Evolving Leaders; The Best Leaders are Always Evolving

Leaders evolve. To exist in time is to evolve, but the more important question is; are you present and active in your evolution as a leader?

Passive Evolution

Time marches on, and if we’re passive in our evolution, a decade may pass, and we will wonder, ‘How did I get here?’ If we leave our growth in the hands of our environments and communities, we will not reach our unique potential and way of impacting the world and those around us.

External Influences in Passive Evolution

Everyday in the workforce, we have external influences slowly shaping us.

• Who you report to
• Your physical environment
• Your team
• Your tasks
• Your unique job
• Performances expectations

How are all these influences changing who you are? Passive evolution is when external influences change who we are and influence our abilities.

Passive evolution happens when:

• We’re stressed and burnt out
• Hyper-focused on only what is right in front of us
• Not present in our existence in time
• When we can not break away
• When we don’t know ourselves
• When we’re not open to growth
• When we’re not leading our evolution

Active Evolution

Active evolution is when internal influences lead change and drive our personal growth and development.

In our leadership programs and coaching packages at Lighthouse NINE, we most often support the journey toward active evolution by leveraging a series of self-assessments (like the online assessments we offer). 

We do this so that leaders can better inform their journey through

• Getting to know themselves better
• Getting to know those around them better

Throughout their growth journey, these foundational insights help them see firsthand how they’re evolving.

As leaders gain perspective and see themselves and their peers as individuals with unique strengths, values and ways of working (we describe this as our Head, Heart and How), they begin to see the power of active evolution.

This awareness sparks a genuine curiosity and personal inquiry towards:

• How can I evolve my leadership and impact?
• How can this program contribute to my growth?
• What and how have others done to evolve their leadership and impact??
• How can people with different abilities work together in a way to make the greatest impact?
• How will I ensure what I learn sticks?

Locking in Learning

The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve research indicates that, without a process for locking in learning, we only retain  20-25% of what we take in (and this goes for your leadership podcasts and books).

Active evolution is accelerated, and learning is locked in when the growth plan includes multiple points of assessment, reflection and shared learning along the way. Within our leadership programs and coaching packages, we start by building clear development plans, leveraging the person’s Head, Heart and How insights to craft specific growth goals supported by regular accountability/learning check-ins to increase learning ‘stickiness,’ confidence and momentum. 

Actively evolving leaders recognize the gift of what is in the moment (for the business, yourself, and others). They are open to applying new ways of thinking or trying new techniques and then locking in what they learn.

Actively evolving leaders recognize the opportunities uncovered through the process of trying something new. This is the difference between a Fixed Mindset vs. a Growth Mindset and the key to becoming an evolving leader.

What is an Evolving Leader?

Someone who first recognizes that they don’t know everything and they won’t know everything, and second, has a learning mindset rather than a fixed mindset.

An evolving leader is open to new paths and learning as a human being and recognizes that all change happens “in between” through our interactions with others.

They recognize that our past experiences shape us and that there are times when we need to let go of beliefs and assumptions, try a new perspective, or learn from others’ experiences.

An Evolving Leader Embraces A Holistic View Of Personal Development

Evolving leaders have an acute awareness of themselves, their current state and the internal and external influences that impact how they show up and how they grow.

They are aware and actively managing what Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr describe in their book ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ as our four energy tanks: Physical Energy, Emotional Energy, Mental Energy, and Spiritual Energy. They prioritize time to protect and fill these tanks by pro-actively managing things like:

• Eating habits
• Sleeping habits
• Mental health
• Thought ruts
• Technology
• Mental Biases

Watchouts on Your Journey to Becoming an Evolving Leader

The stresses of our current world can sometimes result in us losing our focus and risk slipping into passive evolution or devolution. We are all human and can find ourselves in this place. Some watchouts that may indicate you are heading here are when if you think you know it all or if:

• You are annoyed by others’ opinions and ideas
• You are very self-critical
• You are closed off to others
• You are closed off to new ideas
• You are exhausted or feeling drained

How do you begin the journey to become an actively evolving leader? The 5 Qualities of a Good Leader.

When I wrote my book, ‘In Search of Safe Brave Spaces,’ I was coming out of a deep hole, far from an actively evolving leader. In my recovery from a very challenging period, both personally and professionally, and in the research for my book, I uncovered five foundational characteristics key to becoming an actively evolving leader.

• Curiousity – beginning with a sense of wonder
• Courage – a willingness to step up and step in
• Caring – for self and others
• Clarity – committed to seeking and creating it
• Collaborative – recognized the power of ‘in-between’

 In all of the examples of actively evolving leaders, these are only partially formed however, they all had common critical commitments and intentions toward growing and enabling these attributes. As they intentionally led from these five characteristics, they created the safe brave spaces which I described in my book. Leading by example created a ripple effect which released the potential and performance of both themselves and those they worked with.

They may see the best path forward already, however they include others in the journey. They leave space for others to see alternative pathways to where they are going and walk together down the right road to results. And good leaders are courageous, bravely sharing their own values in a way that uplifts others and creates a community of growth and support.

How To Evolve as a Leader

In the research for my book ‘In Search of Safe Brave Spaces’  Safe Brave Spaces and interviews on my podcast Safe Brave Stories, I began to see a four-step pattern emerge from both my experience and the stories of those I interviewed. It’s a cyclical, evolutionary process that drives us forward to intentional personal development, and it begins with knowing.

1. Knowing. Becoming an actively evolving leader begins with YOU. Activating a commitment to self- and other-awareness shifts your perspective to what many have described as a ‘state of wonder.’ This shift enables you to walk through life with curiosity, looking to uncover new ideas and behaviours. Observe your own thoughts, behaviours, and motives from a higher perspective and ask questions. Obtain knowledge wherever you can through books, podcasts, programs, and other people’s wisdom.
   
2. Growing. Knowing without a commitment to growing is just naval gazing. Apply what you know before you lose it. The shorter the distance between knowing and doing, the more we retain. Be willing to try and fail, pick yourself back up, and actively evolve your leadership. Try new ways of thinking, connect with people you don’t usually connect with, and apply new knowledge within your community for healthy feedback.
   
3. Letting Go. One of the greatest barriers to becoming an actively evolving leader is our choice not to let go. Uncover and let go of the stories in your head, the beliefs or biases, and the judgement, and challenge yourself—is that still true? Is it really true? Don’t let your inner critic win the day! Reflect on your growth and let go of the things you can’t control.
   
4. Showing Up. Planning and practice makes permanent. Our speed to act and our jam-packed calendars often inhibit how we show up. Start the day right with a quick meditation or quiet time reflecting on points of gratitude and positive leadership intentions for your day. Block five minutes before every interaction to pause and intentionally show up as an evolved leader. Build in regular reflection times by yourself or with an accountability partner. how did I apply my knowledge today? How did I show up at work? At home? What will I do differently tomorrow?

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins discusses the flywheel effect: the more we do a cyclical process, the more momentum we build, and it goes faster and faster.

You can move through the stages faster if you practice the four steps to becoming a better leader. In time, we can move from reflection to knowing and growing without having to wait for an end-of-day reflection. And the key is openness to the process; be present in your evolution.

Active evolution as a leader works in these four steps. As we get into the habit of moving from knowing and growing to letting go and showing up, we understand our rhythm for being and move closer to our unique potential for impacting the world around us.

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One Final Framework to Support Evolving Leaders

As an evolving leader deepens and appreciates both self awareness and other awareness it opens perspective and reflection around what and where I can make the most impact. These are situations and experiences where you combine what you are great at with what you love to do. 

Gaining clarity around these two points will emerge from your self-awareness work and is often combined with some reflection around what we call your ‘Most Memorable Moments’, your past and current experiences when you are operating at your highest levels. When you find yourself in these ‘moments’ we not only release our full potential, we also fill our energy tanks and achieve our greatest impact.

How can you replicate those ‘Meaningful Moments’ so you can do more of your best work?

One powerful way to create more of these moments and set ourselves up for positive evolution is to chart our work and assess our tasks so we can eliminate those not helping our evolution and pour more energy into those helping our evolution.

The MMMM Model (Moving to More Meaningful Moments)

The MMMM Model is designed to identify tasks we should do more of and tasks we should avoid or delegate. It can be done with paper and pen. It’s a cross with four quadrants.

The top right is what I love and what I am great at, the bottom right is what I love but am not great at, the top left is what I am great at but don’t love, and the bottom left is what I am not great at and do not love:

1. Top left quadrant: This is the holy grail. Doing more here will increase your impact and energy. Try to always move towards doing more of these tasks, doing more of what you love and are great at.
   
2. Bottom left quadrant: These are the areas you are passionate about but not yet competent in. Be intentional about learning and embrace a growth mindset to increase your ability to move to the top left quadrant.
   
3. Top right quadrant: These are the tasks you need to pay the bills. We all have some of these along our journey. Be grateful for them as they often enable the growth opportunities in the bottom left. Find ways to get more out of them; they are necessities.
   
4. Bottom right quadrant: Beware! These things will drain your energy and have little impact. Stop doing them or do them as little as possible. If they have to be done, find someone who is great at it and/or loves doing it and delegate.

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Why Should You Always be Evolving as a Leader?

Our world is changing so quickly that many leaders are having difficulty surviving the storm. Evolving leaders have discovered that they can’t control the storm and instead discover the power of learning to uncover how they best ride the storm. This begins with understanding themselves and recognizing that the learning journey is continuous. A desire and commitment to actively evolving myself and how I relate and connect with others creates a new rhythm that enables greater resilience within and appreciation of the storm.

In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl stated that ‘between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom’. Our world is full of stimuli, some good and some bad, and in every moment, we have the power of choice.

As a leader, one of those choices is to evolve passively or actively. 

The choice to actively evolve as a leader requires you to make small changes and witness the impact on you and the community around you as you develop and grow. Your learning mindset is set to ‘continual improvement,’ using every moment to actively evolve towards your unique potential, creating more meaningful moments for yourself and others.

When we are committed to actively evolving, we are open to learning and growing. With this intention, we create positive ripples and safe, brave spaces for others to learn and grow. This, in turn, creates more positive ripples, often the generators of the most meaningful moments that we experience.

People are attracted to evolving leaders

One final practical outcome of becoming an evolving leader is that almost every recent study states the number one attribute that attracts and retains great talent are leaders and organizations who demonstrate a commitment to learning, connection and impact. People are curious about evolving leaders; they are drawn in by the safe brave spaces they create and model, both in themselves and the team they lead.

A Better Path to Team Performance

Our mission at Lighthouse NINE Group has always been to come alongside organizations and help them find performance through people, creating environments where leaders are growing and evolving.

We are committed to supporting actively evolving leaders.

Reach Out if You Want to Find Ways to Become an Actively Evolving Leader

Feel free to reach out if you or your organization is interested in finding more ways to become an actively evolving leader. We would love to have a deeper conversation about where you are and where you want to be.

If you aren’t quite ready or your organization doesn’t support this type of work, the great news is that you don’t need a formal program to begin becoming an actively evolving leader. Consider activating the following simple four steps this week:

• Reflect on the five characteristics of an evolving leader and capture your current state of competence and confidence.
  • Pick one strength you want to use more and one that you’d like to strengthen.
• Deepen your self-awareness with an assessment—you can find many listed in our online assessments.
  • My personal favourites are Kolbe, EQi, and the Enneagram, plus there are a number of free ones online, like ‘Stand out.’
• Consider getting some feedback starting with a Reflected Best Self.
• Find a partner for your journey. There is power in community!

Humanity as a species is constantly evolving, so be an active part of your and your team’s evolution to discover new paths to growth and performance.

Greg Smith

Greg Smith heads the firm’s Leadership Development & Coaching practice. He also serves clients in the areas of Change Management, Strategy Alignment Cascade, Organizational Design, Culture & Engagement and High Performing Teams.Greg is a senior business leader who has thrived in challenging business environments for more than 25 years, achieving results that are in line with the required strategic and cultural transformation. His multiple industry experience and expertise in strategy formation, organizational design, talent development and culture building combined with his HR expertise makes him an excellent Trusted Advisor.As an HR lead at Porter Airlines, Campbell Soup, Marriott and Wolseley, Greg was known as a leader who committed to breakthrough performance and innovation with a pragmatic business focus. His passion for people and his strong creative ability resulted in significant advancement in team member engagement and connectivity in both the profit and non-profit sectors.Greg has served on numerous boards and councils including the Daily Bread Food Bank, the Food Processors HR Council and Matthew House Refugee Settlement Center.Greg has a proven track record of improving organizational performance through people while challenging conventional thinking. This mindset and experience are very consistent with Lighthouse NINE’s multi-disciplinary approach and his focus on alignment & collaboration fits perfectly with our mission.As a Partner at Lighthouse NINE, Greg’s clients will benefit from the firm’s breadth and depth of knowledge and our collaborative approach. By harnessing these experiences, organizations can simplify challenges, build partnerships, focus action and deliver outstanding results.

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