Leadership Self-insight

By Danela Ezekiel

Leadership skills development is not enough to shift organisational culture. Leadership self-insight is an important contributor.

In this challenging economic and global environment leaders need to behave dramatically differently to how they have in the past. We have been working with organisations to help develop leadership in ways which have lasting impact.

This involves supporting leaders to gain self-insight into their patterns of behaviour, which have developed through their personal beliefs/values. When these beliefs are challenged by events or people it can trigger the leader to react automatically rather than choose a leadership response. This causes other people to respond in a particular manner, often setting up a self-reinforcing cycle. Breaking out of these limiting patterns rather than simply trying to use new leadership style is powerful. When a leader slows down and deliberately chooses a different response to an event they can have great impact without losing their authenticity. So leadership development can no longer be about providing leadership skills and styles – this is short lived. Especially when their role is undoubtedly to shift the organisational culture.

It’s powerful when leaders become aware of how their own patterns are fuelled by drivers which have got them to where they are in their career but can also get in the way of change. This is not easy as patterns are often deep seated.

It’s even more powerful when leaders become aware not only of their own patterns of behaviour but the organisation’s patterns which are systemic.

We help people learn to manage their reactions and choose a different response appropriate to the culture of the organisation, which honours their own values but is relevant to the organisation’s need. Often we are working within a culture shift in the organisation and developing leaders to face themselves and their own patterns and step into new behaviour that the is fit for purpose.

Equally interesting is that organisations also have deep seated beliefs, the “emotional ground” and patterns of behaviour. The question: are attempts to shift organisational patterns by trying to change individuals effective? Our experience seems to suggest that this might provide temporary relief but soon other conflicts are bound to pop up somewhere, as the underlying issues have not been surfaced and dealt with. However if there is a deep enough development process for  leaders, which enhances their awareness of how their patterns of behaviour impacts the organisation, then there is a greater chance of sustainable transformation.