Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Hands-On ... - always yours

18 LEADING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Performer Action Plan at the end of this chapter and each of the
following chapters.
LEADERSHIP SKILL GAP
Warren Bennis said one of the four major threats to our world is
the current level of leadership of our human institutions, and only
exemplary leadership can solve the other three key threats: nuclear/
biological catastrophe, pandemic, and tribalism/assimilation. 2
Developing strong leadership is essential for our world and our
organizations to deal with the current threats and opportunities, and
it is also critical in order to develop the next level of leaders or “bench
strength.” In normal times this is a major endeavor; now with the converging
chaos of the “Great Recession” and huge human capital turnover,
it is a greater challenge for both new and seasoned leaders.
Unfortunately, I have found that most leaders underperform.
Certainly not on purpose, but they stay average for the same basic
reasons:
1. They don’t have the time to develop leadership in others.
2. They don’t have the requisite skills or training to lead a team.
3. Once in a leadership position, they underestimate just how
much influence they really have over their direct reports.
4. They don’t employ the necessary strategies frequently enough
to be successful. It is easier to put out the fire of the day than
to take the time to develop their bench strength or team.
If the leader underperforms, so does the team and the
organization. Some basic foundational skills or activities just don’t
happen with regularity with today’s leaders.
This issue is highlighted by the results of recent research. For
example, the Ken Blanchard Companies did four separate studies from
2003 through 2006 with 2,004 respondents, and these respondents
cited developing leadership bench strength as their number one issue.
In order to understand and defi ne the most critical components
of effective leadership, the Blanchard Companies launched a follow-