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A while back, I was interviewed about how to better develop one’s leadership capacity and potential. Here are my answers, which include some clear lessons learned from research and practice on leadership development.
1. What does it take to develop your leadership capacity?
First and foremost, developing as a leader is hard work. You need motivation and commitment, and you need to work on it daily (Day, 2024). Moreover, you need to move beyond self-focus. Most leadership development programs should be better termed “leader development.” “Leadership development” focuses on what leaders and followers do together: co-creating leadership. Therefore, to be effective, leaders need to be able to build leadership capacity in followers—in teams. The very best leaders succeed because they engage their followers in the process, and together, leaders and followers create leadership.
You need a plan. There are several models in the book, and some may resonate more with a particular individual. Work at it every day. Get feedback. We’re big on assessments. Also, it’s important to evaluate your progress.
2. As a result of COVID and the major shift to the virtual workplace, what are your thoughts on similarities and differences for leadership development in the virtual and hybrid environment?
I don’t think things have changed all that much—many leaders already are doing some of their leadership virtually, with distributed teams, global organizations, and geographic distribution, etc. [Zoom meetings for research teams]. The change is that leaders now have to do much or all of the leading virtually. But it’s all about communication, and realizing the strengths and limitations of various communication modalities…
I think that virtual work is going to be more common going forward because it worked better than many had expected.
3. You have been writing books on leadership for many years. What is your favorite leadership topic and why?
I’ve written for a long time on charismatic and transformational leadership, so that’s still a favorite. Transformational leadership is “charisma plus”—leaders who are inspirational and positive role models, but they are also able to connect with followers, establish good working relationships with them, empower them, and together lead. Transformational leaders also push their followers to be creative and innovative. It’s a good model to follow for leader development (and it’s in the book in detail).
I’m also interested in “good/ethical” and “bad” leadership. There are some interesting findings there. For example, when you ask people to name the qualities/characteristics they want in a leader, the majority will mention positive characteristics (honesty or integrity, empathetic and responsive, supportive, etc.), but a subset will mention what we might call “anti-prototypical” qualities (manipulative, pushy, self-centered, aggressive). What that means is that while most of us want positive and other-oriented qualities in our leaders, some of us want the “strong, tough individual who will fight.” There are a lot of interesting dichotomies like that when it comes to leadership.
4. What are your greatest lessons learned on leadership?
When it comes to good leadership, character matters. Leadership is more about the followers than it is about the leaders, and if leaders realize that, they will be more effective.
5. Do you have any final thoughts or tips to leave with us today?
Leadership does indeed matter. But so does followership. We need to hold our leaders accountable and make sure that they are working for the common good and not for themselves. We all play a part in leadership, whether it is simply by voting or by taking “grassroots” action to make changes and accomplish shared goals.
Some of us will naturally “step up” to lead; others will be recruited. In any case, it’s important to work on leadership. It’s not something that comes naturally to people, so development is essential, and even the very best leaders realize that they need to continue working to get better.
