Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Managing Partner, The Federal Circle
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
Dr-Smith.com

I recently wrote an article – The Essence of Leadership. In it I described two approaches to leadership. They were based on two recent conversations with ‘leaders’. Out of those conversations came two different approaches to answering the question ‘what makes you a leader’.

It seems that the article has legs as they say in the business. A number of CEO have contacted me about it. Interestingly the responses break down into four broad categories.

The first I would call ‘self-ratification and defense’. Strangely advocates of both approaches to leadership took the same tact. Their general argument was based on a sort of ‘if the shoe fits’ logic. As Popeye was fond of saying, ‘I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam’. For these people, leadership theory was descriptive of what already existed not of what might be.

The second category was people who knew which path they had taken and wanted to talk about the other one. I call these the ‘grass is always greener’ crowd. Most of them were aware – and mostly through direct experience – of their shortcomings as a leader. They wondered if some blending of the two would make for a more potent approach to leadership. These were the chiefs – adding just a pinch more of this and a dash more of that to the recipe.

Almost all of the respondents in the first two categories were CXOs. The third category was mostly made up of consultants and academics. For them, the conversation was an intellectual exercise – much like debating whether the end of a roll of toilet paper should face towards or away from the wall. These people were fascinated by the process of moving the flatware around on the tabletop but very few of them had any experience in team building, entrepreneurship or leading.

The fourth category was composed of CXOs who wanted to improve their own leadership performance. This was the smallest of the groups – it always is – but lead to the most intense and productive discussions. For them, leadership was not a theoretical concept. They were engaged in leading teams and felt personally responsible for improving their leadership skills – thereby advancing their claim to the top seat. Out of these discussions came a variation on Renee Descartes famous dictum –

© Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Related Articles:

• The Essence of Leadership
• Six Qualities of a Successful Manager – How a Coach Can Help Bring Them Out
• Assess and Fine Tune Your Leadership Skills
• Leadership Development – Assembling a Team
• Leadership Development – Commitments and Results
• Leadership – Teams of Leaders

Dr. Smith is Managing Partner of The Federal Circle. The Federal Circle partners with teams and existing companies. We help them up their game and win big in the Federal space. We also arrange funding for acquisitions and expansion by acquisition. Our model is based on the belief that, if you select the very best and work with them in a highly professional and focused manner, the results will be truly amazing. He is the author of Amazing Pace: Turbo-charged Business Development – a book that shows how Advisory Boards can dramatically increase revenue. Dr. Smith is also the author of Dream Walk: Parables for the Living – a book of Raven Tales and exploration.

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