"How to be a Real Leader", FAST Company, May 1999

FAST Company May 1999

"How to be a Real Leader"

"How to be a Real Leader" focuses on a Minneapolis-based leadership coach named Kevin Cashman, who works with executives from companies such as Pillsbury, American Express and Rollerblade to explore what it means to lead. His company has been called the "Mayo Clinic of Leadership" and many business executives come to Cashman for a check-up. He believes leaders lead by virtue of who they are. Cashman says, "if we want to be more effective with others, we first need to be more effective with ourselves."

When I read this article, it reminded me of Sue Damme's class this past summer on Transformative Learning. Cashman talks about three core qualities to leadership: authenticity, self-expression and value creation. "Authenticity" refers to a link between the inner and outer person. I felt this concept was similar to the critical reflection method of Transformative Learning. Extension educators can have more impact in their programming if they understand themselves and their audiences better. Cashman believes people who understand who they are tend to have a more powerful voice and can make a more profound contribution to an enterprise. I believe you accomplish this by being open and suspending your own assumptions. If you let these assumptions hang out there so you can critically reflect on them, people you work with or audiences you try and reach become much more comfortable with you and receptive to learning. Through critical reflection, a trust level can be developed between management and workers or instructor and student. This is the key to success in any situation.

Cashman believes leadership comes from one of two places-persona or character. Persona is coping with ones personality and masking our internal and external fears. We create this to protect ourselves. Character is the essence of who we are. It goes beyond what we do-it is who we really are. Cashman believes it's important to know when you are in persona and character.

The other attribute Cashman believes in building leadership is self-expression. Telling things the way the are-not holding back. Good things, bad things, shortcomings or things you are really proud of are extremely important to express. Authentic expression goes beyond telling the truth-it demonstrates a total congruence between who you are and what you do and say.

Leaders are measured by results and I believe Cashman has adapted many principles of Transformative Learning into the work place. He believes as I do, that leaders create value through relationships and not by thinking you are carrying the "flag" by yourself. By moving past this assumption of leadership from the top down, educators, corporate management and other personal relationships can be much more effective. As Cashman and others who believe in Transformative Learning know, admitting that you don't have all the answers is a big part of building good relationships and a big part of getting good results.

--James B. Nesseth (jnesseth@extension.umn.edu), October 14, 1999

-- Anonymous, October 15, 1999