Encyclopedia of Leadership

9.10

SUPPORT NETWORKS: THE SECRET

OF ALL SUCCESSFUL LEADERS

Inspired by many, including Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, Jeffrey Pfeiffer, and the Novations Group.

No one accomplishes anything of significance without the help of others. Leaders, in particu-

lar, need the support of many people to achieve their business, professional, and personal

goals. A wide and well-developed support network:

✔ Provides guidance and assistance when needed. (Your support system needs to be in

place before you need it.)

✔ Provides a sounding board and a place to test your thoughts. (A reality check can be

very helpful in the complex world of modern organizations.)

✔ Provides emotional support. (Support networks are part of your stress-reduction system.)

✔ Helps you avoid pitfalls and minefields. (Relationships make organizations work, and

thus politics within organizations is just a fact of life.)

✔ Provides much-needed feedback. (Leaders can be notoriously poor judges of their own

behavior.)

✔ Challenges you to reach your potential. (We all need a nudge now and then to achieve

our goals.)

294 SECTION 9 TOOLS FORLEADING ANDINFLUENCINGOTHERS

Mentors/sponsors

Assistants, staff (those who

report to you in the

organization)

Professional service

providers,

expert advisors

Formal coach(es)

Informal coach(es), support-

ers, colleagues

➠People at senior management levels in organizations who take a personal interest

in your success and are willing to invest their time and energy to advise and

coach you. They can also provide you with a range of opportunities, connect you

with other influential leaders, and help you secure the resources you need to

succeed.

➠These are the people to whom you can delegate tasks. They provide tangible

services (e.g., policy development, project leadership). You want two kinds of

loyalty from them. First, you want them to produce what you ask them to do.

Second, you want them to help you avoid mistakes.

➠Leaders are increasingly dependent on professional advice in specialized areas

such as information technology, human resource management, law, finance,

environment, safety, and health. The era of the General Manager—the leader who

generally knew everything about the job—is over. In today’s complex world,

leaders need to orchestrate up-to-date professional advice from many sources.

➠Leaders are increasingly engaging personal coaches, skilled in providing expert

advice on business and leadership issues. In addition to providing confidential

developmental feedback, coaches also help leaders develop meaningful

development and business goals, and strategies for achieving those goals. They

then challenge and support you to achieve these goals.

➠These supporters can be anywhere, at any level, inside or outside your

organization. For example, the administrative assistant to a senior executive can

be an effective informal coach to other leaders. Treating this person with dignity

can make a difference in your access to the senior executive.

Type of Support Support Provided