Encyclopedia of Leadership

HOW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL

“To move from one stage to the next, individuals must demonstrate competence in performing the functions

inherent in the next stage. In this sense, career development is an individual responsibility. However, organiza-

tions can do a great deal to either aid or hinder individual development efforts. Company policies and practices

have the potential to substantially affect an employee’s ability to work out a satisfying career.”

—Gene Dalton and Paul Thompson, NOVATIONS

Too often, people think of careers in terms of specific jobs or levels of responsibility within an

organization. However, career success is ultimately about the level of one’s own development

(technical, interpersonal, intellectual, emotional, and so on), not about a specific job or a given

level of management responsibility.

Use this tool to rethink the traditional approach to career planning, and to develop new

insights into planning your career or coaching others to do the same. Pay particular attention

to Stage 3 (Group/team leader). This is the most basic leadership stage and includes a mind-set

of achieving satisfaction throughhelping others to achieve results, and throughseeing others

develop and succeed as professionals.

WEB WORKSHEET

422 SECTION 13 TOOLS FORLEADINGPERFORMANCE

❑ Not finding a coach

or mentor

❑ Indecision about

career

❑ Not finding the

right fit or job

❑ Not settling into a

profession

❑ Lack of

interpersonal skills

❑ Getting stuck in a

role versus a results

mind-set

❑ Lack of people skills

❑ Inability to deal

with ambiguity

❑ Scarcity mind-set

(not sharing

information, the

need to be right,

competing for

recognition)

❑ Lack of influence

with key

stakeholders and

significant industry

leaders

❑ Unwillingness or

inability to use

power

Think of your own career or the career of another person and answer these questions.

1. Looking at the stage checklists, at what career stage is the person primarily working at the present time?


2. What career stage would you like the person to achieve within the next _____ years?

[☛3.2 Sigmoid Curve]

3. What characteristics does the person already exhibit for succeeding at the next career stage? (Be as specific as
   possible.)