Geoffrey Campbell, CEOE, MBA’s Post

The Highest Form of Leadership The third and last level of followership is Principle-Centered. It is different from the other two. At this level, people believe in the leader. They are trusted, respected, and even honored. People want to follow and they believe in the leader’s cause. This level of power is rare. It is based on honor and unlike the other two levels, it is sustainable because it is not based on an environment of fear or a what is in it for me type of relationship. Dr. Maxwell’s level 4 and 5 leadership is all about developing your people into leaders themselves. Level 4, People Development, is about the leader’s ability to empower others. Level 4 leaders use their position, influence, and relationships to invest in their people developing into leaders. Level 5 leaders, Pinnacle, continue this process with their people to become Level 4 leaders in their own right. John Maxwell states that “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” How do these two views compare? In both models, the leader is trusted and people want to follow the leader. The difference is in the focus. Dr. Covey on why people follow and Dr. Maxwell on how leaders lead. Where do you sit? Opsconn Consulting

The Highest Form of Leadership The third and last level of followership is Principle-Centered. It is different from the other two. At this level, people believe in the leader. They are trusted, respected, and even honored. People want to follow and they believe in the leader’s cause. This level of power is rare. It is based on honor and unlike the other two levels, it is sustainable because it is not based on an environment of fear or a what is in it for me type of relationship. Dr. Maxwell’s level 4 and 5 leadership is all about developing your people into leaders themselves. Level 4, People Development, is about the leader’s ability to empower others. Level 4 leaders use their position, influence, and relationships to invest in their people developing into leaders. Level 5 leaders, Pinnacle, continue this process with their people to become Level 4 leaders in their own right. John Maxwell states that “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” How do these two views compare? In both models, the leader is trusted and people want to follow the leader. The difference is in the focus. Dr. Covey on why people follow and Dr. Maxwell on how leaders lead. Where do you sit? Opsconn Consulting

Mid-Range Leadership cont’d As a quick refresher, we are on Dr. Covey’s Utility power level of followership. In the last post, we blended this level with John Maxwell’s Permission Level of leadership. In this post, we will see if John’s third level blends with Dr. Covey’s utility level. John’s third level is Production. At this level leaders and their followers are getting things done. People want to be with this leader because things are happening. Leaders at this level gain influence and credibility. At this level work gets done, morale improves, turnover goes down and profits go up. Momentum kicks in at this level. Leading at this level is fun. Leaders become change agents, they tackle tough problems and thorny issues. The risk is that leaders can stop at this level. Good leaders will not stop but move on to the next level. So, how does this stack up with Dr. Covey’s Utility level? It is the high end of Dr. Covey’s Utility level. People started to want to be with the leader at John’s level 2 but they are now working hard to be with this level 3 leader because of all of the positive things happening. At the Permission level, people are being treated well but at this level, they are part of something great and are making a difference in the organization. Opsconn Consulting

Mid-Range Leadership cont’d As a quick refresher, we are on Dr. Covey’s Utility power level of followership. In the last post, we blended this level with John Maxwell’s Permission Level of leadership. In this post, we will see if John’s third level blends with Dr. Covey’s utility level. John’s third level is Production. At this level leaders and their followers are getting things done. People want to be with this leader because things are happening. Leaders at this level gain influence and credibility. At this level work gets done, morale improves, turnover goes down and profits go up. Momentum kicks in at this level. Leading at this level is fun. Leaders become change agents, they tackle tough problems and thorny issues. The risk is that leaders can stop at this level. Good leaders will not stop but move on to the next level. So, how does this stack up with Dr. Covey’s Utility level? It is the high end of Dr. Covey’s Utility level. People started to want to be with the leader at John’s level 2 but they are now working hard to be with this level 3 leader because of all of the positive things happening. At the Permission level, people are being treated well but at this level, they are part of something great and are making a difference in the organization. Opsconn Consulting

Leadership Choice Now that we have reviewed, albeit in light detail, the 3 reasons people follow and the 5 levels of leadership, let’s now turn to which ones the leader may use. The leader has a choice to make. Use coercion, utility, or principles to lead their team(s). The choice the leader makes will be limited by their character and by their interactive skills. It is easy when things get really hard for the leader to rely on their position, status, size, or credentials to force someone to follow. Most leaders resort to some type of force when the leader is in the middle of a crisis unless the leader holds true to their deeply held values. The leader who uses utility power can enhance that power by expanding their expertise, maximizing proximity to followers, simplifying policies and procedures, and making it easier for followers to form functional relationships. These tactical actions will provide increased utility power for the leader to use. However, if the leader wishes to use principle-centered power, a long-term commitment is needed. Trust in relationships cannot be fabricated. If the leader is faking it, they will reveal themselves over time. Who the leader is determines the depth of principle-centered power that the leader possesses. Opsconn Consulting  

In Module 2 of Harvard's "Aspire Leaders" program, we had several masterclasses led by world-class educators from universities around the world.  The most interesting session for me was "Pursuing Impactful Careers" by Professor Jasjit Singh. I have always felt driven by a desire to contribute, bring about change, and have a positive impact, so this topic really spoke to me. One illustration that stood out was a Venn diagram explaining "Ikigai," the sweet spot where passions, societal needs, and unique strengths intersect. The speaker emphasized that while following your passion is important, you must also consider if it's something the world really needs and if it aligns with your strengths. The session inspired me to reassess my goals and identify where my passions, strengths, and societal needs intersect. By focusing on this intersection, I believe people can make a more meaningful and impactful career.

Believe in People Principle-centered people believe in other people. They notice but do not overreact to negative behaviors or human weaknesses. In today’s world, we see too much labeling, stereotyping, and prejudging of other people, nations, cultures, etc. We often do this to others because we focus too much on their current behavior and not enough on their potential. If we focus more on their potential we will treat people differently. They in turn will often rise to that potential we see in them. This belief in the unseen potential in others creates a climate for growth and opportunity. Self-centered people believe it is all about them, what they want, and how they do things. Unfortunately, these people often have short-term success which reinforces this type of thinking. When you stop thinking it is all about you and start thinking it is about others, you relax, you accept others, you affirm them and you will find peace in tough times. True leaders are what we call servant leaders. They help the people they lead to be successful. They allow others to have the spotlight. In turn, their people trust them and willingly follow their leadership. Opsconn Consulting

Leadership Choice Now that we have reviewed, albeit in light detail, the 3 reasons people follow and the 5 levels of leadership, let’s now turn to which ones the leader may use. The leader has a choice to make. Use coercion, utility, or principles to lead their team(s). The choice the leader makes will be limited by their character and by their interactive skills. It is easy when things get really hard for the leader to rely on their position, status, size, or credentials to force someone to follow. Most leaders resort to some type of force when the leader is in the middle of a crisis unless the leader holds true to their deeply held values. The leader who uses utility power can enhance that power by expanding their expertise, maximizing proximity to followers, simplifying policies and procedures, and making it easier for followers to form functional relationships. These tactical actions will provide increased utility power for the leader to use. However, if the leader wishes to use principle-centered power, a long-term commitment is needed. Trust in relationships cannot be fabricated. If the leader is faking it, they will reveal themselves over time. Who the leader is determines the depth of principle-centered power that the leader possesses. Opsconn Consulting  

In my MBA program at the NKU Haile COB Graduate Programs this week we covered: -The creation of value in your organization -Evaluating the customer journey -Understanding consumer touchpoints -Performing a SWOT analysis -Applying the BCG matrix to understand which avenues of the company require the most marketing efforts I have many takeaways from this week that I can apply to my role at Spectrum News, but one overarching theme seems to sum it up best. We have to keep the viewers in mind at all times when selecting, producing and delivering news content. Of course everyone knows that, but when making decisions on a day-to-day basis, it is easy to lose sight of it. Who are our viewers? What do they care about? What segment of viewers have we been under serving, and how can we improve upon that? These are questions I will be evaluating to become a stronger newsroom leader and mentor.

High Performance and Emotional Intelligence I want to share with my colleagues that high performance and emotional intelligence are important tools to be used by Core leaders. High performance means succeeding beyond standard norms consistently over the longer span of life. High performers say a Dean of the University   is a high performer means he does better for a longer period (provided he is given an opportunity to complete his tenure). This is because a high performer is never just good at a singular skill- he has mastered multiple skills and expertise to excel in their lives. They always do things differently and do not focus on traditional approaches. High performers love challenges and are more confident than their peers provided they are given time as well as freedom by the top management. Pushing people harder and burning them desperately will never be able to achieve high performance from their subordinates as there is a lack of emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is our ability to recognize and understand emotions of our own and our subordinates and further our ability to use them in managing the relationship to attain the goal the high performer expects from the subordinates. High performers demonstrate self-control by emotional intelligence and achieve positive desired results. It has been established that high performers have good IQ but better EQ. EQ is both the personal competence and social competence – Personal competence is to recognize our own emotions and manage our own behavior and social competence means is our ability to understand subordinates motives and behavior to proactively improve the relationship to get the qualitative high performance from them. Dr Akshay Agarwal, former Vice Chancellor of Gujarat Technological University is glaring example of high performance and emotional intelligence. #Akshay Agarwal#Gujarat Technological University#Emotional Intelligence#High Performance#EQ#IQ# Core leader# University