August 13, 2014
What makes a leader? Is it an innate talent or is it something that can be learned? This is a question that I am curious about because it seems that there is so much material books, ebooks, webinars, courses, presentations, etc. describing what a leader is supposed to have but not exactly describing the process.
For example, von der Heydt of Amazon lists 17 qualities of great leaders 1 which include some descriptions such as:
- Be[ing] effective and efficient at the same time
- Work hard, smart and have fun
- Inspire
- Stay[ing] true to oneself
While these are descriptive qualities of what a leader exhibits, what exactly is the process of acquiring or exhibiting these skills? Specifically, how does a leader actually generate and embody these qualities? Also, if you are in a leadership role, what does “effective” mean to you? How about to your staff? Do they use the same dictionary that you do?
Effective Leaders Are People
Leaders are people. They exist in all gatherings of people and come from a variety of backgrounds. Some leaders excel in certain areas and if you took them into another area, they may just fail. Dunham suggests that leadership is a generative process rather than a descriptive process 2. Leaders ask the questions of:
- Why we are where we are?
- Where do we want to be?
- How do we get there?
Furthermore, a leader is aware that when people get together, something happens. 2 And that something is called by many names including: “leadership” / “coordination” / “miscommunication” / “blunders” / “visioning”
In the area of exhibiting leadership, effective leaders are aware that they operate within an existing framework and that this framework is pervasive. Understanding concepts within this framework is what leads to descriptive aspects of “good” leadership but stepping out and actually embodying the intellectual understanding is generating leadership.
For me, an effective leader is one who coordinates action with people whether professionally or personally. An effective leader knows the answers to the above questions of “Where” “Why” and “How” and is able to create a shift within the team and take action. Shifts of perception, shifts of understanding are created when people coordinate to take action.
Leadership Is A Result
Anecdotally, it may be the case that some leaders are born that way. However, in my experiences, it is a learned skill. Take a look at your life at this moment. You are where you are because of the _result_ of all your previous actions, commitments, and conversations! Leadership is a result. And “all results came from prior conversations.” 2
Culturally (corporate or otherwise) there exist blindspots in the way we operate. These blind spots are areas that we are not even aware of existing and therefore we cannot even take action to potentially address these blind spots. Dunham further suggests that these blind spots exist 1) when we operate from a state of reaction instead of a state of choice 2) when we fail to practice and embody decisions 3) when we fail to recognize that we operate in shared spaces with other human beings and 4) that our point of view comes from existing assessments and judgements that we hold within ourselves.
Leadership is a result of realizing that we operate in areas of blindness. Somewhere, somehow, there is something that is not “clicking” that fails to create authentic communications with teams and individuals within those teams. This could be an area of blindness that is preventing the blossoming of leadership.
Leadership Is An Art
Leadership is an art and like an art, we perform it. On stage, with a mic, with a brush, canvas, camera or whatever else, it takes practice and a commitment to reach results and goals. Leadership is the fruit of these efforts.
In an earlier post “Are You Committed? Or Compliant?” [3], I suggested that understanding the difference between compliance and commitment can lead to new actions from a space of awareness. Simply asking your staff to do something and getting a “Yes” in return does not make you an effective leader.Is your staff complying with your request or are they committed to it? Knowing the difference and the various ways in which it appears in conversations is crucial.
An effective leader is the result and sum total of all previous conversations. If your previous conversations did not allow space for and the practice of authenticity, then the result is compliance. By creating awareness and understanding and having the courage to have new conversations, you change the possibilities.
This is what leaders do! They envision new possibilities and gain commitments for the fulfillment of these possibilities in the space of new conversations.
Are you ready to generate effective leadership? I’d love to hear from you!
References
- von der Heydt, A. (2013). The 17 Qualities And Views Of Great Leaders. Retrieved from: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131017164718-175081329-the-17-qualities-and-views-of-great-leaders
- Dunham, R. (2014). The People Power of Effective Leaders - Connection, Collaboration, Holding the Center. Boulder, CO: Institute for Generative Leadership
- Amirthalingam, T. (2014). Are You Committed? Or Compliant?. Retrieved from: /committed-compliant