreement, instead of fostering healthy debate, can devolve into hostility and exclusion. While your own workplace may not exhibit all these traits, they're undeniably on the rise on a societal level, creating toxic environments where cooperation and collectivism are desperately needed.
Social interaction, even when challenging, is far healthier for us than isolation and individualism. The “Un-development approach” recognizes this, centering its third step on cooperation, community, and collective benefit. By fostering social dynamics and shared responsibility, we create an environment where leaders can be both vulnerable and confident, trusting yet uncertain, stressed yet joyful. It's a holistic approach that develops both the individual and the group simultaneously, and it's undeniably challenging.
Uncomfortable
Think about the five most significant experiences that have shaped who you are today. I'd bet they were all tough experiences. As humans, we're built for hard work – we often crave it and look back on it with pride, even if the results weren't as impressive as easier tasks. But what we can't stand is work that's unnecessarily difficult.
The “Un-development approach” embraces this concept: it pushes people out of their comfort zones and into a space of vulnerability. The fourth step in this approach is to create realistic experiences that challenge our individual and collective norms, values, and behaviors. These experiences should be designed to create dissonance– a feeling of discomfort that lingers long after the experience and is shared with others. This discomfort is a sign of growth; it's a catalyst for positive change in both individuals and groups.
Un-Development Approach
Years ago, a staff member from another department asked to meet with me about leadership challenges she was facing. As we discussed her issues and potential solutions, it became clear she was frustrated with how she was being led. As we were wrapping up, she declared, “When I'm a supervisor, I'll never lead my team like I'm being led now!” This is a sentiment I hear all too often in my work, and my response remains consistent: "To become the leader you aspire to be, you need to embody those behaviors now."
This idea is at the core of the “Un-development approach” that we're currently developing. Over the past 10 months, countless conversations with my network have reinforced my belief that the traditional leadership development model is broken. We're now in the process of designing a new approach that transforms the concepts above into tangible learning experiences. Our goal is to pilot these ideas in an experimental "un-training day" this summer. Stay tuned for more details as our plans solidify!
