So, we were recently working with one of our clients here at Fierce, helping them map their leadership competencies to our suite of conversation models that they offer in their organization. So, as I was thinking about that work recently, it made me wonder if there’s a way to encapsulate, in really broad terms that are easy to recall, all the tools that Fierce offers leaders at every level in every organization.
We tend to call it the anatomy of a Fierce leader, which I think actually has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Sounds like something to aspire to. Also, because I tend to think of things, strategically in large buckets and because I’ve long been a fan of three things, the simplicity of that, which nerd alert, I think comes from my undergrad years where I learned the power of the Ciceronian triplet.
There are three buckets that I’m thinking of that the Fierce leader emphasizes or embodies, there’s the self, there are others and then there’s the organization or the strategic, big picture level of things. I also tend to think in pictures or diagrams. So, imagine that there’s this series of concentric circles and they start with you at the core, the leader at the core, and then they ripple out from there. So, to begin to think about this, I invite you to do a self-assessment. What are your strengths? What are you known for, in your organization? What are your superpowers?
At the other end of the spectrum, think about those things that maybe are part of your development plan. If you’re an ever-evolving, ever-growing leader, one of those things, you’d really like to build, those underdeveloped muscles.
Among the key attributes of a Fierce leader, we tend to look at them as exhibiting high resilience in an ever-changing world.
They’ve got high integrity, they tend to be trusted, high in trustworthiness. They also tend to model compassionate accountability for those around them with, high emotional intelligence, they’re really self-aware, and they’ve got a passion for personal and team development. They’re always growing, always developing, and always working to develop those around them.
We love working with leaders at every level, to build, flex and stretch those muscles. We tend to look, at this level, for the self. The Fierce Foundation is where it all begins. We’ve also got our accountability model, which seems to support this work, to still start working with yourself, and our coaching model, to work with yourself and those around you as you’re beginning to build your muscle as a leader or strengthen your muscle as a leader. There’s also our delegation model, which, quite frankly, we tend to think of as an underutilized way to develop those around you and by the way, create some space for you to grow and develop and take on some more things.
At that next circle out, emanating from you at the core, thinking about others, your team, the people you work most closely with, your peers, and your supervisor. Think about how effective is your work with them, a Fierce leader practices, inclusiveness, and they tend to leverage diversity in all its forms. They also create psychologically safe environments that really foster risk-taking and vulnerability, both of which are essential for the resilience necessary for innovating. They tend to collaborate with others to make the best possible decisions. They don’t shy away from the big decisions, they tend to welcome them because of the way that they leverage their connections with those around them.
Many of our models support a leader’s development at this level, including Fierce resilience.
Our team model, which we tend to refer to as a beach ball model. If you imagine the beach ball, with all of those different stripes, which represent the different perspectives of all of the people in the organization, or at least on your team. That’s you, Fierce leader at that team level, and then the furthest circle out of those concentric circles emanating from you at the core, is the strategic level, the organizational level.
We found that when a leader can pull together and practice all of our conversational models, that are already at their fingertips, in their leadership toolbox. They’re fully equipped to lead change with transparency and they really are great at developing high-performing teams. They’re seen as organizational rockstars, quite frankly, who bring their company’s vision, mission, and strategy to life, in everything that they do.
If I just described you, because if I have, sincerely, congratulations on being a Fierce leader. If not, and it sounds like the kind of leader you aspire to be, please reach out. We’d love to help you get where you want to go.
