Leading With Purpose

Organizations spend significant time and money determining the firm’s mission, vision, and values. Management believes in the capacity to identify why the organization exists, whom the organization serves, and the values the organization uses when serving those customers. Answering these questions at the organizational level sets the organization on a course to success. The same paradigm occurs in the development of exceptional leaders. To maximize their leadership potential, budding leaders must clarify why they want to lead, the purpose that drives the desire to lead, and the type of leader they want to become. Answering these questions provides the guidance necessary for new leaders to reach their potential and become the leaders they want to be.

Analyzing past seminal experiences allows the participants to understand the impact of the experiences on their current beliefs about what leadership is, what behaviors constitute exemplary leadership, the approaches to leading and influencing others, and the results the leader strives to achieve.

Through the module, we examine the following:

Identify critical life events that determine the understanding of leadership approaches and outcomes.
Identify influential people in one’s life and examine their impact on your view of leadership.
Examine the concept of mental models and understand the impact of the models on the view of leadership and corresponding behaviors.
Define the desired approach to leadership.
Generate a list of takeaways and apply the findings to create the ideal leadership vision.

Examining past experiences allows the participant to analyze the experiences that created the view of leadership and challenge the experiences to evaluate the validity of the lessons accrued. Present experiences influence the perceptions of effective leadership. Completing the review of past and present experiences allows one to explore the real and ideal selves. Understanding the real and ideal selves creates the opportunity to create a plan to move the participant from the leader they are to the leader they want to become. The module examines several mental traps that often limit successful change and provides methods to minimize the impact.

The values an individual holds create the framework for acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Many People fail to undertake the work necessary to define clearly the essential values that impact actions. Using several exercises, the participants examine the values they hold and the influence the values have on their approaches to leadership and life. Analyzing the impact of values on leadership allows the participant to determine the purpose that drives the approach to leading and leadership.

In a general sense, purpose refers to an aim or objective guiding action to achieve a goal in a particular context. Understanding the purpose underlies one’s approach to leading and leadership. Purpose provides the final piece of the puzzle that creates the conditions for exceptional leadership. The module utilizes multiple methods to help participants clarify and define their purpose. Participants will create a clear, concise, and declarative statement of purpose, capturing the essence of leadership and providing a call to leadership action.