Learning to lead with Dr. Peter J. Dean

Do you know that men speak an average of 7,000 words per day compared to women who speak 25,000 words a day? A male brain is compartmentalized like a computer processor, while a female brain is much more integrated closely resembling a circuit board?

These interesting statistics were revealed by Dr. Peter J. Dean, president of the "Leaders by Design," an association dedicated to teach and expand leadership development. LBD is in fact a merger of two previous leadership coaching divisions, one being "The Leaders' Edge" which was founded in 2002, with focus on teaching women leadership, and "The Leaders' Design" founded in 1986 and focused on teaching male leadership. These two organizations merged in 2004 to form LBD, a co-education institution.

Dean, who has a Ph.D in leadership skills, gave a presentation of his book, Leadership for Everyone: How to Apply the Seven Essential Skills to Become a Great Motivator, Influencer, and Leader, in which he described an innovative approach he calls the 'L.E.A.D.E.R.S Method'.  This was the result of his own experience and research with various business executives. The seven learnable skills in the L.E.A.D.E.R.S. Method are:

I.                Listen to Learn II.              Empathize their EmotionsIII.             Attend to their AspirationsIV.             Diagnose the DetailsV.              Engage with EthicsVI.             Respond with respectfulnessVII.            Speak with Specificity Dean shared various facts regarding the above mentioned seven skills; such as, to be a good listener one has to resist distractions and listen to gain ideas and real understanding. He then mentioned how emphasizing other people's emotions was the best way to collaborate with them. Also, attending to other's aspirations and their success stories can help one learn about ones self. 

Diagnosing the details stressed the analyzing of the communicators' details and responses. Dean then talked about the importance of engaging with ethics. He then followed by saying how responding with respect honors the instinct of all individuals.  Lastly, he mentioned how speaking with specificity meant appropriate skilled usage of the various vocal, verbal and visual alignments for efficient communication.

According to Dean, enemies of the ethical intentionality are acting in one's own self interests, believing in a lack of universal standards, and failing to challenge unethical authority.

By using a model of the human brain, Dean came to the conclusion that human beings should use their dual hemisphere to cope with this world and become a successful leader.