Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019 - 9

BEN WEBER

GUEST EDITOR

DO YOU HAVE THIS
KEY LEADERSHIP SKILL?

Many of today's leaders possess several
important skills but limit their leadership
potential by demonstrating a lack of
flexibility. Extraordinary leadership requires
emotional intelligence, collaboration skills
and the ability to navigate change - all of
which require flexibility. Inflexible leaders
struggle to work effectively with others,
are limited in their creativity, struggle with
relationships and miss out on valuable
opportunities. Flexibility is a skill that
every leader must develop if they want to
maximize their leadership potential and
evolve into an extraordinary leader.
As a leader, how flexible are you? On
a scale of one to 10, with 10 being
extremely adaptable and flexible, rate
yourself. Would your team and co-workers
agree with your rating?
Many leaders struggle in the area of
flexibility. Additionally, some leaders
believe that they are flexible but are
unaware of their own rigidity. A leader's
lack of awareness of their own flexibility
creates an invisible barrier to achieving
their potential; it also creates frustration
for the leader, their team members and
their co-workers.
To effectively evaluate your own
flexibility, ask yourself these questions:
* Do you usually get your way?
* How often do people challenge
your perspective?
* Can you embrace discomfort in order
to develop another person's idea?
* When other people speak, do you cut
them off?
* How do minor changes affect you?

With good intentions, inflexible leaders
often force their agendas into action
by steamrolling over others, closed
off to ideas different from their own.
This creates a team of compliant but
disengaged employees. Team members
and co-workers become exhausted by
trying to share their ideas and eventually
concede to the leader to avoid conflict.
Their ownership and satisfaction in
deliverables diminishes, and they start to
resemble robots working in a day prison.
These statements may sound harsh, but
remember that people contribute their
best work when they are encouraged to
participate, have the freedom to make
independent decisions and feel their
ideas add value.
Additionally, rigid leaders will kill and/or
stall projects when plans vary from their
vision, and they become stressed when
things don't go their way. Unequipped
to handle adversity, the inflexible
leader uses force to create results,
which degrades positive organizational
environments. Unable to recognize the
damage of rigidity, the leader continues
with his or her original plan.
WHAT ARE THE BEHAVIORS OF A
FLEXIBLE LEADER?
Flexible leaders understand the value
of others' ideas. They embrace change
and alternate perspectives, because
they appreciate diversity of thought
and acknowledge the potential rewards
of effective collaboration. They push
themselves to exercise excellent listening
skills, which validates their acceptance

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of new ideas and encourages others
to share their opinions.
Flexible leaders accept change as
part of leadership and adjust when
adversity arises. When disappointment
presents
itself,
flexible
leaders
reappraise the situation, find the
learning opportunity in the situation
and continue to focus on the objective.
While change can be painful, it's up
to the leader to embrace flexibility
and find the optimal solution for any
given challenge.

FLEXIBLE LEADERS
RECOGNIZE AND
UNDERSTAND THE
VALUE OF OTHERS'
IDEAS.
Ultimately, the flexible leader realizes
that what determines success is not the
circumstances that present themselves
or what people do or say, but how the
leader responds in the face of adversity.
Successful leaders collaborate with
others and maintain focus when working
outside of their comfort zone. As you
develop yourself as a leader, challenge
yourself to embrace the uneasiness of
change and exercise flexibility.
Ben Weber is the director of human
resources and training at Vendor
Resource Management. He holds an
MBA and a master's degree in human
resource management and is currently
working on his dissertation toward a
Ph.D. in leadership studies from Dallas
Baptist University. Email Ben.

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Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019

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