Strategy - Be Careful Which Rut You Put Your Wheel In.

What’s your strategy for leadership?

I live in beautiful Marin County, the birthplace of mountain biking. Some of my best strategic thinking happens biking on the trails. Yesterday, I reflected on my journey scaling Mt Tiburon. It’s a lot like leadership, and here’s why.

In my career, I’ve had many early-stage strategy conversations with organizations grappling to answer the question “what is your leadership strategy?” Many of these meetings were a tag team effort with Gregg Thompson, former president of Bluepoint Leadership Development. As a coach and strategist, Gregg always had great questions. Prospective clients would plumb much deeper, more considered levels of thinking about an enduring and robust leadership strategy. One that:

·      underpinned their corporate values.

·      created a common language for leadership.

·      connected to their business goals.

·      was feedback rich - using robust leadership 360 feedback.

·      was actively supported & reinforced by senior leader team.

·      involved reinforcement and accountability through coaching to ensure application & stickiness.

·      ensured a system-wide, holistic approach to developing leaders over time.

“Be careful which rut you put your wheel in” were often the parting words of wisdom from Gregg signaling that leadership development is not a “one and done” affair.

Clearly this metaphor spoke to me in a profound way. The vivid imagery of my Marin backyard playground of rutty mountain bike trails made it so much more impactful in my mind. Most corporate leadership clients are not mountain bikers, but they get the picture. Planful, considered choices at the start of a leadership journey are just like biking up the mountain and picking the right path, strategically scanning ahead, steering clear of deep derailing ruts that cause us to react and sticking with it until you reach the summit.

With the right strategy in place, the journey to the top becomes much more enjoyable and efficient.

Check out the Collective Leadership Assessment (CLA) as a foundational tool for an accelerated rut avoiding strategy up your corporate mountain.

Book a complimentary consult with David here.