Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader

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In this provocative new book, Herminia Ibarra takes into account the high-velocity, shape-shifting context that we all live in and offers an action-oriented, practical playbook on leadership, identity, and change. It is a must-read for the contemporary leader.” When we act like a leader by proposing new ideas, making contributions outside our area of expertise, or connecting people and resources to a worthwhile goal (to cite just a few examples), people see us behaving as leaders and confirm as much. The social recognition and the reputation that develop over time with repeated demonstrations of leadership create conditions for what psychologists call internalizing a leadership identity—coming to see oneself as a leader and seizing more and more opportunities to behave accordingly. As a person’s capacity for leadership grows, so too does the likelihood of receiving endorsement from all corners of the organisation by, for example, being given a bigger job. And the cycle continues. So it is with leadership. Research on how adults learn shows that the logical sequence—think, then act—is actually reversed in personal change processes such as those involved in becoming a better leader. Paradoxically, we only increase our self-knowledge in the process of making changes. We try something Most traditional leadership training or coaching aims to change the way you think, asking you to reflect on who you are and who you’d like to become. Indeed, introspection and self-reflection have become the holy grail of leadership development. Increase your self-awareness first. Know who you are. Define your leadership purpose and authentic self, and these insights will guide your leadership journey. There is an entire leadership cottage industry based on this idea, with thousands of books, programs, and courses designed to help you find your leadership style, be an authentic leader, and play from your leadership strengths while working on your weaknesses. This intelligent and thought-provoking book is for those who really want to make a difference those willing to act their way into leadership situations they might previously have thought themselves out of.”

Herminia Ibarra is the Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Learning, and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD and the author of Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career. Prior to joining INSEAD, she served on the Harvard Business School faculty for thirteen years. Ibarra ranks #9 among the Thinkers50 list of the most influential business gurus in the world and is on HR Magazine’s list of the top 20 most influential international thinkers. The second key pillar to the Outsights model is to'Redefine Your Network'. Of the three components to the model, I personally like this the best. Any position I've ever held -- any article, post or book I've ever written -- has come as a result of my network. I even wrote something entitled, ' My Net Work Is My Net Worth' about five years ago. If a leader believes she is 'acting' like a leader while holed up in a Fort Knox-like office, afraid to mingle with the masses inside or outside the organization, it's the epitome of passive and ineffective leadership, in my opinion. To me, that's not leadership ... it's cowardship.The author goes through a series of steps on how to start acting as a leader, describing key activities like studying and imitating role models, understanding and learning from your experiences, increasing your three networks (personal, operational and strategic), participating on extracurricular activities, and putting yourself on uncomfortable situations. Some of these activities may make you feel non-authentic or “fake”, a topic that is touched in depth by the author by analyzing the Authenticity Traps. Best leaders work as a bridge between their team and others outside the team. It is important not to spend all your time with internal team work. The second key pillar to the Outsights model is to ’Redefine Your Network’. Of the three components to the model, I personally like this the best. Any position I’ve ever held — any article, post or book I’ve ever written — has come as a result of my network. I even wrote something entitled, ‘ My Net Work Is My Net Worth‘ about five years ago. If a leader believes she is ‘acting’ like a leader while holed up in a Fort Knox-like office, afraid to mingle with the masses inside or outside the organization, it’s the epitome of passive and ineffective leadership, in my opinion. To me, that’s not leadership … it’s cowardship.

Our mind-sets are very difficult to change because changing requires experience in what we are least apt to do. Without the benefit of an outside-in approach to change, our self-conceptions and therefore our habitual patterns of thought and action are rigidly fenced in by the past. No one pigeonholes us better than we ourselves do. The paradox of change is that the only way to alter the way we think is by doing the very things our habitual thinking keeps us from doing. To step up to leadership, you have to learn to think like a leader. The way you think is a product of your past experience. The only way to change how you think, therefore, is to do different things. The more your current situation tilts toward a do-it-yourself environment, the more outsight you need to make the transition. If you don’t create new opportunities within the confines of your “day job,” they may never come your way. You can buy many books on how to be more authentic at work and can sign up for countless courses on how to be a more authentic leader. Clearly, many of us are finding it problematic to just be ourselves.According to Ibarra, building a more diverse network can deliver flashes of 'outsight', which in turn can help us redefine what we do and who we are. Her book provides a lot of sound practical advice to get you started.” Mind Tools (mindtools.com) Herminia Ibarra has created a valuable and successful model for helping forward-thinking professionals move up the corporate ladder.”