Leap! Essential best practices and personal learning journal for leaders worth following
Foreword by Mikala Larsen CHRO, Nestlé Nordic Notes by
Rest by Ulrik Ramsing Founder, BlueBehavior and creator of LeapCards
To all co-creating clients and partners. Thank you for your trust and support.
Copyright Ulrik Ramsing. All rights reserved. Version 3.1, November 2021
Printed in A5, hardcopy on 140-gram offset paper at LaserTryk A/S, Denmark Cover image: Kasper Rasmussen, Unsplash Published by: BlueBehavior ApS VAT nr. 35821733 Søkildevej 28, DK-8680 Ry, Denmark www.BlueBehavior.com
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LeapCards Learning Journal – Dec. 2021
Welcome This learning journal is kept as short as possible. It includes only the best ideas and proven tools that have helped thousands of leaders around the world. In just one volume, you’ll get the concepts and models to improve three essential perspectives: Leading yourself, leading others, and leading business. In eight chapters, you will: • Discover your drivers ....................................................................................28 • Tell your stories .............................................................................................56 • Ask your way to good agreements .............................................................74 • Give, get, and seek feedback .......................................................................98 • Engage your team.........................................................................................124 • Cross cultures with trust.............................................................................172 • Know your stakeholders ............................................................................198 • Design and decide for your future ...........................................................226
The globally tested content is presented visually and with catalytic questions. In addition, the Live with Team exercises, asks you to do something with the ideas - both professionally and personally. To anchor your efforts, you’ll find amble space for notes and QR-codes to the matching online LeapCards with additional video clips for a total duration of more than three Hollywood movies.
Leap! can be read alone or integrated into leadership development journeys and corporate academies in many ways - from coaching dialogues and peerdriven buddy teams to high-impact onsite and online programs. For more information on LeapCards visit www.LeapCards.net For more on global leadership projects, visit www.BlueBehavior.com
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Detailed Content Leaping Forward – a Leadership Foreword ....................................... 11 Your LeapCards and Learning Journal ............................................... 12 Goal: Helping You to Help Others (and Get Stuff Done) ......................13 Journal Structure, Getting Started, and Getting Help ............................14 Your Online LeapCard Collec1on and Ecosystem ....................................16 Now: Get Your Goals on Paper. This Paper, now. .................................21 LC32: Learning Goals ................................................................................21
Part 1: Leading Self .......................................................................... 24 1. Discover Your Boundaries and Drivers .......................................... 28 Reflect on Those Around You ....................................................................28 Definition: Leadership ... is Worth Following! ........................................30 LC01: Leadership Essen1al: TAO ..............................................................31
Take Time for Your Leadership .................................................................31 Make Robust Agreements ........................................................................31 Be Observant and Pay AKen1on to the Details .......................................32 LWT: A Week of Robust Agreements .......................................................34 Making Values Work for You ....................................................................35 LC03: Behavior/Performance Matrix .......................................................35
LWT: Discussing What We Do and How We Do It ....................................37 Expressing Values and Trusting your Team ...........................................38 LC23: Values & Core Quadrants ...............................................................38
LWT: Sharing Core Quadrants to Understand Each Other .......................40 LC52: Double Quadrants ..........................................................................41 LC52: Double Quadrants ..........................................................................42
Work/Home Life Balance - Prioritization and Ownership ...................43 4 |
LeapCards Learning Journal – Dec. 2021
LC24: Priori1za1on & Work/Home Life Balance ..................................... 44
The Evergreen Priority Matrix of Urgency and Importance.................... 45 Happiness and Journaling ....................................................................... 46 LC50: Reflec1on & Inspira1on ................................................................. 47
Cu_ng Collec1ons and Inspira1on Lists ................................................. 48 LWT: Have Team Members Share Inspira1onal Items............................. 49 Finding Your Driver, Your Purpose, Your Ikigai ................................... 50 LC35: Discover Your Ikigai ........................................................................ 51
LWT: Sharing Your Core Drivers and Ikigai............................................... 53
2. Exercise and Tell Your Stories ....................................................... 56 Ask and Tell to Open the JoHari Window .............................................. 56 LC34: Open the JoHari Window .............................................................. 56
LWT: Share a Meaningful and Personal Story ......................................... 58 Prepare and Practice Good Stories ........................................................... 59 LC04 Communica1on & Storytelling ....................................................... 59
Simple structure, as in PAR for the story ................................................. 60 LWT: Prepare and Share a Story with Your Team (ed)............................. 62 Keep Cuttings Handy ................................................................................. 63 Take Your Time with the Mirror. And Your Audience!........................ 63 LC37: Make a Presence and Connect ...................................................... 64
LWT: Ge_ng Theatrical with Your Team (ed) .......................................... 66 Message, Motivation, Media, and Manner.............................................. 67 LC77: Communica1on’s 4M .................................................................... 68
LWT: Sharpening Team’s Core Message using the 4Ms .......................... 69
Part 2: Leading Others .................................................................... 70 3. Ask Your Way to Good Agreements ............................................. 74 Good Questions and Better Listening ...................................................... 74 LC09: Ask, Listen & Be Precise ................................................................. 75 LLJ v. 3.1
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Listening at the appropriate level ............................................................76 LWT: Focus on Listening and Speaking Last .............................................78 LC13: Meaningful Conversa1ons .............................................................79
LWT: Asking the Team to Examine Reality and Discover Op1ons ............81 LC08: Universal Approach: Skill & Will .....................................................82
The Many Names and Applica1ons of the “Universal Lens” ...................84 LWT: Discussing Skill and Will for Upcoming Delega1ons (ed) ................86 Realizing the Need in Each Situation .......................................................87 LC41: Situa1onal Engagement .................................................................88
The Transi1on Curve – for Tasks, Teams, and Change .............................88 LWT: Individual Dialogues on the Needs of Essen1al Tasks (ed) .............90 Make the Right and Robust Agreements .................................................91 LC07: Mo1va1ng 3P Agreements ............................................................91
Bonus Info: Personal Delega1on, Not Brand Promise .............................93 LWT: Re-examine Delegated Tasks for Team and Individuals ..................94
4. Give, Get, and Seek Feedback ...................................................... 98 Engage Sooner Rather Than Later.............................................................98 LC15: Project Lines & Triple Constraint ....................................................98
LWT: Making Mutual Alignment Part of the Process (ed)......................100 Carefully Select, Give and Respectfully Get ... Presents? ....................101 LC10: Giving and Receiving Feedback ....................................................101
Posi1ve and Nega1ve? BeKer Confirming or Correc1ng .......................102 LWT: Increased Touch Points and Shared Apprecia1on (ed) .................104 Seek Insights, Especially at Career Turns ..............................................105 LC36: Seeking Feedback .........................................................................105
LWT: Taking Extra Time for Feedback at Team Mee1ng ........................107 Read and Speak Body Language .............................................................108 LC05: Read and Use Body Language ......................................................108
Speaking Body Language Starts with a Mental Picture .........................111 LWT: Adding Boddy Language to Team Focus (ed) ................................113 6 |
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Appreciate AND Support Your Brain .................................................... 114 LC12: Rep1lian Reac1ons & Brainware ................................................. 114
LWT: Revisi1ng a Conflict to Prevent Future Repe11on (ed) ................ 117 LC11: Conflict Steps & Personifica1on .................................................. 118
Gently stepping Down the Conflict ....................................................... 119 LWT: Revisi1ng a Conflict to Discover What Got It Solved (ed) ............ 121
5. Engage Your Team, Onsite and Online ........................................ 124 Outdoor Teambuilding and Indoor Artworks ..................................... 124 LC31: Coat of Arms ................................................................................ 125
Engaging – and somewhat faster – Ways to Mutual Insight................. 126 LWT: Enjoy the Team’s Visual Sharing of Their Coat-of-Arms (ed)........ 128 LC17: Team, Trust & Parked Egos .......................................................... 129
LWT: Examine a Period of Change for Proper Storming (ed) ................ 131 Ge_ng to Win/Win Require Courage and Considera1on .................... 132 Make Meetings Work for You ................................................................. 133 LC20: Meaningful Mee1ngs .................................................................. 133
Parallel Processes and Line-ups for Nuanced Feedback ....................... 134 LWT: Tes1ng Insight Techniques and Mee1ng Feedback (ed) .............. 136 Work Against Silo Thinking .................................................................... 137 LC73: Broken Squares ............................................................................ 137
LWT: Playing Your Way to Counter Silo Thinking (ed) ........................... 138 LC22: Reflec1ve Teamwork ................................................................... 139
LWT: Experiencing the Poten1al of Reflec1ve Teamwork..................... 141 Continuous Improvement ....................................................................... 142 LC64: Closing & Capturing ..................................................................... 142
Evalua1ons and Hi_ng the Next Ground Running ............................... 143 LWT: Use Tips and Tops to Make Next Mee1ng BeKer (ed) ................. 145 Leverage Rituals to get Remote Work Right ......................................... 146 LC06: Countering Distance .................................................................... 147
Will You Trust Someone You Have Not Met? ........................................ 148 LLJ v. 3.1
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Designing for Skill or Development of Will? ..........................................149 LWT: Media Mix and Alignment of Which for What and When ............151 LC38: Remote Leadership ......................................................................152
LWT: Upda1ng Your Contract of Collabora1on for Remote (ed) ...........155 LC97: Remote’s Where and How ...........................................................156
Where – is the Robust Mul1-Source Video Experience ........................157 How – is the Connec1ng Rituals and Engaging Interac1ons! ................157 Tons of Mutually Suppor1ng but Specialized Facilita1on Tools ............160 LWT: Remote Presen1ng for Candid Feedback (ed) ..............................163 LC39: Great Work from Home................................................................164
Best Tips for Ge_ng the Work Done from Home .................................165 Best Tips for Le_ng the Work Go from Home ......................................166 LWT: Sharing Best Prac1ces – from Home to Home (ed) ......................168
6. Cross Cultures with Trust............................................................ 172 Realizing and Reacting to the Iceberg ....................................................172 LC60: Yellow Light & Blue Behavior........................................................172
Looking Up and Down the VAB Chain ....................................................174 LWT: Mapping the Team Culture Above and Below the Surface ...........175 Golden Rule and Cultural Collaboration Grades .................................176 First Rule of Fipy Culture Professionals .................................................176 LC14: Cultural Collabora1on ..................................................................177
Preparing to Co-Create Your Team’s Contract of Collabora1on ............179 LWT: Discover Team Culture and Ways to Work It .................................180 Understanding and Building Trust .........................................................181 LC62: Triangle of Trust ............................................................................181
The Essen1al Indicator of Trust is the Lack of... .....................................184 LWT: Using Shared Insight to Build Mutual Trust...................................185 Consider Sequence and Role Models......................................................186 Cultural Guidebooks and the Value of Generaliza1ons .........................186 LC67: Culturally, the Chicken or the Egg? ..............................................188
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LWT: Discussing Role Models and Living Out Values ............................ 190 LC93: Safety Culture Ladder .................................................................. 191
Engagement and Accountability Moves You Up the Ladder................. 192 LWT: Discussing Team Safety – Onsite and In-office (ed) ..................... 193
Part 3: Leading Business ............................................................... 194 7. Know Your Stakeholders ............................................................ 198 Identification, Engagements and Hot Button Lists .............................. 198 LC18: Stakeholder Rela1ons .................................................................. 198
Working Towards and With Your Stakeholders ..................................... 202 LWT: Stakeholder Visualizing, Mapping, and Planning ......................... 203 Did I Men1on Pictures and Not Just Name and Rank? ......................... 203 LC16: Iden1fy & Mi1gate Risk ............................................................... 204
Upda1ng and Energizing Your Risk Discoveries .................................... 205 LWT: Live Risk Simula1on using Parallel-placed Post-It Notes .............. 207 Influence, Dealing with Change, and Airport Layouts ....................... 208 LC47: Influencing Change ...................................................................... 208
Combining Mo1vators to Create Momentum ...................................... 210 LWT: Increasing Chances of Successful Change with Your Team .......... 213 Planning and Preparing for Change ...................................................... 214 LC83: KoKer’s Eight Steps ...................................................................... 214
LWT: Stepping up the Change Game with Your Team (ed) ................... 216 To Nego1ate or to Not Nego1ate .......................................................... 217 Simple Cycle – When You Have all the (Leap)Cards .............................. 218 LC48: Nego1a1on Cycles ....................................................................... 218
LWT: Simulated Phases of Upcoming Nego1a1ons .............................. 222
8. Design and Decide for Your Future ............................................. 226 Differentiation and Communicating Thereof ....................................... 226 LC45: Strategy – Scenario Modelling .................................................... 227 LLJ v. 3.1
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Converging Trends Leading to Innova1on .............................................230 LWT: Taking the Crystal Ball to the Team (ed) ........................................231 LC46: Strategy – Differen1a1on Canvas .................................................232
LWT: Draw your Differen1a1on Canvas Together ..................................235 LC84: Business Model Canvas ................................................................237
Ge_ng a Fine Overview but Not for Everything....................................240 LWT: Review Snapshots from the Business Model Canvas (ed) ............241 Dealing with Decisions? Focus on Those That Matters .......................242 LC19: Decisions & Biases ........................................................................243
Decision Tolerances – Volume and Pressure .........................................244 In the Process of Deciding Seek to Counter Biases ...............................245 LWT: Working with Your Team’s Decision Biases (ed) ............................248 LC76: Decision Framework .....................................................................249
Discovering the Last Responsible Moment............................................251 LWT: Examine your Team’s Decision Concerns (ed)...............................253 Back to Balance. And Overview. .............................................................254 LC86: Make Thinking Feel Like Doing .....................................................254
Going Digital on Your Mind Maps ..........................................................255 LWT: Mind Mapping with your Team (ed)..............................................258
Appendix ....................................................................................... 260 Personal Commitment ..............................................................................260 Study Plan for Learning Buddies ............................................................262 Idioms and Axioms, a Visual Word Summary .....................................264 Glossary, Terms, Abbreviations & Keywords .......................................265 Included LeapCards in numerical order ................................................267 Sources – Lists of Books, Articles and Images .......................................269 LC101: Inspira1on in Print, Web & Voice ...............................................269
Image Sources and Free Libraries ..........................................................270 Product Names and Descrip1ons...........................................................271
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Leaping Forward – a Leadership Foreword Picture from Nestlé Danmark
Leadership, learning, and respectful care for the people in our organization is a must for Nestlé. We wish to support and develop well founded, engaging and capable leadership that are willing to learn and grow for the benefit of the individual, the team, and for all of Nestlé. In serving our people and our responsibilities around the world, we need and depend upon empowered leaders who will commit to continued excellence in order to deal with the complexities of our fast and connected world. In Nordic Leadership Development programs, we have used Ulrik Ramsing’s book “Unlugged – Your Path to Authentic Leadership” since 2012. As noted in my foreword back then, the new takes on classic leadership tools gave an inspiring Aha!-experience for the participants. In this journal, it still does! The toolbox has been updated and expanded to cover the concepts and approaches needed at the essential career levels of leading self, leading others, and leading business. In addition, the format itself has been made more flexible to match the new ways of development as it combines three learning modes: A book for reading, a notebook for journaling, and a menu for quick online references and additional details. Enjoy – and take the time for all the experiments, both the ones you comment directly in these pages, and the ones you do as part of your daily leadership and the continued development of yourself and your team. Mikala Larsen Nestlé Nordic CHRO
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Your LeapCards and Learning Journal This book is written for you, and directly to you, as you seek to develop as a leader and better serve those around you. My name is Ulrik Ramsing, and I have had the distinct honor and pleasure to help thousands of international leaders discovering their way of engaging their teams while finding balance as a leader truly worth following. The tools and concepts presented in these pages are the ones that have proven to be the most effective to you as a modern leader, often with team members scattered around the globe. I say presented, as in carefully curated and serving the essential ideas with only as much inspiration as you need for meaningful application into your own leadership. It begins right here, in these spiral bound pages with teal colored questions and empty lines for your top-of-mind thoughts and actions. For in depth details, I respectfully ask you to follow the QR-codes to the online ecosystem of LeapCards where hundreds of video clips are ready to answer questions and elaborate on individual details. Should you go all in, there is a total duration of more than four Hollywood feature films waiting for you at LeapCards.net. Free voucher and direct connections follow on page 16. In tone and voice, I have deliberately tried to keep this learning journal compact and direct, as if we were in class together. At times I may get carried away, and at others I perhaps have not given as much as I should. Let me know, so we can discuss your challenges and I may update accordingly1. In all this, I hope you will join me in making the world a better place, one leader at the time – you and I included!
Ulrik Ramsing Founder of BlueBehavior and inventor of LeapCards.
1
And yes, the sequence she/he is a deliberate and continuous reminder that we need greater diversity in all aspects and all levels of leadership.
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Goal: Helping You to Help Others (and Get Stuff Done) Whether you are in a career-defining corporate leadership program or working through selected LeapCards in development dialogues with your coach, this printed Learning Journal is the place for your thoughts and notes. And it starts right now. Grab a pen. A nice one2. This is important. Top of mind, please: Of the myriads of ways you can grow as a leader and as a person, what is relevant to you right now? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
Review and now select the most important, if you could do only one thing: ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
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Seriously, we carefully selected excellent writing paper and lay-flat spiral binding exactly for you to have a nice experience with your best pen. So, use it. Writing it out of your hand is key for you mind to remember and for you heart to decide. LLJ v. 3.1
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Journal Structure, Ge[ng Started, and Ge[ng Help There is no single, silver bullet that solves all leadership needs. The solution to any given challenge is most often a combination of ideas and approaches, which begs the question: Where to start? To align with global programs and strong career level focus, this journal is broken down in to three parts and eight main chapters: Part
Chapter and Topic
Pg.
Date
Introductions, with today’s date right there ⇨ Leading
1. Discover Your Boundaries and Drivers
28
2. Exercise and Tell Your Stories
56
3. Ask Your Way to Good Agreements
74
4. Give, Get, and Seek Feedback
98
5. Engage Your Team, Onsite and Online
124
6. Cross Cultures with Trust
172
7. Know Your Stakeholders
198
8. Design and Decide for Your Future
226
Appendixes, summaries, references etc.
260
Self
Leading
Others
Leading
Business
If you’re not using the extended table of content to check-off your completions, perhaps you owe it to yourself to mark the date when a chapter is finished? Having done all the exercises, it will feel even better than striking out an item on your to-do list.
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If you have not done so already, mark today’s date in the table. Return and note the date whenever you finish a chapter. If you like to check-off, feel free to mark each LeapCards’ completion in the free space above the card’s QR Code. On a more serious note, when do you plan to be done? __________________ And what reward will you allow yourself when done? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Free room for thoughts
The next few pages hold important information about the possibilities with the included online LeapCards. If you do not wish to use the digital aspects, jump straight to page 2126 for the next exercise, or skip to page 28 to continue conventional reading of the main text in the dark typeface.
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Your Online LeapCard Collec1on and Ecosystem A LeapCard is an essential leadership concept, refined and summarized as a postcard-sized visual. What began as printed postcards are now online as a wide and deep reference library of leadership tools, ideas, and concepts at www.LeapCards.net LeapsCards are more than e-Learning. LeapCards are bite-sized, social and measurable learning nuggets that has been selected and ordered for you in this Learning Journal as outlined on page 14. Supplementing and adding details to the printed pages, there is a wealth of information online within the LeapCards ecosystem that is continuously being expanded by the contributing partners, the LeapCard Professionals. Next to each LeapCard here in the Learning Journal, you’ll see a QR-code. Scan this on your smart phone to leap directly to the corresponding card. If you allow your phone to remember, you will only have to login the first time you open a card3. When visiting LeapCards.net for the first time, please take a few minutes to read through the brief Getting Started page found here: www.leapcards.net/pages/start When you have more time, consider the front-page introductions and skim the background on the About page. If you do not already have a LeapCard account and a long-term access to the complete collection, feel free to join and pay for the complete collection using this voucher that will get you fourteen days of free access: LLJ14D. If you are with an NGO, a participant in a non-profit project with BlueBehavior Foundation, or simply need more time to develop without having access to funding, please contact me using the Relay Dialogue explained on the About page above.
3
If you are a partner and presenting this electronically during facilitation, you may also click on the card itself to leap directly to the card’s landing page. Likewise for chapter bundles and other key content- and ecosystem references.
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Seen from a broader platform perspective, the current ecosystem looks like this – with your Learning Journal highlighted and additional explanations available in the appendix on page 271. Why?
Organizational need, framework and cases
What?
Projects
Class
Teams
Individ.
with Flexible Program Design
Accelerated Talent Development
Peer-driven Learning Cycles
Leadership Development Dialogue
12-24 per cohort × 5-45 day parts
12-16 seats × 10 dps.
6-8 seats × 4 dps.
1 seats × 4 dps.
LC Pro Partners
+ options like kick-of, intakes, profiles etc.
Chapter/Bundle
Chapter/Bundle
Guide, VideoAsk, Curiosity Meet.
Chapter/Bundle
Support:
Chapter/Bundle
260+ printed pages
Chapter/Bundle
Analog!
Learning Journal
Proven Content & Platform
Complete LeapCard Collection
Ad-hoc Bundle
Each card w. quiz, details, and LWT exercise
Ad-hoc Bundle
Optional
printed postcards in robust boxes for use in class
Currently 10+ bundles covering four career focus
Articles, Books and 20+ years of Co-Creation Global Programs
With the voucher you will have full access to all the support tools and all eight main chapters/bundles through the journal’s three parts aka. career levels. LLJ v. 3.1
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A few more clarifications, unique features and practical information: Getting Help .............. Besides the actual LeapCards on the specific topics, there is the Getting Started page with three ways for you to get personal help: Relay Dialogue – send a quick VideoAsk question. Free Meeting – book a meeting directly in my calendar. Connect with partner – send an e-mail to be introduced to a LeapCard professional in your region or special area of interest Quick Inspiration...... The interactive Guide from the LeapCard top menu asks you to click through just the three questions in order to lead you to the most important LeapCard for you right now. Learning Buddy ......... Learning together with a trusted learning buddy is very powerful, especially under remote circumstances. It opens up for recommended dialogues and shared best practices. It allows you to prepare for the Live with Team exercises together. And it keeps all your four feet in the proverbial learning fire towards a fine finish – there is a study plan ready for you on page 262! In support of buddies learning together, send a mail with both your registration e-mails to buddy@leapcards.net and each receive a free package of all your LeapCards as printed postcards in the sturdy plastic case we use for live programs. 18 |
LeapCards Learning Journal – Dec. 2021
Live with Team .......... Going Live with Team (LWT) is a unique LeapCards process where you get to exercise the covered tools and topics with those who matters most: Your team members! In essence you courageously prepare an exercise, often a meeting, where all team members give you a quick 90second closing feedback using their smartphones.
The collected information is 100% anonymous and can only be viewed by you. The LWT process allows for a meaningful bonding experience while offering you a detailed documentation of your efforts and progress. At the end of each LeapCard in this Learning Journal, the full Live with Team exercise is included in teal color with the preparation AND the questions the platform will ask your team members about you! More information about learning buddies and going live with team on the About page from the LeapCards top menu. Giving Feedback ....... According to satisfied users, the material and platform really does offer meaningful and easily accessible information – but it can always be better. Please use the QRcode or the link below and in the footer of all online pages to give feedback to any part of the system, its content or application (selectable within the brief sequence). www.leapcards.net/pages/feedback
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LC Professionals........ The LeapCards ecosystem is not just supported by the team at LeapCards and BlueBehavior. More importantly, it is increasingly being leveraged by partners around the world who are working together on large scale corporate programs and the expansion of the LeapCards library, each with her or his professional perspective and area of expertise. Please use the link on the Getting Started page to get connected with a partner in your region or special area of interest. Corp. Deployments... Quite a few international organizations have integrated LeapCards not only in their global leadership programs but also in the online academies, universities, and Learning Management Systems. In such deployments a large subset of LeapCards are migrated to client-side hosting in advanced platforms like CrossKnowledge. If you are part of such organizations, you may have a direct portal access that is better integrated and more relevant than the QR-codes next to the LeapCards here. In such cases, please use your organization’s personalized learning menu to get full credits for you use of LeapCards. Sources ........................ Many LeapCards are based on proven break-through ideas from within the professional community of leadership research and development. Where relevant, all LeapCards have such sources listed up the left side of each card. For good measure the key resources are listed on page 260 with a digital reading list for books on Amazon and articles on HBR. Additional Terms ...... While not a complete glossary, I have gathered essential terms and their implication/definition in a terminology list starting on page 270. When in doubt and to avoid misunderstandings, have a look. If keywords are missing, let me know.
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Now: Get Your Goals on Paper. This Paper, now. Without goals, any direction goes. Freely from the Cheshire Cat, from Alice in Wonderland.
Let’s start right here, with an empty page. Draw the two lines, horizontally and vertically, like indicated in LeapCard 32 below. Try looking hard at your own leadership. What do you intuitively know you need to do more of? And what should you let go? Perhaps pass on to someone else on your team? What will be easy, and what will be hard? Perhaps because you like doing it and won’t let it go. Or because you don’t like doing it because it is difficult?
LC32: Learning Goals
If needed, start with a few notes about the best aspects of your job ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
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Your Learning Goals
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LeapCards Learning Journal – Dec. 2021
As with all high-impact leadership development journeys this learning journal’s blended reading/doing, onsite/online learning format, will require your tenacity, engagement, and quite a bit of courage4. Too many programs hope for effects after the training is done. Not so here. This Learning Journal will continuously ask of your teal-lined considerations and each LeapCard closes with the Live with Team exercise, where you may be somewhat vulnerable as you ask them to help you on your journey. All this begins here, with you hosting two meetings to answer the following: What does your team wish for you to improve the most? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ What does your boss wish for you to improve the most? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
4
Which is one more reason why the Learning Buddy on page 18 is so important. LLJ v. 3.1
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Part 1: Leading Self
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Leading Self
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P1B1 w. 7 LCs From the corresponding online bundle on LeapCards.net: Discover your true purpose, priorities, and the way these may be expressed as an authentic leader worth following.
In this chapter, the LeapCards Learning Journal links to: 6
Overview videos (LC 52 in development)
13
Addi:onal video details
2:48
Average video dura:on
53:21
Total video dura:on
Your expectations? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
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Part 1: Bundle 1:
Leading Self Drive
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1. Discover Your Boundaries and Drivers With sufficient “why” I can carry any “how” Friedrich Nietzsche, Philosopher, 1823-1978
Knowing who you are, what you stand for, and what gets you going is key to engaging others. Your followers will want to tap into your passion, and the strength of your following is almost always directly dependent on the strength of your conviction. However, before getting to your passion and purpose, we need to start with your expectations and a shared definition of a leader. And the three essential things great leaders worth following do!
Reflect on Those Around You Look at the three sets of teal-colored lines below. Make a note as to what you expect from your leader, from your colleagues and peers, and for those reporting directly to you. Be candid and add as many wishes as you can in about five minutes. When done, highlight the three most important items in each box and turn the page... What do you expect of your own leader? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 28 |
LeapCards Learning Journal – Dec. 2021
What do you expect of your colleagues and peers? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
What do you expect of your direct reports? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
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Consider your three most important items in each of the three boxes. Now use these as a mirror, reflecting on your own performance. On a scale from 1/bad to 10/great, to which extent do you satisfy each your three highlighted items in each category? Write your ratings above, next to each chosen item of importance. Don’t worry if it gets to be a little messy. This is what learning journals are for; capturing the top-of-mind experiences and realizations. If any of the 3 x 3 ratings were less than 5, what does this tell you? And what do you need to do, to allow yourself a higher rating? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
Defini`on: Leadership ... is Worth Following! Considering your observations above, leadership is not about power or hierarchy. Leadership is about serving those around you, giving them good reason to choose you as their leader. Which in fact is the definition of a leader: One who others chose to follow. Of course, leadership has many applications and is needed in almost everything from strategic business development to daily team motivation around mundane, must-do tasks. There are many books about essential business processes and leaders’ effective habits. However, when asked about the three most important daily behaviors, my experience from having worked with thousands of leaders around the world is simply this: Take time, make agreements, and be observant. Neglecting either, will make you very hard to follow. 30 |
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LC01: Leadership Essen1al: TAO
Take Time for Your Leadership To be worth following, you have to be serious about your leadership, starting with taking time for it. Not just wishing for it or hoping there will be more of it next week. Or asking for it. As a leader, time is something you take. You block it out and defend it in your calendar – for the big planning sessions and for walking around, checking-in to strengthen your relations. When talking about time, always go beyond the deadline and discuss the duration. You want to consider not just when a task is completed but also how much effort has been put into it.
Make Robust Agreements Think back on a leader you enjoyed working for. In all likelihood you had very few misunderstandings, which implies she/he made good agreements – from daily assignments to strategic direction. In your leadership, you can allow only positive surprises. Any negative surprise – like a misunderstanding about a deadline or level of quality – erodes the trust, deducts on your leadership capital balance, and takes away the desire to follow you.
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Given the nature of escalation, the best way of working with conflicts is actually to limit their chances of breaking out – by making strong agreements that cannot be misunderstood (more later, on page 118).
Be Observant and Pay AIen1on to the Details Taking time for good agreements is only the beginning. As you close the deal or monitor the progress of such a deal, you need to be observant of everything that may allow you to react sooner rather than later, without micromanaging! Seeing a messy and disorderly desk may indicate fantastic creativity or a growing stress of falling behind. Carefully looking at the face behind the desk may indicate the truth that you confirm by a few open, caring and empathic questions. Your matching leadership – the leadership worth following – of either getting out of the way or getting in there to help – is entirely dependent on your continuous willingness to be observant. What do you actually do to... Take time for planning, prioritization and those you lead? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Make agreements that motivates and prevents misunderstandings? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Be observant and listening with empathy to those around you? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
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Being observant means reacting to the yellow lights5. In traffic you may see them, accelerate, pedal-to-the-metal, and try your luck. Come to think of it, not the smartest behavior, but your choice and responsibility. In your leadership, however, I urge you: STOP at the Yellow Lights. As it will be discussed on page 56 you have to be observant of your gut feeling. If something doesn’t feel right, you have to pause and investigate ... before it hits you sideways as an oncoming 18-wheeler. Which yellow lights should you not have run across in the past? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ What will make you stop at more yellow lights? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
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LWT: A Week of Robust Agreements Plan a week where you will take the time to focus on making strong agreements. At the close of the week, invite a team meeting to share experiences with the added focus. Reflect and candidly rate yourself here and predict your team members’ comments as they will be asked these LWT-questions online: 1. 2.
3.
To what extent did your leader take time to create more robust agreements?
☆☆☆☆☆
To what extent have you experienced your leader being more observant for the sake of supporting your agreements?
☆☆☆☆☆
What else should your leader do to secure strong agreements? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
4.
To which extent did this exercise feel relevant for your leader’s development?
Date: ___________________
Time:
Notes
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LeapCards Learning Journal – Dec. 2021
___________________
☆☆☆☆☆
Making Values Work for You Understanding your responsibility as someone worth following and helping others by taking time, making agreements and being observant is a good foundation. It needs, however, some outer barriers that defines your preferred approach and rules of engagement; it needs the surrounding framework best offered by being explicit about your values. Discovering AND sharing your values serves three essential leadership needs: Self-realization .......... Understand and label the ideas and principles you hold yourself accountable to (and perhaps explain why certain dilemmas and choices elicits your strong reactions). Decision Making ....... Help others make decisions on your behalf. Referring to your values will help them determine what you would do in an unforeseen dilemma with no obvious answer. Shared Behaviors....... Define your leadership space and the behavioral qualities you wish yourself and your team to be recognized by and accountable to.
LC03: Behavior/Performance Matrix
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In LeapCard 03, the vertical divider separates bad performance on the left from excellent performance on the right. This is what you do and something that most managers can successfully count: If you promised 17 and deliver 23, you’re in the right column. The horizonal, blue line is a more complicated. Above the line you are behaving in alignment with the surrounding values – be that of the leader, organization or perhaps an entire culture. This is how you are getting the job done. Working below the line is to bend or even break the values/principles/culture and of course something you must seek to end, preferably by bringing the behavior back up to the level of those you enjoy working with. In consequence, you must be explicit about essential values. Without clear values any behavior is acceptable – and a strong reaction to overstepping an unseen and unexplained line is, of course, not worth following. Finding your values requires you to start looking – outwards and inwards. What are the essential words that captures and summarizes what you wish to be recognized by? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
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LWT: Discussing What We Do and How We Do It Plan for a mandatory meeting with your team to discuss how you work together. Draw the performance/behavior matrix as you introduce the need to be clear about what you do and how you do it. Let the team discuss what they require to feel both dimensions are addressed. Reflect and candidly rate yourself here and predict your team members’ comments as they will be asked these LWT-questions online: 5. 6.
7.
To what extent did you discuss both what you are working on AND how you get the job done?
☆☆☆☆☆
To what extent did your leader offer good examples and stories to clarify what it means to work within your organization’s value system?
☆☆☆☆☆
What may your leader do to help you understand the requirements presented in the values even better? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
8.
To which extent did this exercise feel relevant for your leader’s development?
Date: ___________________
Time:
☆☆☆☆☆
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Notes
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