Jakarta, 31 January 2024 — Developing leadership is like mastering a martial art. It takes a trusted approach and deliberate practice.

Story

It happened over the past 15 years. From the professionals I have coached and trained on leadership around the world, I see three groups when it comes to their interpersonal skills and leadership appetite. First are the professionals with poor interpersonal skills who are frustrated by their inability to communicate effectively. Having seen them frequently among engineers and other highly trained specialists, I found that they can improve their skills with (widely available) training courses—if they are sufficiently committed. 

Second are the professionals who get by with their interpersonal skills and are satisfied with the status quo of their career and networking with colleagues. There isn’t much to say about this group when it comes to development. Since they feel little or no desire to improve, no amount of training and coaching will help them to level up. It will take a life event for them to wake up and decide that it’s time for a big leap to start playing a bigger game. 

Third are the professionals who self-identify as leaders or wannabe leaders, who are not satisfied with the status quo. Often, what they will talk about are team challenges, lack of upward influence, and a higher expectation about career progression. Because of their frustration, they want to level up their skills. As individuals and teams, they want to influence their colleagues (including bosses) and their clients and partners. Even if they still lack confidence in some areas, they are clear about wanting to make positive changes happen in their teams, projects, and across the whole business. In TransformationFirst.Asia, these are the professionals we like to work with. 

Challenge

Where do we find our favorite kind of professionals to work with? To start, we see them among executives and in teams of leaders operating across the business. Often, these leaders are already thinking about their next challenge, their next transition to navigate, or how to reinvent themselves professionally for the next phase of their career. We also find them among senior professionals and emerging leaders of all generations who take their leadership development seriously. What makes them eager to engage?

Usually, these frustrated and self-motivated leaders have already attended a few leadership training events, read several books, and watched videos about leadership-related topics. And then, they have come to realize that investing in those learning resources still hasn’t turned them into effective and trusted leaders. So they knock on the door to look for a different approach. And that’s when we, if we are a good fit, can start working together.

Developing leadership is like mastering a martial art. Can you earn a black belt after a few hours of training? That’s ridiculous, right? It will take years of dedicated practice, think of three to five years or longer. Leadership is no different. It takes months and years of deliberate practice. Kung Fu means acquiring a skill through learning and practice. The Kung Fu of leadership is that the change will be slow, yet steadily manifested in every step of your practice, right from when you start. There is no leapfrogging or shortcutting. As a Kung Fu master told me, “We practice, we cultivate,and we continuously hone our skills.” 

Question

The Kung Fu master’s words sum up well how our Transformation First approach to leadership is different from what you can find elsewhere. The leaders we work with will embark on a journey of deliberate practice, taking on challenges one after another. Because every leader is unique, we start our working together by putting together who you are, what you ‘bring to the table,’ and where you want to go in your leadership journey. Then we find your unique challenge to start working on. And from there on, it’s a process of practice, collaboration, and feedback.

Our trusted approach to developing leadership can seem counterintuitive. As humans, our minds will always look for shortcuts and easy ways forward. That’s why businesses organize leadership training events that promise quick benefits. Research has shown those to be like bananas, with little to show for after the initial sweet taste. On the other hand, the trusted approach will let you discover how to grow your leadership like bamboo. As you build your leadership muscles, your practice leads to sustained results. It’s an amazing experience that you want to feel for yourself. 

My question for you this week is which of the three groups do you see yourself in? If it’s the third, and you are committed to investing in developing your leadership, simply set up a Free Strategy Call so we can discuss how you can grow your leadership like bamboo by transforming yourself and your team first, starting right away. Let your frustration with the status quo give you the power to grow as a leader.