Module 1 Briefing Sheet / Class of 2020
BEING A LEADER:
AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL BRAND;
EXECUTIVE PRESENCE AND BUILDING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS
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MATERIALS
- YouTube Video: Prof. Anthony C. Thompson and Panelists, Dangerous Leaders: How and Why Lawyers Must Be Taught to Lead (Nov. 15, 2018), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3VA7p_T-IY
- HBR “Authenticity Paradox” (Herminia Ibarra) (https://hbr.org/2015/01/the-authenticity-paradox)
- HBR “To Sound Like A Leader, Think About What You Say, and How and When You Say It” (Rebecca Shambaugh) (https://hbr.org/2017/10/to-sound-like-a-leader-think-about-what-you-say-and-how-and-when-you-say-it)
- HBR “How Leaders Create and Use Networks (Herminia Ibarra & Mark Lee Hunter) (https://hbr.org/2007/01/how-leaders-create-and-use-networks)
- Post-Assessment Reflection (https://accncrleadershipacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/lcp-post-assessment_reflection_0919.pdf)
TASKS
- View Prof. Anthony Thompson’s introduction to the Latham & Watkins Forum (the first 13 minutes of the YouTube video). We also strongly recommend you view the panel discussion that follows Thompson’s intro (up to the 1:04:00 mark). Please note, the audience for this Forum is NYU Law School students and professors. Be aware that the panelists at times share their personal political points of view. Inclusion of this video in the program materials does not constitute an endorsement of the panelists’ political views by the ACC NCR Leadership Academy.
- Read the Articles and complete the Personal Reflection Questions below.
- Print out and complete the three-page Post-Assessment Reflection (see last bullet under MATERIALS above).
- Bring to the session your completed Personal Reflections (including your Post-Assessment Reflection) and your Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) Guide and Graph. The last two items are pull-outs from your LCP binder. You do not need to bring your entire LCP binder to the session.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
- Who are your leadership role models? What have you learned from them?
- Do you have a personal brand that is aligned with your professional/leadership goals?
- Are you aware of how others perceive your brand and do you effectively manage their impressions of you?
- Do you take the time to enhance your strategic thinking as a leader? What do you see as your strengths? Opportunities?
- Are you able to communicate with executives and have views heard?
Dangerous Leaders: How and Why Lawyers Must Be Taught to Lead (Anthony Thompson)
- How do you define “leadership”?
- Aside from this Leadership Academy, what other types of leadership development have you taken part in? What was the impact of this learning on your leadership thinking/behavior?
- Thompson shares his vision of people in leadership: “Today’s leaders must learn to lead with, and without formal authority.” And, “The best leadership involves engaging others in a collaborative process of imagining, defining, and working toward a common cause or greater mission that is meaningful for the enterprise and for its stakeholders.” What is most challenging about this for you?
The Authenticity Paradox (Herminia Ibarra)
- What does “being authentic” mean in your life?
- How would you describe your most is authentic self?
- Have you ever paid a price for your authenticity as a leader? Was it worth it?
- What tools do you use to become self-aware?
- What kind of support team do you have in your professional life? How can your support team make you a more authentic leader?
- With whom do you identify most: “high self-monitors” or “low self-monitors?” And why? (cf. Ibarra)
- Do you create an environment where others on your team/ colleagues feel comfortable being their authentic self? Please provide an example of how you demonstrate this, or, how you could improve in this area.
- How does your leadership experience reflect Ibarra’s conclusion: “The only way we grow as leaders is by stretching the limits of who we are—doing new things that make us uncomfortable but that teach us through direct experience who we want to become.”
To Sound Like a Leader. . . (Rebecca Shambaugh)
- Have you ever had a moment like Nancy’s? What was it and how did you handle it?
- Who are the key stakeholders in your success as a leader (outside of your legal department)? How well do they know you? How well do you know them, their business, and their goals? How clear are you about what they expect from you?
- What activities do you do to ensure you have a more strategic view/business context in your interactions with executives?
How Leaders Create and Use Networks (Herminia Ibarra & Mark Lee Hunter)
- Do you intentionally take the time to identify and cultivate strategic relationships based on your key goals and objectives?
- Do you have the right and supportive sponsors and advocates that know your value and support your aspirations and goals?
- Are you a sponsor and advocate for others?
MODULE 1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand the ACC NCR Leadership Academy Core Competencies.
- Use the Leadership Circle 360 assessment as a tool to benchmark behavioral self-awareness.
- Answer the question: “Who Am I as a Leader?” and recognize perspective shifts that occur when one moves into leadership roles.
- Answer the question: “What does it mean for me to be an authentic leader?” and consider behaviors that you want to develop or change.
- Answer the question: “What is my personal brand, and how do I deploy it to lead?”
- Understand the importance of being aware of one’s intentionality (intrinsic process) with one’s impact on others (extrinsic behavior).
- Learn best practices to improve executive presence in terms of your executive voice.
- Learn and apply key elements for being aware and tapping into your social intelligence.
- Examine and develop a Stakeholder Management Plan that supports your leadership goals and aspirations.