In the post-industrial paradigm of leadership, everyone, even entry-level employees, must possess leadership skills. My Map of Leadership Maturity helps you discover your leadership inclinations. Find out whether you tend to lead primarily with the head, heart, or gut. Use my Map of Leadership Maturity to assess your organization’s leadership development needs.

Purposeful Leadership Development is a Must for Progressive Organizations

We humans have a peculiar relationship with leadership. In light of this relationship, it is easy to see why some of us find it difficult to assume leadership over anything other than our lives and perhaps our families.

How do we relate to leadership, and why have leadership skills become so important in the modern paradigm of organizational success?

What kind of a leader are you? 

As I have pointed out in my book “Intelligent Leadership,” from early childhood, we live subordinate lives. We obey our parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other figures of authority in our lives. Consequently, as young adults, we simply do not possess the leadership abilities the modern corporate world increasingly demands.

The industrial leadership paradigm dictated rigid, vertical, top-down leadership structures. This form of organization has undergone radical modifications in the post-industrial age. Leadership structures have flattened out, delegating decision-making authority down to entry-level employees.

In a nutshell: Everyone has to possess leadership skills and be capable of leading when the circumstances require it. How can you tell whether you possess these skills and what kind of a leader you are? 

In “Intelligent Leadership,” I discuss, analyze, and dissect leadership skills with the help of my Map of Leadership Maturity. This Map/Enneagram gives you and your organization a starting point for your leadership development efforts.

My Map of Leadership Maturity

I have predicated my Map of Leadership Maturity upon an Enneagram comprised of nine leadership traits that best define how people feel, behave, and think in leadership situations.

Each of the nine leadership traits falls into one of three leadership groupings:

• Head leaders
• Heart leaders
• Gut leaders

Head Leaders 

Head leaders are rational thinkers and problem-solvers. Those who lead with their heads also make outstanding disciples and activists. Insecurity is the central problem they face.

• Mature head leaders are overachievers. They dazzle through the prism of their accomplishments, and they draw accolades for their efficiency. The way they get things done is deserving of admiration.
• Immaturity in head leaders takes different forms and degrees. Some of the immature head leaders find it impossible to see through their tasks. Others do get things done, but their accomplishments are counterproductive. The worst kind may exhibit out-of-control behaviors.

Heart Leaders

Heart leaders are emotional leaders. The three leadership traits that define this group are Entertainer, Artist, and Helper. Emotions/feelings are the strong suits of this leadership category. Conversely, they also define its weaknesses.

Heart leaders lead through feelings

• Mature heart leaders are empathic, possessing a keen emotional intelligence. They know how to exercise self-awareness and self-control. They are also capable of influencing the emotions/feelings of others without being manipulative.
• Immature heart leaders struggle to remain true to their identities.  Instead, in their quest for recognition and appreciation, they develop traits they believe are socially admirable. When frustrated, head leaders can become hostile toward others or themselves.

Gut Leaders

There is one fundamental factor defining the existence of a gut leader: his/her relationship with the environment. Perfectionists aim to alter and perfect their environment. Arbitrators look to coexist with it, while Drivers want to dominate it.

• Mature gut leaders are inspirational achievers. Their confidence inspires others to adopt can-do attitudes. They are excellent mentors, driving their mentees to achieve much more than they could ever achieve on their own.
• Immature gut leaders, on the other hand, are constantly at odds with their environment, unable to master it the way they would want.

To learn more about the Map of Leadership Maturity and how it can help you become a mature leader, I invite you to check out “Intelligent Leadership.”

Now that you have had a taste of how you can assess your intelligent leadership abilities, follow this blog for a series of future posts that define each of the three leadership styles and nine leadership traits in more detail.

The Enneagram of Leadership Maturity is a tool you can use to establish a baseline for the leadership development goals and efforts of your organization. If you want to know more about leadership development, check out my leadership coaching services.

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