My cereal box leadership

I was having a coffee in Starbucks the other day with my good pal, colleague and super-coach Jeffrey Jones.

Jeffrey was quizzing me on the leadership programme I'm developing for the top 40 executives of one of Hong Kong's most prestigious companies. When I'd given him an overview of all the things I think a leader must do to be successful he casually asked me, "Justin, I'm confused: are we human beings or human 'doings'?"

"Pah" I snorted. "That sort of question comes right out of a box of Kellogg's Cornflakes!" And to an extent I think I'm right; it's a trick question that uses a clumsy play on words to trap the unwary. I told Jeffrey what I felt.

But the thing is, he had a point. And what made me upset besides the question itself, was the fact that he'd put his finger on something I had totally overlooked. He'd reminded me that leadership is not only about 'doing', but it is also - critically - about being.

Let me try and explain what I mean.

Most of the leaders I coach - and that includes the CEOs and Managing Directors of some significant businesses throughout the world - frequently ask me, "How must I respond? What should I say? What would you do?" and so on. They focus, very understandably, on what they would, could or should be doing.

The thing is, everything we do is linked inextricably to what we feel which, in turn, is derived from our beliefs about who we are. In short, our 'doing' is rooted in our 'being'.

Let me give you an example. 'Chainsaw Al Dunlap' the notorious American turnaround specialist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_J._Dunlap) sold Scott Paper back in 1995 having sacked thousands of employees and torn the business to pieces. For the record he walked away with US$100million for his, or should I say, other people's pains.

At least in terms of his corporate persona, Al Dunlap had a strong sense of who he was. "Rambo in pinstripes" he liked to call himself. More importantly, it was Dunlap's sense of who he was that made it not only possible but also necessary to behave like a corporate wrecking ball. Through his actions Dunlap fulfilled the sense of who was believed he was. His doing was a reflection of his being.

By contrast Mohandas Ghandi saw himself as the embodiment of resistance to tyranny and oppression. And it was this powerful sense of who he was that enabled Ghandi to lead a nation of people in peaceful revolution.

And so it is with us all. So here's an exercise that I often ask my clients to do when they want to gain a stronger sense of their leadership 'essence'. The next time you do or experience something at work that causes an emotional reaction (in you), ask yourself the following questions when you have regained emotional 'equilibrium':

1) When I was doing that activity or experiencing that event, what were my emotions? Write them down on a scrap of paper.

Next:

2) What do I believe about who I am as a person and a leader?

You might find it easier to answer the second question if you finish the following sentence five or six times: "As a leader I believe that I am ...". Try not to think too hard about it.

Finally, answer this third question:

3) In what ways do my beliefs about who I am influence the way I feel, and how do the emotions I feel affect the things I do?

There is no trick in these questions, and no "hey presto" moment of insight. They are just the sorts of questions coaches like me ask executives like you in order to help them gain deeper self awareness and through it, a greater ability to shape themselves and their impact on others.

I'd love to know the answers you came up with. Now, back to my cornflakes.