Ask an Expert

Ask the expert explores those sticky situations, difficult challenges, and all-around strange predicaments that on-the-spot facilitators sometime find themselves.

We will update this feature every month, so don't forget to check back to read the latest.

Question for January 2012:

If you were to give a consultant one piece of advice on becoming a better leader, what would it be?

It's really two words: deliberate practice. The whole notion of talent has been highly overrated and will only get you so far. The rest is about hard work and deliberate practice.

Carve out at least two hours every day to use as a learning experience of deliberate practice. That means developing a plan for improvement. Set a goal and engage in designed learning activities to help you achieve that goal. Make sure you pay as much attention to technique as outcome. Get some feedback on how well you?re doing and then, based on that, reset your goals.

Adapted from a more extensive interview with Jim Kouzes, featured at Management Consulting News.

Jim Kouzes cited by The Wall Street Journal as one of the twelve best executive educators in the U.S., is the Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. Together with Barry Posner, he is author of The Leadership Challenge and over a thirty other books and workbooks on leadership and leadership development, including Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, which was just released this month.

Submit Your Question

Do you have a question that you've been dying to ask? Did one of your participants stump you last week with an out-of-the-blue problem? Don't hesitate to send us your question and we will try our best to get back to you with and answer. Submit your question.

Question Archive


 
2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005

December 2011 Answer by: Barry Posner
Q: I recently was questioned by client about the meaning of "standard deviation" and I had some difficulty explaining it in a way the group could really understand. Can you provide a simple explanation—in layman's terms—and give me some additional information I could use to explain why this is important for the client to have?
November 2011 Answer by: Terri Armstrong Welch
Q: What do you do when the organization's recognition programs reward the accomplishments of only the most visible workers (like salespeople) and people in the background feel turned off by all kinds of recognition?
October 2011 Answer by: Stephen Hoel
Q: How do I advise a leader who is concerned about employees taking advantage of company time (with internet, smart phone, email, etc.) and wants to micromanage "without micromanaging?"
September 2011 Answer by: Barry Posner
Q: Questions about cross-cultural differences among leaders arise frequently when working with my large global clients. I've mostly seen studies that speak to differences that may or may not be present between, say, leaders in the U.S. vs. Europe or other highly developed countries. But my clients are much more interested to learn about what has been done to study leadership within different cultures and, in particular, within developing world cultures.
August 2011 Answer by: Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
Q: What is the future of leadership development?
July 2011 Answer by: Hugh Blane
Q: Can control and stability be identified as one of the challenges facing leadership? If yes, in what way?
June 2011 Answer by: Terri Armstrong Welch
Q: In my consulting work, I tend to serve clients from one specific industry. I would like to use The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model in my work, but how do I respond to clients who claim that "it won't work in my industry"?
May 2011 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: Of the Ten Leadership Truths, which are most important in our increasingly global society?
April 2011 Answer by: Beverly Simpson
Q: I have recently been hired by an organization to lead a leadership development initiative and run a workshop for its senior leadership team. But now that I'm into it I realize that the client has a very different need and expectations of the outcome have changed. Any advice on how I might handle this situation?
March 2011 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: It's fine to live out our values in good times, when business is up. But how do you maintain the focus on values in tough times, when financial results become the most important thing?
Feburary 2011 Answer by: Beth High
Q: We are a global company with employees scattered all over the world. We've got people in various time zones. And travel budgets are really tight. However, we do want to implement The Five Practices consistently across the organization. Any ideas on how we can get remote offices exposed to The Leadership Challenge?
January 2011 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: I don't consider myself a very imaginative person, so how can I be a better idea-generator?

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December 2010 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: Why is there no option to select 'not applicable' when completing the LPI assessment?
November 2010 Answer by: Jeni Nichols
Q: I know that social networking and virtual learning are all the latest rage, but I work with leaders who didn't grow up with this kind of technology. Do leaders really get as much out of e-learning programs as they would a traditional classroom workshop?
October 2010 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: I realize recognition is important to keep my staff motivated, but can it be overdone? I see other department heads coming up with all kinds of "rewards" programs that, frankly, just look plain silly to me. And I'm not sure they even work!
September 2010 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: I just started The Leadership Challenge journey. I am a day and a half into the program and am really impressed with the content and your book. I am curious to find out if we can compare our ratings to other leaders we might want to emulate. Could I compare and get the deltas between my Leadership Behaviors Ranking and theirs? Is there a way for you to generically post the averages of leaders so that The Leadership Challenge® Workshop attendees could map themselves against fantastic leaders? This comparison could help all of us grow in many ways?
August 2010 Answer by: Dr. Jody Rogers
Q: How do I use The Leadership Challenge to develop senior leaders in the healthcare arena?
July 2010 Answer by: Mary Cooper
Q: Help! My client wants increased engagement and performance. I know employees that are fully engaged outperform those that aren't. But where do I start?
June 2010
Q: How do I introduce The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® to attendees prior to a workshop or to persons who will not have the opportunity to attend a workshop?
May 2010 Answer by: Pat Schally
Q: In looking forward to the decade in front of us, what is one important trend in leadership to consider?
April 2010 Answer by: Michael Neiss
Q: How do you re-engage once gung-ho workshop attendees who have "fallen off the wagon" 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years later?
March 2010 Answer by: Steve Coats
Q: Whenever I ask for feedback, people around me will never tell me anything. Their eyes go right down toward their feet, or they say everything is fine. What am I supposed to do?
Feburary 2010 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: Could you tell me how to interpret the completed LPI Observer questionnaires? For example, if the final mark is 50, what does that really mean? Is it possible to simply say (just an example) 30-40 is poor, 40-50 is acceptable, 50-60 is outstanding?
January 2010 Answer by: Nancy Duling
Q: What key factors should be considered when determining how to present The Five Practices model in an eLearning environment?

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December 2009 Answer by: Valerie Willis
Q: Morale in our organization is at an all-time low since we have been through a downsizing. How do I turn the morale issue around?
November 2009 Answer by: Michelle Poché
Q: Do you know of any YouTube or video clips (movies, etc.) that are current and applicable examples of the practice of Challenge the Process? I'm looking for some innovative examples.
October 2009 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: I've had discussions with a colleague in the United Kingdom about extending the study of leadership using the LPI model to Britain. He doesn't believe the items in the LPI related to the practice Encourage the Heart are valid for Britain. Have you or anyone you know done any work in the UK with the LPI? Any info would be helpful.
September 2009 Answer by: Fine Points Professionals
Q: Our CEO is pushing us to provide some objective data showing that the LPI is having an impact on the organization and producing more than just anecdotal success stories among individuals who have taken the LPI. How can our company be assured that the LPI is affecting leadership behaviors within the organization and, as a result, our corporate culture?
July 2009 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: I recently used the LPI with a group of 25 people. Because this was an introduction to The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®, they took the LPI Self. When compared to the normative data, the vast majority of the group fell in the "low" or "mid? range. As I am quite familiar with normative data and various 360 tools, I found it unusual to see so many folks fall in the ?low? range. To what might this be attributed?
June 2009
Q: Can the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) dimensional scores be aggregated into one numeric score without violating the validity of the instrument? I have only seen dimensional scores used in studies for comparisons, but never an aggregate.
March 2009
Q: I have always thought that the key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. Do you agree?
Feburary 2009 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: Recently, Harvard Business Review published an article about research conducted at INSEAD on 360-degree evaluations (specifically, the Global Executive Leadership Inventory). The results show that women tend to score better than men in almost every leadership category, except for Envisioning, and the article went on to offer three theories as possible explanations: 1) women use a different process for shaping the future, 2) women don't feel it is appropriate to use vague ideas when planning for the future, or 3) women may not see the value in a vision. What do you think of this? What does the LPI data tell you?
January 2009 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: The Leadership Challenge is among the most comprehensive, clear, and practical books on leadership I have ever read. Through many readings, I have discovered aspects of leadership I had never considered before as well as those I'd only imagined or considered as abstract perceptions. However, there is still one factor that inhibits me from fully engaging in the leadership challenge: my sense of being an ordinary person?no more or less intelligent than others?always makes me ask, why should anyone follow me? Why should others listen to my ideas when they have their own mind to listen to? Why should I envision a future for others, if this will lead them to follow my path instead of a path of their own design?

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December 2008 Answer by: Steve Coats
Q: Morale in our organization is at an all-time low since we have been through a downsizing. How do I turn the morale issue around?
November 2008 Answer by: Kelly Ann McKnight
Q: Can you provide some examples of an effective leadership role in an environment of competing priorities and continuously growing customer demands?
October 2008 Answer by: Stephen Hoel
Q: I believe it is a good idea to have upper-level leadership experience The Leadership Challenge before rolling it out to others in the organization. In general, most senior leaders with whom I work do not feel they need leadership development and want to implement it for lower-level management staff only. How have you gained commitment from such senior leaders when this happens?
September 2008 Answer by: Barry Z. Posner
Q: I'm curious about the data that is used when comparing responses from current users of the various LPI instruments vs. norms established from others. For example, are results from the LPI-Self instrument plotted against a LPI-Self normative database? Are results from mangers plotted against data collected from managers? Or is the normative database used for comparative purposes a collection of all responses from leaders and observers?
June 2008 Answer by: Joseph W. Harder Ph.D.
Q: I am designing a leadership course for MBA students. We are considering designing it around The Leadership Challenge. I would like suggestions for specific case studies which illustrate one or more of The Five Practices to use in our curriculum.
May 2008 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: I just finished reading your fantastic book and have a couple of questions. When an organization will not change, do leaders leave in order to better themselves? Do you just walk away and let them sink? The other question I have concerns the small group of individuals who will not cooperate in achieving the group's goals, or do not have the necessary skills?and they will neither learn them nor change their behavior. What do you do, fire them?
April 2008 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: I consider The Leadership Challenge the most important and concise book ever written about leadership. In fact, it's my 'Leadership Bible'.
I've sensed increasing difficulties among my executive coachees regarding the "loneliness of power" aspects of the leadership role. Obviously the coaching process has proven quite helpful to these executives. And although the issue has been touched on by Kouzes and Posner in the 4th edition (on pages 319 and 328), I'm still investigating how to address the burdens of leadership issue and support my coaching clients more effectively.
Top management leaders are human beings, but they frequently feel as if they are expected to act as "super-humans" without flaws. I'd duly appreciate some thoughts from the authors on this issue and suggested resources for further investigation.
March 2008 Answer by: Steve Houchin
Q: How do I use the Leadership Practices Inventory assessment instrument in determining employee promotions?
Feburary 2008 Answer by: Art Cross, Ph.D.
Q: I work at a university in a smaller department. We have a dean and associate dean who have markedly different leadership styles. The dean is quite laissez-faire, while the assistant dean is command-and-control. The dean says "go ahead" on an idea and the assistant later says "no." This has resulted in faculty and staff being quite confused and discouraged. Do you have any advice for working with these two styles?
January 2008 Answer by: Sharon Landers
Q: During the discussion of Model the Way, the conversation often turns to the distinctions between one's own values, the shared values of the group or the organization, and the Characteristics of Admired Leaders. How are they the same? How are they different? Why is it important to be paying attention to all three?

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November 2007 Answer by: Renee Harness
Q: Is there a perfect leadership or management style? Or is it situational?
October 2007 Answer by: Renee Harness
Q: Recently, I was conducting a workshop for a particular department in a large corporation. Only a few minutes into the program, the department head made the statement "360-Feedback doesn't work-period." How do I respond to such a comment?
September 2007 Answer by: Steve Coats
Q: How can I really ever hope to get better as a leader, with all the emails, voicemails, meetings, and everything else on my plate? I don't know how I can ever do it all.
August 2007 Answer by: Daren Blonski
Q: Can The Five Practices be taught in modules?
July 2007
Q: Can leaders be followers too?
June 2007
Q: How do you encourage leaders to Challenge the Process when they are in an industry or position that requires them to "follow the rules"?
May 2007
Q: How can leaders stop being "held hostage to the present" and spend more time looking forward so that they will be able to articulate a vision and get others excited about that vision?
April 2007
Q: On the LPI Online website and in other related materials, you claim that the instrument is a "valid and reliable measure of a leader's effectiveness." Can you please explain how LPI results indicate leaders' effectiveness in terms of personal credibility, high motivation levels, and overall success in effectively meeting job-related demands?
March 2007
Q: Some of my clients who have completed their LPIs are not available for a workshop due to their remote location. Aside from sending their results, how do I ensure that they benefit from this experience? Telephone, Internet, and email are the forms of communication that I use.
Feburary 2007
Q: How to you keep the learning alive after the excitement of the workshop wears-off?
January 2007
Q: What is the most effective way to come across as a leader, and not "just a manager"?

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December 2006
Q: When faced with the dilemma of telling your boss the truth or what he or she wants to hear, what do you do?
November 2006
Q: Do you have any advice on how to deal with reluctant participants of The Leadership Challenge® Workshop? How do you respond to people who are attending because "my manager made me go.
October 2006
Q: I have a client who is asking me some tough questions about the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). They noticed that the validity report indicates that over 350,000 people have taken the LPI, but not all of their data is included in the normative comparison that generates the Percentile Ranking page of the LPI Feedback Report. Why is that, and how many people are included in the normative comparison? Second, I assume that this normative group includes people of all ranges of leadership effectiveness; that is, the scores are not just compared to "good" leaders, is that correct? If so, what evidence do we have of 'who the good leaders' were to begin with?
September 2006 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: When preparing to deliver The Leadership Challenge® Workshop, I like to call each participant in advance to find out what they expect to get out of the workshop. Recently, one of the participants said he'd like to figure out how to make his managing-to-leading ratio be more equal. Have you come across this issue in your leadership research? Do you have any suggestions that might help this person with this common challenge?
July 2006
Q: How can I secure copies of The Leadership Challenge in languages other than English?
June 2006
Q: The LPI's Group Summary report lists each of The Five Practices, the average score by observer group, and the standard deviation. The text at the top of the report explains that the standard deviation indicates the extent of agreement among the individual leaders and their observers. Can you explain more about what that actually means?
May 2006 Answer by: Steve Coats
Q: We have a situation where the provost is clearly and agreeably on a mission to become a college president. As such, her stated vision for the organization is false and unbelievable and she has no credibility. Anything we attempt to do by her direction is seen as phony since everyone knows she is merely "notching her gun" and we are proceeding with activities and not in an environment of respected leadership toward a TRUE vision. This undermines our 'subordinate' leadership attempts since everyone knows 'we are just working to achieve her personal objectives.' How can you be a 'co/sub' leader when the head dog is clearly and painfully not credible?
April 2006
Q: An executive in an upcoming program voiced his concern that the LPI instrument has no N/A response choice and, instead the instruction suggest that respondents use the value "3" if they feel that the statement does not apply. One of his respondents was worried that this would artificially lower certain scores, and I am hoping to get your rationale for that design.
March 2006 Answer by: Dick Heller
Q: What is the best method for transforming an environment where the Executive Director believes and even says out loud that there is only one right way to do things and he knows what the way is? He maintains a strong control on information, does not solicit employee input, talks about staff negatively behind their backs, and blocks change. Needless to say, tasks delegated by this person are rare and doomed to fail. No time is allowed for meetings between collaborating departments. Our company employs less than 50 people and many of them are so disheartened. How can I make a difference as a middle manager with a lot of responsibility and not much authority?
Feburary 2006 Answer by: Jim Kouzes
Q: As a nursing student in China, I am just beginning to study leadership and am very interested in your book, The Leadership Challenge. In reading about the book, I have seen it referenced that The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership are behaviors of "transformational" leadership. What is your perspective on transformational leadership?
January 2006 Answer by: Steve Coats
Q: I find it more difficult to lead people who work remote from me. What advice do you have to reach out to people who are located around the country and even around the world when budget doesn't allow for travel?

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December 2005
Q: Is it appropriate for a researcher to use just the LPI-self appraisal given to the leader and to not use input from others about the leader? Has your research found this use of the instrument results to be valid and reliable, or does the current documentation only support the self in conjunction with the "other" questionnaires about a leader?
November 2005 Answer by: L.J. Rose
Q: What should facilitators keep in mind as they prepare to use the new Workshop materials?

This Month's Expert

Terri Armstrong Welch is an independent writer and editor contributing to the marketing and editorial programs at Pfeiffer, including The Leadership Challenge product line. A former member of the Jossey-Bass team, she can be reached at booksmatter@comcast.net and at yourrockstarwriter.wordpress.com.

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