Leadership Development with Shaun
I don’t believe in ‘born leaders’. I believe that leaders develop, but this needs to be done in a conscious way in order to create the conditions for success.
All too often, leaders are not given the opportunity to develop and thrive in their role. They are expected to ‘pick it up as they go along’ and learn the behaviours of existing leaders. But what if the existing behaviours are not positive? This does not give people the best opportunity to succeed, and all too often they do not.
I regularly see leaders trying to become what they think the culture of the business is, with no real support or moral compass to guide their actions. They try to help themselves by reading everything they can about leadership and, if they are lucky, they might be sent on a generic leadership training course. This might seem proactive, but often the benefits are short lived and it may not contribute to the development of authentic leadership.
In my experience, all of these approaches fail to hit the mark and do not provide a genuine return on the investment. In their attempts to become a better leader, people often pick up some disjointed concepts and bad habits, creating confusion and disillusionment with leadership development. As a result, they fail to engage with their people in a genuine way.
Most people recognise and respond well to authenticity. I work with the individual needs of leaders, collaborating with them to develop their own authentic leadership style. I help them to understand themselves, their strengths and how they can use them to the greatest effect with their people. I build their leadership capability and skills, which in turn enhances their confidence to deal with the challenges that they encounter.
My aim is to support individuals to become ‘conscious leaders’ where they reflect on themselves, their style, and the way that they work with others. This allows them to be more vulnerable with their people and build strong bonds of trust between them.
Trust is fundamental to our relationships, and it is only through considering it in a conscious way that we can really build meaningful relationships. Through this more conscious style of leadership, individuals can develop into effective leaders who can engage, nurture, and really lead their people.