Leadership & Strategy

Leadership Development

The most frequently asked question I receive about leadership is, “Are leaders born or made?”  Numerous articles on the subject have been published by Forbes, The Center for Creative Leadership, Psychology Today, Harvard Business Review and others. The findings and research agree on the born or made question … it’s both.

Although they differ as to what percentage are “born” and what percentage are “made,” they do agree that experiences, traits, and training shape and develop each leader’s capability. Leadership development is about growing and maturing leaders through programs based on experiential learning that hones and shapes capability using proven techniques and practices.

Strategic Planning and Deployment

General Dwight D. Eisenhower was known to say, “Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” Many years ago, I worked for an organization and served as a strategic planner. At that time, it seemed to me that they focused on the plan, but not the planning nor the deployment of the plan. Over time, I realized the planning and the deployment are everything.

Lessons learned: The best laid plans change. The best planning is collaborative. the most successful plans are packaged and prepared for deployment, the most successful plans are supported by engaged leaders, organizations who plan and solve problems are most apt to survive, planning is everything and successful deployment proves that everything.

Change and Transformation

Is there a difference between change and transformation? Often, people use the two terms interchangeably. Change tends to be finite and discrete, while transformation seems to be much more that finite, perhaps even infinite. Change initiatives are inclined to be more near-termed, operational or tactical, and well defined, while transformation is more predisposed to be a portfolio of initiatives and much more long-termed and strategic, aligned with a vision and beyond a mission. Change is focused on implementation and execution of a well-defined proposal and plan. Transformation is more based on a long term journey of discovery and reinvention. Transformation requires change, so it can be said that change is a subset of transformation, and transformation cannot occur without change.