to master a desired skill. His observation that excellence in any endeavor requires 10,000 hours of practice is widely quoted and, while pundits argue about the veracity of the claim, we can agree that anything worth learning takes practice. While some people seem to have a natural ability for a given activity it is also true that people can be taught. This is true for leadership as well (Doh, 2003). Some people may have characteristics that support their ability to be an effective leader while others may find themselves with fewer innate abilities to support them at the onset. Despite these differences individuals have the capacity to build their leadership capability through thoughtful practice.
For example, I had a manager who was extremely introverted, and it pained her to speak with large groups. It literally took every bit of strength she had to talk within our group gatherings, never mind the stress that she experienced when presenting to a group at a formal conference. As a contrast, I had another manager who was quick‐witted and extremely comfortable presenting to groups and seemed to become more energized as the group size grew. A true extrovert! Now, the introvert had much more technical knowledge and had spent a great amount of time studying and learning the content that was to be presented. In contrast our extrovert's ability to work the crowd created a dynamic where there was not much concern about knowing the content. As you can see, in either instance there is a great deal to learn. The introvert needed to work on her capacity to present publicly by building strategies to handle her discomfort while the extrovert needed to learn the importance of being fully prepared. Given this it is important for every leader to actively pursue their own leadership development no matter what capabilities they bring at the onset.
The notion of actively pursuing your own leadership development means, in a practical sense, that you commit yourself to a path of continual leadership development, a path that ensures you build on your existing strengths and areas for improvement in an ongoing way. Commit yourself to pursuing ongoing learning about leadership and take what you are learning to build your leadership practice. If you do not learn and then practice, you will cut short your own development and stunt your growth as a nonprofit leader.
Leadership development is like muscle development. If you do not work out, then you will not build muscle mass. Conversely if you commit to working out, then you will build muscle mass. As an illustration of this, if you have ever broken a bone and had a cast, you will be familiar with the surreal feeling you had as you looked at your arm the moment the cast was removed. The muscle on the recently healed arm is essentially gone and the first thought you have is “Whose arm is this?” The arm still belongs to the original owner, it is just that the lack of exercise and mobility has caused muscle atrophy. In a like manner if you do not regularly exercise your leadership skills, you will experience the loss of leadership muscle.
In addition to working to develop your own leadership muscle it is important to consider strategies to build leadership capability at the team as well as organizational level. In today's complex nonprofit organizations, we come to recognize the importance of expanding the entire organization's leadership prowess. No longer can we rely on the individual positional leader to carry the team and the organization forward. We are better served if the entire team has the ability to act in a leadership capacity.
So, in a very real sense it is important to commit to thinking about your own, your team's, and your organization's capacity for leadership as a leadership practice that is built on what is known to work well in order to support the goals, objective, vision, and mission of your organization. The master carpenter that successfully learns the use of her tools engages in the practice of carpentry. She has learned and refined the various skills pertaining to each tool and knows from the knowledge base that has been developed what to use and when to use them. Then by plying her trade each day she continually refines her skills and capabilities. Your plan should be to grow into this metaphor from a leadership perspective and ensure that you as well as your entire team and your overall organization work to continually build a leadership practice.
As we explore some of the specific tools that you will want to develop, it's important to consider several perspectives about leadership practice that I have found to be extremely helpful. Each of the practice perspectives explored in this chapter provides a lens to help you better understand your work as a leader.
First Practice Perspective: Being Antigravitational
My long‐standing mentor often says that to be effective we must often be “antigravitational.” The notion itself conjures up odd visions of people floating above the ground, but despite the humorous nature of the vision the conceptual frame is a useful one. To be gravitational is to simply go with the flow. To be antigravitational means that there are times when one should move against the flow, to work in a way that moves in the opposite direction of what would come naturally, to give pause to the pull that typically exists—at least long enough to understand what other options might exist.
Simply going with the gravitational pull means that you are acting without critical thought regarding the actions that you are undertaking. Being antigravitational means that you are taking stock in the current situation and that you have made a mindful decision to move against or away from the direction that is formed by the norms found within the cultural context. For example, growing up you may have received messages from your parents and the people around you that you should not create a problem: “Don't make a fuss,” “It's not that big a deal,” or “Mind your own business” could be a tape that plays over and over again in your head. The gravitational pull in this context would be to simply keep quiet and avoid raising any concern. This pull follows you into your work and into your leadership practice. To be antigravitational you would need to move against this gravitational pull and instead work to ensure that you speak up, that you work to address concerns as well as understand that getting involved is your business.
To be gravitational is to risk action without thought. To be antigravitational is to ensure that you have exercised a thoughtful examination of your and others' actions to determine whether a different course of action—one that is against the flow—is the better course of action. The key here in understanding this perspective is to understand the role that awareness and mindfulness plays in determining whether to be gravitational or antigravitational. The notion is not to always be a contrarian, but rather to ensure that your leadership practice includes the mindful consideration of your and your team's actions. Understand that there are times when you must go against the flow, and that in order to know when to do this you have to be aware of exactly what the flow is and where it comes from.
Second Practice Perspective: The Long View
Tomlinson (2007) underscores that we find ourselves in a culture of speed, where there is a continual move toward getting things done more quickly. Faster is better, getting it done is key, and arriving at the destination is held as paramount. The need for immediacy has become a driving force in our society. Consider how food is prepared, packaged, and ready to go, even mailed to you in portions that you can drop in a pot. Think about the desire for faster, more efficient forms of transportation and how impatient we have all become when we are ready for something. One only needs to look at the phenomenon of same‐day delivery, books and movies on demand, and push‐button solutions to see that our cultural desire for immediacy has become pervasive. The impact of this culture of immediacy goes beyond the delivery of packages and the use of high‐speed internet, extending as well into the very way in which we conduct ourselves professionally. We quickly become impatient and want the end rewards even before we have begun the journey.
Successful leadership requires a different perspective. We must be antigravitational and recognize that many things come over time. It is not possible to push a button or flick a switch to become effective as a leader. To develop as a leader and a strong manager you must practice, pursue learning opportunities, and avail yourself of leadership experiences—experiences that help to ensure both the presence of practice and learning opportunities.
In my work with aspiring leaders, I
