The measurement of Leadership is the size of a diamond bounded by the 4 principles: Vision, Reality, Ethics, and Courage. Not only size, but the shape of the diamond is also critical; as we covered in the previous blog, it is important not to have a “collapsed mind.” Let’s dive a little deeper into this Leadership Diamond model.
Instead of calling Vision, Reality, Ethics, and Courage “principles,” consider them as “strategies” in greatness. Strategies are the “what” or the desired outcome; it is the flag planted at the top of the mountain. It is very important to have a clear picture of the end-goal, but without a map of “how” we are going to get there, we will get lost and easily side-tracked. The map is tactical. So an appropriate inquiry is “what are the supporting tactics to Leadership Greatness?”
In Koestenbaum’s book: Leadership, The Inner Side of Greatness, the author’s intent was to find common thought patterns (philosophic structures) among leaders. For each principle, or strategy, there are 4 corresponding supporting tactics: Professional, Social, Psychological, and Philosophical. The order of the strategies is important. It starts with the simple – the professional level is visible and measurable, and moves down into deeper foundations. The deeper we go, the more root-causes are uncovered, and in resolving them, the greater the leverage we have in increasing our Leadership Greatness.
Professional Tactic: The professional level is what you practice everyday on the job. It is visible. It is your skillset.
Social Tactic: The social level are the social skills required to interact with community. It requires maturity.
Psychological Tactic: The psychological level is the realm of intuition, the culmination of a lifetime of your experiences that drive your behavior.
Philosophical Tactic: The philosophical level is the deepest of all. It is the essence of YOU, exercising your will. It is at this level that you have intrinsic value.
In the next 4 blogs, we will discuss in depth, each Strategy, and the four supporting tactics.