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Leadership, Leaders and Leading
More from the Views from the Business Front Line Series: 26/9/02
By: Paul Di Carlo
Like many others, I've developed a real interest in leadership in recent years. I'm fascinated that some people can appear to so easily create a sense of real motivation in others, a willingness to take action, to do, to want to be part of something bigger, to work together in teams and achieve more.
I know I'm not on my own in this; the number of books on leadership and the growth in leadership gurus plying their wares has mushroomed in the same period. No doubt reflecting the growing interest by many. Yet I have misgivings, there’s more than a sense of the emperor's new clothes in all of this.
In my line of work, (business change), I have the privilege of working with many different client organisations. I meet many people involved in challenging business change activities of one sort or another, whether it's large scale transformation, merger integration, new business development, cultural re-engineering or outsourcing. And there are a few things I've noticed that I would like to share with you.
Leadership and Leaders
One thing I've noticed is that everyone has his or her view on leadership, what it is and how it's exercised. One CIO recently espoused the 'communication, communication, communication' mantra as the core of leadership, while demonstrating his belief that communication was a one-way experience for him. In another case, a CEO expressed his view that 'real leaders are born not made, the trick is being able to spot them early', but he was unable to tell me what he was looking for. In both cases, these clients had already spent a considerable amount of time and effort previously on traditional leadership development assessments and workshops, both for themselves and their organisations, so these were not uninformed(?) views.
Everyone I ask is interested in leadership, everyone seems to have a view of what it is and how it occurs, even if they can't express it clearly (the 'I know it when I see it' syndrome). Similarly, for most of the people and teams I meet, many of the people want to be leaders, they want to be in charge, in control, they want to call the shots, they want to have a say in how things happen.
Organisationally, the same things seem to be happening; leadership teams are increasingly popular with people drafted on to them, often only by virtue of their place in the organisational hierarchy. Yet no one is asking the question that seems the most important to me - can you lead?. These efforts seem to be driven by the need to fill a vacuum?
Leading
To me, the words leadership and leaders are misnomers. You often hear the phrase 'we need more leadership'. But the word leadership is what linguists refer to as a nominalization, a conceptual label, it really doesn't exist. You can't ask for a wheelbarrow of leadership to be delivered, so if we need more of it what is it and where will we get it from?
Similarly, many people want to be seen as leaders. It has become a life's work for some to be recognised as leaders and has led to the rise of the celebrity CEO syndrome and leadership guru cult approaches that have afflicted many businesses over the past 10 years. So, what is a leader? How would you know when you found one? For most, leader is too often a title given by the organisation to reflect authority and status - but to me that is just another name for the boss.
To be willing to view someone as a leader, I think we need to ask for more. I think we need to expect more and demand that our leaders demonstrate the ability to lead, to walk the talk, to show that they are worthy of following. Too many of our current leaders, in all walks of life, take our willingness to be followers for granted. Signs of dissent and a willingness to question are often met with strong disapproval and can often lead to retribution. Also, being willing to lead is not enough. Leaders must be capable of leading and I think the concept of follower is where the crux of leading lies.
Leading is about demonstrating the behaviours, capabilities, values and a sense of direction and purpose that attracts others to want to follow, take part, be part and contribute to creating and achieving well defined outcomes. To be willing to follow someone is not about accepting their authority, it is recognising that their approach, behaviours and capabilities will enable a team - that you can choose to be part of - to achieve substantially more together than they can individually and enjoy the journey. People who have worked in teams who have achieved above and beyond, talk about the experience in terms that reflect the unity of purpose by everyone involved.
A leader is someone who can lay out this sense of purpose, clear direction, goals and a route map to achieve something that is beyond the reach of a single individual and that is to the benefit of many rather than just a few. Leaders enable followers to be comfortable with the challenges and uncertainty that lies ahead by demonstrating that, through openness and dialogue, each challenge will be met and managed on a consistent and open basis.
A leader ensures that each follower understands his or her role in the challenge and that their contribution matters and is acknowledged and that they are listened to and respected. A leader understands that failure is no more than feedback that another approach needs to be taken. A leader knows that it is approaches that fail, not people. A leader knows that flexibility and a willingness to learn (and unlearn) are a necessity not an option for all, but especially for them first. A leader knows that emotions have their place and need to be acknowledged and understood for the information they give, before moving back to the challenge being tackled.
A leader knows that they need to take the risks first, to lead the way, to demonstrate the behaviours and capabilities required and can show that these are within the reach of all who follow. A leader embraces uncertainty by having and showing confidence in himself and his team and that this confidence is well placed. Above all, a leader shows that it is his role to give what is required to the team before asking for anything in return. Leading means consistently demonstrating the behaviours that you want others to adopt and being comfortable when they do.
Met any leaders lately...?
People ask the difference between a leader and a boss.
The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert.
The leader leads, and the boss drives.
Theodore Roosevelt
Originally Published: 26th September 2002
Channel: www.IT-Director.com in the Business Management section
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Reader Responses…
Posted on: 1st October 2002
Sender: Arizona
I believe in what you say but I find the corporate world is lacking in true "leaders". The "covert" operation appears to be more and more prevalent. I wonder if this is due to reacting constantly to changing needs with knee-jerk reactions or an overall lack of concern for employees as valued individuals that make up the whole of a corporate structure. What has happened to those leaders that start a meeting with a smile, an agenda with a goal and objectives and a timeframe stated and adhered to with constructive positioning for all? Has the "uncertainty" of the world itself brought to the corporate world a group of senior management that does not feel the confidence to stand up for their own convictions, business sense, & employees. I could go on about this but will stop with the thought that a leader definitely "extends" himself or herself for the inner growth and the growth they give to others.
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