Foundational Leadership Knowledge

Welcome to season 6 of the Seasons Leadership Podcast. Listeners have asked us to go deeper on leadership topics so we will bring you this renewed focus throughout season 6. We start with a deep discussion on foundational leadership knowledge which includes four areas of knowledge: industry, organization, stakeholders and business model or operations. We encourage you to approach your leadership journey as an ongoing process of reinvention, adaptation and renewal. As you listen to this episode, think about what you could implement in your own leadership immediately that will increase your level of excellence as a leader.

Show notes:

(2:58) Know the industry you are in. This isn't only for business leaders - this is for leaders anywhere that you find yourself - you need to know about your industry. We share tips on how you can obtain this knowledge and encourage you to act proactively.

(5:54) Know your organization, what it is all about and what is the mission, vision, values and the culture. This is not easy to just look that up, instead you need to be observant of how to get things done “here.” We share stories about how important it is to know the structure of your organization and to know “who is who” and the structure of the business. This knowledge will give you clues on how decisions are made and how processes flow through the organization so as you strategize how you provide value to the organization; you can be effective. Otherwise, you are just waving your sword in the air and not hitting anything. This knowledge will demonstrate that you are an invested and interested partner in your organization, making you more effective.

(10:55) Know your stakeholders, who they are for your organization and what they care most about. Part of understanding them is knowing, unique to each one, what they need - customers, shareholders, suppliers, employees, all these different stakeholders have different needs. We share insight into Alan Mullaly’s connected culture of Working Together and Love by Design and how it encourages leaders to align with their personal values and show up authentically which is key to being an excellent leader.

(16:57) Know the business model including how your organization is making money. This is relevant for all organizations, even not for profit, you need to know how the organization you work for does what it does to keep doing what it is doing. (18:45) How to make this foundational knowledge real for you and your team. We share examples of how we did this for teams we’ve led and recap the importance of obtaining foundational leadership knowledge.