Vol. 39, 3/21/06
Andrea E. Sullivan and
Deanne Bryce, editors
LeaderStrength Systems, Inc. 2006

5-D Leadership: Key Dimensions for Leading in the Real World
by Scott Campbell and Ellen Samiec

ReaderStrength Rating:
Focus 3
Build 4
Adapt 4
Overall Rating as a leadership resource 3.6
(Please see "How Do We Evaluate Resources?" in right column)

Why is it that Jimmy Carter was perceived as a poor leader during his presidency and yet went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002? The book 5-D Leadership: Key Dimensions for Leading in The Real World by Scott Campbell and Ellen Samiec examine Carter’s story as an example of the common challenge leaders face. Like many leaders, Carter relied too heavily on his natural leadership style. He was unable to adapt his strengths for the context of his presidency.

Leaders today do not need to be victims of using their preferred style in the wrong context. The authors point out that the way we develop leaders is out of date with the newest knowledge about learning and change. Most leadership development programs rely on classroom learning and guide a person to focus on a leadership quality or skill that is missing. This approach has been shown to be counter-productive.

The authors provide at least three useful frameworks for moving beyond this outdated approach. See Brain Byte! in the column on the right to understand why the “missing ingredient” approach wastes both time and money in developing yourself as a leader.

The three useful frameworks presented in the book are the author’s presentation of the five dimensions of leadership, their description of seven different contexts, and assessments to discover and leverage strengths rather than overcome weaknesses.

The Five Leadership Dimensions are:

Commanding- Leading with this dimension means seeking compliance quickly.

Visioning- Leading with this dimension means creating a clear and compelling picture of a desired future.

Enrolling-Leading with this dimension means gathering ideas and group consensus toward problem solving.

Relating-Leading with this dimension means building strong interpersonal relationships between the leader and staff members.

Coaching-Leading with this dimension means developing the long term performance of staff members.

Each dimension is appropriate in a particular business or organizational context. More importantly, each has its limitations if used in the wrong context. The challenges most leaders face is that they are not aware of their tendency to use one dimension in all contexts. Leaders make this mistake mostly because they are not aware of the various dimensions and contexts. The information presented in this book is powerful as it aids leaders in expanding their range of options. With the assistance of a coach or mentor, they can take steps to target the right action to the right context.

The seven different contexts include:Rapid Growth, Fast Paced, Sudden Crisis, Blended Family, Expert Concentration, Civil War, Smooth Sailing. Each of these contexts require more than one dimension. For example, the Rapid Growth context happens when the organization has an increase in sales, business volume, costs, and demands on the staff. This context would require its leaders to be able to use the visioning, enrolling, and coaching dimensions.

Once you have insight into your preferred dimension and the dimensions needed for the context you are facing, you can take advantage of the strengths inventory offered by the authors in their book. You can download the online version click here

Perhaps you are relying on a leadership dimension that you think is expected by your organization or one that you saw in another leader. This inventory highlights strengths you may not be bringing into your work. For example, Edward is a person who has a great sense of humor, but he doesn’t use it at work because he thinks it is not appropriate. Humor is part of both the enrolling and relating leadership dimensions and one or the other of these leadership dimensions is needed in all seven leadership contexts. So it would be worth Edward’s time and effort to learn how to use his strength of humor in his work.

Recommendation

We highly recommend this book as a place to begin. Don’t continue to overuse your natural approach. Instead, use the strengths assessment to discover other strengths that will broaden your leadership approaches. With creative thinking and practice you will be able to target those strengths in the right contexts to achieve results. Because there is so much useful information in this book, we recommend you read this book with other leaders so you can support one another in applying the information.

Copyright 2006, LeaderStrength Systems, Inc. 630 Freedom Business Center , Suite 300 * King of Prussia , PA 19406

dbryce@leaderstrength.com • LeaderStrength Systems Inc.

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