"Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them." - John Maxwell
"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." - Ralph Nader
"Management works in the system; leadership works on the system." - Stephen R. Covey
"Leaders aren't born, they are made. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." - Vince Lombardi
"You manage things, but you lead people." - Admiral Grace Murray Hooper
"Leadership, like charity, begins at home" - Glen Slattery
"Leadership is more a state than an activity" - Gilles Pajou
What is Leadership Development?
Before we can talk about leadership development we need to understand what leadership is, how it differs from management, and what it takes to demonstrate great leadership.
There are many different definitions of leadership. None fully define the extent of leadership, but none can be completely dismissed either. Two which resonate at Starr are:
- "The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority"- Kenneth Blanchard
- "Leadership is more a state than an activity" - Giles Pajou
These definitions highlight the importance of influence and the need for self development to maximise one's impact on others if a person is to lead successfully.
Leadership Development with Starr
Starr believes that there is a significant difference between developing a ˜leader' and the process of 'leadership'. We are able to increase the capacity of individual managers or directors to lead more effectively (e.g. one to one/ceo coaching and/or leadership workshops), whilst we can also work with a leader and their team to develop the process of shared leadership and shared engagement (e.g. board development, team coaching and/or facilitation).
Starr's bespoke leadership development interventions are effective because they accommodate the notion that no leader faces the same challenges. Variables include the organisational and environmental context, strategic imperatives, the seniority of the leader, their previous experience and training, as well as the dynamics of their team(s). These factors inform our leader and leadership development interventions to ensure their 'fit for purpose'.
In addition, feedback intensive programmes, such as online 360, psychometric assessment (e.g. MBTI and 16PF), staff surveys and team profiling can all add richly to the impact of our work.
Leadership Development Programmes
Starr has a track record of successfully running appropriately focussed leadership development programmes across a range of private and public sector organisations. We offer a combination of mentoring and coaching to provide a powerful combination to build conventional leadership capability.