Welcome to the Centered Leadership Discussion
Please share your thoughts on centered leadership below. As you’ll see, the survey authors and other McKinsey experts are joining in from time to time.
- See the survey results
- See our full range of articles on women and leadership
- Link to this blog post
till recently i have been CEO of public sector bank in india. i am able to relate many situations in my 35 year carrear to these five dimensions. i would like to say that in my experince all five dimenstions are equally important. but authenticiy is very imporatant. it can not be synthetic and should be part of personality. otherwise people would call the bluff.
to illustrate a point, the average age of the senior officers in most of the public sector banks is above 50 years, where as in the private sector( new generations) banks the average age is just 30’. the difference in performance in favour of the latter is significantly attributed to this age(energy) factor. i found the officers in psu banks more mature and the challenge is energy management.
Posted 21 March, 12:50 AM by sambamurthy
Today is a day and time where women are to stand up and be the virtuous beings we’re destined to be. Organized multi -tasking, it’s part of our dna. Once we realize that, focus on the most important priorities grin&bear it and get busy, the better off we’ll be. Remember the top priority is self, your whole self. Under the most high.
Posted 13 March, 12:02 AM by katrina
Hello all—the authors and I are finding this conversation really insightful and helpful.
To respond to Jody’s point, the model was developed by studying women leaders but, as he suggests, we’ve found that it’s equally applicable to men. We’re using it in training programs here at McKinsey for both women and men--even cavemen! You can find some more information on the training we're doing in the original article on the Quarterly site.
Posted 3 March, 10:58 AM by Josselyn Simpson
Fascinating that not more men have chimed in on this article. As one of that gender, I was a little dismayed that the title addresses “women leaders.” These are great principles for a full life (as other posters have noted), which leads to much better and sustainable leadership. More men should take heed of this piece and put its concepts into action — like any model, adapt it to fit your authentic self, but at the very least, explore the possibilities of this thought-provoking framework. Ladies, make sure that the men in your lives read this: not only will it give them food for thought, it will also give them insight into how women lead (and live), and we cavemen need all the help we can get… ;-)
Posted 25 February, 03:36 PM by Jody
Thank you for this great article and research. As a mid-career professional female I am looking for solutions for meaning, energy, engaging, optimism and connecting – every day.
Along similar lines, I recently read, and highly recommend, Dr. Henry Cloud’s book “The One-Life Solution; Reclaim your Personal Life While Achieving Greater Professional Success.” (Just a note, the first few chapter are slow, but keep reading to get great insight.)
I look forward to more research in this vein.
Posted 20 February, 12:06 PM by Elissa
The Centred Leadership Model resonated very much with me – it definitely describes the main factors that help me to be effective in my role at work, but also in my roles as mother and wife. One issue in many peoples’ comments seems to be that of sustaining energy through very long days. One major discovery for me was how effective very short, but regular breaks during the day are. It sounds counter-intuitive, and definitely not the ‘done thing’ in many business environments, but by building ‘finishing lines’ into my working day I am able to focus on the important things, get less distracted, and in doing so, do things more quickly. How it works – I come in first thing in the morning and resist the temptation to read e’mails and avoid starting the day in reactive mode (Switch the e’mail pop up off!). I use the first half hour or so to complete a high priority action e.g. a customer call, some thinking work on strategy etc. so that I already feel good about achieving something important so early in the day. Once I’ve been going for 90 minutes or so, I intentionally take a few minutes break – may be simply moving from my desk, or going for a 10 minute walk, or making a quick phone call home. I eat a healthy snack mid morning and mid afternoon to avoid the low sugar feeling and the subsequent chocolate bar.
I arrange my meetings to be no longer than 2 hours without a break (this principle is now established as accepted practice in my organisation). Whether I’m working on my own or with others I/we take control of the usual distractions – phones are turned off (yes, try it, the world does not end!), laptops are not allowed in meetings except for presentations. It’s amazing how much more you can get done in a shorter time when people are really focused on one subject rather than being in an all day meeting and checking e’mail/ blackberries constantly during the meeting. Another tip – if you work in an open plan office and need to focus on something without people bothering you – put on some headphones to signal you do’t want to be disturbed – but let your colleagues know what this means first! Only don’t keep your headphones on all day, make time to focus on other people as well. This all sounds very simple (some would say simplistic), but believe me it works – I’m healthier, happier and more productive as a result. Oh and by the way, NEVER skip breakfast.
Posted 18 February, 08:55 AM by Sarah Henbrey
As a an executive coach most of my clients are male senior executives. I find it fascinating that the 5 dimensions highlighted in this article are the very things that my clients want to work on. These are highly successful people, who want more than just hitting the numbers. It is gratifying to hear how they begin to enjoy their work more when they enjoy their lives more. Exploring their personal values and understanding the origins of those values helps them determine how to live deliberate lives. Perhaps because women must be aware of and clear about choices in their lives, professional and personal, they end up with the lives that bring them happiness as well as success. Or, maybe, they have a different definition of success.
Posted 18 February, 06:35 AM by dawn robertson
Josselyn, to your question if women are clear about their goals and passions – I think that time and energy are barriers (or excuses) not to think about what we love to do. The centered leadership model resonated very strongly with me because it focuses our attention on us and in a way it shows that there is a way of combining all together if we are able to find meaning, experiencing flow more often and know what are goals are. I think many times we are so engulfed in all the everyday requirements that come from both work and family that we rarely think about what we really love to do and whether we are experiencing this on day-to-day basis at work. I think that it is not possible to be fulfilled person and a leader and a high achiever if one is not clear about their passion in life. At least, it is very difficult (and time- and energy-consuming) if you are not clear about the things one loves to do and be.
Posted 15 February, 05:22 AM by Christina
Let’s just remember that we usually know what’s right and don’t always know what’s not. Keep an open mind to right the wrong, by listening to everyone on the salary chain. Because the right thought is what counts, not who thinks it up, or jots it down first.
Posted 11 February, 07:46 AM by Santosh Rajkumar
Sydney’s spoiling of the party is perhaps the most relevant comment. In the end, leadership or mastery of the self is what creates real leadership and a fulfilling life is also a natural outcome.
I believe that the model of leadership proposed here ought to be driven by the nuclear unlimited fuel of ‘consciousness’. Most western models and approaches stop short of fully recognizing this source and therefore not working deeply enough with experiential processes that help individuals to source from this source. That is what creates authentic leadership and the Eastern wisdom practices are rich in enabling this journey.
The corporate world believes in developing the self whereas the answer lies in ‘being’ selfless or in ‘no-self’ as the real driver to authentic leadership.
Posted 10 February, 01:46 PM by Vinit Taneja