On the definitive leadership moment
You say that leaders learn from “crucible experiences”, or periods where a person is put to the test. What are some of these crucible experiences?
Crucibles are not only defining learning moments to a leader, but it could happen outside and not just in a work environment. We have uncovered three different kinds of crucible experiences. One is learning from being put into new territory like a new geography, a new organisation, and a new role. An example, a foreign assignment where you are not familiar with this country. I have never been here before, I have to perform and be effective in this environment.
The second is reversal, which is discovering something you thought you really understood, but turns out to be far more complicated or confusing than what you thought.
The third kind is a bit more rare but equally important – suspension. This is a time you not only have never encountered before, but you have to almost give it a structure. For someone facing a long-term period of unemployment, it can be a time of great test. It is not a time most people are familiar with so they have to give it a structure.
Is it possible for leaders to leverage crucible experiences to lead an organisation through challenges successfully?
At the core of being able to survive and to succeed is resilience – the ability to be able to bounce back from difficult times. Getting through difficult times requires recognising the gulf between where I am and where I want to be, reframing it into something that I can manage and actively choosing to do something about it. When people go through these crucible experiences, they look back and say, “I didn’t just survive, I actually learned something, and what I learned was that it is possible for me to get through difficult times.” That is an incredibly important part because you are going to be alert to these situations arising.
One of the things leaders who lead high performance organisations do is to help other people learn the lessons they have learned. It is being painfully honest and candid about the current situation, help people recognise that they are facing difficult circumstances and they are in trouble. Also, demonstrating confidence that we will find a path is critical, particularly among sceptics, and at the same time, being willing to meet with employees and admit that there are no easy solutions. It is finding the right tone to strike so people feel like they are not being unrealistic, but there is still the possibility of success.
How do you go from a good leader to an outstanding one?
The leaders we interviewed were people who didn’t simply achieve a certain level of performance plateau, they kept developing. What enabled them to continue evolving is not just practice, but a vision of themselves they want to fulfil. It is understanding what motivates them, what it will take for them to continue to practice, and finally an insight to how they learn best. The circumstances in which they learn best, aspiration, motivation and learning style become the core of their personal learning strategy.
What are tips to develop the best personal leadership learning strategy?
There is a branch of psychology and neuroscience, which looks at how people become concert level pianists, dancers, magicians, musicians. They identified five things that were critical in helping somebody go from being a novice to expert: talent, ambition to practice during difficult times, a grasp of method (which you learn the required basic skills), great teachers, and feedback. Personal learning strategy is remarkably individualistic – you can’t teach it. The only way you can bring it about is by asking questions.
What’s your vision? What’s your ambition? What do you want to accomplish? Why do you want to lead? It has to be something more than just money, or power, and would mean a great deal to you. Know what it will take for you to practice communicating, practice effective decision making, practice listening, and know how you could undermine yourself as well as.
One thing I encourage leaders to develop is their personal board of directors, which can be close colleagues but they don’t have to be people you work with, and even family members. These are people you can turn to for advice that you can trust, because they care enough to tell you the truth, and they do not always love you.
Robert J. Thomas is the executive director of Accenture’s Institute for High Performance Business and author of Crucibles of Leadership.
