Presented by Kelvin J. Cochran Developing Authentic Leadership

Presented by Presented by

Kelvin J. CochranKelvin J. Cochran

Developing Authentic Leadership

Study of Great Leaders

• 50 years and 1000 leadership studies

• Determine definitive styles• Determine characteristics• Determine personality traits• Determine core values

Still no clear profile of the ideal leader

Discovering Authentic Leadership

• “All of us were born originals, some of us will die as copies”

• No one can be authentic by being a copy

• People trust a genuine leader

“Leadership has many faces. Being who we are and cultivating our purpose is more important than emulating someone else.”

Authentic Leadership

Cloning successful leaders from history and the present will not assure successful leaders in the future.

Authentic Leadership

If we were able to take the best of all character and personality traits of the best of successful leaders and inject them into each aspiring subordinate, we would set them up for failure.

Authentic Defined:

• Conforming to facts and therefore worthy of trust, reliance or belief

• Authentic leaders are always in the process of conforming

• We are all a work in progress

Authentic Leaders

• Demonstrate a passion for their purpose

• Practice their values consistently• Lead with their hearts and heads• Establish long-term meaningful

relationships• Have self-discipline to get results

Authentic leaders know who they are.

Authentic Leaders

To Become an Authentic Leader You:

______________________________• Do not have to be born with specific

character and personality traits• Do not have to wait for approval• Do not have to be at the top• Must discover your potential and

fulfill your leadership destiny

Authentic Leaders

Five areas of focus for Authentic Leadership

______________________________• Life stories• Practicing your values and principles• Balanced motivations• Building a strong support team• Living an integrated, grounded life

I. Your Life Story

Learning From Your Life Story___________________________

• Your life narrative is a recording playing in your head

• Keeps your experiences in context with your vision

• Inspires our dreams and destiny

• Your resume is not who you are

I. Your Life Story

The Full Spectrum of Experiences

___________________________

• Impact of parents

• Athletic coaches

• Teachers

• Mentors

Your Life Story

Transforming Effects of Crucibles

______________________________• Poverty• Loss of a job• Personal illness• Death of a relative or friend• Being excluded• Discriminated against• Rejected by peers

Knowing Yourself

• Self-awareness--the most important capability for leaders to develop

• Most common tendencies:– Strive to achieve success: money,

fame, power, status• Achieves unsustainable success Knowing our authentic selves

requires courage and honesty to openly examine our experiences

The Value of Feedback

• Two things I should stop doing

• Two things I should start doing

• Two things I should continue doing

II. Practicing Values and Principles

“The values that form authentic leadership are derived from beliefs and convictions, but you will not know what your true values are until they are tested under pressure.”

Practicing Values and Principles

It is easy to list your values and live by them when things are going well. When your success, your career or even your life hangs in the balance, you discover what’s important, what you are prepared to sacrifice and what compromises you are willing to make. Leadership principles are values translated into action.

IAFC Board Values

• Member-Driven

• Leadership

• Integrity

• Professionalism

• Dedication

IAFC Board Values

• Confidentiality

• Respect

• Continuous Learning and Improvement

• Collaboration and Teamwork

• Open Communications

III. Balancing Motives

Because authentic leaders need to sustain high levels of motivation and keep their lives in balance, it is critically important for them to understand what drives them to do what they do.

Balancing Motives

Extrinsic Motives______________• Recognition• Social Status• Promotions• Financial

rewards• Peers, Parental

Expectations

Intrinsic Motives______________• Personal growth• Helping others• Social causes• Making a

difference

IV. Building Your Support Team

• Authentic leaders build their networks over time, as their experiences, shared histories, and openness with people close to them create the trust and confidence they need in time of trial and uncertainty.

• Leaders must give as much to their supporters as they get from them so that mutually beneficial relationships can develop.

Building Your Support Team

Authentic Leaders Build Support Teams

________________________

• Counsel during uncertainty

• Help in times of difficulty

• Celebrate in times of success

Multifaceted Support Structure

• Spouses/Significant others

• Families

• Mentors

• Close Friends

• Colleagues

Personal and Professional Support Groups

• Professional– Professional associations– Conferences

• Personal– Community service organizations– Civic groups– Golfing buddies– Small group meetings

V. Integrated Life: Staying Grounded

To lead a balanced life, leaders need to bring together all of its constituent elements—work, family, community, and friends—so that you can be the same person in each environment.

Integrated Life: Staying Grounded

• Think of your life as a house, with a bedroom for your personal life, a study for your professional life, a family room for your family and a living room to share with your friends.

• Can you knock down the walls between these rooms and be the same person in each of them?

Integrated Life: Staying Grounded

• Steady and confident presence• No zero-sum game personal

and professional• Resonates in high stress

conditions• Model a fitness culture• Spiritually connected• Community service oriented• Cherishes humble beginnings

Empowering Others

• There is no success without a successor

• Develop leaders at every level

• Empower others to step up and lead

• A reputation for building relationships

• Attracts talented people

Rewards of Authentic Leadership

• Pleasure of group achievement

• Crossing the finish line together

• Satisfaction of empowering others

• Making the world a better place

Personal Change

• One person can not change another person.

Arthur’s engagement dinner• Most people need to look at the

way they look at change. “I sure hope things will

change.”• The only way things will change

for me is when I change.

Personal Change

“I don’t know why I am this way.”• You are the way you are because

that’s the way you want to be.

“We can not become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” -Dupree

• When you make the right personal change, other things begin to turn out right

Personal Change

We’ve got to align ourselves with purposes greater that ourselves….

• Needs

• Motives

• Goals

Personal Change

Stop Seeking Achievement Where You Are the Primary Beneficiary

• You get the credit

• You get the benefit

“What have you done for someone else lately?”

Personal Change

Change K,S,A’s

• Increase – you still don’t know everything

• College

• Conferences

• Professional Associations

Change Motives

“Make A Difference Everyday”

• Community

• Department

• Divisions

• Groups

• Individuals

• Stakeholders

Change Brokers

• Effective Fire Chiefs are “change brokers”

• Leadership that changes things to make things better for others….

Six Steps To Successful Personal Changes

I. When you change your thinking, you change your beliefs.

II. When you change your beliefs, you change your expectations.

III. When you change your expectations, you change your attitude.

IV. When you change your attitude, you change your behavior.

V. When you change your behavior, you change your performance.

VI. When you change your performance, you change your life.

I. When you change your thinking, you change your beliefs.

• Everything begins with a thought.• What we think determines who we

are. Who we are determines what we do.

• Our thoughts determine our destiny. Our destiny determines our legacy.

• People who go to the top think differently than others.

• We can change the way we think.

II. When you change your beliefs, you change your expectations.

• Beliefs That Help You Change– Change is personal– Change is possible– Change is profitable

• Basic Beliefs That Motivate You– Have a plan for your life.– Know the plan for your life– Want to be successful– Be continually obedient and change oriented

to be successful– When you grow and change, you add value to

self and others

III. When you change your expectations, you change your

attitude.

• Positive Expectations Produce– Excitement– Conviction– Desire– Confidence– Commitment– Energy

IV. When you change your attitude, you change your behavior

• The Choice Within You– Choice #1 – Evaluate your present

attitude– Choice #2 – Is your faith stronger than

fear.– Choice #3 – Write a statement of

purpose– Choice #4 – Determine if you have a

desire to change

IV. When you change your attitude, you change your

behavior

• The Choice Within You– Choice #5 – Live one day at a time– Choice #6 – Change your thought

pattern– Choice #7 – Develop good habits– Choice #8 – Continually choose the

right attitude.

V. When you change your behavior, you change your performance.

• Two Mistakes that We Make– We wait for others to change our

circumstances– We wait for our circumstances to

change our behavior

VI. When you change your performance you change your life.

Changing your performance in professional and personal relationships will enhance your entire life!

Six Steps To Successful Personal Changes

I When you change your Thinking, you change your Beliefs.

II. When you change your Beliefs, you change your Expectations.

III. When you change your Expectations, you change your Attitude.

IV. When you change your Attitude, you change your Behavior.

V. When you change your Behavior, you change your Performance.

VI. When you change your Performance, you change your Life.

References

• The Fire Chief of the Future– Chief Fire Officer’s Desk Reference– Chapter 25, by Kelvin J. Cochran

• Discovering Your Authentic Leadership– Harvard Business Review, February 2007

• Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value– Bill George, 2003

Thank You!