Three Dimensional Leadership: The Discipline Phase

The final phase of the 3-D Leadership Model is the Discipline Phase.  It is in this phase that the leader becomes the chief thinker in the organization and the teacher of those he leads.  It is here, in the Discipline Phase, that the leader becomes the sage of the organization, delegating the implementation of the vision while coaching others up to become great leaders.  Leadership in this model is not about self, thus coaching people up becomes a chief priority in any organization.  This overlaps with the relationship builder to some extent, but the act of coaching is more intentional then gaining the hearts of the people.  It is here that one is disciplined enough to reproduce himself in others.

This requires the thinker and teacher to implement three strategies into their personal agenda.  First, the thinker and teacher must implement a lifestyle of learning and focused thinking into their daily routine.  A leader never arrives at a destination; he is always looking for new paths to explore and new territory to conquer.  There is nothing worse than a stale and apathetic leader.  The leader who participates in the Discipline Phase as a thinker and teacher will always remain fresh and will be willing to try new and innovative ideas.  John Maxwell writes, “Success comes to those who habitually do things that unsuccessful people don’t do.  Achievement comes from the habit of good thinking” (Maxwell 2004, 13).  Thinking is in the discipline phase because most people who call themselves leaders do very little thinking.  Leadership requires one to always be a step ahead in their thought processes.  A person’s title can give them positional leadership and authority, but it is the person in an organization who thinks, that others will look to for leadership. 

The second strategy that must take place is the practice of realistic thinking or as Jim Collins puts it, “Facing the Brutal Facts.”  Discipline does not allow for reckless optimism.  “Actions always have consequences; realistic thinking helps you to determine what those consequences could be” (Maxwell 2004, 124).  The thinker and teacher always do what is best for the organization by seeking to understand the consequences of his actions.  This requires the leader to listen to different voices in an organization that might dissent in order to send a warning that this method or strategy will not work.  3-D leaders listen to these voices and think through the ramifications of their actions and decisions.  This practice leads to true insight into the organization.

The third practice of the thinker and teacher is looking for opportunities to be a coach.  Teaching must become a key component of the leader’s repertoire.  This again emphasizes people and an investment in others for the betterment of the organization.  “Leaders create and inspire new leaders by instilling faith in their leadership ability and helping them develop and hone leadership skills they don’t know they possess” (Maxwell 1995, 11).   It is a fact of life that any growing organization needs a greater amount of leaders available to lead the organization.  The leader who disciplines himself to be a coach will most likely not have to worry about where that leadership will come from. 

Insight, the desired outcome of the Discipline Phase, is achieved when these three practices are followed by leaders.  It is this insight that gives an organization an edge.  Peter Senge writes in his leadership bestseller, “The more you learn, the more acutely aware you become of your ignorance” (Senge 1990, 11).  An organization that has a thinker and teacher at the helm will be an organization of thinkers and teachers.  This catapults any group to the final outcome of the 3-D Model.  The three outcomes of the 3-D Model are influence, impact and insight.  When these outcomes merge together in practice, they form the optimum in leadership performance, exponential leadership. Exponential leadership is leadership that multiplies across an organization.  Exponential leadership is a direct result of the leader’s setting up of an environment where influence can be achieved, building relationships that lead to maximum impact, and bringing insight to the organization through thinking and teaching.  The results of exponential leadership are alignment and teamwork. 

Alignment and teamwork form the overarching goal of the 3-D Model which is the multiplication effect.  With this in place an organization takes on a life of its own.  It is no longer an institution; it becomes a moving, breathing, and adaptable entity.  Leadership at this level is the most exciting because momentum snowballs and greatness occurs.  “Mass does not equal momentum…when people move together with a common purpose momentum happens” (McManus 2001, 67).  It is this momentum that is generated by the multiplication effect and is the desired, final outcome of Three Dimensional Leadership.

 3-D Leadership is truly an integration of several of the best leadership practices that have been studied and modeled in the literature over the past decade. This model flows directly from the philosophy that leadership is not management.  Leadership and management were synonymous words for most of the twentieth century. Joseph C. Rost writes in his extensive study on the history of leadership,“Confusing leadership and management and treating the words as if they were synonymous have a long an illustrious history in leadership studies.  The practice is pervasive in the mainstream literature of leadership. It is pervasive in all academic disciplines where one can find the literature on leadership.  As had been shown in the discussion of the definitions of leadership since the 1930’s, leadership scholars instilled the values from the industrial paradigm into their understanding of leadership and equated leadership with good management” (Rost 1993, 129). 

Rost also quotes H. Ross Perot when he said, “Inventories can be managed, but people have to be led.”  This goes to the heart of the 3-D Model.  This writer agrees with Jim Collins when he says, “…if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away” (Collins 2001, 46).  Management actually takes away from leadership. This is true at every level in an organization.  If a janitor is lazy, unmotivated, and is failing to get the job done, someone in the organization has to take the time to manage that person which takes away from valuable time and productivity.  Most leaders spend so much time managing that they have no time to practice and implement the three phases, especially the phase of thinking and teaching. 

Teaching looks like management at points, but it is much different.  Management is at its core a form of control, teaching is a form of releasing control.  Much of literature read left out teaching or mentoring as an important leadership function.  The book, The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, by Hans Finzel includes a chapter titled, “Success without Successors.”  In this chapter he writes, “Organizations live and die on the basis of their flow of new leadership talent…the only way to guarantee that your group does not slide down the backside of the curve to institutionalization, calcification, and death is to constantly renew yourself with fresh blood in the form of new leaders” (Finzel 2000, 161).

One of the key aspects found in most of the material researched is that leadership is no longer just about power, it is about character.  Almost all of the writings disparage the “great man” and “great woman” theories of leadership.  This is especially true with Collin’s discussion of “Level Five Leadership.”  In his research compiled in the book, Good to Great, it was very evident that the companies that became great did not rely on perceived leadership from a powerful and charismatic personality, but rather practiced leadership from men and women who were humble and understood their roles.  Character is truly at the core of leadership and must exist in every phase of the 3-D Model for it to be effective.

There are other factors at play in the leadership equation that are not as definable as what has been previously discussed.  These are called the hidden factors.  These factors can not be explained, taught, or caught.  They just happen.  The first of these factors is the God factor.  No matter how well someone follows any leadership model, it is still God, in his sovereign power that determines our destiny.  This writer believes that God anoints certain leaders for his own glorious plan and many times we do not understand or agree with his choice.  David is a great example from scripture, although he did not have the appearance of a king, he was the man God anointed for the task.  One cannot ignore the God factor which is why an absence of prayer is so detrimental to an organization.  Prayer seeks the hand of God as one requires his help and guidance in all leadership endeavors.

The second hidden factor is a result of the God factor and this is the talent factor.  Although it is a matter of fact that leadership can be developed, natural talent gives some people an edge over others.  Personality, interpersonal skills, etc. all aid in leadership even if one does not want to admit it.  Even in Good to Great, level five leaders were doggedly determined and disciplined to accomplish the goals and meet the challenge.  Some of that drive and desire is inborn and comes naturally, yet these abilities can be learned and developed.  An example is communication skills, great leaders are normally very good communicators.  This comes naturally to some, but can be developed in others if they are willing to put forth the work.

The final hidden factor is the time factor.  Many times one looks at an organization and its leadership and thinks that everything they see just appeared all at once.  Leadership is an investment of one’s life into an organization.  The best leaders stick around for a good amount of time, and sometimes the worst leaders stick around too long.  The key is to realize that leading any organization to greatness does not happen overnight.  There are no special formulas, no quick fixes, just a lot of hard work, sweat, and tears.

In conclusion, the 3-D Leadership Model attempts to integrate some of the best leadership practices written in the literature, putting it into a cohesive system that is easily integrated into a leader’s methodology.  When a leader is free to practice leadership, the organization will eventually experience exponential leadership which leads to the multiplication effect.  This is the ultimate goal of leadership, to move from a mindset of addition to multiplication.  When this happens exponential growth abounds and the organization flourishes.  This model is also designed for the postmodern mindset because it is based on fluid systems that put the emphasis on relationships rather than on information.  The postmodern mind filters knowledge and facts through the lens of experience.  Loyalty is not so much derived from communicated words but rather from what experience they can link those words with in the course of day to day interaction.  This is one reason the servant leadership model is in and the hierarchical system is on the way out.  The postmodern thinker in any organization does not respect a position, but only the person whom they have shared experiences with.  The postmodern world is driven by a sense of community and thrives in an atmosphere of collaboration.  Postmodern philosopher, Leonard Sweet writes, “In the modern world, leadership was getting ahead of others. In the postmodern world, leadership is getting along with others and getting others to go along with you.  The essence of collaboration is this: You can’t be an individual without collaborating with others” (Sweet 1999, 193).  To the postmodern mind, to mistreat one is to mistreat the whole community.  To break a promise to one worker is the same as breaking the promise to every worker.  Integrity is paramount in leadership because what one experiences is the definer of who the leader is, the title is merely a descriptor and a poor paradox when the leader fails in this area. 

If one will play each of these roles with vigor, this writer believes that exponential impact can be reached and the multiplication effect will take over.  The cultural architect, relationship builder, and thinker/teacher are all indispensable players in the game of leadership.  Any one can practice these arts and influence, impact, and bring insight to any organization.

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• Three Dimensional Leadership Part 1: The Design Phase of Leadership
• Three Dimensional Leadership Part Two: The Development Phase of Leadership
• Three Essentials of Leadership