What do you do if leadership development isn’t the right solution?

 “What do you do if leadership development isn’t the right solution?” 

Not possible I hear you say, it’s always a leadership issue!

When Jim Collins researched the differences between good company’s and great company’s for his best selling book Good To Great, he specifically instructed his research team not to take the lazy option and make it a leadership issue. He pointed out how easy was to signpost leadership as the route cause of all things problematic. Culture, vision, mission, strategy, people, process, performance, profit, sales, productivity and so on, all a leadership issue. The outcome of the research done by Jim Collins and his team did indeed boil down to leadership issues but it is not so in every case.

How it all began

A few years ago I met with a partner of a law firm. I had been introduced via a mutual third party, with whom I had conducted a lot of leadership development work over a number of years. My stock was pretty high in the eyes of this individual. We had a very productive meeting and discussed many of the challenges he was facing. We talked over some aspects of his personal productivity, personal leadership, motivational leadership and strategic leadership, the four areas of leadership we work in through our Total Leader solution. We explored the team dynamics, company structure, and finished on a personal needs analysis of the individual himself.

Now typically I would have gone on to feedback and then share my thoughts on a way forward, a solution made up of some personal and professional leadership development. Not this time however. This time I said no. I gave some honest feedback about the situation he found himself in and shared some thoughts. I left knowing that I had done the right thing.

Doing the right thing

No amount of leadership development would have solved the challenge this guy faced at the time. I would have been delighted to have worked with him, we had great rapport, similar attitudes, a shared values and outlook on the world. I am certain it would have been a lot of fun for both of us. I also believed that he would have benefitted greatly and made a great leader. That said it would have been the wrong thing to do.

We have stayed in touch over the subsequent years. We have met a couple of times, he has spoken at one of my leadership conferences but we’ve never done any business together.

All those years ago I simply did the right thing. I did not sell him something he did not need, I did not chase a quick pay day, I did not make a quick buck and walk away. I kept the communication channels open, we Linked In, we passed comment and liked stuff each of us posted. We have agreed on some things and we have disagreed on others. He supports Sheffield United and I support Birmingham City.

Where are we now?

He is now Group CEO of his own legal practice and on Thursday of this week I am going to see him to take a look at what he has built. I don’t know if we will discuss doing business together now or in the future. What I am excited about is seeing how he has built his business up over the last 12 years and how doing the right thing all those years ago helped him on that journey.

I believe a great leadership question to ask of yourself and others when you’re facing a really tough call is this- “What is the right thing to do?”

So when I was asked last week “What do you do if leadership development is not the right solution?” I’ll do the right thing.

Mark Tonks