The focus on leadership in business circles is a fairly recent development, and for decades the accepted wisdom was “leaders are born, not made”. However, once social scientists got serious about it, leadership has been studied to the nth degree while looking at how people become leaders, how they get people to follow them, and what effects they have on organizations. Most people at some time in their lives are put into positions of leadership, but being in a position of leadership doesn’t necessarily make us one. And like Moses on the downside of the mountain, the image of leader as All Powerful Master and Commander has been etched in stone. Think for a minute about those you have personally known in positions of leadership and whether or not their methods of leadership were effective. What qualities set your great leaders apart from the herd?
One of the biggest reasons most leaders fail is they were put in positions where it became necessary for them to work closely with others and get others to cooperate and work closely with each other. Pointing with a wooden staff and barking orders is easy. Getting others to cooperate and work together toward a common goal is where things get sticky and the gears often begin to grind. To lead implies there are others on the team, and inspiring a successful, cooperative team is Job One for a leader.
Here are a few of the qualities of a “good” leader: first, they listen with understanding and are willing to give time to discuss problems. Listening with understanding is not the same as smugly remaining silent, waiting for one’s turn to talk and give a simple, obvious solution. In addition, good leaders don’t “overboss” or too closely supervise and dictate. Finally, good leaders are recognized as being helpful and supportive, and backing up their subordinates. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, those qualities of leadership are seldom taught in school and seldom demonstrated in the workplace in spite of them being relatively easy and inexpensive to develop. What we are missing is the human element of becoming an empathetic helping agent for those with whom we work and, at the same time, teaching others to become similar, empathetic helping agents. By now have you recognized the common thread – helping others become helpful to others?
Does being an autocratic director really work? Sure it does and has for a long time. The real question is “how well does it work?” And the answer is not very well in today’s work environment. Today workers want and demand a work environment in which they are valued and respected, and one in which they are encouraged and allowed to participate and give input. In short, people are looking to be part of a team lead by leaders who genuinely care as much about the individual needs of the team as they do as the results the team generates.
Originally published in Beaumont Business Journal, Heat And Humanity Column
