Leading Effectively e-Newsletter - December 2003 Issue

The Big Picture: How We Learn to Lead

Caught up in your day-to-day work, how often do you stop and think about the larger view of leadership? Do you ever wonder, What makes me a leader? How did I develop the leadership skills I currently have? How will I learn what it takes to lead in the future?

This issue of the CCL e-newsletter is the first in a series based on The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development. The newly released second edition addresses individual leader development; leader development in context of gender, race and culture; as well as developing leadership capacity in organizations. For more information, visit the CCL bookstore.

What it Takes: Four Facets of Leader Development
The path each of us takes in learning to lead is as distinct as a fingerprint. Yet, over the past three decades, CCL has identified key elements that contribute to the development of individual leadership skills. When present and working together, these four facets can expand your capacity to lead.  (more...)

How We Learn: Six Ways Leaders Develop
We learn from life. Learning to lead is no different. CCL calls the situations that drive learning and change "developmental experiences." Common developmental experiences - the ways we learn and grow as leaders - are developmental relationships, job assignments, hardships, feedback-intensive leader development programs, 360-degree feedback and formal coaching.  (more...)

Learn From Others: How Developmental Relationships Drive Leadership
Think about the people who have been significant influences in your life. Parents, grandparents and teachers. Teammates, siblings and coaches. Your first boss, the great boss and the horrible boss. Coworkers, mentors, spouses and children. All of these interactions affect us, but what makes these relationships important for leadership development?  (more...)

Accept a Challenge: Using Job Assignments to Develop Leadership
Job assignments are one of the oldest and most important forms of leader development. They give leaders the opportunity to learn by doing. Unfortunately, on-the-job learning can often be haphazard or limited. So, what can you do to ensure your daily work is contributing to your long-term development?  (more...)

Building Resilience: What Hardships Teach About Leading
"Like it or not, life's curveballs are powerful learning opportunities," says CCL's Mary Lynn Pulley. "There are things we learn from hardships that we wouldn't otherwise learn."  (more...)

Leadership Poll Results

Al Calarco

November Poll Results: Critical Leadership Challenges
Our November 2003 e-Newsletter showcased insights in leadership from the 2003 Friends of the Center Leadership Conference. The issue included a poll asking readers about their thoughts on the ideas that were presented. Al Calarco, manager of open-enrollment programs at the Center, comments on the findings.  (more...)

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Leadership and High-Performance Teams
For years CCL has researched the behaviors of highly-effective team leaders. That experience is brought into our Leadership and High-Performance Teams program, where leaders gain the momentum and support needed to turn an average team into a cohesive, high-performing team.  (more...)