Are You an Agile Leader? [Leadership]

So you are an expert, now what?

I have been rethinking both the meaning and value of “expertise”.
For much of my career, it was something I strove to develop. I knew that I needed to have expertise to advance my career. I worried about being a jack-of-all-trades because I had moved around so much in my career. People seek you out when you are an expert, right? You get to make decisions, impact change –it seemed like the ultimate achievement! You can tell from the title of this newsletter that I am moving away from that conception.

Don’t get me wrong. Expertise is important. I want a plumber with expertise when my sink is leaking. My home is still standing because of the combined expertise of a whole host of artisans and construction workers. I still believe teachers need to have subject matter expertise if our children are to truly learn. And I’d be lost without our resident experts on technology – our sons.

All the same, as I made the shift from consultant (i.e expert) to coach I have discovered that there is a shadow side to expertise. When I am invested in being the authority, I forget to ask questions, to inquire and explore. When I know what should happen it is so much harder to notice what is trying to unfold in front of me.

Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change, by Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs is a relatively new book on leadership that integrates much of what I have seen borne out in the leadership development of my clients and colleagues. So I was thrilled to discover that they identify the lowest level of agility as the “expert” level. (The other levels are achiever, catalyst, co-creator and synergist.) If you want to get a flavor for how this book might be useful to you, I encourage you to take this brief survey on their website. You will receive an assessment via e-mail that will likely intrigue you. I am currently piloting a new 360° Assessment tool based on this model (developed by the authors with Cambria Consulting) which looks very promising. If you think you might be interested, e-mail me!

Even if you don’t hold a title that implies ‘leader’, if you see yourself as someone who takes action with an intent to change things for the better (in your family, town, volunteer organization, work environment) then I believe you will find the assessment and the book thought provoking and valuable.

Don’t have time to read a whole book? Download one of these short articles which summarize key ideas about leadership agility.