The Secrets of Becoming a Remarkable Leader Kevin Eikenberry
The Secrets of Becoming a Remarkable Leader: What the Best of the Best Do by Kevin Eikenberry Chief Potential Officer The Kevin Eikenberry Group info@
Preface I ve been in the business of observing, teaching and coaching leaders for over twenty years. I ve read and written lots about the how s and what s and why s of leadership. After all this time, all the work, all the learning, all the teaching and all the writing, I recently distilled the key habits of the best leaders into a short teleseminar. What follows is an edited transcript of that event. I ve kept it short to make it accessible and to force me to cut and parse to get to the most important items. This report is meant for every leader who is frustrated with their ability to lead, stressed by the complexities of leading, and every leader who wants to get better for themselves, their team and their organization. In other words, it is for every leader who is taking breath and sustenance. It is a culmination of my work to date and is meant to help you learn the secrets of the best leaders and help you apply them to your life and work. Here s to unlocking your Remarkable Leadership potential! Kevin Eikenberry Chief Potential Officer, The Kevin Eikenberry Group Creator, Remarkable Leadership Learning System info@
Transcript I have been working with leaders for almost 25 years, and in this Special Report, I ve distilled down the secrets that define the best leaders. To start, I want to ask you a critical question. Why do you want to be a more effective leader? There is no right or wrong answer to that question. It s a personal answer, but I will tell you this: the best leaders have an answer. We ll come back to this later in the Report, but keep thinking about it: Why do you want to be a more effective leader? Next question I want to address and one that I m sure you re asking is, are these really secrets? Well, in a way no, because they are in plain view. If you look at the best leaders and observe them and pay attention, you'll see them. But since most people don't do this, because most people aren t paying attention to what the best are doing, they might as well be hidden, right? I spend a lot of my time helping people learn the skills of leadership. I've written several leadership books, I ve developed lists of core competencies of successful leaders and I ve created workshops and training based on this research. And the truth is there are all sorts of skills lists. There are lists from other smart authors; and there are countless lists to be found online (just Google skills of an effective leader and see what I mean). But here's the thing, in the end, what you need to learn is habits, not skills. Do the best leaders have skills? Absolutely. But what s important to recognize is that there isn't one perfect skill-set because there's not one perfect leader. So while the skills are important and we are going to talk a little about that before we're done, what the best of the best do supersedes skills alone and gets at habits. The best of the best think about habits and not only skills. So what are these secret habits then? HABIT #1: The best leaders are students of human behavior. They notice what people do. They read about human behavior. They study human behavior and pay attention. They read books not just about leadership, but also influence, communication and all manner of things about how the human brain works and why we behave the way we behave; because as leaders we are leading humans. info@
HABIT #2: The best leaders are students of their own personal behavior. They try to understand why they do what they do, when they do what they do, how they do what they do and what are the things that trigger them. HABIT #3: The best leaders are students of organizational behavior. They are students of how teams work, of how large and small organizations interact and work; they study and understand the culture of organizations and what creates it and what it is and how it works. Because they are leading inside an organization, they understand the importance of continually studying and learning about the organizational behavior. HABIT #4: The best leaders are students of communication. When is the best way to communicate? How is the best way to communicate? Why do we communicate? They realize that in the end, it s not just about what they say, but how their message gets received. This doesn t mean that they don t make mistakes quite the opposite. However, by being a student of communication, they are continually getting better. You will notice that the first four habits all use the word student, so all of those habits in effect are about the learning that leads us to skills. HABIT #5: The best leaders are observant. Now being a student of your own behavior requires you to be observant; being a student of organization behavior requires you to be observant. And it s about a whole lot more than that, about noticing what's going on around you. HABIT #6: The best leaders are self-aware. They know about themselves, they know what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are. They are honest enough with themselves to be aware and to work on strengthening their strengths and minimizing the effects of their weaknesses. HABIT #7: The very best leaders are extraordinarily reflective which takes us back to my original question, why do you want to be a more effective leader? Being reflective is one of the keys to being more effective at anything, to allow us to learn from our experience and it s clearly true for the very best leaders. HABIT #8: The best leaders are proactive. They take action. They don't sit back and wait. This doesn't mean that they fly off the handle, but it does mean though that they have a bias for taking action, they are proactive. The best leaders are proactive. They know that there are things to do and they are getting them done for themselves, for their teams, for their organization. info@
HABIT #9: The best leaders are accountable. They are accountable to themselves. They realize that for everything that happens, they have some influence on it. And they ask themselves and think about what they need to do to make this better, what part of this belongs to them. They help others be accountable too of course, but it all starts with them. HABIT #10: The best leaders are learners. They are learners first and foremost through building habits (including the very ones we ve discussed here). They are aware of the need to build habits, they are aware of the power of habits and they recognize that doing that is an incredibly important part of how they learn. They also look for opportunities to learn (which if you re looking, are everywhere). They're looking at the world through the filter of, how can I use this to be a better leader. And because they know that training is an important part of their learning journey, they don t assume that training is enough and they don't wait for someone to offer training. They know that their learning does not equate to how much training they have had. Now this doesn t mean they don't value training, it means that they know it's only part of the puzzle. They're willing to invest in themselves whether that s time or money; and even if the organization doesn't initiate it, even if they have to negotiate with their boss or with the organization to get what they want. HABIT #11: The best leaders are readers. Reading is a tremendous opportunity to learn (yep, that habit again). Whether reading a blog post, whether reading a book, the best leaders are readers. They've got bigger libraries than TV rooms if you will. HABIT #12: The best leaders seek out feedback. The best leaders want to know how improve. They seek out feedback from their teams and from others around them. The reason that they improve is because they want to improve. And they improve through being open to, seeking out and listening to feedback HABIT #13: The best leaders have coaches. The best leaders, the best people at any skill have a coach. Coaches provide so many things for us and it doesn't matter what the experience level or field of expertise the best want to get better, and that hunger for knowledge drives them to look for a perspective outside of their own. They look to and have coaches. HABIT #14: The best leaders have high expectations of themselves. And even if they don't, they're working to build them, because they realize that their belief in themselves and the expectations that they place on themselves matter. info@
I recently told my team that I needed to go out and get my next book contract signed, because once there is a deadline, I have an expectation to hold myself to. Now you might be wondering, don t you have enough discipline to get your next book finished with a self-imposed deadline? And you re right. And it doesn t mean I couldn't do it without a deadline, but what I know is that when I have that, I'll be far more effective. So the bottom line goes back to the question I asked at the beginning of this report. Why do you want to be a more effective leader? The best leaders have a crystal-clear answer to this and that clear reason drives everything. Period. Now you may have thought that I was going to tell you that the best leaders were great communicators or have this set of skills or another. But the magic, the opportunity, happens when you combine skills with the habits we ve reviewed here. So now we come to the real question of what should you do with these habits? These secrets? The first thing you should do is get started. Which of these habits do you need to be doing, but aren t? Which one is something that you have heard feedback from others on or is an area that you can improve? Or on a different note, which one is a strength that you can further strengthen? Whatever it is, pick one and take action. I also want to tell you about our Remarkable Leadership workshops. Six years ago, I built the workshop around these very concepts. Remarkable Leadership was designed to help leaders just like you take the next step in your career. A powerful 2-day workshop, it combines proven, actionable techniques with peer interaction to help master effective leadership. We explore and apply a wide range of essential leadership skills and competencies, including: Leaders as learners Leaders as change leaders Leaders as communicators Leaders as relationship builders Leaders as coaches Leaders as creators and builders of teams Leaders as goal setters and achievers info@
Plus a follow-up methodology to ensure successful implementation of your plans and much more! Part of your experience at the workshop includes an evening networking event on the first night. This gives you the chance to interact with me and the rest of the group and is another part of the learning process. The workshop also includes a six-month subscription to our print newsletter, The Insider, e-mail follow-up, custom designed to give you additional content and resources after the workshop as well as two group coaching calls with me after they return from the workshop you do the talking, you ask the questions and you share your successes and challenges. You can view the agenda on the following page or get more information at RemarkableLeadership.com. So your last step, whatever it is, whichever of the things we have talked about that you need to do, the only next step is to TAKE ACTION, because if you want to get the best results, you have to do what the best do. Here s to taking action and becoming the leader you were born to be! We move toward our potential when we turn learning into action. ~Kevin Eikenberry info@
WORKSHOP AGENDA DAY ONE: 8:00 am.registration Open 8:30 am.remarkable Leaders Learn Continually Describe why continual learning is a critical Leadership skill List five key habits of continual learners 9:45 am.remarkable Leaders Champion Change Describe the differences and importance of change managers, change leaders and change champions Identify and apply the four key levers to organizational change Apply strategies to improve the adaption of organizational changes they are leading 11:00 am.remarkable Leaders Communicate Powerfully Identify and communicate more effectively with the four communication styles Use stories more effectively as a leadership communication tool 1:30 pm.remarkable Leaders Build Relationships Utilize at least four specific strategies to build relationships more successfully Use the four components of trust to build more trusting relationships 2:45 pm.remarkable Leaders Develop Others Exhibit effective coaching behaviors Provide more useful and accepted feedback 4:00 pm.remarkable Leaders Focus on Customers Assist teams in creating a customer mindset Model effective customer focused behaviors DAY TWO: 8:30 am.remarkable Leaders Influence with Impact Recognize the importance of personal values to leadership success Use at least four tools to create greater focus 9:45 am.remarkable Leaders Think and Act Innovatively Stimulate more and better ideas personally and with their teams Use at least 5 practical methods to support the creativity of others 11:00 am.remarkable Leaders Value Collaboration and Teamwork Use the CARB model to diagnose and improve team effectiveness Use at least three strategies to increase team energy and effectiveness 1:30 pm.remarkable Leaders Solve Problems and Make Decisions Write specific problem statements Facilitate team problem solving 2:45 pm.remarkable Leaders Take Responsibility and Accountability Create more accountability amongst their teams Delegate more effectively 4:00 pm.remarkable Leaders Set Goals and Support Goal Setting Assist team in creating jointly held goals. Help teams align their goals to the organizational strategies 5:00 pm Workshop Wrap-up Create a practical and do-able action plan Use a follow-up methodology to ensure successful implementation of their plans. RemarkableLeadership.com 317-759-3171 info@
About Kevin Kevin Eikenberry is a world renowned leadership expert, a two-time bestselling author, speaker, consultant, trainer, coach, leader, learner, husband and father (not necessarily in that order). Kevin is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a leadership and learning consulting company that has been helping organizations, teams and individuals reach their potential since 1993. Kevin s specialties include leadership, teams and teamwork, organizational culture, facilitating change, organizational learning and more. Kevin s philosophy in business and in life is that every person and every organization have extraordinary potential. Investments of time, energy, focus and money are required for that potential to be realized. He believes learning is an active, ongoing process, not a passive, one-time event. Learning, work and life should be fun; and, if we are doing it right, work (and learning) is play. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies, small firms, universities, government agencies, hospitals, and more. His client list includes the American Red Cross, A & W Canada, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, John Deere, Purdue University, Sears Canada, Shell, Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Mint, Verizon and many more. Kevin also is the creator and content developer of The Remarkable Leadership Learning System, a continual leadership development process focused on developing the 13 competencies of remarkable leaders with virtually delivered content to leaders worldwide. He is the developer of the Leadership Training Camp, the Coaching Training Camp and the codeveloper of the Bud to Boss and Ultimate Communicator Workshops all offered in both public and in-house versions across North America. He is the bestselling author of Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time, a leadership primer designed to help you learn and master the 13 competencies of remarkable leaders; and Vantagepoints on Learning and Life, a collection of his email essays on learning from everyday experiences. His other books include #LeadershipTweet: 140 Bite Sized Ideas to Help You Become the Leader You Were Born to Be, and the co-author of From Bud to Boss: Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership. He is a contributing author to The Handbook of Experiential Learning, Masters of Sales, 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life and the best-selling Walking with the Wise. Kevin also has been a contributor to thirteen Training and Development Sourcebooks since 1997. He has also info@
produced a series of workshop modules based on his Remarkable Leadership book, offered through Pfeiffer and Associates. Kevin also writes two email-based publications: Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential, a weekly publication read by more than 22,000 worldwide, to assist organizations and individuals in turning their potential into desired results; and Leadership Updates, sent several times each week. In addition, his Leadership and Learning Blog has been recognized on several occasions as one of the best leadership blogs in the world. info@