Kelvin J. Cochran

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Developing Authentic Leadership

• Presented by
• Kelvin J. Cochran

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Study of Great Leaders

• 50 years and 1000 leadership studies
• Determine definitive styles
• Determine characteristics
• Determine personality traits
• Determine core values
• Still no clear profile of the ideal leader

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Discovering Authentic Leadership

• All of us were born originals, some of us will
  die as copies
• No one can be authentic by being a copy
• People trust a genuine leader
• Leadership has many faces. Being who we are
  and cultivating our purpose is more important
  than emulating someone else.

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Authentic Leadership

• Cloning successful leaders from history and the
  present will not assure successful leaders in
  the future.

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Authentic Leadership

• If we were able to take the best of all
  character and personality traits of the best of
  successful leaders and inject them into each
  aspiring subordinate, we would set them up for
  failure.

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Authentic Defined

• Conforming to facts and therefore worthy of
  trust, reliance or belief
• Authentic leaders are always in the process of
  conforming
• We are all a work in progress

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Authentic Leaders

• Demonstrate a passion for their purpose
• Practice their values consistently
• Lead with their hearts and heads
• Establish long-term meaningful relationships
• Have self-discipline to get results
• Authentic leaders know who they are.

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Authentic Leaders

• To Become an Authentic Leader You
• ______________________________
• Do not have to be born with specific character
  and personality traits
• Do not have to wait for approval
• Do not have to be at the top
• Must discover your potential and fulfill your
  leadership destiny

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Authentic Leaders

• Five areas of focus for Authentic Leadership
• ______________________________
• Life stories
• Practicing your values and principles
• Balanced motivations
• Building a strong support team
• Living an integrated, grounded life

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I. Your Life Story

• Learning From Your Life Story
• ___________________________
• Your life narrative is a recording playing in
  your head
• Keeps your experiences in context with your
  vision
• Inspires our dreams and destiny
• Your resume is not who you are

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I. Your Life Story

• The Full Spectrum of Experiences
• ___________________________
• Impact of parents
• Athletic coaches
• Teachers
• Mentors

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Your Life Story

• Transforming Effects of Crucibles
• ______________________________
• Poverty
• Loss of a job
• Personal illness
• Death of a relative or friend
• Being excluded
• Discriminated against
• Rejected by peers

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Knowing Yourself

• Self-awareness--the most important capability for
  leaders to develop
• Most common tendencies
• Strive to achieve success money, fame, power,
  status
• Achieves unsustainable success
• Knowing our authentic selves requires courage
  and honesty to openly examine our experiences

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The Value of Feedback

• Two things I should stop doing
• Two things I should start doing
• Two things I should continue doing

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II. Practicing Values and Principles

• The values that form authentic leadership are
  derived from beliefs and convictions, but you
  will not know what your true values are until
  they are tested under pressure.

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Practicing Values and Principles

• It is easy to list your values and live by them
  when things are going well. When your success,
  your career or even your life hangs in the
  balance, you discover whats important, what you
  are prepared to sacrifice and what compromises
  you are willing to make. Leadership principles
  are values translated into action.

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IAFC Board Values

• Member-Driven
• Leadership
• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Dedication

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IAFC Board Values

• Confidentiality
• Respect
• Continuous Learning and Improvement
• Collaboration and Teamwork
• Open Communications

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III. Balancing Motives

• Because authentic leaders need to sustain high
  levels of motivation and keep their lives in
  balance, it is critically important for them to
  understand what drives them to do what they do.

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Balancing Motives

• Extrinsic Motives
• ______________
• Recognition
• Social Status
• Promotions
• Financial rewards
• Peers, Parental Expectations

• Intrinsic Motives
• ______________
• Personal growth
• Helping others
• Social causes
• Making a difference

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IV. Building Your Support Team

• Authentic leaders build their networks over time,
  as their experiences, shared histories, and
  openness with people close to them create the
  trust and confidence they need in time of trial
  and uncertainty.
• Leaders must give as much to their supporters as
  they get from them so that mutually beneficial
  relationships can develop.

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Building Your Support Team

• Authentic Leaders Build Support Teams
• ________________________
• Counsel during uncertainty
• Help in times of difficulty
• Celebrate in times of success

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Multifaceted Support Structure

• Spouses/Significant others
• Families
• Mentors
• Close Friends
• Colleagues

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Personal and Professional Support Groups

• Professional
• Professional associations
• Conferences
• Personal
• Community service organizations
• Civic groups
• Golfing buddies
• Small group meetings

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V. Integrated Life Staying Grounded

• To lead a balanced life, leaders need to bring
  together all of its constituent elementswork,
  family, community, and friendsso that you can be
  the same person in each environment.

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Integrated Life Staying Grounded

• Think of your life as a house, with a bedroom for
  your personal life, a study for your professional
  life, a family room for your family and a living
  room to share with your friends.
• Can you knock down the walls between these rooms
  and be the same person in each of them?

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Integrated Life Staying Grounded

• Steady and confident presence
• No zero-sum game personal and professional
• Resonates in high stress conditions
• Model a fitness culture
• Spiritually connected
• Community service oriented
• Cherishes humble beginnings

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Empowering Others

• There is no success without a successor
• Develop leaders at every level
• Empower others to step up and lead
• A reputation for building relationships
• Attracts talented people

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Rewards of Authentic Leadership

• Pleasure of group achievement
• Crossing the finish line together
• Satisfaction of empowering others
• Making the world a better place

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Personal Change

• One person can not change another person.
• Arthurs engagement dinner
• Most people need to look at the way they look at
  change.
• I sure hope things will change.
• The only way things will change for me is when I
  change.

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Personal Change

• I dont know why I am this way.
• You are the way you are because thats the way
  you want to be.
• We can not become what we need to be by
  remaining what we are. -Dupree
• When you make the right personal change, other
  things begin to turn out right

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Personal Change

• Weve got to align ourselves with purposes
  greater that ourselves.
• Needs
• Motives
• Goals

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Personal Change

• Stop Seeking Achievement Where You Are the
  Primary Beneficiary
• You get the credit
• You get the benefit
• What have you done for someone else lately?

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Personal Change

• Change K,S,As
• Increase you still dont know everything
• College
• Conferences
• Professional Associations

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Change Motives

• Make A Difference Everyday
• Community
• Department
• Divisions
• Groups
• Individuals
• Stakeholders

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Change Brokers

• Effective Fire Chiefs are change brokers
• Leadership that changes things to make things
  better for others.

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Six Steps To Successful Personal Changes

• I. When you change your thinking, you change your
  beliefs.
• II. When you change your beliefs, you change your
  expectations.
• When you change your expectations, you change
  your attitude.
• When you change your attitude, you change your
  behavior.
• When you change your behavior, you change your
  performance.
• When you change your performance, you change your
  life.

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I. When you change your thinking, you change
your beliefs.

• Everything begins with a thought.
• What we think determines who we are. Who we are
  determines what we do.
• Our thoughts determine our destiny. Our destiny
  determines our legacy.
• People who go to the top think differently than
  others.
• We can change the way we think.

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II. When you change your beliefs, you change your
expectations.

• Beliefs That Help You Change
• Change is personal
• Change is possible
• Change is profitable
• Basic Beliefs That Motivate You
• Have a plan for your life.
• Know the plan for your life
• Want to be successful
• Be continually obedient and change oriented to be
  successful
• When you grow and change, you add value to self
  and others

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III. When you change your expectations, you
change your attitude.

• Positive Expectations Produce
• Excitement
• Conviction
• Desire
• Confidence
• Commitment
• Energy

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IV. When you change your attitude, you change
your behavior

• The Choice Within You
• Choice 1 Evaluate your present attitude
• Choice 2 Is your faith stronger than fear.
• Choice 3 Write a statement of purpose
• Choice 4 Determine if you have a desire to
  change

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IV. When you change your attitude, you change
your behavior

• The Choice Within You
• Choice 5 Live one day at a time
• Choice 6 Change your thought pattern
• Choice 7 Develop good habits
• Choice 8 Continually choose the right
  attitude.

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V. When you change your behavior, you change your
performance.

• Two Mistakes that We Make
• We wait for others to change our circumstances
• We wait for our circumstances to change our
  behavior

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VI. When you change your performance you change
your life.

• Changing your performance in professional and
  personal relationships will enhance your entire
  life!

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Six Steps To Successful Personal Changes

• I When you change your Thinking, you change your
  Beliefs.
• II. When you change your Beliefs, you change your
  Expectations.
• When you change your Expectations, you change
  your Attitude.
• When you change your Attitude, you change your
  Behavior.
• When you change your Behavior, you change your
  Performance.
• When you change your Performance, you change your
  Life.

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References

• The Fire Chief of the Future
• Chief Fire Officers Desk Reference
• Chapter 25, by Kelvin J. Cochran
• Discovering Your Authentic Leadership
• Harvard Business Review, February 2007
• Authentic Leadership Rediscovering the Secrets
  to Creating Lasting Value
• Bill George, 2003

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• Thank You!