Human leadership development is no picnic. We come face to face with who we are and realise there is likely a better way of being in the world. We discover that we might be better, and by correlation, who we are now might not be as awesome as we once thought.
Self awareness is like seeing a video of yourself and realising the picture in your head does not match what is being shown back to you. It’s the painful precursor to growth, if you decide to embrace something different.
Leadership maturity is a development theory that espouses that human ‘action logic’ - a way of thinking and acting in the world - can go through developmental stages. Each stage builds on the previous stage, allowing more versatility in handling complex challenges.
A leadership mindset for maturity
Here are some signs you might be headed for a leadership maturity shift:
You discover you’ve made some mistakes, and you are mortified about being so blind. But you don’t try to cover them up. You decide to learn from them instead.
You feel bad about the things you’ve said and done, but you’re not sure what to do about it.
You receive some feedback about your behaviour that comes as a complete surprise. And you decide not to dismiss it, even though you’re incredibly hurt, but try to make sense of it.
Something you’ve believed as true starts to crumble. Like the day I realised my very first mentor had human failings. She wasn’t the perfect leader, and she had petty jealousies and sometimes played favourites. This realisation was a chasm of disappointment, and yet it helped me to be better myself. Perfection was not the aim in leadership; improvement was.
You have gnawing self-doubt at the back of your mind that you could be doing more, that you are not quite reaching your potential, and you don’t want to live out your life wondering ‘what if’.
Here are some major tipping points at key developmental stages:
You realise you don’t need to be the smartest person in the room, and probably aren’t, and that you can actually get more done as a collective than as a superhero.
You’ve never been busier, but you know you are not being that effective. You know strategic thinking is important, but you have a hard time getting around to it. Burnout looms.
You’ve hit success after success, sacrificed a lot on your journey, but now you’re wondering, “Is this really all there is? Is this what life is really about?” A sense of yearning fills your moments.
Signs you are growing into a leadership amplifier
These are some of the factors that evolve as you expand your leadership maturity. Explore where you fit.
CONVENTIONAL
PURPOSE (of leadership) - Share knowledge - Improve results
PERFORMANCE - Individual success - System effectiveness
PERSPECTIVE (on truth) - Absolute - Relative
SPHERE OF CONCERN - Local - National
POST-CONVENTIONAL
PURPOSE (of leadership) - Encourage development - Expand consciousness
PERFORMANCE - Sector resilience - Global evolution
PERSPECTIVE (on truth) - Qualified - An experience
SPHERE OF CONCERN - Global - Universal
Where do you see yourself? Is it working effectively in your context? What are the benefits and drawbacks of evolving your leadership maturity? Are you ready for the pain of developing more self awareness? Do you have support for growth?
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About the author, Canberra leadership expert Zoë Routh:
Canberra based leadership expert, Zoë Routh, discuss signs you are growing into a leadership amplifier.
Zoë Routh is one of Australia’s leading experts on people stuff - the stuff that gets in our way of producing results, and the stuff that lights us up. She works with the growers, makers, builders to make people stuff fun and practical.
Zoë is the author of four books: Composure - How centered leaders make the biggest impact, Moments - Leadership when it matters most, Loyalty - Stop unwanted staff turnover, boost engagement, and build lifelong advocates, and People Stuff - Beyond Personalities: An advanced handbook for leadership. People Stuff was awarded Book of the Year 2020 by the Smart WFM Australian Business Book Awards.
Zoë is also the producer of The Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast.