What
is Executive Community?
 The
Concept of Executive Community
Executive Community is a new, developmentally-driven concept
of leadership behavior in organizations developed by Dr. David
Gerard. It is based on the observation that leaders function
best when they :
- Make
decisions with input from others to take full advantage
of their organization's intellectual capital;
- Develop
internal harmony in order to permit rapid execution across
the organization's divisions and departments;
- Understand
their role as part of a management team;
- Know
when to use competitive approaches and when to be collaborative;
and
- See
themselves as partners and allies with other executives
instead of as rivals and antagonists.
By “executive
community” we mean a conscious process in which senior
executives develop
shared organizational values and practices with their peers
and other managers in their organization, with the intent
of establishing a workplace for all based on collaboration,
integrity, knowledge-sharing, creative conflict and synergy.
Executive
Community represents a fresh approach to leadership by recognizing
the realities of organizational dynamics, business strategy
and communications, customer and employee satisfaction and
management development within a unified and comprehensive
model. It acknowledges that the business environment in which
executives operate is fluid, global, extremely competitive
and time-sensitive. It recognizes, as well, that the executives
of the present and the future are no longer typically older
white men in gray suits, even though, oddly enough, most models
of executive coaching still seem to reflect that stereotype.
It is time for a new type of executive development program,
based on the needs of managers in the 21st century.
Executive
communities in organizations apply the theories and practices
of the “learning organization” through developmental
approaches to executive assessment, professional coaching,
mentoring, peer coaching and teaching, team building processes,
cross-divisional alliances and strategic partnering and collaboration.
Each of these activities take on new meaning when viewed from
the standpoint of Executive Community, for the perspective
is no longer the individualistic "me-first" approach
of the isolated manager. Careerism is replaced by a greater
concern for the sustained health and vitality of the organization
and its community of customers and employees, even the industry
as a whole. Self-development, within an executive community,
starts with an awareness of the whole system.
We are
often asked what makes the concept of "executive community"
different from seemingly similar concepts such as executive
team-building or simply alignment between senior leadership's
individual goals and the goals of the organization.
Our answer
is that the driving force behind the achievement of executive
community is the commitment on the part of those who lead
to two developmental steps:
- A deepening
of their self-awareness, focused especially on their impact
on others within the organization and the organization's
customers; and
- An
unrelenting honing of their collaborative and network building
skills, without giving up their right to a "point of
view".
We must
emphasize that executive community is not a mindless "feel-good"
attitude toward the tasks of leadership, for it recognizes
that addressing issues of competitiveness and power both inside
and outside the organization is required for simple survival.
Creating executive community involves an iterative process
requiring well-disciplined critical business thinking skills,
a type of continuous improvement for an organization's leaders.
The old
model of brutal internal management wars between competitive
rivals inside organizations is dying.
Replacing
it will be new ways of working together, where developing
strategic alliances among the formal and informal leaders
of organizations will hold the keys to surviving and thriving.
If you're
looking for consulting support on your organization's executive
issues that is both "down-to-earth" and "leading-edge,"
contact us or give us a call
at 800-513-8759.
We'll schedule a no-cost, no-pressure meeting with David at
a convenient time in your office. We look forward to hearing
from you!
Read
some of the success stories of Executive Community |
