Turn business strategy into leadership development: Boeing's seven secrets for capturing the development opportunities that pass you by every day - Lead On!

T+D, March, 2002 by Paul R. Yost, Mary Mannion Plunkett

You have just returned from a leadership workshop, with grandiose plans about how you're going to improve your effectiveness as a leader and really influence the bottom line. But the first day back on the job, reality hits: New crises pop up, a long line of employees waits outside your door, and your inbox is full of unanswered emails. Your noble plans are consumed instantly by fires you have to put out. Sound familiar?

So, how do you stay focused on your development in the midst of daily challenges and crises? Last year, the Boeing Leadership Center launched the Waypoint Project, which will be a decade-long study to follow the careers of 120 executives and managers in the company. The goal is to uncover the secrets of lifelong leadership development.

To begin the project, we asked leaders to identify the key events in their careers that led to a lasting change in their approach to leadership. Without exception, they told us they learned the most when they found themselves in situations that pushed them to the edge of their comfort zones, where learning wasn't an option but a necessity. That echoes the findings of the Center for Creative Leadership in its research two decades ago: More than 80 percent of the key events in a leader's development occur on the job facing trial-by-fire challenges.

But people don't necessarily always learn the lessons that experience can provide. So, we probed deeper to find out what Boeing's leaders did to convert their experiences into personal and professional growth. We've already learned from their responses. Here are seven factors that help leaders develop.

1. Link personal development to business strategy. Look ahead to where the business and your company will be in five to 10 years and ask, "How can I link my career into that strategy?" That will help you identify the greatest growth opportunities in your company and how you can leverage them. For example, if you lead a technology organization, watch for emerging trends in the field, and find ways to make them part of your development plan. Ask where the greatest growth areas in the field and company are and what knowledge and skills you'll need to be in demand as a leader.

Adding so-called development projects to your already busy schedule may not be the best way to build your plan. Instead, take advantage of everyday work activities that not only meet your performance goals for the year, but also help you develop as a leader.

For example, let's say that you want to improve your coaching skills. You might be tempted to create a goal to spend 15 minutes at the end of every day coaching one of your direct reports. We all know that despite the best intentions, that 15 minutes will disappear and you'll be left feeling guilty. So, what's a better goal? Look at the activities that occur regularly in your job, and find a way to turn those into coaching opportunities. For example, conduct performance reviews in a coaching style. Or if your project team discusses milestones regularly, conduct those meetings as a coach.

2. Push yourself to the edge of your comfort zone. Recognize that going beyond your level of comfort is a good thing because that's where you will learn and grow the most. Stepping too far outside of one's comfort zone can be overwhelming, but staying completely safe leads to stagnation.

One leader commented, "There's a fine line between feeling competent and being beyond your comfort zone. I'm most effective and happiest on that line."

3. Don't be discouraged when fighting fires. You've just entered the perfect place for development. A leader described it: "When you're isolated, naive, and uncomfortable, you're very aware of what you don't know. That makes you open to learning, absorbing information like a sponge just to survive."

Also make sure you provide opportunities for you and your team to extract the lessons you learn. Experience is the best teacher but only if the lessons are internalized.

4. Take time to reflect. The word reflection probably conjures up week-long retreats in the mountains. Time away from work can be valuable, but another kind of reflection is equally, if not more, beneficial. Successful leaders find regular times during the day and throughout a project to metaphorically step onto the balcony and evaluate whether they're headed in the right direction. Now and then, take a few moments to ask yourself some simple questions:

* Of all of the things I'm doing, what's likely to still make a difference one year from now? Five years from now?

* What can I give up? Will anyone notice if we don't do it anymore?

* What would my older, wiser self tell me to do in this situation?

Here are some simple ways to engage in real-time reflection:

* Make a to-do list every morning, and review it before you leave the office at the end of the day.

* Go out to lunch every two weeks with a friend to talk about your challenges, goals, and progress.

* Keep a journal to capture the lessons you're learning about leadership.

* Set aside 10 minutes at the end of every meeting to discuss as a team what went well and what might be improved.