Exponential Breakthrough Leadership - {Guest Article}

By Bjorn Martinoff

What is Exponential Breakthrough Leadership (EBL)?

Exponential Breakthrough Leaders inspire greater results and performance in their teams. And it is not because they have to but because they choose to, want to, and are inspired to. They empower followers to become leaders in their own right. In effect they are leaders leading leaders.

Imagine a team consistent of leaders. This is a team where everyone is engaged, empowered and driven to achieve their targets and beyond. It is an environment where people are having fun while consistently challenging each other to accomplish more and are getting more done then on 99.9% of all leadership teams. It takes more from the leader to lead leaders versus leading followers.

It is easy to spot and recognize an Exponential Breakthrough Leader. This leader is not merely transformational or transactional; he is a leader leading leaders, even strong leaders. A mechanistic culture where everyone feels like they are just a part of a big machine is highly discouraged or not even being tolerated. Everyone in their team is empowered to co-lead the team in the areas of their own responsibility, as well as co-create the team’s vision, purpose and core values, or even the entire leadership team in certain activities. These are basic marks of an EBL, which is a type of leadership style that does not just inspire positive changes in those who follow, but empowers to entirely new levels of performance while challenging and inspiring team members to continually grow and evolve.

As a baseline, EBL tends to be energetic, enthusiastic, focused, and passionate. Not only is this leader concerned and involved in the process; he leads by example, aligns the team and empowers each member-leader to succeed.

The History of Exponential Breakthrough Leadership

EBL begun with the concept of transformational leadership initially introduced by leadership expert and presidential biographer James MacGregor Burns. It has taken the game of leadership to new heights as shown by the results produced.

Historically speaking as well as in current corporate reality, so-called ‘leaders’ were in reality operating more like managers. But we are discussing leaders now. There are several levels of leaders – those who do not lead; those who lead followers; those who can lead peers, and those who lead leaders.

Having learned from my rich experiences with some of the world’s largest, most sophisticated and successful organizations in many countries and on several continents, Exponential Breakthrough Leadership can be seen when “leaders leading leaders assist each other to advance to an exponentially higher level of performance and top line results.”

While EBLs harness the strength of both their vision and personality, they do not stop there. They are able to inspire followers to align on mutually chosen goals and directions as well as align on ways of working. Together with their teams, EBLs align on a purpose that has them inspired to the point where team members are fired up and cannot wait to get out of bed in the morning. They truly enjoy each other’s company and experience having more fun at work than at play. They also increase each other’s expectations; change paradigms and perceptions; and super-charge motivations to work towards shared goals.

Exponential Breakthrough Leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on the team. We do not call them followers. Exponential Breakthrough Leaders garner trust, respect and admiration from their teams.

The Components of Exponential Breakthrough Leadership

There are different components to Exponential Breakthrough Leadership:

1. Continuous Personal Transformation – Transformational leaders not only challenge themselves but their entire team to continuously grow, shift their paradigms and expand. They know this cannot be done in a DOING-HAVING world alone; and they are keenly aware of the multiplying effect of their state of BEING on their and their team’s accomplishments and results. They also encourage creativity among teams as being ‘outside of the box’ is their everyday way of life.

2. Authentic Communication – The myth about communication is the illusion that it takes place. EBL leaders create a platform and basis for authentic communication where all feedback, information and even emotions are welcomed and can be shared without judgment; introspection and observation yes, but not judgment.

It also involves offering support, development and encouragement to individuals. In contrast to regular teams much focus is being placed on BEING in addition to DOING. In order to foster mutually supportive relationships, EBL leaders keep lines of communication open through authentic communication so that followers feel free to share ideas and so that leaders can offer direct feedback and recognition of the unique contributions of each leader. Without authenticity lips might be moving, sounds might be observed, words might be spoken but nothing is being said much less being heard.

3. Inspiration and Motivation – Transformational leaders have a clear shared vision that they develop with their teams. Vision, Purpose and Values are developed together. A Mission is often avoided due to its likelihood of being kept in the box. A powerful Purpose replaces any need for a mission. EBL leaders are keen in driving their teams to experience an extraordinary level of passion and inspiration. Motivation therefor is internal and intrinsic rather than external or forced upon.

4. Intrinsic Influence – The EBL leader serves as a role model for their teams and organizations. Because EBL leaders build alignment, trust and respect through common, Vision, Purpose and Values. They don’t need to work hard on driving people as their people are ignited and driven from within.

5. Integrity – Integrity is no small matter on such a team and instead it is treated as a matter of great importance where no one will take it lightly. Integrity goes beyond the common understanding and is defined as ‘Doing what I said I would do’. The most powerful definition of Integrity evolved from the founder of EST Werner Erhard. Doing it as well as anyone could expect it to be done. Doing it on time and communicating breakdowns as soon as they are apparent including committing to a new delivery time when things are off-track. Surely this is not an easy undertaking and instead is a constant striving for improvements.

6. Future-based Language – While EBL stands with both feet in reality, a main component of EBL is what we call Future-based Language. It focuses on the future and on what we want to accomplish. It directs its energy and feedback away from complaining and blaming but towards the type of leadership behaviour that empowers and produces results.

While EBL Team members may hold different titles and positions, each can take the lead at any moment. It could be viewed as a model of shared leadership where any one member of the team can lead a discussion, an activity, a project, or the entire team. Leaders who lead leaders need to be mature enough to permit this to happen. In a way they need to have so much power that they can give it away and share that power with their team without being lessened, threatened, lowered or diminished by that sharing of power.

7. Alignment – Alignment issues can produce a flurry of activities and energies that can pull a leadership team apart or in different directions exhausting energy and inspiration with rapidly diminishing results.

True alignment to the goal and vision can double and often triple the energy and momentum of a leadership team, their results as well as the speed with which those results are accomplished. Aligning a leadership team is a science and an art, which only few experts and consultants have mastered. The benefits are tremendous and it is an exercise no EBL leader would ever miss out on. At F1C International we are regularly called upon to perform this exact task.

Success Stories

• Transformation of Samsung from a producer of everyday household appliances to a cutting edge producer of stylish high-end electronics;

• Exponential Growth of a Country Team of one of the world’s largest food companies from consistent decline to rapid breakthrough growth in nine months. The team won the Global CEO award for their performance;

• Exponential Growth in Sales and Customer service in business processing company serving a top three US Telecom by exponentially growing leaders and their results from 6th place in network to 2nd place in their network in just seven weeks; and

• Many more!

Bjorn Martinoff is a Global CEO Coach and Executive Coach focusing on the world’s largest and most sophisticated organizations. He is the author of the book “Develop Exponential Power”; and focuses his time developing Exponential Breakthrough Leadership with his clients in Asia, North America and other parts of the world. He is currently writing his second book titled on the subject bringing Exponential Breakthrough Leadership and its application to leaders around the world. Bjorn serves clients in over 40 countries and lives in Manila, Philippines with his wife Victoria Penaflor Martinoff and their four children.