Dan McCarthy's presentation to the New England Society of Association Executives.

1. Dan McCarthy, Director Executive Development Programs
The University of New Hampshire

2. My background:
 Leadership Development for
RG&E, Kodak, Paychex, The University of New
Hampshire
 Great Leadership blog and eBook
 25 Years of management experience
Today’s session:
 Less theory and citations; more practical “how-to”
 You’ll leave with at least one action step for your
leadership development journey

3. 1. Motivation
8. Continuous 2. Define
learning leadership
7. Feedback
and reflection
you? 3. Assessment
6. Plan and
4. Get specific
practice
5. Variety

4.  Why do you want to improve your leadership skills?
 Leadership development is a full contact sport
 No motivation = no behavior change
Action steps:
 Align with your organization’s purpose
 Align with your own personal purpose, mission, values
 Find a reason that will motivate you

5. What is “leadership”?

7. "There are almost as many definitions of
leadership as there are persons who have
attempted to define the concept." - Ralph
Stogdill

8. Height?
Gender?
IQ?
DNA?
Birthday?

9.  First born:
• Intelligence
• Energy, ambition
 Then, mostly made:
• Knowledge
• People skills
• Experiences
• “Learning Agility”

10.  Chuck Yeager (“The Right Stuff”):
 “I am the sum total of the life I have lived….There is
no such thing as a natural–born pilot. Whatever my
aptitudes or talents, becoming a proficient pilot was
hard work, really a lifetime’s learning experience. For
the best pilots, flying is an obsession, the one thing
in life they must continually do. The best pilots fly
more than the others; that’s why they are the best”.

11. To some extent. There are clues…..
 Authenticity, Receptivity to feedback
 Adaptability, Comfort with ambiguity
 Conceptual thinking, Learning agility
 Deliver results, Self-aware
 Emotional Intelligence
And methodology:
 Assessments, Talent Reviews, Assessment Centers

13.  Read biographies of leaders you admire
 Read 2-3 leadership books
 Interview/network with leaders you admire
 See if your company has a leadership model
 Develop your own definition and list of 10 traits,
characteristics, and/or behaviors

14. Self-assessment is the least accurate!
Action steps:
 Formal assessments
 The Leadership Practices Inventory 360
 Ask others
 Stakeholder interview process
 Watch yourself on video
 10/10 technique
 Listen, say “thanks”, and be on the lookout for blind
spots

15.  Improve my ability to listen when I’m in a hurry or
under stress”
 “learn how to lead change”
 “Learn to be more strategic”
 “Improve my presentation skills”
Action step:
 Pick just one thing
 Get S.M.A.R.T. about it

16.  Thinking back over your career, choose 3 – 5
development experiences of importance and impact
– the ones that resulted in the most learning. These
can be on or off the job, at any point in your career.
They could be jobs, assignments, projects, bosses,
classes, coaches, or other experiences that made you
see things in a different way, built skills that you still
use today, or significantly changed your behavior.

17. Challenging
Assignments
48%
18% 17%
Other
Significant Events
Other 17%
People
Hardships
Research from the Center for Creative Leadership

18. Action steps:
 Consider a job change
 Take on a challenging work assignment
 Take on a challenge off-the job
 Get help from others: coach, mentor, boss, subject matter
experts
 Get “feedforward”
 Take a courses (targeted, feedback, peer learning, application)
 Read a “how-to” books, subscribe to blogs, videos, etc…
Developmental “HEAT”!

19. Pick one behavior you would like to change
Describe this behavior to a partner
Ask for “feedforward” – for two suggestions for the future that might help
achieve a positive change in your selected behavior
Listen attentively and take notes
Thank the person
Ask the other person what they would like to change
Provide feedforward – two suggestions aimed at helping the other person
change
Say “You are welcome” when thanked for the suggestions. The entire process
of both giving and receiving feedforward usually takes about two
minutes
Find another partner and keep repeating the process until the exercise is
stopped

20. Action steps:
 Write it down!
 Individual Development Plan (handout)
 Public “declarations”
 Find a partner
 Deliberate practice

21. Action Steps:
 Get more feedback: “How am I doing?
Reflection:
 Start a journal
 Debrief with a coach, learning partner, mentor

23. 1. Motivation
8. Continuous 2. Define
learning leadership
7. Feedback
and reflection
you? 3. Assessment
6. Plan and
4. Get specific
practice
5. Variety

24. My contact information and resources:
Email: daniel.mccarthy@unh.edu
Blog: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com
eBook: The Great Leadership Development and Succession Planning eBook
(Amazon, Nook, Ibooks, etc…): $7.99
Twitter: @greatleadership
UNH Executive Leadership programs:
The UNH Next Level Executive Development Program
http://execed.unh.edu/Next-Level-Leadership-Development-NH
Women's Leadership Development Program
http://execed.unh.edu/Womens-Leadership-Development-
Program-NH