As we discussed last post, leadership is the ultimate competitive advantage in any organization because it enables innovation and productivity gains in a variety of different functions. In contrast to a single isolated innovation, leadership is a catalyst for massive improvements. Furthermore, what I have seen to be true is that exceptional leadership opens the eyes of others to see that: 1) they can achieve great things previously not thought possible^[1]; and 2) there is a much broader world available to them, but transcending the present requires continued learning and personal development. 

Leadership awakens a desire in others to become better versions of themselves – to fulfill their potential.

While this desire can temporarily be met by mimicking good leadership behaviors, once awakened, people will often seek out ways to purposefully fulfill this need for development, whether inside or outside of your organization. Therefore, it is most effective and essential to intentionally develop those within your organization, and to have a clear plan to meet those needs for development. This is where the magic of leadership happens – you create a flywheel of potential within your organization.

Good leadership compounds the competitive advantage by developing others within the organization to do the same.

At TSOR, we view development as a threefold objective, and we believe all three factors – physical, mental, relational – are necessary to create and optimize a high-performance community.

We will analyze each factor in depth through subsequent articles, but today we will focus on a few questions for self-reflection: 

–       Physiologically, we know there is a strong link between food, exercise, and cognitive function. As a leader, what are you doing to actively promote high cognitive function within your team by removing barriers to good nutrition and adequate physical exercise?

–       We know that the world is changing at a rapid rate and the hard skills needed in the future are likely different than the technical competencies we have today. As a leader, are you looking to replace your current employees to meet this changing skillset requirement, or do you desire to build those already within your organization to meet the demands of the future?

–       We agree that leadership is not an end, but a means to create a better future for others. As a leader, what are you doing to actively develop leadership capital within your organization to sustain, guide, and lead your organization in the future?

These questions help us as leaders refocus on a key but often overlooked part of our job description: building a team not just for today but building a team that can be successful in the future that creates internal innovations which continue to give the organization a competitive advantage. 

Let’s rise above and lead.

^[1] Think of the example we gave with the managers that won the Toyota Kaizen Innovation Challenge. If asked twelve-months prior to their victory, they would have never expected that