Leadership Qualities No 4
“The complete absence of paranoia and self-pity” is quality number four – a counsel of perfection if ever I saw one.
Look, I know they are talking about me as soon as I leave the room…after all that’s what everyone does isn’t it – talk about the boss behind his back? I know they don’t agree with me but they won’t tell me…I know they don’t like me… Chances are, if you are a leader you’ve been there.
We are all pretty good at mind reading. Or you would think we are when we let Captain Paranoia stand on our shoulder and whisper ‘the truth’ in our ear. We know exactly what people are thinking and what they are saying – and it’s rarely good. This amazing ability to read the minds of those we lead has some dire consequences. It undermines our self-confidence, erodes our optimism, takes away our sense of fun and shuts down our intellectual curiosity – at least. It can also lead to a feeling of isolation and defensiveness. It can cause us to misunderstand and misinterpret the actions and words of those we manage and it can lead to a crushing sense of self-pity. “No-one understands me, no-one cares, no-one will listen to me, no-one values what I do” and so on. This is so much worse in a time of economic crisis. If you feel like this and the wheels look like coming off… It’s not so bad when business is good, or the organization is driving on towards its goal and vision, when there is a feel-good factor. In hard times paranoia and self-pity can be killers – literally.
So what do you do? As the old saying goes “just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you” and it is true that people will always talk about the leader – but that goes with the territory – it’s part of the job. The antidote is vision – your vision – the organization’s vision which is so closely aligned to yours that you and everyone in the organization knows where they are going. It’s belief in the vision which counters paranoia and self-pity because as you imagine it and visualize it, it takes you out of yourself and puts you in the future. The vision gives you context, purpose and reason. The vision reminds you of what is really important. Communicating the vision effectively encourages others to share in it – to identify with it. Then it’s about the vision – not about you – and as you get freed from paranoia and self-pity, the energy you can commit to the fulfillment of the vision increases.
Banish Captain Paranoia! Refuse to wallow in self-pity! The vision, the vision…
Leadership Qualities No 3
“An endless well of intellectual curiosity” is Tim Brighouse’s third point.
For many, curiosity is a ‘bad thing’ – after all it killed the cat as the English proverb reminds us. It’s a ‘bad thing’ in organisations because it is disturbing – it raises questions – it upsets the status quo – it raises anxiety. But of course the very things that make it a ‘bad thing’ in the eyes of some are the very things that make it a ‘very good thing indeed’ in the life of organisations. Precisely because it disturbs, raises questions, upsets the status quo and raises anxiety, curiosity can be a real catalyst for change. Without it where would progress come from? Innovations? Continuous improvement?
And this curiosity should be intellectual. Does that mean academic? Not necessarily but it should have substance and depth. This is not a call to idle curiosity or vague wondering. This is focused and incisive questioning which needs concentration and discrimination…and then execution. It is curiosity which leads to action and the leader is uniquely placed to engage in this activity.
All of Rudyard Kipling’s Six Honest Serving Men (What and Why and When, and How and Where and Who) form part of the leader’s curiosity tool kit. They are assumption busters – so useful as an antidote to data blindness when people become obsessed with numbers for the sake of numbers. ‘Why?’ is the question that challenges people to think about what they are actually doing. ‘How?’ encourages them to think about process and best practice. The leader asks these questions routinely – endlessly – because she is genuinely curious. Curious about why we are doing so well, or so poorly, or so differently. The leader has a curiosity mind-set or attitude which is never satisfied and it stems from that overhead perspective which so often only the leader has.
I wonder how…
Leadership Qualities no 2
Seeing crisis as norm and complexity as fun. That was Tim Brighouse’s second quality of the leader. Now this is a challenge and somehow more relevant today than ever. Maybe he’s got a point. There always seems to be a crisis going on.
We got through the doom laden YK2 crisis without a scratch – then there was the Avian Flu crisis which didn’t seem to materialize. Now just as we are all reeling from the worst economic crisis we can remember with all the problems that go along with it…WHAM…THUDDDD…it’s Swine Flu gathering pace.
That’s all at the macro level –but nothing is different at the micro level of organizational life. The computer system crashes…the key employee leaves unexpectedly…the biggest customer goes to your competitor…the Government changes the rules…the bank pulls the loan… Just when you think that everything is shaping up to go well…WHAM…THUDDDD…
Crisis is the norm. Stuff happens. Life is complex. If you are not aware of any crises in your organization, go and talk to your people. Crisis is a way of life – to some extent it defines life since the only place without crises is the cemetery. I’m no Greek scholar but I seem to remember that ‘crisis’ is a New Testament Greek word which means ‘making a judgement or decision’. A time of crisis is a time for making decisions – an opportunity for change – and the serious leader is always glad of those kind of opportunities. Added to this is that there are simply not enough hours in the day…time just seems to disappear.And fun? You can often see business (in its many and varied forms) described as a game. Not all games are fun but how different would you feel about leadership if you saw it as fun…in all its complexity? How different would the organization be if everyone had a sense of complexity as fun – something to enjoy trying, playing, experimenting…
Then of course…WHAM…THUDDDD…
By the way, have a look at this ebook on Time Management (Click Here!) – it could provide some useful tips.
Leadership Qualities no 1
I came across an interesting web site - it’s the site of the National College for School Leadership. There was a video clip of an interview with Professor Tim Brighouse (London Schools Commissioner) who suggested that leaders need four qualities, the first of which was “Unwarranted optimism”
This really set me thinking. Unwarranted optimism… If the leader’s optimism is warranted – everybody thinks it’s do-able – then the vision or dream is most likely easily achievable. That’s ok but the dream is probably too small. The leader has to dream big – has to have a vision which is probably impossible – massive – out there somewhere – and yet believe that it is possible –against all the odds. The leader holds the vision despite the doubters – the pessimists – those who can only see the problems. The leader has to keep that dream or vision alive and real even when the wheels are coming off. Its hard work. Made harder because the leader is often only too well aware that her optimism is unwarranted – because she knows better than anyone the lack of resources, the level of resistance, the economic and market environment. It’s the leader’s job to hold the vision with unwarranted optimism – nobody else is going to – and if the leader doesn’t do this? Well then, at best, the organisation will drift back into that day-to-day, largely directionless but essentially safe ground of warranted optimism. Worse than that – the pessimists may take over…
Welcome to the BusinessFirelighter Blog
Welcome to the BusinessFirelighter Blog.
This is intended to be a blog about leaders and leadership in businesses. In it I want to explore the idea of vision and purpose and how they relate to the ‘top job’.
How do you stoke up the fire and keep it going?
Happy reading.
Steve Hoggar
