…until you reach the top levels of leadership.

During recent 360 interviews I conducted for a partner, one of his colleagues noted that his need to continue being the technical expert was reducing his effectiveness.

There is a critical shift or breakthrough professionals must make if they hope to effectively leverage themselves.  They must accept the reality that the higher up one goes in leadership the importance of being technically competent diminishes.  Behavior trumps technical in leadership roles.

Leadership is less about what you can do, and much more about what you can get others to do.  Knowing how to do is important, but mastering the art of motivating others to work with and for you is essential to long term success.

Someone asked, “Why are senior executives and partners so resistant to developing people?”

Answer:  Over confidence in their industry knowledge

Here are examples a few leaders have given me as justification for not having a defined development plan for their people:

Finance executive:  ”I’ve been in this business 30 years and I can spot the people who will succeed”

Construction executive:  “We know how to build things; it’s what we do”

Audit partner:  “We wait and see who naturally excels in our business; the cream always rises to the top”

What do these justifications for not developing people have in common (other than utterly missing the point)? They’ve all assumed that because they know their business and have succeeded personally, that they will recognize top talent when they see it.  The risk, of course, is the talent not showing up in time.

I wonder if they take this “sure hope things work out” approach to business strategy and operations?

Just a reminder for those of you at the top of your organizations…your primary responsibility is preparing the leadership of the future.

Intentions can skew our perception of reality.  How we intend to lead and how we actually lead can be like night and day.  Then, of course, there’s the whole issue of other’s perception of us.

I have found that people’s perception of their leader is often closer to reality than the leaders personal intentions.

The people you lead are not concerned, necessarily, with your intentions.  They have to deal with your actual behavior.

Get clued in.  Have an objective third-party executive coach interview your colleagues and the professionals who work for you.  If you’re lucky, you’ll learn a few clues on how to increase your effectiveness.