Tweet

Third Generation Leadership - Developing 3G Leaders (II)

Guest post by: Douglas Long

Article Overview: G3 Leadership requires another element - it requires the ability to manage down those areas of the brain that are not helpful in leader-follower interactions while simultaneously managing up those areas of the brain that are helpful. I refer to these as "Red Zone" (not helpful) and "Blue Zone" (helpful). Where the leader has his or her brain's locus of control is critical because only G3 Leaders are able to engage everyone with whom they interact: a G2Leader can engage only some and a G1 Leader can engage only a few. As I indicated in my last article, the question is, of course, "How do we manage down the red zone and manage up the blue zone?"

Third Generation Leadership - Developing 3G Leaders (II)

Around 1899 Henry Ralph Harvey Chalmers joined The Bank of New Zealand as a junior clerk. In 1957 he finished his association with BNZ as Chairman. Over the intervening 58 years he had moved steadily through the ranks until becoming, first Managing Director, and then Chairman. The only time he was not employed by BNZ was during the First World War when, as a soldier, he fought on the Somme. Harry, as he was known, was certainly intelligent but he received no formal academic, skills, or management training over his entire working life. His was a fairly typical success story for the first half of the 20^th Century: join a big organisation, work hard, do as you are told, ensure you don't blot your copy book, and take every promotion offered no matter what the inconvenience. Harry, my Grandmother's brother, died in 1971 and I was present at the funeral where he was rightly hailed as one who had made a significant contribution to both banking and society at large.

My Uncle Harry was a typical G1 Leader - a manager in a First Generation Leadership organisation - who operated very effectively both at work and in the family primarily in a somewhat paternal, command and control format.

My Secondary Schooling was at Auckland Grammar School in New Zealand. Grammar, like most other schools of the era in those long-gone days, had a proud history of caning miscreants. (I must stress that Grammar changed this approach many years ago.) In my day, one Master started his first class with new entrants by giving a lecture on the physics of caning - complete with stick diagrams drawn on the board to illustrate his points. Another Master would chalk a "magic circle" at the top of a flight of stairs and, after the miscreant had stepped into the circle and bent over, he would cane you - the contest was to ensure you didn't fall face-first down the stairs at impact. Yet another Master once stated he would cane (3 strokes each) every boy in our class of 35 if anyone again interrupted his lecture. We made sure he had to cane us all during that class and I understand he never again made a similar threat!

Around 1958 Terry McLisky joined Auckland Grammar School as a maths and physics teacher. I was fortunate to have him as my teacher in both subjects for two years. Terry was different. I remember in his first class with us he suggested that if we wanted to learn we should sit at the front: if not, sit at the back and do what you like but don't interrupt the class. I can recall only a few instances when any student sat at the back and I have no recollection of Terry ever resorting to the cane or even detentions in order to maintain attention.

Terry McLisky was a typical G2 Leader - somewhat ahead of his time - who saw that encouraging conformance through the provision of positive reinforcement such as personalised teaching and showing students that he really wanted to help them, would get far better results than enforcing obedience.

Today the world has moved beyond both Harry Chalmers and Terry McLisky.

Since the 1980's the rapid development of computer technology, the internet and social networking has revolutionised our access to knowledge as well as the way in which we interact. Those of us who completed our schooling in the 50's and 60's may have some difficulty in this new world, but those whose schooling has been since the 1980's can hardly even imagine anything else.

Recently I have been writing about Third Generation Leadership - that form of leadership which is most appropriate today. In my last article I stated "G3 Leadership requires another element - it requires the ability to manage down those areas of the brain that are not helpful in leader-follower interactions while simultaneously managing up those areas of the brain that are helpful. I refer to these as "Red Zone" (not helpful) and "Blue Zone" (helpful). Where the leader has his or her brain's locus of control is critical because only G3 Leaders are able to engage everyone with whom they interact: a G2Leader can engage only some and a G1 Leader can engage only a few."

As I indicated in my last article, the question is, of course, "How do we manage down the red zone and manage up the blue zone?"

There are three key things involved in this:

• Powerful questioning
• Observational listening
• Optimistic listening

All these can be learned.

Research by Group 8 Management Pty Ltd in both Australia and the UK makes it clear that if individuals are to perform at their very best they need to feel safe (both physically and emotionally), they need to feel respected, they need to feel listened to, and they need to feel believed in. Much work in most developed countries has been done on creating a safe working environment and, in fact, generally this is a legislated requirement. What is less often provided is the atmosphere of respect, listening, and belief.

Powerful questioning

In First Generation Leadership (the G1 Leader) the purpose of questioning was to obtain information so that the leader could make a judgement or a decision. The leader was in charge and the role of the follower was to obey. In Second Generation Leadership (the G2 Leader) the purpose of questioning was to enable the leader to solve another person's problems or resolve their issues. In Third Generation Leadership (the G3 Leader) the purpose of questioning is to facilitate other people finding their own solution - tapping into their innovative and creative abilities and helping them develop their conceptual ability. When this is done, an atmosphere of mutual respect rapidly develops.

The very act of changing our default approach to questioning is a powerful tool in starting to manage down our red zone while simultaneously managing up the blue zones of both ourselves and those with whom we are interacting.

Observational listening

The idea of paying attention to both verbals and non-verbals when we are talking with others has been around for many years. The whole field of ideas such as "body language" is based on this. Yet, for most of us, our listening tends to be far more confined.

It has been suggested that for the majority of people, listening is most often:

• For opportunities to sound intelligent
• For a chance to say something funny
• For how I could sound important
• To information I want
• To external distractions - other noise, music etc
• For what's going on for the other person
• For approval
• To my own thoughts, not listening to the other person at all
• To be able to understand the problem
• For how I can benefit
• For the opportunity to one-up the other person
• For the details so that I can help solve the problem
• For how I can undermine the other person's point of view or position
• For how I can change or end the conversation

When we consciously shift our default way of listening away from anything in this list and we concentrate on the real message that the speaker is seeking to give, we further reduce our red zone and we further enhance the blue zones of both ourselves and those with whom we are interacting.

Optimistic Listening

The G1 Leader listens when he or she chooses and, even then, for their own benefit as they believe that they must make a decision or form a judgement, the G2 Leader listens so that they can understand the problem in order to solve a problem or resolve an issue. The G3 Leader listens so that he or she can engage the other person with the solution.

Optimistic listening makes it clear to the other person that there are probably a range of possible solutions to every issue and/or problem. For a whole raft of reasons, a solution that might be nominated by the leader may not be the best possible. Therefore engaging with the other party or parties enables better problem solving and decision making. When this is done properly the relationship between the parties involved moves to a collegial rather than a hierarchical one and all those involved have the opportunity to experience growth.

Optimistic listening is simply not possible when the red zone is dominant. The red zone is focused on oneself and tends to be judgemental. This is the zone that drives "me" being the decision maker or problem solver. The blue zone is focused on the other and tends to be optimistic and supportive. This is the zone that drives "us" to creativity, innovation, and higher level learning.

Books such as The Success Zone (2009, Mowat, Corrigan & Long, Global Publishing Group, Melbourne) provide more information as to how these three activities can be learned.

• Powerful questioning shows respect for the other person.
• Observational listening shows people that they are being listened to.
• Optimistic listening shows belief in the other person..

These three behaviours are basic pillars of Third Generation Leadership and critical tools for a G3 Leader.

My next article will follow further on this theme.

Related Articles
  Companies Develop Leaders? 10 Ways to Know
  CEO Speak Out
  Attracting Holding Good Trade Show Traffic
  Blogging
  Ten Characteristics of Leadership

Article Tags: 1G Leader, 2G Leader, 3G Leader, areas of the brain, blue zone, First Generation Leadership, generations of leadership, locus of control, neuroscience, red zone, Second Generation Leadership, Third Generation Leadership



Related Forum Posts
Re: Business Women Peer Mentoring Spotlight - Hi Everyone, Gosh, I REALLY appreciate your concrete feedback. This was far more than I expected and I'm glad you said what you thought straight out. Each of you have shared something of value and I want to take some more time to think and really go over what each of you have said. However, I can see there are some things I need to change right away. What an interesting point about a NEW program perhaps making people think they are guinea pigs! This is NOT what I want to convey! It's funny how we can see some things so clearly in others while not always seeing it for ourselves! I must admit there are a few things I've been meaning to change (like my bio which is very outdated). Obviously, these things need to be higher on my priority list. You caught me like the plumber who puts his clients first and doesn't get around to fixing his own tap! As far as my target market, I do feel quite strongly about working with Women Leaders and doing Leadership Coaching with them. It's non-negotiable in my books. In my Executive Coaching training, the terms "Leaders" and "Executives" are interchangable. To me, an Executive is a Leader and so is the Business Woman or Entrepreneur who is CEO of her own business. I love working with decision makers! What I did learn is that I need to avoid opening up the Leadership term beyond what I described above. I'm also wondering if there is a misunderstanding with the general public as to what Leadership Coaching really is. Leadership Coaching is all about developing your leadership skills, both as a people manager and in more effectively running and growing the business. There is ALWAYS room for growth in some way. As well, sometimes, we just need a sounding board to clarify what our next BEST step is. In fact, if a woman thinks she has nothing to work on, then we aren't a good Client/Coach fit anyway. How can she grow if she doesn't see the value of expressing ALL of the great ability within her? How can her company grow if she doesn't see the value of strategic planning for the next best level? Thanks again to you all! I will go back to my website and really question whether I am conveying the right message. I got more than I bargained for in this Spotlight... you generously offered way more than I was asking. I think we could be on to something great for the Forum. Now it's time to let someone else have the spotlight. It would be great if everyone took a turn! In gratitude, Tami
Re: Traditonal Demographics Do NOT Work with Generation V - That article is the first time I ever heard the term. I found this definition - [i:189o61sy]The term Generation V (for Virtual) is used to describe the online culture in which relationships, services and communication are carried primarily and preferably through electronic media. Generation Virtual is made up of people from multiple demographic age groups who make their social connections primarily online - through virtual worlds in online games, in social networks, as bloggers, or through posting and reading user-generated content.[/i:189o61sy] I like the targeting options the internet offers much better than the typical demographics. Age is particular is not nearly as effective in finding a target market unless you want to target kids. Too many of the typical demographics rely on stereotypes and just seems outdated for many types of promotion. That's one of the reasons this article title caught my eye. Shri
Re: March 21 Triple Crown Update - Congratulations to the first three Leaders in the Forum category. Keep it up.
Re: Forums Question - Ok guys - the This Month's Leaders should now be working - thank you for pointing this out!
Re: Forums Question - test post to check for This Month's Leaders - no need to reply


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

••••••>SEO Tip Of The Day: HTML Validation

Winning Market Share in a Tough Economy

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.