Welcome to The Leadership Sphere Newsletter Edition 1!
It is with great excitement and anticipation that we begin publishing our newsletter blog today. It heralds another chapter in us seeking new and different ways to add value to the lives of busy and often over-stretched leaders.
The problem in today's on-line world is not how we find information, but rather how we manage the huge volume of information coming at us from multiple channels - some of it useful, much of it not. We can Google anything and everything from mousetraps to meteors and engagement to effective execution. We are assured of 100,000s of 'hits' to choose from in a world where research has shown we dedicate about 7 seconds of our lives to work out whether the web site is of use to us or not.
Think about it......7 seconds.
Wouldn't it be wonderful for someone to sift through the thousands of pieces of information, from web sites, journals, newsletters, newspapers and television to give me what I want in a succinct, no-nonsense format?
This is the precise aim of this newsletter. A source of meaningful information for the leaders of today based around the principles encapsulated in the Seven Spheres of Leadership.
Where did these come from I hear you say....
The Seven Spheres of Leadership have come together after years of working with leaders and teams. While not purporting to be the complete answer (for example, we do not address technical competencies), the seven spheres are the dimensions of leadership that we have found to be the most critical - and the ones leaders find the most challenging.
They are:
- Envision a compelling future and purpose
- Achieve higher levels of Engagement
- Achieve effective Execution and alignment
- Develop Emotionally intelligent leadership
- Live from purpose and Ethical behavior
- Develop sound Energy management practices
- Gain clarity about an Enduring legacy and pathway
The Seven Spheres of Leadership are practical domains researched by 100s of authors as being critical to the success of leadership and organisations. Frequently however, the domains prove to be difficult to implement for many leaders. Some leaders to do some of them well, while it is a rare leader who has mastery of all seven.
If you were to rate yourself now on each of the seven dimensions, say between 1-10 (1 = poor and 10 = Exceptional), how would you go?
Take a moment to jot down your answers.....
Are you satisfied with your scores? If not, why not?
These dimensions have time and time again been demonstrated to the most powerful areas of focus for leaders in three key areas:
1. Organisational Performance is Driven Through Leadership - Leaders create the environment and context for people to fulfill the organisation's mission and goals. It impacts culture, employee engagement, and ultimately, organisational performance.
2. The War for Talent - Numerous surveys and data now confirm that attracting and retaining talented people is the number one business challenge, which is being heightened by a growing skills shortage. The quality of leadership and the culture created are key in determining an employee's experience at work, effort expended and ultimately, their decision to remain or leave.
3. Corporate Culture is Your Business - A strong organisational culture is associated with strong leadership and organisational performance. Culture is not something separate to business - rather, every action, decision, conversation and dollar spent is symptomatic and reinforcing of the current culture.
So, welcome aboard.
We will be exploring each of these dimensions together - and how we will do that is by publishing The Leadership Sphere Newsletter as a blog, simply meaning that you have the opportunity to post comments on the newsletter and articles as they are posted.
It is our aim to create a valuable resource and learning community that you will derive significant benefits from - as a leader, as a business person and in terms of living a more fulfilling life.
Lets begin!
Warmly,
Phillip
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