Leaders: Be Strong & Develop Thyself

In a recent article by HCI Blogger Joy Kosta, she asked “what keeps leaders going?” She laid out 5 characteristics and abilities that came from the Mckinsey Global Survey to achieve “centered” leadership. She also made a good point about leaders investing in themselves in order to be successful at giving back to others and in influencing followers.

Ms. Kosta laid out some results from the McKinsey Global Survey which “correlates leader effectiveness with five characteristics and abilities:

• Know your strengths and incorporate them into an inspiring purpose
• Constructively re-frame difficulties as opportunities
• Build, connect, and belong to a community who cares about the same issues
• Engage followers by pursuing opportunities even in the face of risk
• Energize yourself throughout your leadership career

McKinsey research found that 92% of leaders who mastered all five dimensions of centered leadership felt they had the skills to lead through times of major change (vs. 21% of leaders who have yet to master them). Leaders older than 50 who’d mastered all five characteristics more than any other age group, and the youngest leader potentials reported the lowest scores in all dimensions, except connecting.”

One reader commented that “A good leader is a good follower. Not every one … has the quality [to be] a great leader. We should know how to balance every thing in [our] life because it isn’t a joke to rule a certain organization most especially a nation. It’s a responsibility …”

The Author suggests that the five necessary characteristics and abilities for good leadership call for pairing successful”boomer” leaders with high potential millennials so tomorrow’s leaders can develop these five leadership dimensions through mentoring.

Do you have any experience with cross-generational mentoring? Have you realized any paybacks from it? What does your organization do to develop potential leaders?