“InnerMost Shift Leadership Lab”
The Leadership Lab is meant to develop the Human Response Operating System. It activates 7 powerful intelligences:
- Self Intelligence
- Perceptual Intelligence
- Emotional Intelligence
- Relational Intelligence
- Meaning Intelligence
- choice Intelligence
- Wisdom Intelligence
Research shows that outstanding leaders have the following traits:
Farsighted | Encouraging | Strategic | Commitment Driven | Determined | Loveable | Decisive | Practical | Respect Perceptual Truth
Based on the 8 ICF Core Competencies and the InnerMost Shift Coaching Model, leaders can develop all of these.
Farsighted.
Leaders can create a vision, a big picture of the future. They see clearly where they want to take their teams and organisations. Amazon’s top leadership, for example, thought early about using drones to serve customers. Today, generational shifts, hybrid workplaces, AI and geopolitical chaos invite leaders to be visionaries. Leaders must think far ahead of others, in imagination and possibility. Coaching helps them search the innermost layers of their mind, make the unknown known and bring others along. Leaders who can coach have a clear advantage: it is easier to partner with core teams, key executives and peers, who then support and accept the vision. The coach approach also brings creative ideas and heartfelt support.
Encouraging.
With a clear vision, outstanding leaders can inspire everyone in the company to take part. Leaders as coaches know people care about what they think and love to do, so they do not impose themselves. They let employees generate ideas and feel inspired to be part of the vision. The coach approach also inspires customers to stay loyal, investors to feel safe, suppliers to contribute and boards to support.
Strategic.
Outstanding leaders are imaginative, and they also deeply understand the strengths and weaknesses of their organisations, along with opportunities and threats. They self-coach and coach others to search for a “blue ocean”. Coaching conversations help them win strategic alliances, negotiate well and engage everyone in the mission.
Commitment Driven
Outstanding leaders are committed to their cause, and they inspire others to stay motivated and committed. They are ROI and bottom-line oriented and rely on facts, figures and data. The coach approach helps them win commitment from others and invest where returns are justified. If they are not good coaches themselves, they surround themselves with talented coaches to keep people committed and giving return on investment.
Determined.
Coaching competencies help leaders shape a vision and write a mission statement, a short and clear statement of purpose for the team and organisation. This keeps them focused and determined to finish what they start before beginning a new project. Leaders as coaches keep people on track instead of stuck in many conflicting activities with no priorities. They are persuasive. Ordinary leaders use power, position, logic, emotion and personality. Outstanding leaders are natural coaches, or they acquire coaching competencies, so their people speak and work from the heart.
Loveable
Outstanding leaders are loved and appreciated by their people. They may be techies, artists or engineers by background, but they are likeable because of unmatched interpersonal skills. Coaching competency helps leaders show a very high level of emotional intelligence and inspire people to like them and work for them from the heart.
Decisive
Decisions keep organisations moving to higher orbits, and leaders are responsible for making them. Ordinary leaders get stuck; outstanding leaders decide. Coaching competency helps leaders decide even when information is incomplete. Rarely does a leader have 100 percent of the information. It is often a “50 percent, and now what?” or “60 percent, and now what?” situation, and leaders still have to act. Most leaders use coaching sessions mainly to make decisions. Leaders as coaches know this and use the coaching approach for their people and for themselves.
Practical
Outstanding leaders are practical and straightforward. When setting performance expectations, they do a lot of self-enquiry and engage people enough that people own their goals. A great leader knows that holding people accountable works only when they are coached and allowed to be excuse-free. When people falter, leaders must be practical and truthful, which can be hard. A leader as a coach knows that even if this is not a natural trait, coaching will bring out the best in them.
Respect Perceptual Truth
Outstanding leaders are open to feedback and accept the perceptual truth others hold about them. They are creative in changing their approach and enthusiastic about lifelong learning. They let stakeholders speak from the heart and seek feedback on their performance through direct conversations and indirect means. When leaders learn how they may be coming across, they work on improving their behaviour instead of justifying it. Leaders as coaches use perceptual coaching to shift paradigm, gain insight, build understanding and respond.
